A recent study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that individuals who kept a food diary of everything they ate lost twice the weight as those who did not. 

Be Realistic

Many people find that having a food journal allows them to be more conscious of what they are really eating. It’s a great way to see where, when and why you are overeating. The first step to changing poor eating habits is becoming aware of them. 

Create Accountability

Many people don’t want to write down that they binged on a tub of ice cream or a box of Oreos. Writing it all out helps you avoid making bad decisions when it comes to your food selections and portion sizes. It’s like having a friend looking over your shoulder saying don’t do that!

Many of my own clients have logged their food and found it opened their eyes to what was in the foods they were choosing and helped them to make the necessary changes to drop extra pounds. I even do it to help keep myself on track!

Get Started!

Keeping a food diary is easy to do:

• Start keeping a small notebook with you wherever you go
• Write down what you eat as soon as possible so you don’t forget
• Consider tracking calories or grams of carbs, protein, and fat to get a better idea of what you are putting in your mouth
• Look for trends: When do you overdo it? When do you go too long without eating?

Nutrition is so important when it comes to weight loss, so if you want to reach your goals you’ve got to start paying attention to what you eat. Tracking your food intake is a great way to learn good decision making and build lasting healthy eating habits.