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A Food Diary Helps You Cut Down

I used to do this all the time, it would come to supper time and I’d be thinking “I’ve been good today, I’ve hardly eaten so I’ll have an ice cream”, and I seriously don’t remember eating too much that was bad. I used to do this alot, so someone suggested a food diary. A food diary has multiple functions in how it will help you, I fully suggest a large A5 Day View Diary, so you can record maximum details.

Now first up, its function is to record exactly what you have eaten, so you can work out whats bad and how much your really eating, and what your missing out. The former 2 reasons are pretty simple but the latter confuses people quite often, how can you be missing out if your overeating? I mean missing out on your daily recommended Whole Grain, Vegetable or Fruit requirements, or even not drinking enough water.

So thats the basic of your food diary, it tracks your day to day food in-take, and your daily requirements, if your taking any supplements,  you can note then in your diary and how you feel on them for future reference as well. Another use is to one day per week at the same time of the day, you weigh yourself. I find this is best done Monday Morning after my bathroom visit, before my shower. Record the weight, every week on the same day and time time on the same scales, mark next to it, a + (Plus) or – (Minus) and a number from last week to track your weight loss.

Tracking your weight loss will give you targets and help you to highlight what is bad for you and what is good.

Something else you can do is track your exercise and how much you have done, for how long.  See if you can do more in the same time, or do something for longer now than you could 4 weeks ago for example. A Pedometer Watch (See Above Left), like this one which records 10 weeks worth of exercise from your day to day walking, is an excellent reminder of how much more active you have become. Are you walking more this week than 8 weeks ago ?

Record how you have been feeling, whats on your mind, just vent like a normal diary. Record how much TV you watched, how long you was on the internet, what you have craved, anything you like.

Basically what I am saying is record as much detail about your diet and exercise as possible to help you track and direct yourself, on the first day of each month, take a look back at the previous month and set a target. If on 3rd January 2010, you jogged 5 miles on the running machine in 30 minutes, try and jog 6 miles in 30 minutes, or 5 miles in 25 minutes for example. See your progress unfolding each month, set targets and records of beating your last attempt.

The number 1 thing, keep your diary with you, record things within the hour or doing them, DO NOT wait until the end of the day to fill your diary in. Your diary should be with you all the time, to record as much detail as possible. .