Food, Calories & Nutrition. What You Need to Know
Written By: Heather Gerrish, MS, RDN
We think about what our bodies need to do every day - what we need to do, say, think - but what we eat is sometimes lower on this list, or maybe absent altogether. What makes focusing on what you eat important is the impact it has on all of the other things your body has to do: grow, develop, think, learn, live and thrive!
What does this look like? Well, it’s a little different for everyone (as per usual I say - unique ) but ultimately, this practice is formed through looking at food through a different lens. What lens do you say? Well, that also depends on where you start!
During the beginning of any diet assessment is determining what your foundation is. Often we choose to track our intake to establish this relative starting point. What is important to highlight is the reason behind tracking food and that it is not meant to be long term. In this blog, we will review tracking with this purpose, and what you can do to focus on not only calories but your nutrition and food choices in a positive way.
You might be wondering by now, what is the purpose of tracking food every day? Why is this so important?
Tracking food can be tedious and time-consuming, but it also allows you to see firsthand the differences in total daily intake that you otherwise would have been guessing. At the beginning, we all need to check-in and see what and how much we are normally consuming. This helps us create a foundation to grow and develop our own unique approach to including more healthy choices or swapping out old habits and new, healthy ones that will help us reach our goals. Tracking and “counting calories” tends to be clumped in with restriction, elimination, and overall lacking (lacking in variety/flavor and fullness!) diet. We are not leading to pursue this rather sad rendition of dietary modification and tracking, but to track as a form of heightened awareness and perception of what you are eating and being accountable for the choices you make. It might not seem as important right now, but later when you can look back at the progress you have made, it can be a great motivating factor to keep you on track and further investigate ways to adapt to your new healthy lifestyle.
What is Calorie Awareness?
Continuing with last week's topic of accountability, tracking helps us keep accountable to our nutrition goals and become more aware of our choices. if we don’t have a foundation to grow on, then how do we know where to start? Tracking your daily intake allows us to take a deeper look at your choices and see where we can modify to encourage healthy options with the overall goal of making small, attainable changes you can keep with you long term. Creating this foundation is important because later on, we want you to practice intuitive eating; being aware of not only the types of food but also being aware of the benefit that food choice will bring to you and your body. Thinking “How will this food benefit and nourish my body?” is a great take away from tracking and becoming more aware. This is the difference and bridge from calorie counting and calorie awareness and staying accountable to your nutrition goals.
We don’t want you to track your intake for the rest of your life, but periodically integrating this into your routine can be helpful in checking in and once again becoming more aware of what you are eating. It’s learning about food and the benefits food can bring you in terms of energy, nutrition, and enjoyment while acknowledging your overall goals for leading a healthy lifestyle. It’s a lot to ask, but over time and by tracking and implementing this thought process it becomes less of a task and more of a routine.
For example, if I were to track a snack comprised of a whole orange, ½ cup low fat cottage cheese and 6-8 whole-grain crackers I would acknowledge the total calories and macronutrient composition of this snack, but I also would see the benefit this snack is providing me - vitamins and minerals - as well being as a great source of fiber by choosing fruit and whole grains as well as a lean source of protein with my choice in low-fat cottage cheese.
Viewing food as a way to fuel and nourish your body is important in long term adherence to making healthy choices. If you acknowledge your food choices as being a benefit and in what ways the macro and micronutrient composition of foods can help you in your goals, then you are on your way to calorie awareness and implementing “tracking” for life. It’s also important to not get too obsessed with tracking, as it is just a tool for you to use as you become more comfortable with recognizing healthy choices, so if you feel overwhelmed or need some extra assistance don’t hesitate to reach out at any time. That is what we are here for and we want to ensure that you feel supported as you progress towards your personal goals.
Cover photo from Unsplash.com