[tbrake]

I think there's a positive knock-on effect in a lot of "I stopped eating X and everything got better" stories that usually go unsaid - once you decide to cut something out, it forces you to actually start _paying attention_ to what goes in.

For a lot of us - myself and friends anecdotally included - that's possibly for the first time in a long time, or ever.

And once you start paying attention, opportunities for other positive adjustments open up. Maybe you only intended to cut sugar, but now you realize through your tracking app you've been ridiculously deficient in potassium or way over target on saturated fats.

[Terr_]

> it forces you to actually start _paying attention_ to what goes in.

Anecdotally, merely recording calories had a big impact. I found myself treating calories as if I were frugally spending money: "Wait, X has a a terrible pleasure/satiety per calorie compared to Y, that's a bad deal, I'd be wasting calories."

[el_memorioso]

Actual research [1] says that just taking a photo of everything you eat helps awareness of food choices and portion sizes, which should contribute to healthier diets. Anecdotally, for me, just writing down everything I eat (without even counting calories) helps me avoid unnecessary eating.