Food Tracking Accountability System To Help You Reach Your Goals

As our busy lives go on, we tend to eat more than we think we do. We underestimate the exact amount of our daily intake because we must consider portion size (usually much larger than what we believe), grazing (such as taking a handful of jelly beans from a candy bowl), and liquid calories.

It's only when individuals are asked to write down everything they eat and drink that the true story is told. Keeping a food diary goes way beyond just the food we eat. A recent study following 1,800 men and women over six months showed that those who kept a food diary lost 50 percent more weight than those who did not.

Here are a few perspectives on why food diaries are essential:

Accountability:
Writing everything down and seeing your daily intake increases your perception of how much you eat.

It makes you stop before you chomp:                                                                                  We tend to focus on our main meals and forget about the smaller food extras that add up to many extra calories. Even a tiny amount of food can significantly impact our daily calorie intake.

Helps to portion out your foods truly:
When individuals are asked to keep a food diary, they often must measure all their food for the most accurate assessment. Many people measure food based on the bowl or plate. For example, someone may say they have a "medium bowl of cereal in the morning when it is determined they have a huge serving. Once individuals use more accurate methods, they better understand their overall portion distortion.

Ties in the connections to stress, emotion, timing, and location:
I often ask my clients to jot down their food choices, amounts, time of day, location, and emotional level during their meal or snack. This can help people assess how stress may be controlling their food choices. For example, a client of mine realized that she consumed large amounts of chocolate and fried foods after interactions with one of her family members.
The trigger to unhealthy eating was a family member, but my client realized this after seeing the connection on paper. Another client admitted he was going six or seven hours between meals and would gorge because he was hungry. Another thing I often see is many people eat standing up, in the car, or on the couch, preventing them from focusing on the food in front of them.

Food Logs 101.
You don't need a personal dietitian to start a food log. You only need the time and commitment to track everything you put in your mouth. Studies show that tracking your food intake for a week or more yields the best results, but even recording your food for one day can make a difference. Be specific and track everything. I tell my clients to always carry a pen and paper to record food consumption. Refrain from relying on memory because chances are high that you'll need to remember something minor. I designed an Awareness To Wellness Journal to help my patients track all things wellness, and you can get your copy by clicking on the link.

Remember to assess portion sizes accurately.
That means you'll have to measure your food choices for at least a few days. You may quickly realize that your portions are much more significant than you need, forcing you to assess your goals to consume only appropriate quantities of food. For example, a serving of meat should be equivalent to a deck of cards, a bagel should be equal to a hockey puck, and a serving of peanut butter should only be the size of a ping-pong ball.

Remember to record the time of day and emotions surrounding your food choices.
This will help you better assess your snacks and meals. Second, consider your emotions and your food choices. Knowing your triggers will help you avoid stress-eating pitfalls. Finally, record where you consumed food and assess how often you eat in appropriate settings. Several studies show that eating in front of the TV or the car makes us eat more.

Be Honest.
I've seen people get so wrapped up in the food log that they start lying to themselves and under-report their food consumption. Remember that honesty is truly the best policy when doing a food diary simply for yourself or at the request of a health professional.

Maintaining your dietary intake records can help motivate you to pursue your health goals. A food diary can provide valuable insights into your progress and remind you what changes you must make. Additionally, research has shown that maintaining a food diary can have a dramatic impact on helping people get back on track with healthy eating habits.

Suppose you want to learn more about the 10 things that make the most significant difference in improving weight and pain. You can get a copy of my free resource by clicking the link.