Losing Weight - Keeping Track of What You Eat

When you start a diet one of the most often heard pieces of advice is to keep a food journal in which you write down every thing you eat during the day. Tracking all of the foods you consume will help you figure out which foods you will be eating as well as which foods you are not eating enough of. For example, after keeping a food record for a few days, you might see that you are not taking in very many vegetables but that you are consuming lots of sugar and bad carbohydrates. Having it all written down may help you determine the elements of your diet that need to change as well as how much exercise you need to get to make sure that you burn enough calories to keep your waistline in check.



But what happens if you've been writing every thing down and still aren't reducing your weight? There is a great way and a idle method to track the food you eat. A food log is more than just a straightforward list of the foods you eat during a day. You need to keep track of various other very important information. Here are a few of the suggestions that can help you become far more successful at food tracking.



You should be very precise while you write down the things that you are eating. It is just not sufficient to list "salad" in your food log. You must list all of the materials within that salad as well as the type of dressing on it. You should include the volume of the food you take in. "Cereal" is just not as good an entry as "one cup Honey Nut Cheerios." Remember the more you take in of something the more calories you eat so it is vital that you list quantities so that you know exactly how much of everything you're eating and how many calories you need to burn.



Write down exactly what time it is while you eat. This can help you determine precisely what times of day you feel the most hungry, when you usually reach for snacks and then you can learn how to deal with those times. After a few days you'll note that even though you might be eating lunch at the same time every day, you are still hungry an hour later. You should also be able to discover whether or not you are eating due to the fact you're bored. This is essential because all those are moments that you can choose other things to fill your time with than food.



Record your mood whenever you eat. This makes it possible to figure out when you use foods to help soothe emotional issues. This may also show you whether or not you gravitate for specific foods based on your mood. Lots of us will reach intuitively for unhealthy foods when we feel disappointed or angry and we are more likely to choose healthy options when we feel happy or content. Paying attention to what you reach for when you are upset just might help you stock similar but healthier items in your house for when you need a snack-you could also begin talking to someone to figure out why you cure moods with food (if that is something that you actually do).