Sep 28 2008
Keeping A Food Journal
When I hit a plateau in my weight loss, I knew that I had to do something to shake things up and figure out why I was not losing any more weight. I had read in several fitness magazines and books that keeping a food journal was a great way to get out of a plateau or to find out what exactly you are eating. I decided to start keeping a food journal and what I noticed was that a little snack here and there really added up in the calories. Also, on other days, I was barely eating 1,000, which is way too low, even for losing weight.
Keeping a food journal may seem tiresome and difficult at first, but after a couple of days it just comes natural. One thing that I advise is to find a free online calorie counter and bookmark the page because you will be using it often to find out how many calories are in a certain food. If you want, you can even purchase an inexpensive pocket calorie counter guide.
Here is how you can keep your own food journal:
1. Use a clean notebook or journal instead of using paper scraps here and there. This will keep it more organized and easier for you to access your eating habits.
2. Write down everything you eat, what time you eat and how hungry you were on a scale from 1-10. If you wish you can also put a column in for what you were feeling at the time if you suspect that you are an emotional eater.
3. Figure out how many calories you consumed. Do not wait until the end of the day to do this, as you need to know as the day goes along how many calories you are consuming.
4. At the end of the day, examine your food journal. Was today a good day or a bad day? Did you stay within your calorie range? If you find that you had a bad day, go back and look over the food journal and figure out why and vow to correct your bad habits.
