I gained 2.5 pounds this week – the 2nd week of weight gain. My packing on the pounds coincides with my lack of tracking.

The scale’s been cruel to me the last couple of weeks. I’ve put on 5 pounds since April 12. I’ve gone from 212 to 217. It isn’t all water weight as I previously thought. The big common denominator for the last 2 weeks is the lack of tracking.

For some reason I’m not consistently using My Fitness Pal’s food tracker. Looking back over the last 2 weeks, some days are partly tracked – a breakfast here, a lunch there. But most days are blank. Grrrrr!

It’s amazing how quickly a good habit can fall by the wayside. When I track, I lose weight. Period. If I don’t track, I can gain 5 pounds in two weeks. Like exercise, tracking keeps me focused on making better food choices.

OK, I pinpointed the problem and it’s time to fix it. I logged my breakfast, morning snack and lunch today. And I didn’t wait an hour after I ate. I recorded it immediately after. That’s more like it.

My mini goal is to track for a full day, so only two more meals (afternoon snack, dinner) to go today. It’s all about baby steps. I know if I focus on trying to track a full week, I’ll rebel and fail.

Nope…it’s meal-by-meal and day-by-day for me. That’s the best way for me to relearn this good food habit.