Are You Keeping A Food Diary For A More Healthy Eating?
Many people who want to lose weight will embark on a food diary or journal. A food record is a reliable way to discover exactly what you are eating regularly. Once you get the hang of it, you may be surprised by what you learn. You will quite easily see where you need to concentrate your efforts. Read on to learn the benefits of keeping a food diary.
A food diary has several applications. Don't think of it just for weight loss. For any condition that could be triggered by food (such as migraine, IBS) it will be invaluable.
First of all, it will help you see exactly everything that you eat each day. If you are systematic about logging what you eat, you will see how many cookies or how many rolls you ate. Analyzing what you eat will give you a good idea about what you need to be more careful with your diet.
A big benefit of using a food diary is that it may help you watch your portions. If you notice that you had three slices of cake, you will soon realize that you are ingesting way more than your body needs, or inappropriate foods.
Another advantage of maintaining a food diary is that you will be able to tell why you eat. Most people do not eat simply because they are hungry. People eat for many reasons. You may eat when you are bored, or unhappy or stressed. If you keep a food diary, you will be able to see these trends and think how to do something to make a healthy change.
Here are some easy tips for starting and managing your food journal.
You will need to have something to keep track of things you eat. You can use almost anything, but if you are on the go, you might want to consider a little notebook or file that you can keep in your purse or desk. If it is portable, you are more likely to keep up with it.
Next, you will need to get in the practice of using it each time you eat. You need to take note of each and every meal, nibble or taste. Make sure you write up the date, the time and the place. This is effective so that you can look back and pay attention to your personal diet trends.
If you discover that you munch a candy bar everyday at 3 pm., then you can use this data to make a change. You know that you need to work through your after-lunch slump by eating something much healthier than a candy bar.
You may also want to pick up a book that will help you notice the fat grams and calories of the things you eat. This is vital when you need to be aware of the total amount of fat and calories you eat every day. You can also record your serving size such as "three chocolate kisses". Each evening, count the helpings of every food group, your combined fat intake and your entire calorie intake. This will give you an excellent idea of where you need to go with what you are eating.
If you persevere, I am sure you will soon see good results from using a food diary for healthier eating.