93% of clients who have achieved their goal said that they have utilised their food diary. Whether it's through our constantly improving VVT app, the VVT website or simply on paper. The way that some people do it can sometimes make it seem laborious, unenjoyable and boring - but that doesn't HAVE to be the case!
If you haven't done it in the past because it seems overwhelmingly complicated, then fear no more - it can be quite simple using a couple of the following tips!
1. Use an app - rather than having to add it up yourself and literally macro-counting - let the app do it all for you at the tip of your fingers. Most of us have our phones with us throughout the majority of the day and considering we open our mobile phones over 110 time on average per day, surely, we can make use of a few of those times to log our food.
2. Start with how you already eat - Before making any changes you'll want to identify any important patterns so if you literally just enter your normal eating habits for the first few days you'll find that the initial changes can be subtle and easy - maybe portion size is off or you didn't realise how many carbohydrates are in your lunch time bread roll.
3. Build around some core meals - Trying to figure out the exact ingredient measurements for each meal and writing it all down can make calorie tracking time consuming. A more time-efficient approach is to structure your diet around a few essential meals that are easy to track and prepare the same way every time. This helps remove the guesswork and cuts down on data entry.
4. Utilise pre-portioned food - When it comes to switching from eyeballing your portions to measuring them, pre-portioned foods can be a lifesaver. Yes, packaged foods often cost a bit more than bulk produce or meat, but if you haven't got time for #mealprepsunday, choosing healthy pre-packaged items can save you time and energy. Their nutrition content is marked right on the package, and they're probably already listed in your app's food database. Good picks to help kick off your meal-prep journey include individual packets of nuts, protein bars, kangaroo sausages, burger patties, canned tuna, cold meats, eggs and protein powder.
5. Get it right and move on - Once you've fine-tuned your template and started seeing your body composition move in the right direction, look at what made the difference and integrate that information into a long-term, sustainable template. Create some alternative meals in your app and become a master at prepping your portions. Maybe you could even stop counting.
That's right; quit counting! We recommend you always go back to it occasionally to recalibrate, make sure you're still on track or to reassess if you plateau, but you may be able to stop relying on the Food Diary 100% of the time as your previous eyeballing technique becomes more on point.
Think of it this way: The skills you build through understanding the numbers are far more important than the numbers themselves.
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
