Atlanta APC Plastic Surgery Blog

Dear Diary: Keeping a Food Journal

Being disciplined about what you eat is one of the keys to looking and feeling your best, and keeping a food diary can help you develop a more realistic view of how much (or how little) you are eating. It will also allow you to identify triggers that typically cause overeating (i.e. Late-afternoon Munchies, Primetime Pigouts, etc.).

Comments:

Dr. Lissa:

Blah, Blah, Blah, I cannot stand to read any more or revisit this painful issue. When I hear discipline about one more thing I have to do my inside contract, my stomach churns and my mind starts to fill with other duties of the average American woman. Does this sound like you? As mundane as the below information may be I encourage everyone to start slow and at least one day a week keep a honest and detailed log about what you ate that day. It can be shocking! I keep a handy calorie book in my night time work bind to review my calorie indiscretions. Currently, the book I use is the Calorie King. My demanding schedule and good eating habits have definitely been affected by my fast food pit stops. These pit stops usually occur when I am coming home late, in a rush to a meeting or picking up hungry kids. Knowledge is power and I dare you to honestly exam what you eat. As a challenge to any previous client or patient of mine email me a copy of your honest food dairy log for a day and my staff will analyze your diet. I would also like you to guess your calorie intake for that day! I will publish the analysis and encourage dialog from bloggers. Bon Appetite!!!

Keeping a food diary can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. If you don’t have access to a computer during the day, the first step is creating a form like this Food Journal Diary that allows you to consistently track your intake, even when you’re away from the computer.

(1) GOOD: Enter info into a free online program like FitDay& get a readout of the nutritional value of your meals. Great resource since it’s free, but the food entry process is time consuming on this site, and the reports are just OK.

(2) BETTER: Enter info into a paid online program like My Food Diary. For only $9 per month, you get professional-looking charts & reports and the ability to see what you would weigh in 3 months if every day were like today. How cool is that?

(3) BEST: Share your diary with a Registered Dietician (RD). Online tools are inexpensive and handy, but you get what you pay for, and nothing beats individualized evaluations from someone who is specifically trained in the area of nutrition.

Helpful Hints:

1. Don’t change your eating habits while you’re keeping your food diary.
2. Tell the truth. There’s nothing to be gained by trying to look good in the diary.
3. Record what you eat on all days for at least 1 week longer if possible.
4. Write down everything that you eat AND drink. Even small things like a handful of popcorn, a piece of candy, or a glass of juice can add up over time.
5. Keep your food diary with you so that you don’t have to rely on your memory at the end of the day.
6. Be very specific about what you ate. Include all condiments (cheese, mayo, salad dressing, etc.).
7. Get familiar with serving sizes so that you can accurately determine how much you actually ate. For example, if you look on the package, you will see that 1 Otis Spunkmeyer muffin is actually 2 servings. When is the last time you only had ½ a muffin?

These tips were brought to you by Amber O’Neal, Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Cafe© Physique, a fitness and nutrition company specializing in studio and in-home personal training, yoga & pilates and nutrition counseling in Metro Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.CafePhysique.com.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 11:52 am and is filed under Health and Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.