If you want to be successful in your weight loss efforts; keep a food journal. It is an excellent way help you learn about your eating habits, understand your triggers and help you identify why you are making certain food choices.

What is a Food Journal?

A food journal is simply a diary or record of all the foods that you consume on a daily basis. To get an even better understanding of your eating habits, I recommend you also record your water consumption, your moods when you are eating, the company you are with and the location you are in. Do you eat when you are happy, sad, bored, stressed or frustrated? You might begin to see patterns about yourself that you may not have realized. A food journal can be done for a week, months or on an ongoing basis.

Why Use a Food Journal?

I encourage all of my clients who want to lose weight to use a food journal. I then review it each week and make recommendations and suggestions for the following week. Journaling helps clients see in black and white why they may not be reaching their goals. People often say, I dont eat that much, until they see their own food journals that they have been underestimating their food intake. Often just knowing that someone else is going to be looking at what they eat is enough some people make better choices. Food journaling takes all of the guess work out of trying to figure out just how many calories we consumed.

I like to take the food journal one step farther and use it as a basis for a healthy meal plan. With some modifications, you can learn how to transform an unhealthy meal into a nutritious, healthy balanced meal. Once you get into the habit of recording, you can actually put together your own personal healthy cookbook consisting of the foods you enjoy and feel confident knowing that they are part of your healthy eating plan.

To obtain the best results with your food journal:
- Be honest with yourself
- Try to keep your journal in a convenient place( posted on the fridge, in your day-timer or beside your bed)
- Try to record when you eat instead of trying to remember back a full day or more
- Include tasting and nibblingthose calories add up

Although it may seem time consuming, learning how to manage your weight by keeping a record of your food intake and you will save a lot of time, money and frustration.