And then they conclude, “It doesn’t work for me.”
But you don’t get to decide your body is different if you don’t have the real data. You aren’t allowed to say counting calories doesn’t work for you, if you haven’t given it your full and honest test.
For the next 7 days, your only job is to accurate, reliable, and specific information. Just the data. None of the drama about whether this is working or not working.
Think of this like a science experiment. You are simply gathering information.
The rules (they matter)
Please read these carefully, because the power of this challenge is in following them exactly.
- Weigh yourself the morning of the first day and the morning of day 8! If you choose to weigh daily, you have to commit to having ZERO opinions on the scale noise. No matter what you are eating or drinking, day to day fluctuations are totally normal and doesn’t give you useful information. For best results though, just weigh yourself on day 1 and day 8
- Weigh and measure everything that passes your lips for the full 7 consecutive days. No eyeballing. No guesstimating. No assuming. Our modern food environment is super tricky! We might think we’re eating one amount, when it can be wildly different. You have to use a scale and measuring cups here.
- Choose a tracking app and Log everything you eat and drink for 7 full days
Meals, snacks, bites, tastes, cooking samples, drinks, all of it. Nothing is too small to log. Don’t let anything be forgotten. Log it immediately before or after eating it. Partial data is not useful. Partial days are not useful.- Log every single lifesaver, squirt of mustard, gummy vitamins, and more.
- You also must track any binges *I know it’s tempting to not track these and ‘start over tomorrow’, but these periods of overeating are so helpful to see the data! Tell yourself you can keep eating the box of cereal, as long as you log it! It wasn’t until I tracked my binges that I actually stopped having them.
- Track the secret food you’re eating in the pantry. Even when your family doesn’t see you eat it, your body did! LOL
- Download or screenshot the entire days meals each night and save to a folder.
This step is vital to getting averages of your calories over the week, and also to be able to see patterns in your food. - If you miss a day, start over
Not because you failed, but because incomplete data leads to false conclusions. Skipping days will not give us the insights we need to move forward. The science experiment of your body requires consecutive days!
Why 7 days works
Seven days is long enough to:
- See weekday vs weekend patterns
- Notice how snacks add up
- Understand how higher calorie days actually fit into your week
- Separate scale noise from real trends
- Stop telling stories and start seeing facts
Most people discover they are much closer to their goals than they thought. Others finally see why progress has stalled.
Either way, you win.
Tips to help you finish strong
- Log in real time when possible
Waiting until the end of the day makes it easier to forget things. - Use whatever tracking app you already like
This isn’t about perfection. It’s about consistency. - Expect discomfort, then let it pass
Awareness can feel uncomfortable at first. That doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It means you’re learning. - Remind yourself: this is temporary
Seven days of honesty can save you years of frustration.
A bonus for those who complete it fully
At the end of the 7 days, if you send me your complete tracking logs, I’ll personally review them and send you free feedback and recommendations for your next steps.
This is only available if:
- All 7 days are fully tracked
- Nothing is skipped or edited
- The data is honest
Incomplete logs won’t qualify, not as a punishment, but because I can’t give meaningful guidance without complete information.
Your only goal this week
Do not aim for weight loss.
Do not aim for perfection.
Do not aim for discipline.
Aim for honesty.
RESOURCES
Things that will help you get through the week if you don’t already own these:
Sign up here and I’ll send you my favorite cheat codes for calorie tracking, even when a food seems impossible to track!
