The Importance of Tracking Your Food and Feelings: A Key to Lasting Success
When it comes to creating a healthy lifestyle, one of the most powerful tools you can use is tracking—both your food intake and your feelings. That’s why it holds the #4 spot in my Power of 13.
Tracking isn’t about perfection or restriction—it’s about awareness. When you know what you’re eating and how it makes you feel, you can make informed decisions instead of relying on guesswork.
Let’s break down why this simple habit is one of the biggest game-changers in health, weight loss, and overall well-being.
Why Tracking Your Food Works
Think of food tracking like balancing a budget. If you don’t track where your money goes, you’ll likely overspend. The same goes for food—if you don’t track what’s going in, it’s easy to underestimate portions, overlook snacks, and forget about hidden calories.
Here’s why food tracking is so effective:
✅ It Increases Awareness: Most people underestimate how much they eat. Research shows that those who track their food intake are more successful at weight loss and maintenance. A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that people who kept a food diary lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t.
✅ It Helps with Portion Control: Weighing, measuring, and logging your food helps you see where portion sizes may be sneaking up. That ‘tablespoon’ of peanut butter? It’s probably two. A ‘handful’ of nuts? More like a quarter cup. Those little differences add up.
✅ It Highlights Nutritional Gaps: Tracking isn’t just about calories—it can also show if you’re lacking protein, fiber, or healthy fats. If you feel sluggish, tracking can reveal whether you’re missing key nutrients.
✅ It Reduces Mindless Eating: Ever eaten chips straight from the bag while watching TV? Tracking makes you stop and think before you grab another handful.
✅ It Creates Accountability: Whether you use an app like Lose It!, MyFitnessPal, or a simple journal, tracking keeps you honest. Even if no one else sees it, writing it down makes a difference.
Why Tracking Your Feelings Matters
Most of us don’t just eat when we’re hungry. We eat when we’re stressed, bored, tired, happy, sad, or celebrating. That’s where food journaling takes it to the next level—by adding an emotional component.
When you start tracking how you feel when you eat, patterns emerge. You might notice:
👉 You reach for sugar when you’re stressed👉 You overeat at night because you skipped breakfast👉 You eat more at social gatherings out of habit, not hunger
Once you recognize these patterns, you can start changing them.
How Tracking Your Feelings Supports Weight Loss & Health:
✔ Helps Break Emotional Eating Habits – If you see a pattern of eating when stressed, you can swap in healthier coping mechanisms like deep breathing, journaling, or movement.
✔ Shows How Certain Foods Affect Your Mood – Sugar highs and crashes? Feeling bloated after dairy? Energy levels dropping after a big carb-heavy meal? Your body is always giving you feedback—tracking helps you listen.
✔ Improves Mindful Eating – Writing down how you feel before and after eating encourages slow, intentional eating rather than just inhaling food.
✔ Builds Self-Compassion – Instead of beating yourself up for an ‘off’ day, tracking helps you understand the why behind your choices and make adjustments without guilt.
How to Start Tracking (Without Getting Overwhelmed)
1️⃣ Pick a Method That Works for You – Apps like Lose It! are great for quick tracking, but pen and paper work just as well. Don’t overcomplicate it!
2️⃣ Be Honest, Not Perfect – If you had a cookie, log it. No shame, no judgment—just awareness.
3️⃣ Track Feelings in a Simple Way – You don’t need to write a novel. Use quick notes like:
"Tired & craving sugar"
"Stressed and ate fast"
"Satisfied and energized after meal"
4️⃣ Review Your Logs Weekly – Look for patterns. Are certain foods making you feel better or worse? Are emotions driving food choices? Small adjustments can lead to big changes over time.
Final Thoughts: Knowledge is Power
Tracking your food and feelings isn’t about obsession—it’s about awareness. When you know what you’re eating, how much, and why, you can make intentional choices instead of falling into autopilot mode.
And let’s be real—sometimes life happens! The goal isn’t to track forever, but to use it as a tool when you need to refocus. Whether you’re just getting started or need to break through a plateau, food and emotion tracking can be the missing piece of the puzzle.
💡 Your challenge: Try tracking for just one week—food, portions, and emotions. See what you learn about yourself!
🔹 Need support? Let’s chat. Whether it’s through my support groups or one-on-one coaching, I’m always on your side.
Let me support you,
Coach Paris
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