When you start a diet just about the most often heard pieces of advice is to keep a food record in which you write down every thing you eat during the day. Keeping your meal journal not only helps you see clearly what you are eating, it helps you see what you are not eating. For example, once you keep a food log for a few days you could notice that while you eat lots of fruit, you almost never eat any vegetables. When you write every little thing down you can see which parts of your diet must change as well as have a simpler time figuring out what kind and how long of a workout you need to do to shrink your waist line and burn the most calories.
But let’s say you write everything down but no pounds drop off of you? There is a correct way and a wrong way to observe your food. A food log is more than just a simple list of the foods you eat during a day. Other varieties of important information will certainly need to be written down too. Here are a few of the elements you need to do to be more effective at food tracking.
Be as specific as possible get when you note down the things you eat. It isn’t enough to only jot down “salad” on a list. You should record each of the components within that salad as well as the type of dressing on it. You should include the volume of the food you take in. “Cereal” will not be sufficient however “one cup Fiber One cereal” is fine. Don’t forget that the more of something you eat, the more calories you are going to consume so you need to list out the measurements of what you eat so that you will know just how many calories you take in and will need to burn.
Record the time of morning that you take in things. This can help you figure out when you feel the most hungry, when you are susceptible to snack and what you can do about it. After a day or two you might notice that, although you eat lunch at the same time each day, you still feel hungry an hour or so later. This will also make it easier to identify the occasions when you start to eat simply to give yourself something to do. This is incredibly helpful because realizing when you’re vulnerable to snacking will help you fill those times with other activities that will keep you away from the candy aisle.
What kind of mood are you in when you eat? Write it down! This will show you whether or not you use food to solve emotional issues. It may also identify the foodstuffs you select when you are in certain moods. Many people will reach for junk foods when we are upset, angry or depressed and will be more likely to choose healthier options when we are happy or content. Not only will this allow you to notice when you reach for specific foods based on your mood, it will help you find ways to keep healthier (but similar) selections on hand for those same moods and help you figure out whether or not someone professional can help you deal with the issues that are sending you towards certain foods in the first place.