Many people who choose to go on a diet to lose weight also keep a food diary to help them chart their progress. While this may seem like a waste of time to some, for others it is their life line and what helps them stay on track. A high percentage of doctors, nutritionists, and successful diet programs have food diaries as an integral part of the overall plan.
To begin with, it helps to understand that a food diary is much different than a regular diary. You don’t start out each entry with “Dear Diary” or anything of that sort. Basically, when you want to lose weight one of the most important things you can do is keep a written record of what you eat every day. Not only do you write down the foods you eat, but you will also need to record the time of day you eat. Make no mistake: This must be done faithfully or you may as well not do it at all.
A sample entry in your food diary may go something like this:
Day 1 – January 26
- Pre-breakfast: Protein Shake made with glutathione (GSH) protein, bananas and water
- Breakfast: 3 egg whites, spelt toast, 8 oz. blueberry juice
- 8 oz. water
- Morning Snack: Apple, 8 oz. cranberry juice
- Lunch: 4 oz. tuna, 2 slices spelt bread, salad (lettuce, carrots and cucumber) with olive oil and herbs as dressing, green tea (no sugar)
- 8 oz. water
- Afternoon Snack: 6 brown rice crackers, 2 oz. goat cheese, green tea (no sugar)
- Dinner: 4 oz. chicken, salad (lettuce and carrots), green beans, brown rice, 8 oz. blueberry juice
- 8 oz. water
- Snack: bowl of fresh blueberries
Of course, you would also need to add in any condiments such as salad dressing, ketchup, or mustard in your food diary. In order to lose weight, it is important that you keep track of everything that goes into your mouth and is swallowed. Keep in mind, many condiments are very high in processed sugars and should be avoided.
Now that you know how to keep your food diary, you may still be curious as to why this actually helps you lose weight. When you write down everything you are eating, it makes you SEE what is going into your system. For example, if your normal breakfast is 2 or 3 donuts and a huge cup of soda, you will start to crash sometime during mid-morning. Not to mention, you will also be starving. However, if you have never understood that you are causing that to happen to yourself, having it stare back at you in black and white from your food diary may (hopefully!) alert you in some way.
When you notice that you did not lose weight or not as much as you should have during a particular week, you can look back at your food diary and read what foods you ate during that week. It will help you see what affected you so negatively. That also works in the reverse. When you have an excellent week of weight loss, it will help you to be able to see what foods you chose for that week. As timing is also important in a diet, the time of day you ate will be there for you to see and consider how you may need to change it.
A food diary is an excellent tool in your quest to lose weight. You will see as soon as you begin using one.
