A key teaching point of our 6-week nutritional course, DumBell CORP, is the importance of keeping an accurate food journal. People that keep a diary lose 50% more weight than those that do not. Here's a few reasons why a good log can help you be successful!
We're Busy: These days, we are so overscheduled, that we can honestly not realize how much food we put into our mouths during the day. Between snacks, "tastes", and beverages, we can easily add hundreds of calories to our daily total. Keeping a journal will help you realize how much you're actually consuming in a day.
Accountability: Writing everything down and actually seeing what you eat increases your perception of your daily diet. If you know you have to write it down, you will think twice about eating it!
Learn portion size: No longer will you just say that you had a medium bowl of cereal. You will write down that you had one cup of cereal, and you'll list the calories. After a few weeks of measuring all of your meals, you will again learn about appropriate portions sizes!
Emotional connection: In addition to writing down your meals, also write down how you were feeling when you ate. Keeping track of your emotional health can show a pattern of what triggers your unhealthy eating. Is it stress? Are you fatigued? Is your spouse traveling? Once you know your triggers, you can arm yourself with tools to combat them.
To be successful, be consistent with your journaling. And most importantly, BE HONEST. If you had a bad day, write it down. If you had a good day, write it down! If you lie or try to fudge your calories, you will only hurt yourself.
Keep a small notebook in your purse so you never have an excuse to skip writing down your calories. Or, use a smartphone app! Some of the highest rated are the SparkPeople Diet and Food Tracker and MyFitnessPal.
We hope you'll use this proven (and free!) weight-loss tool, and take control of your diet today!
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