Write it down.

One of the tools that has been helpful to me in losing weight is a food journal.  A food journal is very simply a written record of everything I eat each day.  A food journal serves a number of purposes in weight loss and living a healthier lifestyle.  For one, a journal holds one accountable for what he/she eats.  When you hold yourself accountable for what you eat, you are much less likely to engage in mindless eating.  Also, the temptation to indulge in a less-than-healthy food item diminishes when you know you are going to have to write it down on paper.  A second thing a food journal cand do for you is help you see patterns in your eating.  This makes it easier to target particular areas in your diet that need addressing.  For instance, if you want to consume more fruits and vegetables, your journal can tell you how many servings of these you have eaten in a typical day.  You can then adjust your diet to meet your goal.  Also, your journal can point out particular times and circumstances in which you are prone to overeat or eat unhealthy things.  For instance, if you record in your journal a lot of nighttime snacking while watching TV, you can strategize ways to change that habit, either by choosing a different nighttime activity, having a little more to eat at dinner so that you're not hungry later, or planning a light, healthy snack.  These are just some of the ways a food journal can help you meet your wellness goals. 

A food journal doesn't have to be fancy.  For years, I simply wrote mine down on paper or typed it up on the computer.  You can make your journal as simple or complex as you would like--just make sure it tracks the things you are wanting to track to achieve your goals.  Some things to record are the type of food, the amount (portions are very important!), the time eaten, the situation in which you ate, and how you felt during/after eating it (This is particularly helpful if you are prone to emotional eating, as I am.  Tracking your feelings when you eat can help you identify if you are eating because you are really hungry, or if you are eating for another reason, such as boredom, stress, loneliness, etc.) 

If you don't want to go old-school and write everything down, there are websites and mobile apps that can help you easily track your food on the go.  My personal favorite is My Fitness Pal - a free app that allows you to track your food online and on your smartphone/tablet.  It has a database of thousands of foods from all major brands (even grocery store brands like Giant Eagle!).  It gives you the option of entering your own foods and recipes (so if you have a recipe you like that you eat frequently, you can enter it in once and save it for future use, so you don't have to enter it in each time).  It also has a barcode scanner, so you can simply scan the barcode from your favorite food item, and it will enter it for you!  I like My Fitness Pal because it makes it so easy to track my calories each day.  I can keep track of what I eat anywhere anytime.  Also, I can track my exercise and water consumption too.  It will even give you a calorie range to reach certain weight loss goals.  Just enter some basic information when you set up your account, and you're all set.  You can also see what nutrients you are eating, and how much fat, cholesterol, carbs, protein, etc. you are getting in your diet.  This makes it easy to adjust accordingly.  And, did I mention it's free...it's free!

Keeping a food journal is one of the most effective tools I have used to help me lose weight.  According to a recent study, people who used a food journal lost twice as much weight as those who did not.  Maybe a food journal can be an effective tool in your wellness arsenal. 

That's all for this week.  Have a blessed week, and may good health always be yours.

Sincerely,
Miss Red Jeans