The answer is: It depends.
Whether we want to become aware of our general energy intake or measure more precisely depends on many factors, including:
Goals: What clients want to do.
Knowledge: What clients know.
Competence and skill: What clients can do.
Consistency: What clients can do, repeatedly and well.
For some people, the point of tracking is to become more aware of their energy balance, so that they might change it (for instance, eat more to gain mass).
Other people may want to monitor energy intake to discover:
the relationship between energy intake and recovery or athletic performance;
how their energy intake calibrates with physical hunger (or other factors such as stress and sleep);
how much of a certain macronutrient (e.g.,
protein) they're eating:
and many other reasons.
So, we try not to confuse the why (i.e., what the ultimate purpose is) with the how (i.e., the tool, technique, or tactic used to fulfill the purpose).
If the purpose is knowledge, observation, and change, then yes...
Some type of awareness and measurement process is important.
Data on people who successfully achieve and maintain healthy bodyweights and body compositions show:
Self-monitoring is a powerful tool that leads to clinically relevant weight loss (i.e., enough weight loss to improve health and wellbeing).
People who self-monitor can lose up to 5% bodyweight even without dietary counseling.
75% of successful weight losers still monitor their body stats and food intake in some way.
Tracking and being aware of energy intake, as well as correctly calibrating it, is an important skill for most people.
But... there are many options for doing this.
It all depends on the persons interest, skill level, and willingness.
The data suggest: It doesn't matter how detailed the self-monitoring and tracking is, as long as people do something consistently.
Let's look at a possible continuum of calorie counting (i.e., awareness of energy intake) ranging from least to most precise, detailed, and skill-testing.
Low effort / skill
Take a photo of what you eat, or
Write down general amounts, e.g., "small blue bowl of oatmeal", "2 pancakes".
Moderate effort / skill
Use a hunger and fullness journal to indicate how hungry you were at the start of the meal, and how hungry you were after.
Use hand-size portions, such as palms of protein, fists of vegetables, thumbs of fat, cupped handfuls of carbohydrates.
Use a tool such as a portion-controlling plate.
High effort / skill
Use measuring cups and spoons for some things, and/or standardized amounts (e.g., a 12-ounce can of soda).
Weigh everything using a food scale or measure with measuring cups / spoons, and track all items precisely using calorie-counting software.
