How tracking can be your best weapon when trying to build muscle or accelerate fat loss

​I was having a conversation with a client recently and we were talking about tracking and how he found it really useful to see the data that was produced by recording his sets and reps during his workouts.  
 
After we concluded our conversation it struck me how that's not the only value that tracking provides. There is massive inherent value in the act of tracking itself. 
 
What do I mean by that?
 
He told me how, when choosing his weights, he was much more likely to go up a weight or attempt more reps at the same weight when he was able to see what he did in his last workout. He was much less likely to do the same weight for the same number of reps. Doing the same thing over and over again is a recipe for stagnation and lack of progress. 
 
I reflected on this with my own health too. If you weren’t aware, it recently snowed around 5 inches in Texas and it shut the state down completely. During that week I didn’t exactly do a whole lot since nothing was open and it got down to Sub-Zero temperatures. 
 
It's fair to say I gained a couple pounds.
 
This happens from time to time and I don't get mad about it. I just know that I have to do a couple weeks of tracking my calories, being very consistent with my workouts, and avoid the late night snacking. 
 
Something really interesting happens to your eating habits when you start tracking your calories. When you go to the pantry and you’re standing at the open door, ready to grab something, thoughts like these pop into your head:

1. If I grab that [insert high Calorie, not very filling snack here] then it's going to throw off my numbers for the day and I'll probably be hungry later.  it's just not worth it. 
2. I could go for a bowl of cereal right now if I should probably use the small bowl because the big bowl is like 500 calories plus the milk on top of that. 

 
Tracking your Calories, even for a few days or a couple weeks re-wires your brain and how you think about what you eat. It provides a whole new perspective on how and what we eat. 
 
When I track Calories (even for a couple weeks) I end up doing the following: 

• Less snacking at night 
• Eating simple and convenient foods
• Planning what I’m going to eat better
• Less impulse eating while out and about (and saving $$ in the process)

 
This is all stuff I know I should do all the time but most people don’t change their eating habits based on what they should  or shouldn’t do. They change because they have a goal in mind and the discipline to do what it takes to get there. 
 
What questions do you have about tracking and/or Calorie counting?