On any given day I have no idea how much food I eat. Who keeps track, right? Thanks to multitasking, eating on the run, eating at my desk while working, cramming food in my mouth as I run errands, or watching a movie while eating popcorn, I do not even realize I am destroying my diet with all the food I cram into my mouth during the day.
It is impossible to keep track of all the food I devour while I do other things. I can finish off a whole bag of Doritos on my way to and from a meeting. The bad thing is all of us subconsciously cram calories into our mouth when we eat on the run! At the end of the day we do not feel as if we have eaten and yet we have destroyed our diet by eating all this junk food.
There is an easy way to keep track of all the foods you eat and you can figure out the number of calories you have consumed that day at the end of the day. The total number of calories will surprise you. All you need do is keep a food diary. That is it! Write down every thing you eat all day long, and night time too!
I have been to Weight Watchers before and the first thing you learn at their meetings is the importance of keeping a food journal. When you write it down, you cannot forget or deny having eaten it. Writing it down holds you accountable for every bite of food that enters your mouth. You can add up the calories at the end of the day!
The importance of keeping a food diary cannot be stressed enough. Take a look at these four (4) items detailing the benefits of keeping a food diary that I put together for you.
* Number 1 Keep a food diary.
Get a good manual that lists calories in the food and the portion size. This is important since most people greatly underestimate the calories and the size of the portion. Then you can accurately calculate the calories.
* Number 2 Write down every bite you eat. This includes every lick, taste, or spoonful of food you put in your mouth. It does not matter whether you consider it a meal or not. Every bite you take has the potential to destroy your diet.
When you begin writing down everything you eat, I guarantee you will not be eating as much. Once you start writing down every piece of food or drink you take, you will begin to realize the enormous amount of calories you stick in your mouth without even knowing it! Do not forget the mini candy bar you snatched from a coworker or the after dinner mints you had after lunch.
* Number 3 Eat well balanced nutritious meals. Once you look at your food journal and see all the junk food you have been eating all day long, you begin to realize how you have been sabotaging your diet.
When you actually write down each bite you eat, you can look in your food journal and see where you ate a whole bag of bite size Snickers and did not even realize it! That is a total of 1,450 calories, depending upon the size of the bag, and lots of sugar.
* Number 4 Find the times in your diary when you ate junk food instead of healthy food.
Use your journal to determine when you strayed from your diet. You can look back and see when you ate candy bars or chips and dips or ice cream instead of a nutritious meal. Make sure you put a note in the diary when this happened so you can recognize what is happening in time to stop yourself from binge eating!
This way you can help yourself to stop eating and lose weight!
This plan is simple. Everything you eat should be simple and nutritious. The food diary is the center of the entire diet and is critical to your success!
Happy Dieting!
Author Resource:-
I am Lucy Peacock, math teacher, consultant, and writer. I love to read, hike, camp, travel and sit in the woods or by the ocean and take solace in the wonders God made. I live for today and pray for tomorrow. If you want more info check the site wwwblogwithlucy.blogspot.com
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