0 Keeping Track Of Precisely What You Eat: How To Do It Correctly

By John Hazelton


When you first start your diet one of several things you will learn right away is that trying to keep a food journal is very helpful. Tracking all of the food you eat may help you figure out which foods you will be eating as well as which foods you are not eating enough of. For example, once you keep a food record for a few days you may notice that even if you eat lots of fruit, you almost never eat any vegetables. Having it all written down will help uou determine the parts of your diet that need to change as well as how much exercise you need to get to make sure that you burn enough calories to keep your waistline in check.

But what if you write each and every thing down but still aren't able to figure out how to lose fat? There is a proper way and a wrong way to monitor your food. A food journal isn't merely a list of the items you've eaten during the day. You must account for various other very important information. Here are some of the points you need to do to be more effective at food tracking.

Be as specific as possible whenever you write down what you consume. You have to do more than merely write down "salad" into your food log. You must record each of the ingredients within that salad as well as the type of dressing on it. You need to include the quantity of the food you take in. "Cereal" is not as good an entry as "one cup Honey Nut Cheerios." Don't forget that the more of some thing 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 exactly how many calories you take in and will need to burn.

Record the time of day that you take in things. This will help you determine what times of day you feel the most hungry, when you usually reach for snacks and then you can learn how to deal with those times. After a day or two you might notice that, even though you eat lunch at the same time every day, you still feel hungry an hour or so later. You may possibly also be able to determine when you are eating only to have something to do. This is incredibly helpful because understanding when you're vulnerable to snacking will help you fill those times with other pursuits that will keep you away from the candy aisle.



What kind of mood are you in while you eat? Write it down! This helps to show you whether or not you use food as a reaction to emotional issues. It also helps you see plainly which foods you have a tendency to choose when you find yourself in certain moods. Lots of us will reach naturally for unhealthy foods when we feel upset or angry and we are more likely to select healthy options when we feel happy or content. When you focus on how you eat in the course of your different moods and psychological states, you will be able to keep similar but healthier options 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.




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