Tracking Your Food to Form Healthy Eating Habits
June 19, 2023
Food plays a vital role in our lives. It provides energy and development, maintains stamina, and stimulates growth. After air and water, it's the third most important thing to living beings. Food can nourish our bodies, but the wrong foods or eating habits can ruin our health, so we must be mindful of what we eat. Food is a fundamental part of our lives, providing us with the energy and nutrients we need to grow, develop, and maintain our bodies. The fuel powers us through our daily activities and allows us to thrive.
However, the quality of the food we eat is equally important. The wrong foods or eating habits can harm our health, leading to chronic diseases and other health problems. That's why it's crucial to be mindful of what we eat and how we eat it.
By choosing a balanced and varied diet that includes nutrient-rich whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins (Like Certifed Piedmontese), and healthy fats, we can provide our bodies with the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants it needs to function. A healthy diet can also help prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, as well as mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.
Healthy habits like mindful eating, portion control, and staying hydrated can support our overall health and well-being.
At Certified Piedmontese, we're committed to providing our customers with high-quality, sustainable, and nutritious beef products that can be part of a healthy and balanced diet. We believe food is vital in our lives and are dedicated to supporting a healthier and happier world through conscious eating.
Choose better with Certified Piedmontese beef and take the first step towards a healthier and more healthy lifestyle!
Do you struggle with maintaining a healthy diet or managing food cravings?
Are you looking for ways to improve your eating habits and achieve your health goals? Consider practicing mindful eating, which involves tracking what goes into your body and being more aware of your food choices and eating habits.
By keeping track of your diet, whether through a journal, food tracking app, or simple notes, you can gain insight into your eating patterns and identify areas for improvement. You can also become more mindful of your food choices, making avoiding mindless snacking or overeating easier.
Mindful eating can also help you manage food cravings and develop healthier coping mechanisms for stress, boredom, anxiety, or sadness. Instead of using food as a crutch, you can identify alternative activities or behaviors that fulfill the exact emotional needs without sabotaging your health goals.
At Certified Piedmontese, we're committed to providing our customers with high-quality, nutritious beef products that can be part of a balanced and mindful diet. We believe that conscious eating is essential for achieving optimal health and well-being, and we're proud to support our customers on their journey toward a healthier lifestyle.
So start tracking your diet and practicing mindful eating today. You'll be amazed at the positive impact it can have on your health and overall quality of life! 🌟🍽️
Shop now➡️
Benefits to Tracking What You Eat
It creates awareness of your eating habits to understand better how to make healthier dietary choices. You could consume too much or too little of a particular food group without realizing it. Perhaps you don't even realize how many sugary foods you've forgotten that you ate throughout the day, such as the two teaspoons of sugar in each cup of coffee. Perhaps your regular protein can be replaced with more heart-healthy meat. You might be surprised to find that once informed, there are foods you can quickly drop from your daily diet or substitute with healthier options. Your observations may bring about a balanced diet that can help you feel fuller when consuming less and happier about responsibly indulging in the foods you like. Once your food intake is laid out, you might realize that those cookies or donuts from the breakroom are entirely unnecessary. Or, if you plan to eat cake for dessert one day, you can balance out the rest of the day's meals to accommodate it.
It helps lay out your relationship with food. The most important thing about eating is that it should be enjoyable, and you shouldn't feel guilty or associate negative emotions with food. By noting how you feel during and after eating certain foods, you can determine if you're feeding your physiological hunger or unintentionally using food to feed an emotional hunger. Research even shows that people eat what is most accessible, regardless of actual preference. If you realize that you're buying food that leaves you feeling worse, it becomes easier to change the habit. Ultimately, you will learn to permit yourself to enjoy food to its fullest. You will reach that point of balance where you eat only when your body needs the nourishment and stop eating when your body and mind are satisfied.
It lets you fully appreciate the pleasure of eating. Can you remember what you had for lunch two days ago? Our lives are busy, and we might not always get to spend mealtimes at the dining table. Sometimes you find yourself eating in front of a computer screen, a TV screen, or even with your eyes glued to your phone. When you consciously note down what foods you are on your plate, it prevents you from gobbling food down without even recognizing what it is. Awareness of your food also encourages your senses to log the taste, sense, and smell of your eating. When you're focused on your food and chew every bite thoroughly, it will also improve digestion and weight control. While you're at it, reflect on where your food comes from and give gratitude for it to help you make wiser and more sustainable choices in the future.
