Written by Erica Hoese of Xo-Erica.
Depending on where you are in your fitness/health journey, tracking may be an important piece of the puzzle.
One of the most common questions I get asked...
Do I have to track?
Well, when you’re first starting out, you can probably get away with not tracking, (and I do help people set up a plan that allows some leniency), but as you start losing fat and building muscle, you’ll want to start tracking to see exactly what your body needs to keep going and to make sure you’re achieving new results and not plateauing.
As a coach, I like when my clients track because it helps me set up a new meal plan when they plateau. I track my food as well, because then I know what works and what doesn’t. The key thing is also tracking for a good 6-8 weeks. I know when I first started out, if I wasn’t seeing results within 1-2 weeks, I got frustrated, but we have to remember, consistency is key and ultimately we have to track longer than that to see our desired results.
Trust is a huge part of the process and I like to say it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
The goal isn’t for you to lose weight quickly in 1 month. The goal is for you to make sustainable changes and live a healthy, active lifestyle.
One app that I recommend to all my clients is called Lose It.
Lose It helps me track all my food that I eat every day. I also like it because I am very visual and it shows me a pie chart with my numbers, so I can see how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats I am eating. There is an option to upgrade to the “pro” version (I believe $40/year), but I still use the free version.
There is also My Fitness Pal and a few others out there.
Whatever app you use, is the app you want. Whatever works for you!
Join the #FitMomArmy
In the spirit of full disclosure, melaniewinters.com is a compensated affiliate, meaning we may make a small commission when you click on/purchase something through the ad links in this post. It doesn't change the cost for you at all, but does help us keep on keepin' on.