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As you go through the day, you eat many things. It’s almost impossible to remember them all. When you are trying to change your eating habits it becomes important to keep track of what you are putting into your mouth. Try using a food journal.
Before you say a word, it will be hard to get used to at first. The number one complaint is that keeping a food journal is too much work for a busy schedule or that it makes you think more about food. Anything worth doing will take some effort to become a habit that you don’t have to think about.
However, there are many benefits to keeping a food journal. And, all of those benefits are going to help you accomplish your goals, whether it is to lose weight or to manage your health. Here are some of the main advantages of having a food journal:
1. You know what you eat or don’t eat. Many people skip breakfast. With a food journal, you can see what skipping breakfast does to your eating habits throughout the rest of the day. You may be eating more high calorie or high fat foods to compensate for a lack of energy.
2. You can discern emotional issues. Some people eat more when they get emotional. No one wants to admit that they are emotional eaters, but keeping a food journal may bear out that you are one. Once you know, you can get help to overcome it and learn to deal with any issues in a more constructive way.
3. You can make changes in your diet that stick. With a food journal, you can take what you are currently eating and make substitutions that are better for your health. For instance, if you eat a lot of pasta, switching to whole wheat pasta and lowering your portion size can lower your cholesterol and your weight. You can change one thing at a time and evaluate how well it is working for you.
4. You can see what nutrients you are lacking. Sometimes it is not how much you eat but what types of foods you are eating. You can be thin and still have an unhealthy body. If your food journal shows a lack of green vegetables, you are probably missing out on several nutrients like Vitamin E, zinc, folic acid, B vitamins, magnesium, iron and others that your body needs to function properly. Lack of certain vitamins and minerals can cause hair to fall out or skin to look pale.
Try keeping a food journal for a week. In just seven days you can find out a lot about your typical eating habits. With that information, you can make changes in your diet that will help you to lose weight, get healthy and reduce your risk of certain diseases.
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