I have had a surprising number of conversations about food recently. As a senior, I am nearing that time when I—gasp!—have to cook for myself; as a fraternity man, I have had conversations regarding our house’s food selection in response to an increasing number of vegetarian brothers; and as an athlete, I have been working hard to lose weight for collegiate cycling.
Food is at the center of the human experience. I’ve also read that it is pretty important biologically, too, but you’d have to ask an expert. In recent years, America has experienced an awakening with regards to what we consume. Books like "The Omnivore’s Dilemma" and movies about the reality of fast food culture have raised questions about both the food we eat and our relationship to it. Now, food culture is heading in hundreds of directions at once: from the all-natural juicer crowd to proponents of Soylent, a mostly-tasteless meal replacement powder. Whether or not you are eating more healthily, you are most definitely more aware—a favorite term that allows one to feel good without having to inconvenience oneself.
What is the absolute best way to be aware of your diet? Calorie tracking.
The humble calorie tracker has evolved in recent years. What started out as journaling the food you ate has evolved into a number of apps and services that can give you micronutrient breakdowns of the foods you consume. Two of the most popular calorie trackers are MyPlate by LiveStrong and MyFitnessPal from Under Armour—I don’t understand why they both went with the tacky MyBlank branding; I would have chosen something like “plate” in an all-lowercase sans-serif font. These two systems are excellent for losing or maintaining your weight.
If I may briefly shill for MyFitnessPal, I’ve lost 12 pounds by just being more mindful of what I eat: the need to record everything prevents me from super-sizing, grabbing the second cookie, or deciding that Tuesday night is a great time to drink four beers.
(Note to all: every light beer is the caloric equivalent of an all-white hot dog bun. Gross!)
Exercise and an active lifestyle are of course parts of the equation for maintaining a healthy weight, but eating unhealthily and doing 20 minutes on the elliptical—who uses that machine, anyway?—will never trump a mindful diet that focuses on eating right. What do I mean by eating right? Lots of vegetables, whole grains, and minimal red meat. Don’t be fooled by hipster diets like keto and my mom’s favorite juice cleanse: eat healthy food and don’t eat too much of it.
In exchange for all of this healthy lifestyle advice, I will accept repayment in the form of a hot dog bun and/or beer at the Duck.
McMurtry is a senior computer science and English literature major from Covington, Kentucky.