Why You Should Keep a Food Diary

Dear Diary,

Today I ate…

That might be how you start keeping a food diary. It’s the first step in figuring out the rest of your diet. It’s also key to long-term weight management. Don’t lie though. A study showed that women can tend to have some “inaccuracies” when keeping a food record being short by about 1,000 calories. But why go to the trouble of keeping a diary if you aren’t going to be honest? Nobody is going to see it but you.

Include:

• What you ate
• How much you ate
• When you ate it
• Your cravings
• How much water you drink

If you don’t want to track fat and calories that’s fine. Just writing down how much you eat over the course of the day. You may find that you’re overeating and don’t know it. After a few days, go back and read your diary to see where you might want to change your habits or reduce calories. Remember you should also make sure you’re eating something every four hours. It keeps your body from slowing your metabolism.

TODAY: WALK, WALK, WALK!

Eat For 20 Minutes

Okay… don’t eat the entire time. Just make sure that you stretch your meals out to at least 20 minutes. If you’re still hungry after finishing your meal, take a 20 minutes break. Sip a cup of coffee, relax, take your mind off eating. Then see if you are still hungry. You’ll probably find that you don’t need more calories. It takes that long for the “full” signal to get to your brain. The main thing is that you see the “stop” signal go on.

TODAY: SLOW YOUR MEALS DOWN.

The Second Biggest Food Day of The Year

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. As amazing as it sounds, it’s the second biggest eating day in the US behind Thanksgiving. So temptations will be abundant today. Go ahead and indulge… A LITTLE. You should find that just a little of the forbidden foods will be very satisfying. Denying yourself entirely will just make you agonize over it. Over-doing it will make you guilt ridden and mad about dieting. That could kick you off of it. I’ve noticed that when I’ve hit a plateau a day of a different diet can jump start my metabolism and weight loss.

Don’t eat mindlessly in front of the TV. Pay attention to what you eat so you can enjoy the treat. Don’t just shove snacks in your face. Remember that protein like chicken wings and nuts will make you more full. The low carb beers taste just as good as the others. Eat well not a lot. Eat high quality, not high quantity. Then get back down to business tomorrow with a bit of extra exercise along with a return to your diet so you can reach your own goal.

TODAY: PLAN TO ENJOY THE SUPER BOWL IN MODERATION.

Better Late Than Over

Okay, let’s say you’re being good all day. You watch how much you eat, keep the calories and carbs low, drink lots of water and even… wait for it… EXERCISE! But then it gets to be evening time and you get hungry and blow it. Well, maybe it has to do with when you eat dinner. Those early-bird specials are great but… they’re EARLY. If you stay up till the late news you have a third of your day to go. Even if you eat right after work, there is a lot of time till bed. That’s why you get hungry. So shift your dinner a bit later and you’ll be less tempted. Of course, don’t get too hungry before dinner. Have a hand-full of almonds or macadamias and a big glass of water.  It will take the edge off and keep you from wanting bigger portions later. So eat late but don’t over eat.

TODAY: EAT DINNER A LITTLE LATER.

There Is No Bad Food, Just Bad Portions

Dietary researchers have just made one of those findings that just make you say “duh”! They have found that it doesn’t matter if you follow a low fat, low carb, low meat, low starch, or low mein diet. All that matters is whether you eat more calories than you use up. So we’re on the right track with our eat less exercise more plan. We’ll continue to try each of the varieties of diets. It keeps things interesting while encouraging you to pay attention to what you eat.

TODAY: EAT WHAT YOU WANT… JUST EAT LESS THAN YOU DID THE LAST TIME!

One More Bite Less

We’re working our way down to smaller portions this week, one less bite per meal per day. You’ll start to see a portion size that will satisfy you. In the meantime view every bite left behind as a small victory. Those are calories that aren’t getting in. Feel good about it.

TODAY: EAT ANOTHER BITE LESS AT EACH MEAL.

Subtract Another Bite

As we ease into smaller portions this week. Let’s make all your meals one bite smaller.

TODAY: LEAVE FOUR BITES ON YOUR PLATE AT EVERY MEAL.