Tracking Your Food: The Way To Do It

By Shaquana Skipworth


When you go on a diet one of the very first things that you will learn is that it is important to keep track of what you eat during the day. Tracking all of the foods you eat can help you figure out which foods you will be eating as well as which foods you are not eating enough of. For example, after retaining 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 will help uou 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 every little thing down but no pounds drop off of you? There is a good way and a lazy way to track the food you eat. There is much more to food journaling than writing a list of what you eat during the day. You must record various other very important information. Here are some of the things you need to do to be more successful at food tracking.

You should be very specific whenever you write down the things that you are eating. It just isn't enough to just jot down "salad" on a list. Write down all the ingredients in the salad as well as the type of dressing you used. You should include the amount of the food you eat. "Cereal" is not as beneficial an entry as "one cup Honey Nut Cheerios." Don't forget that the more of something you take in, the more calories you are going to ingest 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.

Write down the time you're feeding on items. This will allow you to determine 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. After a day or two you may notice that, although you eat lunch at the same time every day, you still feel hungry an hour or so later. You may possibly also be able to recognize when you are eating simply to have something to do. This is important because those are situations that you can pick out other things to fill your time with than food.



Write down your emotions whenever you eat. This can show you whether you use meals to solve emotional issues. It also assists you to see clearly which foods you are inclined to choose when you are in certain moods. There are many people who seek junk food when they feel angry or depressed and are equally likely to pick out healthy things when they feel happy and content. Not only will this let you notice when you reach for specific foods based on your mood, it will help you find ways to keep healthier (but similar) alternatives on hand for those same moods and help you figure out whether or not someone professional can help you deal with the issues that are sending you towards certain foods in the first place.




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