When you’re trying to lose weight, one of the smartest and
easiest steps you can take is to keep a food diary. A food diary is just like
what it sounds—a notebook in which you record your daily food intake. You can
track of a number of things in your food diary or you can keep it simple, but
in either case, this is a great way in which to help yourself stick to a weight
loss plan.
There are a number of pieces of information you can record
in your food diary. First, consider just listing your daily menu. This will
help you actually see what you eat on any given day and notice patterns of
unhealthy eating that you never considered before. Some like to also record
calories, protein, fiber, fat, and other nutrients. Portion size may be
recorded as well. If you truly want to use diary format, you can also list the
reasons you’re eating other than hunger, the cravings you experience, and your
feelings about your diet on any given day. It’s your diary, so do what is right
for you.
When you start a food diary, keep in mind that you don’t
have to keep a traditional journal by the bed with a lock and key. You can use
whatever kind of recording and writing tools you like best. For some people,
the traditional journal or just a plain notebook works fine. You can also keep
a food diary on your computer. Simply open up a word processing program and
keep the icon on your desktop. Others like to use Excel or other data entry
programs, which help quiet a lot when it comes to adding totals at the end of
the day. Yu can keep your food diary on a laptop or palm pilot, or slip a
notebook into your bag during the day—whatever works best for your lifestyle.
Remember to update your food diary very day and review it at
the end of each week in order to track your progress. You may wish to note in
your diary when you hit certain weight loss goals or when you gain weight in
order to look for causes. You can show your diary to professionals to make sure
that you are staying healthy as well. Food diaries work great for many people,
so you should consider starting one today in order to lose the most weight
possible.
Post a Comment for "Dear Diary"