How to know and what to do
to you
Sorry for leaving you hanging last week – I really hate missing a week of the newsletter!
I was neck deep in writing code for an update to our coaching app. (I was a software developer in my former professional life, which enabled me to build the custom app that Coach Kayla and I use to coach our clients.)
Our app includes its own food logging system, which may sound like we’re reinventing the wheel, but it’s worth it because it makes our coaching far more effective and efficient.
But it also gives me the added job of being food database curator.
And it’s a job I take seriously, because it’s important to me that our feedback to clients is as accurate as it is helpful.
To speed up the process of maintaining our food database, I’ve been working on code to automate as much of it as I can, and it turned out to be a much bigger project than I expected. And before I knew it, Thursday arrived without me having an email to send.
But now I’m back! And my coding frenzy – and its relevance to food logging – inspired today’s important topic.
Whether it’s weight gain, disease risk, fatigue, or any other nutrition-related concern, there’s one dietary factor that’s almost always involved – overeating.
And by no means am I referring to lack of intent.
You already know that eating too much is generally not good. And I’m sure you already go out of your way to avoid doing so.
Same goes for almost everyone else.
So then why is it still such a common problem?
There are a few reasons, one of which is the hyperpalatability of modern foods.
But the reason we’ll be focusing on today is awareness – or more precisely, lack thereof.
Two things Coach Kayla and I hear over and over (and over) again from new clients once they start logging what they eat:
- They’re surprised by how many more calories they’re eating than they thought
- They realize that they’re eating indulgent foods more frequently than they thought (which is often the reason for eating more calories)
But it doesn’t end there.
Most people underestimate their portions – sometimes by more than 1,000 calories per day!
One study shows that even dietitians underestimate their portions.
The obvious solution – weighing and measuring your food – can be a drag and clearly isn’t for everyone (although there are ways to simplify it).
But when you’re not getting the results you expect despite thinking you’re doing everything right, you need answers – accurate answers.
Going back to my time as a software developer, I often heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out.”
If you write sloppy code, you’ll end up with poor-quality software.
The same goes for food logging. Inaccurate input leads to false assumptions.
What good is it when the 2,000 calories you think you ate is really 3,000 calories because you underestimated portion sizes and/or logged foods that you thought were “close enough” to what you actually ate?
That’s not helpful at all. In fact, it’s harmful because it enables you to think you’re doing well when there’s really a problem brewing.
Since we’re zoning in on calories here, let me say that there’s so much more to nutrition than just calories.
But calories do matter – a lot – and if a casual intent to simply eat less isn’t working, you need a more accurate assessment of how much you’re eating to understand why.
As many of our clients experience, you’ll likely find a considerable difference between what you think you’re eating and what you’re actually eating.
Improving your understanding of a problem makes it a lot easier to solve.
And by logging your food (and doing so accurately), you’ll likely make other important insights along the way, like seeing that you’re eating more sugar than you thought, or that you’re not getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals.
Knowing is half the battle!
Book a free call with Coach Kayla to learn more.
To the power of accuracy,
Dr. Vin
P.S. Food logging is nothing more than a tool for learning and assessment – it doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment if you don’t want it to be.