It shows how far you've come the longer you keep up with tracking your food. Concrete proof of the effort and progress you've put into developing healthier eating habits goes a long way in keeping you motivated. The more you track, the more information you have at your disposal. You will develop a good instinct for what is healthy and good for you, on top of feeling better and fitter! Holding yourself accountable and not falling for unnecessary temptations becomes a strong incentive.
Show now!
How to Track Your Food
Begin by deciding how long you will track your food. Two weeks? One month? You will also choose how you will track it. You can dig out that beautiful journal that's been gathering dust on your bookcase or use one of the many smartphone food-tracking apps to support your food and nutrition-tracking efforts. Choose one that is most convenient for you.
Read our Nutritional Facts➡️
Be sure to write down what you're consuming as soon as you eat it. If you wait till the end of the day, you're likely to miss something. Make sure your tracking is consistent and accurate. The more information you have, the more helpful insights you may uncover. If you're using a food journal, answer the following questions to be more accurate and detailed with your tracking:
What are you eating?
The food on a dish, the contents of a beverage you've consumed, and how it is prepared. Don't forget to note down the toppings, sauces, and condiments.
How much are you eating?
If possible, list the amount in measurable units such as cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons. If you're eating out, do your best to give a close estimate.
When are you eating?
Jot down the times you're eating too. It could help you identify problematic eating habits such as excessive snacking.
Where are you eating?
The setting where you eat may affect your diet more than you think. Do you tend to eat healthier when you're at home than when you eat out? Does driving long distances make you crave something to munch on?
What else are you doing when eating?
It pays to know if an activity triggers a response in your diet. You might find yourself constantly consuming extra helpings when you're visiting family or eating too fast when you eat while talking.
What are you feeling as you're eating? After eating?
It matters if you like what you're putting in your mouth. Does it make you feel happy or fulfilled? After an hour or two, does the food make you energized or lethargic? Alert or sluggish?
Setting Healthy Eating Goals
Tracking your food intake might show that you're already meeting your nutrition needs. Continue with these habits! But your tracking might also point out holes in your diet, so how do you change those bad habits or form new, healthier ones?
To set healthy eating goals and make them stick, make sure they are realistic and attainable. You can use the SMART model:
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based
Here are a few examples of setting goals based on your tracking results.
Observation: You average only one serving of vegetables per day.
What you plan to change: Eat more vegetables.
SMART Goal: Eat two servings of vegetables per day.
Observation: You eat snacks at 10 AM and 3 PM on most days. The snacks are usually high in sugar content.
What you plan to change: Snack less or eat more nutritious snacks.
SMART Goal: Replace the 10 AM snack with a healthy granola bar and the 3 PM snack with a banana.
Tips to get there
Play with food combinations, or find new and exciting recipes. If you find that eating a heavy serving of carbohydrates makes you tired and sluggish, you can reduce carbs and increase your healthy protein intake. Shake up your usual diet. Try eating meals that are protein-heavy, vegetable-heavy, or even fruit-heavy. Be aware of whether your meals are balanced and if your eating patterns add to the quality of your life.
If you want to improve your diet and overall health, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. But with these simple tips, you can take the first steps towards a more balanced and nutritious eating pattern.
Experiment with food combinations and recipes. Don't be afraid to try new things! Mixing and matching different ingredients can help you discover unexpected flavor combinations and keep your meals interesting.
Reduce your carb intake and focus on healthy protein sources. Carbs are essential for energy, but too much can lead to weight gain and other health issues. Incorporating lean protein sources like Certified Piedmontese beef, vegetables, and healthy fats into your meals can help balance your diet and keep you fuller.
Be mindful of balance. Make sure your meals include a variety of food groups, including whole grains, lean protein, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats. This can help you get all the nutrients your body needs to thrive.
By following these tips, you can develop a healthier and more balanced eating pattern that will benefit your overall health and quality of life. Start small, and remember that every little change counts!
It's not about establishing strict rules for how many calories you can eat or limiting your eating to only "healthy" food. It's about paying attention to what you shop, cook, and eat. Food tracking is only a means to help us achieve the real end goal: Becoming more attuned to our bodies, changing unhealthy dietary habits, and enjoying improved well-being.