Keep a Food Diary
Everybody knows that weight loss is 80% diet but most clients find it very confronting to be asked for a food diary! For every five clients I ask one might be brave enough to refuse point blank. This is the one who invariably never loses any weight. Two out of five clients will say they will do it and never do (despite my relentless and enduring nagging). And of the five, two clients will (sooner or later) provide the diary. These are two who will succeed on their weight loss journey.
Most of my PT clients are on MyFitnessPal – a free app they can use on their phone or computer. My food plan clients connect with me as a “friend” so that I can follow their progress. MyFitnessPal calculates your daily calorie requirement based on your current weight and how ambitious you are about your weight loss goals (I recommend modest ambition for maximum adherence!).
The first thing I want to know when I look at a food diary is how much water my client is drinking. Then I look at how much fresh food they are consuming, what their protein intake is like and how regularly they are eating. I start with these ones because they are easy ways to speed up the metabolic rate without much sacrifice.
I recommend my clients try to keep a food diary for five of seven days a week. Their daily calorie allocation for those five days can still accommodate small treats if carefully budgeted. Then the client is still left with two days a week to free-style it. This level of treat control, combined with adequate water and an effective exercise plan is usually enough to start at least a modest level of weight loss.
Diet habits can be challenging to change, my approach is first to identify the habits and then make changes one by one starting with the easiest ones. Keeping a food diary is not about obsessively monitoring every mouthful and saying “No” every time you’re offered something delicious. It’s about educating yourself about the calorie content of different treats and making appropriate choices. It’s also about checking that you’re well hydrated and topped up with the right nutrients to fuel your busy life.
Most of my PT clients are on MyFitnessPal – a free app they can use on their phone or computer. My food plan clients connect with me as a “friend” so that I can follow their progress. MyFitnessPal calculates your daily calorie requirement based on your current weight and how ambitious you are about your weight loss goals (I recommend modest ambition for maximum adherence!).
The first thing I want to know when I look at a food diary is how much water my client is drinking. Then I look at how much fresh food they are consuming, what their protein intake is like and how regularly they are eating. I start with these ones because they are easy ways to speed up the metabolic rate without much sacrifice.
I recommend my clients try to keep a food diary for five of seven days a week. Their daily calorie allocation for those five days can still accommodate small treats if carefully budgeted. Then the client is still left with two days a week to free-style it. This level of treat control, combined with adequate water and an effective exercise plan is usually enough to start at least a modest level of weight loss.
Diet habits can be challenging to change, my approach is first to identify the habits and then make changes one by one starting with the easiest ones. Keeping a food diary is not about obsessively monitoring every mouthful and saying “No” every time you’re offered something delicious. It’s about educating yourself about the calorie content of different treats and making appropriate choices. It’s also about checking that you’re well hydrated and topped up with the right nutrients to fuel your busy life.