If you came over to my house right now, you would see notebooks all over. I am a pen-to-paper kind of person. I am rarely on my phone. I actually use the Screen time settings to limit my screen time on my phone. Somedays I choose to go over, but most days I rarely even get a notification for apps like Facebook or Instagram that I have even hit my daily time limit. I need to adjust my podcast and YouTube settings because I listen to those throughout the day, and listening to things is the majority of my phone usage.
I need to write things down. I use a computer for work, and using a computer is how I do most of my internet usage whether it be writing or blog posts or posting on Facebook. Did you know you can fully use the functions of Instagram on your laptop now? Yes, I am the person who posts to Twitter from my PC. And I prefer to surf Reddit with a 17-inch screen. My point is, my phone is not my go-to tech device like most people in our world. And I love it. I love that I can close my laptop or shut off my computer screen and not feel the need to have technology in front of my face. I still use my phone when I shouldn’t, like laying in bed, and I wouldn’t want to live in a world without my pocket-sized computer, but I know I would be fine without it.
So when I got a fitness and nutrition coach to hold me accountable to my goals, you know her, my friendBeckie with Relentlessly Fit, and the entire program required an app and using it to track my nutrition, activity, and water daily, you can guess how that went over.
I started off great. Super excited and ready to tackle this new habit of tracking everything one more time. I had tried again and again with other apps like MyFitnessPal and LoseIt. I love LoseIt, but I don’t think I had internet at home at the time I was using it. That’s a story for another time. And I always see success when I am tracking. But after a few weeks. Less than 8… I fell off the wagon and stopped tracking every day.
Excuses I used-
I am too busy to track
I am out of protein powder
I am not on my phone enough
It’s too difficult to put in every recipe for everything I make. I cook mostly from scratch and rarely plan my meals ahead.
BINGO!
We found the winner. The real reason I wasn’t doing the thing I committed to doing. At this moment in my life, logging everything I do in an app every day is not congruent to my lifestyle. I do not shun modern technology. I embrace it, but I do strive to live a simpler life and by doing so, sometimes I have a hard time adjusting to new tools.
When I spoke with my coach a couple of weeks ago, we talked about how I was tracking in my planner what I was eating. And I was. But I wasn’t consistent. And I am happy to admit that. No one is perfect. But then I didn’t check in this week, and I knew I needed to get back on course.
My Protein came in Saturday. Along with this delicious brownie batter nut butter. 2 tablespoons is 10 grams of protein! I also bought some delicious protein bars, and those combined helped me hit my protein goals and stay away from too many sweets.
I added my Sourdough English Muffins (recipe from Leavenly.com) to the app yesterday. They are a go-to when I have sourdough discard to use. They taste amazing with the nut butter. If I change out the flour, I can easily change it in the app or create another recipe.
When I checked in this morning, I made a commitment to write down what I am eating throughout the week and input it all into the app on the same day. I think for many of us, the action of pen to paper can be useful. If you have fitness goals like I do, it’s important to have an idea of where your nutrition is, and many may need an app to track it. My main focus is protein, and as Beckie says, if you get your protein in, your carbs and fats will happen, so I pay attention to how many grams of protein I am getting in daily, even when I am not tracking.
This is going to help me accomplish several goals at once.
- Track my nutrition - the whole point
- Create a log of go-to recipes - a goal I have been putting off
- See patterns in what we eat - create meal plans, grocery lists and pantry stocked betterI am ready to get the next phase of this journey started. And to start the Recipe Book that my kids and grandkids will be using in the future as they prepare real foods made from scratch with a focus on overall wellness.How do you track your goals? Leave a comment down below.
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