To track or not to track

Studies show that you are significantly more successful in your weight loss efforts when you write down everything that you eat. In case you want to read more about it, you can read a few articles here.

So if writing everything that you eat down (or tracking) is one of the tools for success, why do we resist so much?

Tracking all of what we eat was the subject at last night's Weight Watchers meeting. I know that a lot of you don't utilize Weight Watchers, but I think that the message of this post is the same regardless of what system you use.

It's probably my least favorite topic. In fact, when someone even mentions the word, I inwardly (and sometimes outwardly) roll my eyes.

A part of me feels like it's this kiss-up answer that we give to the leader. Anytime she asks a question about how to get back on track, how to get motivated again, or how to kick-start the weight loss, someone mentions tracking. It's like the universal right answer - and a part of me feels like it's lame that tracking is the magic pill that we all need to master in order to lose weight.

So go figure - I struggle with tracking.

When I first started my weight loss in July of 2008, I tracked religiously. I almost never went to bed without having tracked - and even if I went over my points, at least I KNEW how it happened and where the gain came from.

I tracked for 20 solid weeks. And then, when I switched from the weekly coupons to the monthly e-pass, I stopped.

So I guess I've figured out that even though it might be easier and more convenient to track online or on my iPhone, I do better at tracking when I write it down.

Last night, during the meeting, our leader read this little poem with an adaptation of "10 Little Indians." The poem counted down Weight Watchers members instead of Indians and listed all the reasons why when people don't track, they're not successful.

At one point during the meeting, she mentioned that she was horrible at tracking and that she doesn't track her food intake now. I've heard her say this before, and honestly, I think I took it as an excuse for me to not track. Then she said that it took her 2 years to lose her weight and that if she were better at tracking, perhaps it wouldn't have taken her so long.

I don't know if it was that statement or if it was hearing ten ways that not tracking isn't helpful to weight loss, but I left the meeting with a renewed resolve to track. The repetition and dwelling on this subject resonated with me somehow and I guess I started opening my eyes to how tracking isn't just lame, it's necessary.

It's easy for us to sit around and whine about how the pounds aren't coming off, to say that everything is SOOO hard when it comes to losing weight, or even to complain that "nothing works." But how can we know if anything works if we're not documenting what we're doing? Aren't we worth taking the extra few minutes to double check points values?

I try to practice mindful eating and the fact that I've kept the weight that I have lost off as much as I have is proof that I'm getting better about being contentious in my eating. But I know that I can really lock into what is going on when I at least document the facts.

If I really want to accomplish my goals this year, tracking is likely going to have to be a tool that I learn to use - at least until I can monitor my progress in other ways.

It's almost as if I'm a baby and I've been thinking to myself, "Why bother learning how to crawl? Years from now, I'll only be walking or running - I shouldn't HAVE to learn this!" What I think it's easy to lose sight of is that the crawling prepares us for the walking and running. Similarly, tracking prepares us for being able to judge, accurately, how much we're eating. When we get better at judging our intake of calories, we can get better at figuring out how much exercise we need to shed excess pounds.

My goal is not to track for the rest of my life. But I guess that I've come to terms with that it's necessary if I want to continue losing weight. I've gotten pretty good at judging how many calories (or points) I can eat each week to stay within a five pound range...heck, that's what I've done for almost the past 9 months.

To move forward in my weight loss, I must bite the bullet and realize that I need to recalibrate - through tracking - how much I am able to eat while losing weight.

Tracking is STILL not my favorite subject. It's never going to be something that I'm going to leap with happiness to do. But I do plenty of things in my life that I don't want to do. I mean, I get up each morning and go to work when I'd rather sleep an extra hour. I even get a yearly PAP smear and I think we can all agree that that appointment isn't much fun.

I guess I've figured out that I don't have to love it to appreciate it and recognize it's benefits.

And so - today - I'm choosing to track.