How to Record Your Nutrition

Written By Beth Funari  Sims Cert. Personal Trainer Prescription Fitness

Nutrition is a vital part of the healthy lifestyle equation. What you put into your body has major effects on  an individual’s longevity, vital organs, weight and quality of life.

You may have been reminded by your trainer how important monitoring and tracking your nutrition is.

It’s really easy to live day to day with a grab-and-go mindset.

Life is busy, and sometimes it feels like having one more thing to track is just too much. However, research indicates that people who write down what they’re consuming maintain their health goals longer than those who don’t.

This is especially important when you’re trying to build lean muscle mass, or lose weight.  For example,  part of building lasting lean muscle is achieved through a careful ratio of protein to carbs. Weight loss is – generally speaking – an equation of calories in, calories out.

Here are the areas you should include when tracking nutrition:

• Calories: Some of us have no idea how many calories our bodies need. Having an idea of how many calories our body actually requires a day to run efficiently is an important starting point. Furthermore,  if you’re seeking weight-loss or weight-gain you’ll need to understand how much to add or subtract. Once you start tracking nutrition you’ll want to record how many calories the foods you’re eating carry.

Here’s a quick tool to get a general idea of your caloric needs:

http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

• Macronutrients – Carbs, Fat and Protein:  Macronutreints are aptly named. They are the specific nutrient groupings we need the most of.  Carbohydrates (sugar), fat (lipids) and protein are all important and too much or too little of any can result in nutritional deficit, and hormonal imbalance.

• Exercise & Activity Output : How often you move, and the level of exertion involved is a big piece of the puzzle. A serious athlete will clearly need significantly more fuel than an adult who works at a desk, and exercises lightly. Figuring out how many calories you’re burning will help you understand what to take in.

So how should you go about tracking your nutrition? I recommend installing an app on your phone to help keep you accountable. Considering we’re all pretty glued to our phones these days it makes sense.

Some apps to consider :

• My Fitness Pal – this is probably the one I recommend most often to clients as it’s pretty straight-forward. Plus it has a robust food library.
• Lose It! – The emphasis here is on losing weight, so if that’s your goal you may like this one.
• Spark People – If you’re seeking a community to connect with you may enjoy this one. There’s tons of features offered. However, it can be a little trickier for a newbie to navigate.