If you are looking to lose some weight, it is important that you have a system of tracking in place. 

What is tracking?

Tracking is a process of capturing data about you and your body on a daily basis. 

To lose weight efficiently, and sustainably, you need to understand how your body is responding to your weight loss regime. 

For example if your regime involves halving the amount you eat on a daily basis and then upping your cardio by going for a run every day, it is important to observe how your daily energy levels are affected. 

If you go from a moderate – high daily energy level to a low energy level then this tells you that something isn’t working. 

To get started on tracking, you first need to know what you are tracking (see below for 4 things we strongly recommend you track). Once you know this then you need a place to track the information on a daily basis. This may be by recording what you are tracking in a notebook, the notes section in your phone or even make yourself an excel spreadsheet which you can access on your phone. 

Wherever you choose to record your data, make sure it is always with you so you can easily plug in the information. The harder you make recording, the less likely you are to do it. 

4 things we recommend you track are:

1. How much you’re eating: fat loss is achieved by a calorie deficit (eating less energy  than you expend). If you don’t know how much you are eating on a daily basis, and you want to lose weight, you are setting yourself up to fail.

Before you start cutting or adding calories, you need to know how much your ‘baseline’ calorie intake is (BMR) – this is the amount of food you need to eat based on your weight and your daily energy expenditure. Once you know that, you can assess whether you are eating enough, or too much;

2. How much water you’re drinking: Water plays a vital role in hydrating our body. In a weight loss phase, hydration is particularly important as it helps remove any toxins that are being released from your fat cells that are mobilised so your body can attain energy. Check out this video in which he explains how you can track how much water you are drinking;
3. The time at which you eat – regular eating times improves digestion by increasing saliva which breaks down food so you don’t need to supplement with digestive enzymes;
4. 4.Energy levels – see above.

Happy tracking!

This article was provided by Vitruvian Health.