Is food tracking helpful or harmful?

For many people, food tracking is commonly associated with following a diet. Over the past century, various diets have emphasised the importance of keeping a record of meals, evolving over time to include tracking calories, points, and macros etc. Even diets claiming to be anti-diet, such as Noom and WW, still require users to log their food intake to stay within a designated calorie goal. Several of my clients who have used apps like MyFitnessPal in the past, report that this tracking of exercise and calories contributed to their unhealthy fixation on food and their body.

However, food monitoring in a healthy way can initially serve as a tool to help relearn your sense of fullness and hunger. It can allow you to identify foods and quantities that promote a feeling of satisfaction. None-the-less , it’s important to view this as a temporary tool whilst you gain confidence and trust in yourself.

Recognising which foods work well with your body can be insightful, but if you struggle with disordered eating patterns, it's advisable to avoid being overly focused on this initially. Some individuals can become excessively fixated on specific foods, causing stress around eating and potentially exacerbating any existing digestive issues.

A healthy focus would instead be on ensuring you eat enough food and working towards a balanced diet that leaves you feeling energised and satisfied. However, if journaling becomes a means to avoid food, obsess over your intake and even count calories, this will hinder your progress.

In my experience, food journaling in a healthy way can serve as a valuable tool for learning and moving forward. It can help you to observe the impact your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions have on your eating habits, alongside gaining appetite awareness whilst developing trust in yourself.

If you would like to try a healthy journaling approach, be sure to down load my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food, which explains how to get started.

This invaluable resource will also help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

Overcoming binge eating, low self-esteem and body loathing - Jody’s story

Jody came to me for help to rebuild her relationship with food, having particularly struggled during the lockdown with binge eating and low self-esteem. Coming out of the pandemic, she was extremely self-conscious, avoiding social events and exercise because of the shame she felt about her body. Jody was a self-confessed people pleaser never wanting to be ‘a nuisance or ‘make a fuss’. This was impacting all aspects of her life and she desperately wanted to create change but didn’t know where to start as she explained below.

“I have had periods of binge eating on and off for the last 10 years but during and following the Covid pandemic I hit my lowest point ever. I had tried regular therapy over the years and that had helped in some respects, but really needed something more. I was so pleased to find Marcelle but right after signing up and before getting started I did feel a bit hesitant as this felt like my last chance to “fix” myself.”

We worked on bringing regularity to Jody’s meals, enjoyment of food and mindful eating in addition to a great deal of work on body image and particularly building self esteem and assertion. Jody soon realised that she has the right to be heard, seen and understood which was especially impactful. Part way through the programme, she realised she was no longer binge eating and began to push herself out of her comfort zone when it came to physical activity and going out socially. This is what she had to say:

“Marcelle has been so lovely to work with -always so understanding and non-judgmental. It was such a relief to hear that I’m not the only person struggling with the things I struggle with, and to have learned so many techniques to help improve things.  I have never been a confident person and Marcelle has helped me to be more accepting of myself, and that’s been the starting point for making positive change. Marcelle is so supportive and understanding and has really made a difference to my life. I will be forever grateful for her help and guidance.”

When it comes to emotional eating and bingeing, there is always far more to it than the food you eat. Each and every client I work with is unique but share many of the same challenges. If this is something you are struggling with, please know there is hope -it is possible to overcome your difficulties and reclaim your life

AND WHERE CAN YOU START? 

If perpetual dieting has left you in a muddle about food and eating, and you feel overwhelmed anxious and confused about what, how much and when to eat then have a read of my free resource ‘What the Diet Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

Body image and dieting – why changing your mindset is more effective than changing your body

If you are unhappy with your appearance, weight or body shape the likelihood is that you’ve spent years trying to work out how to change it.

Perhaps you have been jumping from diet to diet, over exercising or have even considered surgery.

Every year millions of women diet in order to change their body. In fact at least 50% of adult women are on some kind of weight loss regime at any given time, in order to help themselves feel better about it.

For many people I work with, this has literally hijacked their life – 24 /7 thoughts about food, their weight or shape– so there’s no room for anything else.

Is this the same for you?

If this is impacting your life, I wonder if you would consider the possibility that changing the way you think about your body is the solution as opposed to the relentless focus on physically shrinking it?

Yo-yo dieting – where weight is lost and regained in a never-ending cycle, has a significant negative impact on body image. A study was conducted with 88 larger bodied women who lost an average of 23 kilos following a weight loss diet. Their body image initially improved. However, when they had regained only an average of 2 kilos a few months later, their body image deteriorated significantly. And we know that weight regain is expected in up to 95% of participants following any weight loss diet.

Yo-yo dieting of course impacts health in many ways – check out my past blog – The hidden costs of yo-yo dieting for more info on this.

