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Introduction
What You'll Learn
In this lesson we're going to be talking about tracking, and specifically we're going to be talking about nutrition tracking or the way that you can get your clients to report their food intake to you. And instead of "way" I should probably say "ways," because one of the most important things that I would like you guys to take away from this video is that there's a lot of different ways that a client can track their food, and the method that the client use really does depend on the client themselves.
Why is This Important?
If you're recommending the same method of tracking to every client, then it's likely that it's going to be a problem for them and it's likely that you're going to be getting misleading data. Then looking at alternative methods and when you'd use them, and some mention of misreporting and accuracy in tracking, because that is probably the thing that will make or break your coaching success with each given client.
In this lesson we're going to be talking about tracking, and specifically we're going to be talking about nutrition tracking or the way that you can get your clients to report their food intake to you. And instead of "way" I should probably say "ways," because one of the most important things that I would like you guys to take away from this video is that there's a lot of different ways that a client can track their food, and the method that the client use really does depend on the client themselves.
Why is This Important?
If you're recommending the same method of tracking to every client, then it's likely that it's going to be a problem for them and it's likely that you're going to be getting misleading data. Then looking at alternative methods and when you'd use them, and some mention of misreporting and accuracy in tracking, because that is probably the thing that will make or break your coaching success with each given client.
Why Are We Tracking?
Tracking is part of the feedback loop. So when you're looking at improving your body composition, or your client is looking at improving their body composition or their health or their fitness, the end goal that it is that they're aiming for is the output. That is the output from this process that is highlighted on your screen. The input is their food consumption and the rest of their lifestyle, which will include things like exercise and sleep. But food plays a massive part in that input, and therefore it's useful to be able to track the input. You need to know exactly what the input is, because it's the input that results in the output. And so if the output is something that your client doesn't like or that your client is disappointed with or that your client would like to change, then the only way that you're going to change that is by changing the input.
The problem is that you really can't change something that you don't understand. You can't change something that you haven't highlighted. We can all say, "Well, I'm going to eat better," but you're going to eat better than what? And how are you going to measure that? Because if you're saying, "Well, I'm just going to make better food choices," and you change something that you're eating and your body composition changes, it's difficult to know really what change it is that made the difference. Is it the increase in protein? Is it the decrease in calories? Is it both? Is it the magical foods that you're eating because you're now eating a lot of super foods? Is it that you're now eating organic? All of these things can play into the confusion that a client will experience if their body composition does improve.
But what tends to actually happen is that the client will change something in their diet and nothing will happen. The usual one is, "Well, I'm trying to lose weight so I've cut out pasta and bread," and if that doesn't work, then the client's no further forward. What would have been more useful is for them to have tracked their food, and they can understand that, "Actually, I'm eating too many calories and so I need to reduce my calorie intake." You can't know what your calorie intake is unless you track your food. Because even if you roughly know what's in your foods, even if you are sat there watching this and you're thinking, "Well, I can look at a meal and I can kind of estimate how many calories are in it," if I asked you how many calories you ate last Thursday and you hadn't got MyFitnessPal out to have a look, you'd have no clue.
And so you need to have that record. So that is why we need to track food. That is why our clients need to track food. You, as the coach, your job is to influence the client's inputs as much as possible in order to influence their outputs. And because you can't watch a client 24/7, it's even more important for you that your client is tracking. Because without that, you have no idea what that input is. And so if the client comes to you at the end of the month and says, "Why haven't I lost weight?" and they haven't been tracking their food, how are you going to advise them around that? What changes are you going to ask them to make? Because you'll ask them what they've been eating and they won't know. So we need to make sure the tracking is in place. You get out what you put in.
The problem is that you really can't change something that you don't understand. You can't change something that you haven't highlighted. We can all say, "Well, I'm going to eat better," but you're going to eat better than what? And how are you going to measure that? Because if you're saying, "Well, I'm just going to make better food choices," and you change something that you're eating and your body composition changes, it's difficult to know really what change it is that made the difference. Is it the increase in protein? Is it the decrease in calories? Is it both? Is it the magical foods that you're eating because you're now eating a lot of super foods? Is it that you're now eating organic? All of these things can play into the confusion that a client will experience if their body composition does improve.
