The age of technology and information has provided the ability to use our smartphones to connect to others, research any topic, and track our daily habits with a tap on the screen. How intensely you utilize your phone depends on your comfortability, want for security, and how advanced you are at manipulating all of the features. If you are looking to lose weight, track micronutrients, activity, or eating habits, there are four ways that you can utilize your smartphone to make it easier, more efficient, and have the information with you at all times.
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Using an App to Contact an Accountability Partner
If you want to keep your cell phone handy but use it minimally to track your eating habits, the simplest thing you can do is find an accountability partner you can contact regularly. This can be done by text message or phone call. Using your phone, you can track when you contact your accountability partner, showing when you are most vulnerable during the day. It can also help you keep track of your milestones. The key is to use people and their feedback for support. You can text your accountability partner what you ate during a meal or snack, and you will have a date and time log recording all of this information.
Using Notes to Create a Food Log
The next step is to use a simple app to keep a written food log of what you ate during the day. This is very useful, as you do not have to carry a notebook and pen everywhere you go. You can create a new note, record what you ate along with the time and any other information you want to include, and you will have an ongoing log that you can review once a week to see the strengths and weaknesses of your consumption routines.
Using an App to Track Calories
There are several great apps out there that will help you record your meals and track your calories. Some of them are so advanced that all you need to do is take a picture of what you are eating, and it will calculate it. Other apps will require you to input the ingredients and portion sizes. Although this can be tedious, it is an excellent way to track what you eat during the day and calculate automatically where you are calorie-wise. Apps like this will also help you to track your water intake.
Using an App to Track Macro and Micronutrients
The most complex way to use your smartphone to track your eating habits is to use an app that breaks down all of your meals into macro and micronutrients. You will need to input the information as you do with more simple apps, but technology databases will work to calculate how much of each nutrient you are consuming. This is particularly useful if you are deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. Again, you will need to input your portion sizes accurately, but this is one of the most effective ways to track your eating habits.
There are many ways you can utilize current technology to help you track your eating habits. Many mental health apps incorporate eating habits into their platforms, and most phones are equipped with health apps already designed with programming to help you track different elements of your lifestyle. If you are looking to track what, how much, and when you are eating, you can utilize your cell phone and have this information at your fingertips at all times.
