Tips For Keeping a Food Journal

It’s not possible to know how many calories or what types of nutrients you’re consuming unless you write it down. A food diary can help you:

• stay focused and motivated so you’re less like to binge
• uncover if you’re truly hungry or just eating out of emotion
• determine if you’re eating enough fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fiber, etc.
• decide what needs to be changed in your diet
• set dietary and lifestyle modification goals

Tracking your food intake means you need to carefully measure portion sizes. A scale is a handy tool, easy to use and the most accurate. If you don’t have a scale you can visually estimate portion sizes by using items you’re familiar with such as a baseball, deck of cards, CD, or even your own hand. Research shows many people underestimate the food they eat; so be as accurate as possible. An inaccurate calorie intake assessment will make it harder for you to interpret results or modify your intake to meet desired goals.

There’s many ways to track you food intake. You can use a notebook, track it on line at websites such as http://www.sparkpeople.com/, www.mynetdiary.com and http://www.mypyramid.gov/, use a software program for your computer or even a phone app. Here are some basic guidelines and details you should include:

Write down everything you eat. Whatever you indulge, write it down. Whether it be an extra bagel in the morning, a slice of pizza late at night or a little piece of chocolate in the afternoon. Your food diary is designed to help you create a better diet for yourself, so don't leave any of these items out.

Write as you go. Don't wait until the end of the day to record what you ate and drank. Instead, write it down as soon as you can, after you eat. You’ll be more accurate on portion sizes and won’t forget little snacks or treats.

Focus on portions. Just writing down a “bowl of cereal” or “M&M’s” is not enough. A bowl of cereal could be anything from 0.5 cup to 2 cups, depending on the bowl. M&M’s could be 100 calories, or they could be 1000. You need to measure out the portion you would like to eat and record the exact portion you’re eating so you’ll be most accurate.

Record your feelings and emotions. Are you eating because you're bored or had a stressful day? This information will be important when you review your log so you can make the necessary changes to your eating habits. For example, if you find you're eating out of boredom, schedule in a fun activity at that time instead, like reading a good book to keep your mind occupied.

Review your food journal and set goals. A food journal doesn’t help if you never use the information written down. Designate a time each week to sit down and review your food journal. Look for trends, trigger foods, emotional eating, calories consumed and changes you’d like to make. Then make new goals for the week and write them down. Writing down your goals will make your diet changes more visible and keep you motivated.

Use your food diary to plan meals. At first, your food diary should be used as a tool to help you see what you're eating everyday. But, as time goes on, try to use it more for planning out meals and getting your diet back in order. Sit down at night and try to sketch out what you're going to eat the following day. Plan to pack a healthy lunch the next day and get a sense of exactly what you're going to eat. By doing this, you'll be able to get the best results from your food diary. You'll also begin to eat healthier as long as you use your food diary to help you along the way.

If you take the extra time to analyze your eating patterns, a food journal can definitely help improve your eating habits. Above anything else, stick to your journal even if you slip up or forget to fill it out for several days. Practice makes perfect!

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