Here's what happens when you stop tracking your food
A question I get often is:
"If I need to track my calories and macros to get the best fat loss and muscle growth results, what happens if I stop?"
"Will I lose all my progress?"
"Do I have to track forever?"
Since August 2018, I've been tracking my calorie and macro intake DAILY for the last four years.
I can count the number of breaks I've taken from tracking on the one hand.
And this week was one of them.
Here's what happened:
#1.) I feel like a loser.
Tracking your calories and macros is SUPER EASY.
And it guarantees results.
So not doing it makes me feel like a lazy POS...
#2.) I've spent MORE money on food.
A common belief is that "eating healthy is expensive."
This can't be any further from the truth.
When you're keeping track of and planning what you eat, you're also controlling how much you spend.
If something is too expensive, there are always many other options.
When you're not tracking, you impulsively make more of your eating decisions and spend more money without even realizing it.
#3.) I've been wasting more time.
Because I've been deciding what I want to eat throughout the day, that's caused me to waste a lot of time.
Every time I get hungry, I spend at least 10 minutes deciding what I'm going to eat.
Because I have nothing prepared, I often have to go out and buy something at the store or grab something quickly.
More stress, time wasted, decision fatigue, and avoidable anxiety.
#4.) I'm hungry to get back on track again.
This is why I took a "break" and the only benefit of it.
Starting with my coach in the next few days and taking time off has been a great reminder of how much better I feel when I'm on track.
There are ZERO benefits to "taking time off" from eating right, other than the fact that I've now been reminded how much better life is when you're on track.
So to put it all up in a straight answer:
"If I need to track my calories and macros to get the best fat loss and muscle growth results, what happens if I stop?"
Nothing good.
"Will I lose all my progress?"
Only if you stop tracking indefinitely.
"Do I have to track forever?"
No, but you'll discover that the pros of FAR outweigh the cons, so you might as well.
Do you want to learn how to keep track of your calories and macros in a way that guarantees results and is more accessible than not doing it?