How do you really know if you are working off what you eat? I always say you can’t compete with what you eat, and while that is true for the most part, you still need to try. What do I mean? Well, let me explain.

Since it is football season, I am going to use sports as my analogy to drive the point across the scrimmage line and into the weigh loss end zone!

LADIES, don’t let me lose you with the word “football”. It’s just an analogy. This is super important info and hopefully, the sports analogy will hit home whether you are a football fan or not. 🙂

1. You Need to Know How to Play the Game

The weight loss game is calories in vs calories out. So, while it is extremely hard to compete with what you eat, you should still try – meaning, you need to learn as much as you can about the “sport” of weight loss and fitness – and practice (and practice and practice,). Once you know how to play the game, you can create the right plays that can get you touchdowns on the scale. No understanding of how the game works, no playbook. No playbook, no plan. No plan, no results.

2. You Need to Know How to Keep Score

What’s playing the game if you aren’t keeping score? If there are no points there are no purpose. No one would watch guys just pass and kick the football around without keeping score. Score is everything – and it has everything to do with fitness too.

How many calories that go in and out determine your weight, and where you get those calories determine your performance, health and body shape (muscle mass and fat mass). So YES, we need to know all the stats – for both food and exercise if we want to WIN!

The only way to know if you can win the weight loss game is to keep score by tracking calories – and not just tracking calories coming in, but tracking calories going out. Think about it. In football, you have to have good offense as well as defense. Offense is your exercise and defense is eating.

How do you know if you can erase a bagel with a 3-mile run if you don’t know how many calories the bagel has in it and you don’t know how many calories you can burn running 3 miles? I sure the heck wouldn’t have ever guessed this grab bag Chex Mix would have taken me over 4 miles to run off unless I read the label and had tracked my runs with my Polar watch!! This is why heart rate monitors are so valuable. It’s not just about tracking your heart rate or making sure you stay in your training zone (which is very important) but your heart rate is the most accurate way to track calories burned so you can keep “score”.

3. You Need a Ref

If you ask me, I will always win. I will always burn off that burger or make room for dessert. In the weight loss game, I will always have a high score. That’s why I need a referee. I need a unbiased official to determine if I’m playing by the rules, and to tell me the final score. That’s what my calorie counter app and Polar M400 does. It refs this food vs exercise game – and it calls me out, puts me on the bench and straightens me up every single day.

4. Know Your Opponent

One of the factors about keeping score is understanding your opponent. It doesn’t matter if you can bring the ball into the end zone easily if you are up against a team you can’t defend. The fact of the matter is your only opponent is you. You need to know yourself well enough to defend being sacked in the kitchen. You may be able to run a half marathon and dead lift big-boy weight but if you can’t beat a piece of chocolate, then you are going to lose.

5. Never Give Up

Losing one game doesn’t make you a loser. Most players have had their fill of losses and bad plays – but that doesn’t keep them from continuing to practice and improve. They study their weaknesses and strengthen those areas.

This is the same for people who struggle with their weight. You have to go in this knowing you can’t win them all. You have to keep getting up every time you get tackled in at the table and commit to this new life of discipline.

Start Keeping Score & Winning!

#1  DEFENSE: Get the LoseIt app.

Hopefully you already have the LoseIt app by now. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know how much I use it and reference it. This is key to tracking your defensive moves in the kitchen.

#2 OFFENSE: Get the new Polar M400

Shop Polar.com with this discount code POLARFITBLOG to get 20% OFF! (NOTE: Use all CAPS). Good for any Polar Heart Rate Monitor or activity tracker with no quantity limit. The code is only good in the US through 12/31/15.

#3 FINAL SCORE: Keep Score with the Health App

Take advantage of your iPhone’s Heath app. Sync all your diet and fitness related apps to your iphone’s Health app. Choose what information you want to see in the app so you can see how all your fitness info (food, exercise, weight, measurements and all your health measurements/information) all at one glance.

Don’t just play the game – be a WINNER!!

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Polar.