Dec 19, 2013

The Very Best Approach To Track Your Food

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By Mary Beasley


When you first start your diet one of several things you will learn right away is that trying to keep a food journal is very helpful. Keeping a food record makes it possible to recognize the foods you are eating as well as the foods you are not eating. For example, after maintaining a food record for a few days, you might see that you are not eating very many vegetables but that you are consuming lots of sugar and bad carbohydrates. Having it all written down can help you determine the aspects 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 write each thing down but still are unable to figure out how to lose weight? There is a proper way and a wrong way to observe your food. There is much more to food journaling than composing an index of what you eat during the day. Other kinds of important information are going to need to be written down also. Here are a number of the suggestions that can enable you to become a lot more successful at food tracking.

Be as particular as possible when you write down what you eat. You should do more than merely write down "salad" into your food record. The right way to do it is always to note down all of the ingredients in the salad as well as the kind of dressing that is used. You should also write down just how much of the foods you are eating. "Cereal" defintely won't be sufficient although "one cup Fiber One cereal" is acceptable. Don't forget that the more of some thing you eat, the more calories you are going to consume so you need to list out the measurements of what you eat so that you will know precisely how many calories you take in and will need to burn.

Record the time of day you eat things. This can help you determine just what times of day you feel the most hungry, when you usually reach for snacks and then you can figure out how to deal with those times. You'll notice, for example, that even though you eat lunch at the exact same time every day, you also--without fail--start to snack as little as an hour later, every day. You may also be able to recognize when you are eating simply to have something to do. This is extremely valuable because knowing when you're vulnerable to snacking will help you fill those times with other pursuits that will keep you away from the candy aisle.



What kind of spirits are you in while you eat? Write it down! This can help you determine when you use meals to help soothe emotional issues. It will even identify the foodstuffs you select when you are in certain moods. Many of us will reach for junk foods if we are disappointed, angry or depressed and will be more likely to choose healthier options when we are happy or content. When you pay attention to how you eat while in your different moods and psychological states, you will be able to keep similar but healthier options around for when you need those snacks--you might also start talking to someone who can help you figure out why you try to cure your moods with food.




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