Even If You Don't Journal It, Your Butt Will!

When I completed my 63 days of Insanity I realized that I was now even closer to my fitness goal than I ever thought I would be.

Notice I didn't say goal weight...I don't really use my scale often these days and to be honest, I have no issues with the number on the scale when I do stand on it.

(ok...I do have a number I would like to reach, but I am very happy with where I'm at)

However, it was time for me to step back, look at my routine and see what needed to be tweaked. Of course it didn't take me long to realize that I needed to focus on my nutrition. I needed to recalculate my caloric needs, take a closer look at what I was eating and begin to make the changes necessary for me to reach my final goal.

Over the past year I have made many changes to the way I eat. I started by cutting back on my sugar intake, changing the amount of carbs and how/when I ate them. I began eating more lean protein, more vegetables, I reduced my diet soda intake (I only have it on occasion now) and just started eating cleaner. While making all of these changes I neglected one thing....tracking what I ate.

I had done Weight Watchers before and I know what a valuable tool journaling  and tracking your food intake can be. When you write down the food you eat, it keeps you accountable. I know for myself, if I think about eating something, but it makes me feel guilty when it comes time to write it down, I'm not going to eat it! I also find that when I track my food intake during the day, I don't mindlessly eat or pop a few crackers or almonds here and there.

Keeping a food journal also helps you to look back and see where you may have went wrong or to figure out what you need to change. For instance, this past weekend I noticed that after my cheat meal at Five Guys, the following day I was sluggish, my mood was lousy and I just felt "off". After a day of eating well and drinking my Shakeology I felt better and like myself again.

A few weeks ago I decided to download the My Fitness Pal app for my Android phone as well as for my iPod Touch. I wasn't sure if I would stick with using it, but I have heard people on Twitter rave about it so I figured why not. It asked me for some basic information about myself...age, height, weight, weight loss goals, activity level, etc. Once all of the information was inputted it told me my daily caloric "goal" number and I was ready to go. The food data base is huge and I haven't had an issue finding anything I've needed so far. The Android version of the app even allows me to scan the food items bar code to find the nutrition info, which I LOVE.

Fast forward to the end of week 1...I stepped on the scale and saw a 3lbs weight loss! I haven't seen a loss on the scale in a long time since I have been doing a lean muscle/fat trade off. The only way I have been able to track progress is with measurements, so this was cool! To date, I have lost 6 pounds while journaling my food and tracking my calories.

Yesterday I tried on and fit into my "goal" jeans! Who know this calorie counting  and journaling stuff would actually work! Pft!

Now go download a calorie tracking app onto your phone and try it out for a week! I bet you'll be happy you did. Remember to track everything you eat, lick or taste. Be honest here, because even if you don't journal it, your butt will!



*A special thanks to @BodyByJay for helping me figure out my RMR  (resting metabolic rate) this number is important because it represents the energy required to perform vital body functions such as respiration and heart rate while the body is at rest. You don't want to go below it or your body will begin to use your lean muscle as fuel to make up for the lack of calories.

To find out your RMR click here.