If you bite it, write it: Benefits of keeping food journal

Part of my job when I am counseling someone is to ask them for a 24-hour recall of what they ate during that time period.

This is much more difficult than you would imagine.

For example, yesterday I had a woman in my office who said all she could remember eating was dinner.

One easy way to keep track of what you eat is by keeping a food journal.

Keeping a journal or record of what you eat can give you a snapshot of what you’re eating that can then be used as a tool to help break undesirable food-related behaviors.

Identifying the problems in your diet are best tracked with a diligent account, so be honest with yourself—this is a tool to help YOU!

The first thing you will need is a diary or notebook that fits your bag, purse and lifestyle.

Then, immediately write down what you ate and when you ate it.

Include all snacks, beverages, and “bites”—even if you just grab a cracker on the way out the door.

You may want to include your mood, what is going on in your day, or where you were at the time you ate.

This gives you an idea as to whether you were bored, stressed, sad, happy, etc. and how your eating patterns reflect that mood.

Often when you eat it’s due to emotional reasons rather than hunger.

That’s why we describe certain foods as “comfort foods.”

Don’t forget to also document when you take your vitamins and medications.

Review your journal weekly to see where you can make more progress.

There are many benefits to keeping a food record.

Your eating habits become clearer.

You can easily see at what time you have a tendency to get hungry, where you are when you make poor choices, or simply how much coffee you drink in a day.

It becomes evident where you need to do more work, and what patterns neccessitate change.

Who can benefit from journaling? Everyone!

People with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease, etc., can benefit by reviewing the information and comparing it to what they “should” be doing to maintain their health.

Those interested in losing weight can monitor their eating patterns or habits and see what changes they need to make to achieve their goals.

Adding a “physical activity” section to their journals would also be helpful in tracking progress.

Journaling has also helped those in the general population who have come to me with unexplained weight loss/gain issues.

When they take a good look at their food journals they can’t believe how much they actually consume throughout the day by grazing, or how little they actually ate.

Your food record should include the following categories: Date and Day of the Week, Time, Foods Eaten, Location, and Mood.

If you go online there are tons of great websites that will help you keep an electronic journal.

They help determine your personal caloric needs based on your height, weight and age.

The sites generally have a huge data base of food items, and you can usually track your activity as well.

Keeping a journal may not always be convenient, but it can be a fabulous tool to improve your overall health.

Go ahead and try it for a month.

Do a control week and use it as a base line in determining what small changes you can make to help improve your health.

Another way you can improve your health is to head to the Old Forge Farmers’ Market on Fridays between 2 and 6 p.m. The Market will be open until October 7th!

See you there and have a great week!