Why do I need to journal what I am eating?”
One word. . . Awareness.
Almost every single time I sit down with someone to talk about their nutrition habits, I ask them to journal their food for one week. And every time one of three things happens.
A.) Don’t do it, or forget to do it.
B.) They do it and leave a ton out
C.) They actually do it and can not believe what they’ve actually been eating. How many times a day they snack with out realizing. Or eat because they’re bored.
In other words, they were truly just unaware.
Unfortunately, being out of tune with this behavior makes it really easy to pack on the pounds. Have you heard of the Covid-20…Pounds???
So how can journaling help?
It’s going to help you make conscious decisions about how much you are eating.
If you are tracking macros, you can see where you can improve while trying to achieve a goal. It also helps to see how you react to more or less carbs in your diet, more or less fat…etc.
It’s going to let you see if you are eating too much or not enough.
It helps you figure out your eating schedule. What times of day are you most hungry? Are you ravenous at night? Did you get enough of the “right foods” in earlier in the day?
It can help you discover your triggers, and am I bored? Emotional? Am I even hungry? Did those chips lead to a total binge?
So how do we get back in the driver’s seat and make sure we are making conscience decisions?
Start by either physically writing down what you are eating, IMMEDIATELY BEFORE OR AFTER YOU EAT IT. Waiting until the end of the day does not make you stop and think, “am I really hungry?” at the time of consumption. Waiting until the end of the day takes away the accountability/mindfulness factor and usually leaves you either lying to yourself or feeling guilt.
Another great habit to get into is “how do I feel?” when you eat.
Meaning…am I bored? Emotional? Tired?
There are a lot of different food tracking apps out there. Unfortunately, a lot of them are open ended data bases, meaning, anyone can input data and it’s likely not very accurate.
I highly suggest using Cronometer as it has verified information.
You can also never go wrong with good old fashion pen and paper.
When it comes to fat loss, living healthy, or performance goals, nutrition is king!
Let us show you how you can make real lifestyle changes that will help you lose weight and feel great. Click on our Personalized Nutrition Program below: