Heart & Soul

We all think what we eat is pretty healthy. Bless our hearts. Some of us are truly clean eaters, but so many of us are dining dirty and trying to fool ourselves about it.

But the body doesn’t lie.

If you’re not paying attention, it’s very easy to go several days without consuming fresh vegetables and fruit, especially if you eat out and drive through a lot.

Why does it matter? As we head into home stretch into L.A., we’ll have to sharpen our game. Upgrading your fuel can boost your performance.

Only one thing to do. Track your food. Write it down. Stare it in the face. Oh, it probably won’t be pretty, but it will without a doubt answer questions like, “I work out like I should and eat right. How come I can’t lose weight?”

Research shows that trackers lose twice the weight as non trackers. So say it with me: There can be no significant weight loss without changing what and how much you eat. Period. Ask a friend who has had gastric-bypass surgery. You can’t know what to change if you don’t know what you’re eating now.

So woman up and write it down. Write down the oatmeal with blueberries you had for breakfast, candy bar from the office snack machine, the half hotdog leftover from your kid’s lunch, the little side salad you thought would cancel out the candy, and the supersized combo you got on the way home. Yes, calories consumed in the car count. Write down the healthy stuff and the stuff you should be eating less of.

Do it on the cheap with a notebook or pretty journal. Jot it down on a big desktop calendar. But if you think pen and paper are tedious, Mypyramid.gov is a way to track and analyze your food and your physical activity. It will take a minute to enter info and set up your account, but the result will be totally personalized.

We love the emoticons that give you a smiley if you reach your recommended daily amount of veggies and a frowny when you load up on too much sodium.

It’s free! It’s kid and parent friendly; check out the links to first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity. It also makes quick work of tracking trends, looking up nutrition info of your favorite foods and planning menus.