Keeping Track Of What Exactly You Take In: How To Do It Correctly

By Brad Collier


When you first start your diet one of several things you will learn right away is that maintaining a food journal is very helpful. Tracking all of the food you eat will help you figure out which foods you will be eating as well as which foods you are not eating enough of. For example, after you keep a food journal for a few days you may notice that even if you eat lots of fruit, you almost never eat any vegetables. When you write everything 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 what happens if you write almost everything down but no pounds drop off of you? There is a right way and a completely wrong way to monitor your food. A food record isn't just a list of what exactly you've eaten during the day. Other sorts of important information will certainly need to be written down also. Here are some of the things you need to do to be more productive at food tracking.

Be as distinct as you can get while you note down the things you eat. It is just not sufficient to list "salad" in your food log. Write down all the ingredients in the salad and the type of dressing you used. You must also record how much of the foods you are eating. "Cereal" defintely won't be sufficient although "one cup Fiber One cereal" is okay. It is important to keep in mind that the bigger your portions, the more calories you will be eating so you need to know just how much of every thing you actually eat so that you can figure out how many calories you will need to work off.

Write down precisely what time it is when you eat. This helps you figure out when you feel the most hungry, when you are susceptible to snack and what you can do about it. You'll observe, for example, that although you eat lunch at the very same time every day, you also--without fail--start to snack as little as an hour later, every day. You should also be able to observe whether or not you happen to be eating due to the fact you're bored. This is critical because, once they are identified, you can find other ways to fill those moments than with unhealthy foods.



Record your mood when you eat. This really helps to demonstrate whether or not you decide on food as a reaction to emotional issues. It will even identify the foodstuffs you decide on when you are in certain moods. Many people will reach for junk foods whenever we are disappointed, angry or depressed and will be more likely to choose healthier options when we are happy or content. When you focus on how you eat in the course of your different moods and mental states, you will be able to keep similar but healthier choices around for when you need those snacks--you might also start talking to someone who can help you figure out why you try to cure your moods with food.




About the Author:



Powered by Blogger.