It’s one thing for a coach to evaluate your nutrition for you, but what if I taught you how to evaluate your own nutrition? The goal is to empower you in your health journey, giving you the tools to assess your nutrition and make necessary adjustments. I know it can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start, but in this post, I’ll walk you through the top three things to observe when evaluating your own nutrition.
Why Should You Evaluate Your Own Nutrition?
Before making any changes, you need to know what’s currently working for you—and what isn’t. It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of consuming random nutritional advice from social media or Google, often implementing tips without knowing if they’re right for you. A personal nutrition audit will help you create awareness around your strengths and weaknesses so you can apply strategies that actually work.
And because I’m the Anti-Macro Coach, we’re not going to track calories or macros for this audit. Instead, I recommend using a written nutrition journal. You can go old school with pen and paper or use this Google Sheets template I use with my clients. Writing things down makes the process more personal and helps you reflect on your habits in ways that calorie counting apps can’t.
How to Keep a Nutrition Journal
The first step in a nutrition audit is keeping a food journal for at least three days, but ideally for a full week. This will give you a clearer picture of your eating habits across different days. Be diligent and objective—write down everything, from meals to snacks and even the little bites you take while cooking. Don’t change your eating habits during this time; the goal is to record your typical, everyday choices without judgment.
Now, let’s dive into the three main areas to observe in your nutrition audit.
1. Mindset and Behaviors Around Food
The first thing to evaluate is not just what you’re eating but how and why you’re eating. Here are key behaviors to observe:
Hunger and Fullness: Before each meal, rate your hunger on a scale of 1-3. Are you eating because you’re truly hungry or because you’re stressed, anxious, or bored? After eating, rate your fullness using a similar scale. Pay attention to whether you feel overly full or bloated and why that might be—was it the portion size, the type of food, or your mindset around finishing the meal?
Eating Speed and Distractions: Notice if you tend to eat quickly or slowly, and whether you’re distracted (scrolling your phone, watching TV). Fast or distracted eating can prevent you from recognizing fullness and can negatively impact digestion. If you notice this habit, consider working on mindful eating in the future.
Time Between Meals: Track how long you go between meals before you feel hungry or reach for snacks. If you find yourself eating every 1-2 hours, your meals may not be filling enough. On the other hand, snacking could be a habit born out of boredom rather than hunger.
By documenting these behaviors, you can identify areas for improvement. For example, you might realize that emotional eating is contributing to overeating or that your meals aren’t satisfying enough, causing frequent snacking.
2. Macronutrient Balance
Your macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates, and fats—play a significant role in optimizing your health and helping you reach specific goals. You don’t need to track macros to the gram, but it’s important to observe how balanced your meals are. Here’s what to look for:
Protein: Many people don’t eat enough protein, especially if their meals rely on processed foods. Focus on including whole food proteins like meats, fish, eggs, or plant-based sources (tempeh, tofu). If you’re strength training or looking to build muscle, you’ll need to be more intentional about your protein intake.
Carbs and Fats: Active individuals sometimes under-eat carbs and fats due to chronic dieting. Remember, carbs are essential for energy, and fats are crucial for hormone health. On the flip side, diets high in processed foods can lead to overeating both carbs and fats.
Processed Protein Products: Be cautious with processed protein products like bars or shakes. They may contain more carbs or fats than you realize. A good rule of thumb is to aim for 20-30 grams of protein per serving from these products.
By observing these patterns, you can identify imbalances. If you notice frequent cravings, energy dips, or difficulty staying full between meals, it could signal that your macronutrient balance needs tweaking.
Bonus Tip: Track how many servings of fruits and vegetables you’re getting daily. Aim for 2-3 servings of fruit and 3-4 servings of vegetables to boost your intake of essential vitamins and minerals.
3. Balance of Unprocessed vs. Processed Foods
Finally, evaluate how much of your diet consists of unprocessed, minimally processed, and highly processed foods. While I don’t categorize foods as “good” or “bad,” there is a spectrum, and it’s important to be mindful of what you’re eating:
Unprocessed Foods: These are whole, single-ingredient foods like apples, chicken breasts, and broccoli.
Minimally Processed Foods: These foods may have gone through some processing but have few ingredients, such as yogurt, whole grain bread, or canned beans.
Highly Processed Foods: These often contain long lists of ingredients and are high in sugar, fat, and sodium. Think chips, cookies, and ready-made frozen meals with lengthy ingredient lists.
Take note of when you tend to reach for highly processed foods and the mindset behind those choices. Are you using processed foods to cope with stress, or is it simply out of convenience? Consider where you can swap for unprocessed or minimally processed alternatives. That said, balance is key. Sometimes when you want a cookie, it’s okay to have the cookie instead of trying to find a “healthy” alternative.
For some people, a 90/10 or 80/20 approach to whole foods vs. processed foods works well. Others may need a stricter balance if they’re dealing with gut issues, autoimmune conditions, or other health concerns. Pay attention to what makes you feel your best, and adjust accordingly.
Conclusion: Your Personalized Nutrition Audit
To recap, your personal nutrition audit involves keeping a detailed food journal for 3-7 days, where you observe your mindset and behaviors, your macronutrient balance, and your intake of processed vs. unprocessed foods. From this information, you can identify key areas for improvement and start making small, impactful changes to reach your goals.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to start, I offer a free nutrition audit. I’ll review a one-day food journal and provide a 30-minute coaching call to give you actionable steps based on your goals.
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