I go through phases of tracking my food and not tracking my food.

I know that probably surprises you coming from a coach. But it's the truth and this blog is nothing if not honest.

When I'm tracking I feel in control. I know exactly where I am. When I stop tracking I go by feel, and for a while that works fine because I know my habits well enough to stay roughly on track.

But at the beginning of the year my clothes started getting tighter.

Not dramatically. Just that quiet, creeping tightness that tells you something has shifted. So I did what I always do when that happens. I reined it in, opened MyFitnessPal and started tracking again.

And that's when I found it.

The smoothie

I have the same smoothie almost every day. I've made it hundreds of times. Protein, fruit, oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, a spoonful of peanut butter, all the good “healthy” stuff. I know this smoothie. I could make it in my sleep.

When I was tracking properly it came to around 350 calories and 41 grams of protein. A really solid snack.

When I tracked it this time it came to 730 calories.

Same smoothie. Same ingredients. Except it wasn't the same at all.

What had happened, so gradually I hadn't noticed, was that my portions had crept. A little more peanut butter, free pouring chia and flax seeds. A slightly fuller scoop of oats. A bit more fruit. Week by week, handful by handful, until the smoothie I thought I knew had quietly doubled in calories without me having a clue.

I wasn't tracking it anymore so I had no idea. I was going by feel. And feel had been lying to me for months.

This is why women don't make progress

I see this constantly with clients.

They're tracking. They're genuinely trying. But they're estimating portions by eye, and they've never tracked before so they have no reference point for what a portion actually looks like.

The peanut butter goes in by the spoonful rather than the gram. The olive oil gets drizzled rather than measured. The handful of crisps while making dinner doesn't make it into the app because it didn't feel like a real thing.

And those invisible calories add up faster than you'd ever believe.

If your target is 1,600 calories but you're underestimating your portions by 600 calories you're not in a deficit at all. You're in a surplus. And you're standing in front of the mirror wondering what you're doing wrong.

You're not doing anything wrong. You just can't see the full picture.

The thing I always say

I tell every client the same thing in their first week.

Don't change anything yet. Just track everything exactly as it is. The meals, the snacks, the handful here and there, the spoonful straight from the jar. No edits, no performance, just honesty.

Because you cannot change what you cannot see.

And most women, when they actually look properly for the first time, are genuinely surprised by what's been hiding in plain sight.

My smoothie taught me that. And I'm the one who coaches this stuff.

Remember we’re not here for judgement, we’re here for change and awareness.

Simple but effective information.

Emma x