If you are a compulsive dieter, it’s first important to reflect on what your motivation is for dieting. Is it for physical health and wellbeing? Or to appear more ‘attractive’ – a fat phobic fear that you will be judged for not achieving the thin body ideal. Perhaps you don’t feel like you fit in or are worthy of love and respect?

Of course, looking after your body is important for your physical and mental health but it is extremely difficult to do so consistently if you despise it.

It is a myth that losing weight is the only way to feel good about your body. By learning to respect it you will be far more likely to look after it in a sustainable way.

This is why when clients who have been dieting for years, want to improve their health, we need to move the focus away from weight loss.

Yes- this can feel scary at first.

But with the right support it is possible to move forward.

Once you begin to see and feel the true benefits – your motivation and confidence will grow. This is when I see many clients loosing excess weight as a side effect of the changes they make – it is no longer their focus but becomes possible as they begin to think differently about their body and themselves.

I’d love to guide you on that journey

If you are struggling with disordered eating and your body image, you are constantly on and off diets, or find yourself craving sugar, emotional eating or bingeing, please reach out for support.

Book in a complimentary call to see how I can help you begin your journey to food freedom and transform your life 

Trapped in the diet cycle? Why 'all or nothing' thinking keeps you stuck

I help many women who are desperate to break free from dieting, having spent years or decades trapped in the cycle – exhausted by the headspace it consumes and misery it brings. They feel overwhelmed and confused not knowing how to eat without being on a diet and worry about what will become of their weight.

Many of my clients are overly restrictive with many fears and rules around food. Some find themselves binge eating or feeling out of control around foods. Others may be compelled to exercise excessively.

'ALL OR NOTHING' THINKING LIES AT THE HEART.....

All or nothing thinking lies at the heart of all of these distressing challenges and the inner dialogue is often 24/7.

This dichotomous thinking leads to attempts at restricting foods perceived as bad for their health or their weight. For most people this is unsustainable and often results in binging or emotionally eating the very same ‘forbidden’ foods.

The cycle goes like this; Eat the perceived ‘bad’ food, and automatic thoughts that follow are I’ve eaten really badly, I’m a bad person, I’m greedy, I have no willpower, I’ve blown it again. I need to start again tomorrow/ next week/ on Monday and so on.

Anxiety is often coupled with these thoughts. This may lead to skipping meals or severely restricting caloric intake. It may lead to a bout of punishing exercise to make up for ‘falling off the wagon’.

WHERE TO START...

If this is something you recognise with the way you approach your food, try removing the moralistic value from the foods. Yes, some foods are more helpful for our health than others but it is ok to have all types of foods some of the time.

Instead, focus instead on quality, nourishing foods you can add in to your diet. These will help you to feel better, lift your mood and stop punishing yourself.

When working with my clients we often work on visualising this work as a journey. I ask my clients to picture themselves on a cycle ride. Yes, they will hit bumps in the road. They may come off the bike every now and then – and that is normal and expected but that doesn’t take them back to the beginning of their journey. They just need to dust themselves off, get back on the bike and continue on.

If this s something you struggle with don’t battle with it alone. It is possible to find food freedom and create balance in your mind and your life.
I work with people just like you, who need a new approach  so they can reclaim their life.

Book in a complimentary call HERE to find out how I can help.

Please also come and join us in FOOD FREEDOM COLLECTIVE, FREE Facebook community- a safe place where you can feel supported without judgement, comparison and shame. I do live videos in the group each week to discuss a new topic to support you on your journey and I share, food ideas, motivation and supportive practices daily – it’s free to join!

Would you love to be able to make peace with your body and build a happy relationship with food? Click the button below to join.

Lara's story; journey to food freedom + life transformation

I had the pleasure of working with Lara who had been battling with an unhealthy relationship with food and her body for many years of her life.  

Lara kindly offered to share her journey and some of the work we did together that especially helped her to overcome her challenges. Lara said that the experience was life - changing and she is now free to pursue her dreams and live life to the full. 

I'm delighted to share that having worked together over two years ago, Lara has sustained her progress and balanced approach to food and her body. She was able to overcome the stress of the pandemic by using the tools and skills she had learned , rather than falling back on her eating behaviours as a coping mechanism. Lara was keen to talk about overcoming her struggles in order to give others hope that they too can transform their life. 

If you are struggling with your eating, don’t battle with it alone. It is possible to find food freedom and create balance in your mind and your life.
I work with people just like you, who need a new approach to be free of chronic dieting and restriction, emotional eating or bingeing and live life to the fullest!

Book in a complimentary call HERE to find out how I can help.

Please also come and join us in FOOD FREEDOM COLLECTIVE, FREE Facebook community- a safe place where you can feel supported without judgement, comparison and shame. I do live videos in the group each week to discuss a new topic to support you on your journey and I share, food ideas, motivation and supportive practices daily – it’s free to join!

Would you love to be able to make peace with your body and build a happy relationship with food? Click the button below to join.