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Monday, November 25, 2013

Tracking Your Foods: The Way To Do It

By Stephanie Chandler


When you first start your diet one of many things you will learn right away is that keeping a food journal is very helpful. Tracking all of the meals you take in may help you figure out which foods you will be eating as well as which foods you are not eating enough of. For example, after maintaining a food log 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 will help uou identify 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 if you write everything down but no pounds drop off of you? There is a correct way and a completely wrong way to observe your food. There is more to food journaling than creating a list of what you eat during the day. You have to write down other crucial pieces of information too. Here are a number of the things you need to do to be more effective at food tracking.

You should be very specific while you write down the things that you are eating. It is not enough to just jot down "salad" on a list. The right way to do it is 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" is not good, although "one cup Shredded Wheat" is. Remember the more you consume of something the more calories you take in so it is very important that you list quantities so you know exactly how much of everything you're eating and how many calories you need to burn.

Record the time of day you eat things. This can help you figure out when you feel the most hungry, when you are susceptible to snack and what you can do about it. After a day or two you might notice that, though you eat lunch at the same time every single day, you still feel hungry an hour or so later. You may also be able to determine when you are eating only to have something to do. This is significant because all those are moments that you can pick out other things to fill your time with than food.



Write down how you feel while you eat. This helps you pinpoint when you use foods to help soothe emotional issues. It also assists you to see clearly which foods you are inclined to choose when you are in certain moods. 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).




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