You Are What You Eat – Figure It Out With a
Food Journal
Everyone who reads my blog or visits
Healthy Evolution knows that I keep a food journal and track calories. It puts
me in control of my food-day which is essential for a success. If you want to get a handle
on your eating habits, and help get your diet on the right track, then I strongly
recommend you maintain a food journal. Studies have shown that one of the
secrets to success for losing weight –
and keeping it off is writing down what you eat and how you feel before and
after. Tracking dietary habits in a food journal serves several purposes: you become
aware of how much you’re actually eating; you identify eating patterns such as
stress eating or late-night snacking; and you’ll be more accountable for your
food choices if you have a visual reminder of everything you eat. Let’s be real
– you’ll probably think twice before downing an entire pint of ice cream if you
know that Ben and Jerry will be staring up at you from the pages of your food
journal every day.
The more detailed your journal
is, the better you’ll be able to recognize which eating habits are helping you,
and which may be doing harm. A good food journal can include the following
information:
- What you eat (portion size and calorie count)
- When you eat (actual times)
- Where you’re eating (i.e. home, work, the car, etc.)
- Who you’re with (alone, with a friend, a coworkers, etc.)
- How you feel – before and after you eat (this can include both emotions, like bored, as well as physical feelings, such as hungry or stuffed)
Keeping track of every detail may
seem too time-consuming – but it doesn’t have to be. Your food journal can be
as detailed (or simple) as you want it to be, and the act of writing down the
details of all your meals and snacks will get easier with time. If you want to
start slowly, begin by writing down what you eat, and the rest of the details
will soon follow. For those of you who want to simplify things by keeping an
electronic journal using your smart phone, there are several quality apps that
serve this purpose. Two to try are Super Tracker (USDA) and My Fitness Pal. Your
journal doesn’t have to be fancy – it can even consist of some bullet points on
a few sheets of loose-leaf paper. The key is to keep some sort of record of
your eating habits, no matter what form that record may take. Happy Tracking.
| STATS | |
| Journey Day: | 104 |
| Today's Calories: | 1725 |
| Daily Calorie Goal: | 1700 |
| Next Weigh In: | 5/7/14 |
| Days till Weigh-In: | 11 |
| Starting Weight: | 351 |
| Current Weight: | 336 |
| Lost So Far: | 15 |
| DAILY CALORIE TRACKER | |
| Saturday 4/26/14 Goal: 1700 calories | |
| Calories | |
| Breakfast | |
| Crunchy Raisin Bran with Skim Plus | 400 |
| Hazelnut Crème Decaf | 50 |
| Organic Mixed Greens | 0 |
| Total: | 450 |
| Hazelnut Coffee | 50 |
| Mixed Nuts | 200 |
| Total: | 250 |
| Lunch | |
| Tuna Casserole | 450 |
| Organic Mixed Greens | 0 |
| Total: | 450 |
| Snacks | |
| Fresh Sliced Pineapples | 40 |
| Total: | 40 |
| Dinner | |
| Cosi Club | 455 |
| Organic Mixed Greens | 0 |
| Total: | 455 |
| Snacks | |
| Hazelnut Crème Decaf | 50 |
| 2 Jumbo Shrimp | 30 |
| Daily Total: | 1725 |
| 25 min exercise (minimum) | Yes |
