Tracking Your Food: The Right Way To Do It

By Raul Bryant


When you decide to go on a diet one of the very first things that you will learn is that it is important to keep an eye on what you eat during the day. Tracking all of the food you take in will help you figure out which foods you will be eating as well as which foods you are not eating enough of. For example, after keeping a food log for a few days, you might see that you are not consuming very many vegetables but that you are consuming lots of sugar and bad carbohydrates. Having it all written down can help you identify the elements 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've been writing everything down and still aren't losing weight? There is a great way and a idle way to track the food you eat. A food record is a lot more than just a straightforward list of the foods you eat during a day. You have to keep track of a few other very important information. Here are a few of the suggestions that can enable you to become much more successful at food tracking.

Be as distinct as you can get while you note down the things you eat. It is just not adequate to list "salad" in your food journal. The right way to do it is usually to write down all of the ingredients in the salad as well as the kind of dressing that is used. You should include the quantity of the food you eat. "Cereal" is not good, but "one cup Shredded Wheat" can be. Remember the more you eat of something the more calories you consume so it is 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 morning that you eat things. This can help you find out what times of day you feel the most hungry, when you usually reach for snacks and then you can learn how to deal with those times. After a short time you'll note that even though you might be eating lunch at the same time every day, you are still hungry an hour later. You should also be able to see whether or not you happen to be eating because you're bored. This is unbelievably useful because understanding when you're vulnerable to snacking will help you fill those times with other activities that will keep you away from the candy aisle.



What kind of spirits are you in whenever you eat? Write it down! This can show you if you use foods to solve emotional issues. This will likely show you whether or not you gravitate for specific foods based on your mood. Lots of us will reach intuitively for processed food when we feel upset or angry and we are more likely to choose healthy options when we feel happy or content. When you pay attention to how you eat in the course of your different moods and mental states, you will be able to keep similar but healthier alternatives around for when you need those snacks--you might also start talking to someone who can help you figure out why you try to cure your moods with food.




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