But what tends to actually happen is that the client will change something in their diet and nothing will happen. The usual one is, "Well, I'm trying to lose weight so I've cut out pasta and bread," and if that doesn't work, then the client's no further forward. What would have been more useful is for them to have tracked their food, and they can understand that, "Actually, I'm eating too many calories and so I need to reduce my calorie intake." You can't know what your calorie intake is unless you track your food. Because even if you roughly know what's in your foods, even if you are sat there watching this and you're thinking, "Well, I can look at a meal and I can kind of estimate how many calories are in it," if I asked you how many calories you ate last Thursday and you hadn't got MyFitnessPal out to have a look, you'd have no clue.
And so you need to have that record. So that is why we need to track food. That is why our clients need to track food. You, as the coach, your job is to influence the client's inputs as much as possible in order to influence their outputs. And because you can't watch a client 24/7, it's even more important for you that your client is tracking. Because without that, you have no idea what that input is. And so if the client comes to you at the end of the month and says, "Why haven't I lost weight?" and they haven't been tracking their food, how are you going to advise them around that? What changes are you going to ask them to make? Because you'll ask them what they've been eating and they won't know. So we need to make sure the tracking is in place. You get out what you put in.
Prospective Vs. Retrospective Tracking
Now quickly, before I dive into different tracking methods, I do want to highlight one big difference between prospective and retrospective tracking. Prospective being tracking before you eat, retrospective being tracking after you eat. Retrospective tracking is the kind of tracking that most people will do. They will go through their day and then they will sit in the evening and then they will track what they've eaten that day, as far as they remember. The problem is, your memory is not very good as far as food consumption goes. This is a massive topic we talk about on the practical Academy because it has repercussions for a lot of things, including the validity of nutrition research.
But for now, all you need to know is that if your client eats a little piece of cheese out of the fridge while they're making their lunch that morning, they probably won't put that in their MyFitnessPal that evening, because they forgot they ate it. Similarly, if their friend offers them a sweet while they're at work and they take three, they'll forget to track them, and if they're chocolaty sweets, that could be a lot of calories. So prospective tracking tends to be the method that I would recommend for just about everybody. You can do it in one of two ways. The most effective way, and probably the way that is going to help most with a lifestyle change for someone who's new to it, is to track your food for tomorrow in the evening.
So sit there on the couch or in front of the TV or whatever it is that the client does, and they will be asked to track what it is they're going to eat tomorrow, because then they can adjust their meals as they're going to make sure that that lines up with whatever calorie and protein goal that you've asked them to stick to. If they've got 2,000 calories and 100 grams of protein and they put in what they're planning to eat and then there's 2,600 calories and 80 grams of protein, if they had just eaten that tomorrow, they would realize in the evening that they haven't managed to adhere their numbers and they'll be no further forward. As they've done it beforehand, what they can do is they can adjust what they're planning to eat accordingly, and that can be really powerful.
It's also useful for people who budget, because you can do that even a week in advance. You can plan your evening meals or whatever a week in advance, write it on a board somewhere, then when you go shopping, they're the things you need to buy. That reduces your food waste. That's also helpful with a lot of different aspects of people's lives, including budget, and so prospective tracking is very useful. If a client doesn't want to do that or isn't able to, because, for example, they travel with work, then you can still do prospective tracking. When they're standing deciding what they're going to eat for lunch, they can track things then and plan and see if the numbers fit.
Or at the very least, even if the client is completely out of control of what they're eating because they're getting fed from a friend or whatever, they can still track it on their plate before they start eating, or at least immediately afterwards, which is kind of retrospective and not really... Just because that gets rid of the memory issue. It's hard to remember what you've eaten. Most people watching this probably won't remember what they had for lunch two days ago unless they have the same lunch every day. It can become very, very problematic if a client doesn't remember what they've eaten and just has a guess, as you will soon see. So I would recommend prospective tracking to just about everybody, and that's regardless of method.
But for now, all you need to know is that if your client eats a little piece of cheese out of the fridge while they're making their lunch that morning, they probably won't put that in their MyFitnessPal that evening, because they forgot they ate it. Similarly, if their friend offers them a sweet while they're at work and they take three, they'll forget to track them, and if they're chocolaty sweets, that could be a lot of calories. So prospective tracking tends to be the method that I would recommend for just about everybody. You can do it in one of two ways. The most effective way, and probably the way that is going to help most with a lifestyle change for someone who's new to it, is to track your food for tomorrow in the evening.
So sit there on the couch or in front of the TV or whatever it is that the client does, and they will be asked to track what it is they're going to eat tomorrow, because then they can adjust their meals as they're going to make sure that that lines up with whatever calorie and protein goal that you've asked them to stick to. If they've got 2,000 calories and 100 grams of protein and they put in what they're planning to eat and then there's 2,600 calories and 80 grams of protein, if they had just eaten that tomorrow, they would realize in the evening that they haven't managed to adhere their numbers and they'll be no further forward. As they've done it beforehand, what they can do is they can adjust what they're planning to eat accordingly, and that can be really powerful.
