WHY TRACK IT?
Intake tracking is simple; it means watching what you eat to ensure you don’t eat too much. Some people call this a diet. I call it appropriate eating habits. Some people think its an illness to track your food, like its some type of sin to eat only good things. It isn’t a mental illness to track your intake any more than it is to track your financial income and expenses. In my opinion it just means you’re being smart. It isn’t smart to spend more money than you make, nor is it smart to eat more food than you use.
The reality is that many foods available today are dense in fat or carb calories and quite frankly they taste amazing. It’s honestly very easy to over eat with all of the options for processed crap food being less expensive and more readily available. Why is this a problem? Well, there are 2 problems here: 1) processed foods high in fat and carbs are not good for you; and 2) those foods are more likely to make you over weight. Oh come on, its the truth. Don’t be offended by reality. It’s a heck of a lot easier to eat Doritos and Donuts than it is carrots and cucumber.
HEALTH & FITNESS
In my mind, Health and Fitness go hand in hand. For the body building competitor, that might be slightly different as they focus on the best physique possible and might, during prep, focus more on fitness than health. I’m not a competition body builder, so my opinion there is what it is. I’m a father of 4 with a busy life and career. I need balance and longevity.
Eating and tracking healthy food options, while performing good workouts on a regular basis, will produce balance for a fit lifestyle. The goal is to create a balance between the two, where they augment each other. Don’t punish yourself with harsh workouts because you ate poorly all weekend. Don’t eat poorly. Reward yourself after a workout with nutritious foods that produce natural levels of energy and replenishment.
CHANGE YOUR MINDSET
You simply cannot keep returning to poor life decisions in any area of your life and expect better outcome. Being healthy is no different. Don’t expect great things from poor decisions. Don’t expect great health from fast food and sugary coffee drinks. Don’t feel guilty about it either. Just make the conscious decision to no longer think that way. The past is the past. Be different now and tomorrow.
I hope this has encouraged you to live differently. Don’t freak out on yourself. Make small changes daily in your life, every day, that will push you towards a better, healthier, and more fit lifestyle!
Cheers!
Geekhead