Think about your past few days, and what you’ve had to eat and drink. Can you recall all that you consumed? Or further, can you recall if you had eaten sufficiently for your current fitness goals?

Quick Refresher on Body Composition Goals:
Weight/Fat Loss: Individual must be in a caloric deficit for extended period of time to see change
Weight/Muscle Gain: Individual must be in a caloric surplus for an extended period of time to see change
Maintenance: Individual must be in a caloric balance in order to maintain current composition

One way to get started on understanding what you are eating, how much of it you are eating, and if it fits within the means of your current goals, is to use a tracking tool such as MyFitnessPal!

Here are the basis you need to know about how MyFitnessPal and how it can help you.

1. MyFitnessPal has a large database of foods where you can search for staple foods, such as “Hard Boiled Egg” or scan in items such as those in your pantry. As you add foods into your daily log, you can observe the nutritional makeup of that food based on the entry.
   
2. MyFitnessPal allows you to track your total daily intake, and allows you to see your progress throughout the day as you enter in each meal. The big 3 to consider are a balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The first number identifies how many calories you have had that day, the second number indicates your “goal” and the third number indicates how many grams you have for the remainder of the day based on your goals (which can be adjusted in your Settings).
   
3. MyFitnessPal also allows you to add friends, whom you can share food diary logs with, and share recipe ideas, or even receive feedback from your nutrition coach. You can view when your friends make progress towards their goals, such as when they log pounds lost, pounds gained, or completed an exercise! You may also “Like” or “Comment” on different friends’ statuses, which can make tracking foods a lot easier if you’re doing it with friends!

If you’ve downloaded MyFitnessPal, and are going through and feeling completely overwhelmed, give it a couple days, or bring it up with your coach, and they can help you navigate through! It should be a tool that can help you, rather than make you feel more stressed. As anything else, it can be difficult at first, to pick up a new habit or skill, but in time, you will get better, and you will get the hang of it!

Want to schedule a consultation with a nutrition coach at CrossFit Des Plaines? Click here!