It's also useful for people who budget, because you can do that even a week in advance. You can plan your evening meals or whatever a week in advance, write it on a board somewhere, then when you go shopping, they're the things you need to buy. That reduces your food waste. That's also helpful with a lot of different aspects of people's lives, including budget, and so prospective tracking is very useful. If a client doesn't want to do that or isn't able to, because, for example, they travel with work, then you can still do prospective tracking. When they're standing deciding what they're going to eat for lunch, they can track things then and plan and see if the numbers fit.
Or at the very least, even if the client is completely out of control of what they're eating because they're getting fed from a friend or whatever, they can still track it on their plate before they start eating, or at least immediately afterwards, which is kind of retrospective and not really... Just because that gets rid of the memory issue. It's hard to remember what you've eaten. Most people watching this probably won't remember what they had for lunch two days ago unless they have the same lunch every day. It can become very, very problematic if a client doesn't remember what they've eaten and just has a guess, as you will soon see. So I would recommend prospective tracking to just about everybody, and that's regardless of method.
My Fitness Pal
Let's look at MyFitnessPal, which is the most common method. MyFitnessPal is a phone app, for those of you who don't know. It's a completely free app, though there is a premium option, and it's owned by, I believe, Under Armour now. MyFitnessPal is very useful for this, for a few different reasons. First of all, you can set your own goals. So you as a coach can set your client's calorie and protein requirement, their goal, and then they can plug those numbers into MyFitnessPal and then MyFitnessPal will measure their food consumption against those goals. That allows you to be a little bit more personalized with it.
Pen & Paper
So, let's look at MyFitnessPal, which is the most common method. MyFitnessPal is a phone app, for those of you who don't know. It's a completely free app, though there is a premium option, and it's owned by, I believe, Under Armour now.
MyFitnessPal is very useful for this, for a few different reasons. First of all, you can set your own goals. So you as a coach can set your client's calorie and protein requirement, their goal, and then they can plug those numbers into MyFitnessPal and then MyFitnessPal will measure their food consumption against those goals. That allows you to be a little bit more personalized with it.
MyFitnessPal is very useful for this, for a few different reasons. First of all, you can set your own goals. So you as a coach can set your client's calorie and protein requirement, their goal, and then they can plug those numbers into MyFitnessPal and then MyFitnessPal will measure their food consumption against those goals. That allows you to be a little bit more personalized with it.
Tracking Problems
As Dr. House MD says, "Everybody lies." And when I say everybody, I mean everybody. There was a famous study where some researchers took dietitians and members of the regular public, asked them to track their food, and then objectively measured using AA level water, which is a measurement technique that we talk about on the Academy, their food intake. And what did they find? They found that members of the general public misreported their food intake by about 400 to 450 calories. So that's a fairly significant number of calories that you as the coach wouldn't have been aware of.
The dietitians, they misreported by 200 to 250 calories, indicating that even people whose professional integrity, professional reputation, is on the line, and who know more about food in theory than anybody else, still made mistakes. They still misreported. And so we can't assume that our clients are reporting accurately just because they say they are. Because the problem is, if they say they're tracking accurately, that just means that they're not lying on purpose. If they say they're tracking accurately, that means they're tracking as accurately as they can. If they can't track very accurately, then that's a problem. And so misreporting is a massive issue.
The dietitians, they misreported by 200 to 250 calories, indicating that even people whose professional integrity, professional reputation, is on the line, and who know more about food in theory than anybody else, still made mistakes. They still misreported. And so we can't assume that our clients are reporting accurately just because they say they are. Because the problem is, if they say they're tracking accurately, that just means that they're not lying on purpose. If they say they're tracking accurately, that means they're tracking as accurately as they can. If they can't track very accurately, then that's a problem. And so misreporting is a massive issue.
Bringing it all Together
If a client is on low calories and they're not making progress, it's because they're misreporting. It's not because of anything else. We can always say that people can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, so maybe the scales aren't the most accurate and appropriate method of tracking body composition. And to an extent, that's true, but if an overweight person is losing fat, they will get lighter while they're gaining muscle. And so if your client isn't getting lighter, they're probably not losing fat. As I mentioned, always check in and make sure the method is appropriate, and use the data to keep the progress going. That's all you really need to do.