Tracking Your Meals: The Proper Way To Do It

By Wendy Cox


When you first start your diet one of the things you will learn right away is that trying to keep a food journal is very helpful. Keeping a food record helps you determine the foods you are eating as well as the foods you are not eating. One example is that, after tracking your meals for a few days you could realize that you are consuming far too many sugars and unhealthy fats but not nearly enough organic nutrients. When you write every thing down you'll be able to see which parts of your diet must change as well as have a lot easier time figuring out what kind and how long of a workout you need to do to shrink your waist line and burn the most calories.

But what if you write everything down but no weight drop off of you? There is a correct way and a incorrect way to track your food. A food record is more than just a basic list of the foods you eat during a day. Other varieties of important information are going to need to be written down too. Here are some of the elements you need to do to be more productive at food tracking.

Be as particular as you can whenever you write down what you eat. It is not enough to simply record "salad" on a list. The right way to do it is always to note down all of the ingredients in the salad as well as the kind of dressing that is used. You need to include the quantity of the food you eat. "Cereal" is just not very good, but "one cup Shredded Wheat" will be. It is important to keep in mind that the bigger your servings, the more calories you will be eating so you need to know just how much of every thing you actually eat so that you can figure out how many calories you will need to work off.

Write down exactly what time of day it is while you eat. This makes it possible to figure out when you feel the most hungry, when you are vulnerable to snack and what you can do about it. After a day or two you may notice that, though you eat lunch at the same time each day, you still feel hungry an hour or so later. This will also enable you to identify the occasions when you start to eat simply to give yourself something to do. This is important because, once they are recognized, you can find other ways to fill those moments than with unhealthy foods.



Write down your emotions whenever you eat. This will show you whether or not you use food to solve emotional issues. It will even identify the foodstuffs you choose when you are in certain moods. Many individuals will reach for junk foods if we are upset, angry or depressed and will be more likely to choose healthier options when we are happy or content. Not only will this enable you to notice when you reach for particular foods based on your mood, it will help you find ways to keep healthier (but similar) options on hand for those same moods and help you figure out whether or not someone professional can help you deal with the issues that are sending you towards certain foods in the first place.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment