When it comes to improving your health, physique, or relationship with food, two common approaches are tracking food intake or adopting a specific dietary style (such as vegetarian, vegan, paleo, keto, or carnivore). Each has its unique benefits and drawbacks, and what works best often depends on your goals, lifestyle, and personal preferences. Let’s dive into the pros and cons of each.
Food Tracking: Precision and Awareness
What It Is
Food tracking involves logging everything you eat, often using apps or journals, to monitor calories, macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats), and sometimes even micronutrients.
Advantages of Tracking Food
- Increased Awareness
Tracking helps you understand exactly what you’re eating. This can reveal patterns, identify nutrient deficiencies, or highlight excessive calorie intake. For example, for most people I work with they tend to overeat carbohydrates in relation to their daily intake. If they laid bricks for a living it wouldn’t be a problem but they sit at a desk all day which drastically changes the total carbohydrate they require. - Flexibility
You can eat any type of food, as long as it fits your daily targets. This makes it easier to indulge occasionally without derailing your entire progress. - Quantifiable Goals
Tracking allows for precision when pursuing specific goals like fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance. Adjusting your intake is easier when you know your baseline. - Better Long-Term Habits
Even if you don’t track forever, the process teaches portion sizes and nutritional value, which can influence better choices in the long run. This is key since you aren’t meant to track forever.
Disadvantages of Tracking Food
- Time-Consuming
Weighing, measuring, and logging food can feel tedious, especially for those with busy schedules. This is especially true when you’re hungry. It can feel like a real pain in the butt. - Risk of Obsession
For some, tracking can lead to unhealthy preoccupations with numbers, potentially fostering disordered eating habits. I find this especially true if you’re a perfectionist. - Not Always Practical
Social events, dining out, or travel can make accurate tracking difficult or stressful. I always say, if you’re going out then guess. An educated guess is better than not tracking it. Bringing a food scale with you when you go out is not necessary unless you’re a high level athlete. Once you track for a while you should be able to guess the quantity within about 30 grams. - Doesn’t Address Quality
You could hit your calorie and macro goals with nutrient-poor processed foods, which might undermine health goals.
Adopting a Style of Eating: Structure and Simplicity
What It Is
Dietary styles focus on eating certain types of food while avoiding others. Each has its own rules, such as:
- Vegetarian: No meat, often includes dairy and eggs.
- Vegan: No animal products at all.
- Paleo: Focuses on whole, minimally processed foods like meats, vegetables, and nuts.
- Keto: High-fat, low-carb, moderate-protein diet.
- Carnivore: Animal products only, often eliminating plants entirely.
Advantages of Adopting a Style of Eating
- Built-In Guidelines
Diets like keto or veganism have clear rules, reducing decision fatigue and making it easier to stick to your plan. - Focus on Food Quality
Most dietary styles emphasize whole, nutrient-dense foods, which can improve health and energy levels. - Potential Health Benefits
Many styles of eating have been linked to specific health outcomes, like reduced inflammation (paleo), improved cholesterol (vegetarian), or better blood sugar control (keto). - Sustainability for Some
When aligned with personal values (e.g., veganism for ethical reasons), it can foster long-term commitment.
Disadvantages of Adopting a Style of Eating
- Restrictive Nature
Eliminating certain food groups can feel limiting, leading to boredom or non-compliance over time. - Nutritional Gaps
Strict diets like keto or veganism require careful planning to avoid deficiencies (e.g., fiber in keto, B12 in veganism). - Social and Practical Challenges
Dining out or attending social events can be tricky when your food options are limited. If you’re doing Paleo, Keto or Carnivore then you’re saying “No” to cake at a birthday which is a terrible feeling. - Weight Loss Isn’t Guaranteed
Eating “allowed” foods in excessive quantities can still lead to weight gain.
Which Approach Is Best for You?
Choose Food Tracking If:
- You have specific body composition goals (e.g., fat loss or muscle gain).
- You value flexibility in your food choices.
- You enjoy precision and don’t mind a bit of daily effort.
Choose a Dietary Style If:
- You prefer structured rules that simplify decision-making.
- You have ethical, environmental, or medical reasons for your choice.
- You’re more concerned with overall health than hitting exact calorie targets.
Can You Combine the Two?
Absolutely! You could adopt a dietary style (e.g., vegan or paleo) and track your intake to ensure you’re meeting your nutrient needs and goals. Most people tend to repeat a lot of the same foods. The most challenging part of starting a new nutrition habit is the first two weeks. Once you get the hang of making those choices in the first couple of weeks it becomes easier to continue the habit.
Final Thoughts
Both approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, and the best one depends on your lifestyle and objectives. Food tracking offers precision, while dietary styles provide structure. Ultimately, the most effective plan is one that you can sustain in the long term while meeting your health and wellness goals.