6 Hard Truths I Had to Face After I Tracked My Food for a Month

I thought my diet was healthy. So why was I gaining weight?

Photo by Marcelo Chagas from Pexels

As a health writer, I’ve interviewed dozens of people who have lost weight and kept it off. And lots of them shared the same strategy for success — they tracked what they ate.

I had never tried it myself though. My weight was mostly stable, so I never felt the need.

Then came the pandemic pounds. My shorts from last summer felt tight. My waist looked thicker. My old analog scale isn’t super accurate, but I could see the numbers moving up.

I felt like I made mostly healthy food choices, but I couldn’t deny the weight gain.

So I decided to try tracking my food. My goal was to stop the weight gain. If my weight stabilized I’d be happy. If I lost a few pounds, even better.

I discovered that paying attention to what I was eating and making a few small changes made a big impact.

I trimmed 500 calories a day from what I was eating, almost effortlessly.

Here’s what I’m changing now that tracking my food has made me more aware of what I’m eating.

I’m scaling back on these healthy foods…