Diet Tracking and Mindful Eating
The Stronger By Science Podcast
Do Diet Tracking Cause Eating Disorders?
The act of diet tracking does not seem to spontaneously cause disordered eating or clinically relevant eating disorders. You need to make sure that you're tracking for a reason, you're tracking with purpose and you're actually doing something with the numbers that you receive from the practice of dietary tracking. If you want to further minimize the risk of negative psychological experience, there are some best practices that you can lean on.
In today’s episode, Eric responds to a few pieces of listener feedback, then covers two popular nutrition topics. In the first, he discusses the utility of calorie counting or diet tracking, and how to make the process as feasible and effective as possible. After that, he provides a thorough overview of mindful eating, while addressing some common misconceptions along the way. While many people think that mindful eating is the same thing as intuitive eating, or that mindful eating is incompatible with weight loss goals or diet tracking, neither of these popular perspectives are true. In reality, mindful eating and diet tracking can be used synergistically when pursuing a variety of goals, including weight loss. Today’s episode discusses how to use both of these evidence-based strategies in a complementary fashion.
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TIME STAMPS
Intro/Announcements (0:00)
A clarification about intrinsic motivation (9:42)
Does diet tracking “work?” (24:06)
What are the major challenges that threaten the effectiveness of diet tracking or calorie counting? (31:33)
How to make diet tracking as effective and enjoyable as possible (41:27)
- https://www.strongerbyscience.com/goal-setting/
- https://macrofactorapp.com/behavior-change/
- https://macrofactorapp.com/cheat-meals/
The relationship between diet tracking or calorie counting and eating disorders (53:34)
Mindful eating (1:05:47)
Mindful eating versus intuitive eating (1:06:51)
How is mindful eating actually implemented? (1:10:23)
Is mindful eating a weight loss strategy? (1:16:36)
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31368631/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24854804/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950329318300582
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30591684/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20351697/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4238039/
Psychology-related applications of mindful eating (1:38:08)
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24854804/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32551798/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27862826/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32549835/
Can mindful eating and macro tracking co-exist? (1:43:28)
Episode summary and conclusions (1:49:21)
MORE FROM THE SBS TEAM
- Work with a Stronger By Science coach: Get personalized training and nutrition plans and ongoing support from one of our expert coaches.
- Join the Research Spotlight newsletter: Our newsletter is the easiest way to stay up to date with the latest exercise and nutrition science.
- Join the SBS Facebook group and Subreddit.
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- BulkSupplements: Next time you stock up on supplements, be sure to use the promo code “SBSPOD” (all caps) to get 5% off your entire order.
- MASS Research Review: Subscribe to the MASS Research Review to get concise and applicable breakdowns of the latest strength, physique, and nutrition research – delivered monthly.
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