Food Journaling

Food journaling is a weight loss tool that involves writing down everything you eat or drink right after you consume it. This makes you more aware of what you are putting into your body, it might make you think twice about grabbing that bag of chips. It was shown that among 1,700 people who journaled daily lost double the amount of weight compared to those who did not journal. But how do you properly keep a food journal?

  1. Keep Your Journal with You- It is important to keep your food journal on you all the time. Find one small enough to fit in your purse or even in your pocket. You can even do it digitally, this way you know you’ll always have your phone with you. Whatever way you chose, this step is important so that you have it with you to be able to write down what you ate after a meal or snack.
  2. Be Specific- Instead of just writing “I had a sandwich for lunch”, be more specific by saying “I had half a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato on wheat bread at 1 p.m.”. Write down exactly what your food was and be sure to include what time you ate it and the portion sizes. Another important part of this step is writing what you drank, something that people often forget.
  3. Be Honest- Do not try and cheat the system by not writing down that slice of cake you ate because you know you shouldn’t have. It is crucial to write down the good with the bad to get the best results.
  4. Reflect- Each night look at your journal for the day and write down exactly how it makes you feel. For example, if you feel guilty for reaching for that slice of cake instead of that apple. This step is one of the most important steps of food journaling. It makes you think about how eating that piece of cake made you feel at the end of the day, and you are more likely not to repeat those actions the following day.

Food journaling is not easy, and it takes a lot of commitment. It can be very easy to forget to write down something that you ate or forget to sit down and reflect each night. You may also find yourself getting frustrated, but just remind yourself of your goals and why you started food journaling in the first place, to get yourself back on track. Continue to remind yourself that all your hard work is going to pay off in the end when you finally reach that goal weight.

Start food journaling today and lose that excess weight that you can’t seem to get rid of!

References:

  • https://www.eatthis.com/food-journal-weight-loss/