Is It Ever a Good Idea to Track Your Food?
On last week’s episode of The Midlife Feast, I answered a listener’s question (and asked for your questions ) about hunger and food noise. Seeing as International No Diet Day was on May 6th, I thought I’d share my thoughts on this. Thanks to Jodi for sending in this question:
“Hi Jenn, I’ve never really dieted, although I’ve always tried to eat healthy. But now that I’ve gained weight in menopause I’ve been tempted to try tracking my food with an app. I feel like it might help, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.”
In an era where health and wellness apps are everywhere (and connected to everything), tracking food intake has become the norm for many people. But I would argue that it falls far outside the umbrella of “normal eating”, which is loosely defined as a pattern of eating that is enjoyable and intuitive, meets our wants and needs, without restrictions, preoccupations, or obsessions with food. From calories to macros, food trackers promise control and insight into our dietary habits. But, are they actually helpful tools in reaching our goals, or do they act more as a trap?
The Appeal of Food Tracking
As a dietitian with twenty-five years of experience, I’ve seen my fair share of food diaries. In the short term, tracking one’s food can help identify gaps in nutrient intake or patterns of eating that may (or may not) need support.
For example, I sometimes ask people to track their eating for a few days when:
I’m assessing if someone is getting enough iron, or calcium in their diet.
We’re looking for possible connections between specific foods and symptoms such as bloating or headaches.
Someone is learning how to eat more intuitively, and we’re connecting the dots between hunger, fullness and satisfaction
In these instances, food tracking is a short-term tool that gives us data to work with. And, we’re not using the information to be a judge and jury about what’s “good” or “bad” or whether the person is being “good” or “bad”.
The Trap of Food Tracking Keeps Us In The Diet Cycle
The diet cycle is the “lather-rinse-repeat” series of steps that anyone who has tried to lose weight (for whatever reason) is very familiar with. Tracking your food to try to lose weight may work in the short term (and even feel fun and easy!), but it will inevitably stop working because tracking your food only “works” as long as you keep tracking your food. After a few days or weeks, not tracking will start to feel like a welcome break, which will make starting again harder and harder. Inevitably, anyone caught in this cycle will ask themselves:
“What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I do this seemingly simple thing?”
In other words, the odds of it working in the long-term aren’t very good, because the longer you track, the harder it is to maintain.
But, Does It Work?
Yes, and no. When people are new to food tracking, it can lead them to make different food choices, which may result in some movement on the scale. But this initial "success" often comes at a cost. While tracking can increase awareness, it can also shift attention away from internal cues like hunger, fullness, and satisfaction, instead fostering an externalized, rule-based relationship with food. Over time, the pressure to “stay on track” can lead to stress, guilt, and even obsession, especially if progress stalls or slips. What starts as a helpful tool can quickly become a rigid system that erodes trust in your body.
So yes, it can “work” in the short term. But, if long-term health and well-being, freedom around food, and body respect are the goals, the answer becomes more complicated because simply knowing that your favorite snack has a lot of calories doesn’t make you want or enjoy it any less; it just makes you feel guilty for eating it.
And we know that guilt and shame are terrible motivators for long-term behaviour change.
The Blind Spot Many People Miss: Tracking Food is Bad For Your Body Image
Most people who track food for weight loss believe that losing weight will improve their body image. But, here’s the thing, weight loss alone doesn’t protect us from feeling dissatisfied with our bodies. That’s why even people who achieve weight loss often never feel satisfied with what they look like (does chasing those last 10 pounds sound familiar?), or start to notice body dissatisfaction in other parts of their bodies.
A recent study found that frequent use of diet and fitness apps is linked to body dissatisfaction, heightened body image concerns and compulsive behaviors. And other studies have found that users of calorie-tracking apps report higher levels of disordered eating behaviors when compared to don’t use them.
Your body isn’t the problem, but dissatisfaction with your body might be. And tracking all your food won’t fix that.
Why Embracing Intuitive Eating Is A Better Alternative to Food Tracking
The desire for weight loss (the first step in the diet cycle) is understandable and relatable. Whether it’s to fit into a pair of jeans or improve your health, “lose weight” is the advice we’re often given and seems reasonable, right?
But as we’ve learned from decades of research and countless lived experiences, the pursuit of weight loss, especially through restrictive or externally guided tools like tracking apps, is a classic overpromise and underdeliver situation.
Intuitive eating offers a radically different approach. Rather than controlling or monitoring every bite, intuitive eating invites you to turn inward. It helps you reconnect with your body’s internal cues: hunger, fullness, satisfaction, and yes, even pleasure. It’s not a free-for-all; it’s a process of rebuilding trust that’s been eroded by years of diet culture messaging.
When we stop tracking and start listening, something powerful happens. We stop seeing food as a math problem to solve and start seeing it as a source of nourishment, connection, and joy. We make choices based on what feels good, not just what we think we should eat. We begin to heal our relationship with food, and by extension, our bodies.
That doesn’t mean intuitive eating is always easy, especially in midlife when our bodies are changing in ways we didn’t expect. But that’s exactly why it’s so important. Midlife is a season of transition, and your nutrition habits should evolve with you, not punish you for those changes.
So, if you’re feeling tempted to start tracking your food, it’s worth asking:
What do I hope this will give me?
Have I tried this before, and what was the result?
Am I looking for control or connection?
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel better in your body. But there are more sustainable, compassionate, and empowering ways to get there than counting calories or macros. Listen to the most recent episode of the podcast where I talk to Evelyn Tribole, one of the co-founders of Intuitive Eating, if you’d like to learn more.
Thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far. Body changes in midlife are one of the most uncomfortable symptoms of the transition to menopause, and the desire to try something new (or again) is understandable.
But before you download an app and start playing food Tetris, ask yourself what the end goal is, and whether tracking your food is the best way to get there.
If you feel stuck in the “I’ll be good today loop” that often comes with food tracking, I’ve got a new free email series to help you break the cycle that you might enjoy.