Do Food Diaries Work?

In this technological age it is super easy to keep a food diary. You don't need to draw attention to yourself by taking out your hard back notebook, you can simply type it into your phone, but what are the benefits of a food diary? Whether you want to lose weight or just tidy up your diet, I believe food diaries are the way to go.

Portion control and mindless eating contribute to piling on the pounds. Sometimes you are not even aware that you are over eating. When you choose to keep a food diary, the simple task of tracking your food can help you stay on the straight and narrow.

By tracking your food, you might become aware that every time you meet a certain friend for coffee you always indulge in that coffee slice, or that when you sit down to read or study, you might first raid the presses for something to munch on while you work. I have the pleasure in knowing a lovely girl, who every single time she walked into her kitchen, she would grab something to eat. By cutting out that habit alone, she managed to drop pounds. Awareness of what you are eating and how you are eating are important if your goal is weight loss.

Food diaries are great for tracking when and what you are eating but also take note of your mood when you are eating. To better understand your food choices, it is a good idea to notice how you're feeling when you eat certain foods or snack on certain foods. If you have a day where you are stressed or emotional somehow and that's when you opt for a king crisp sandwich or a super size take away, it will help you become more aware and able to make better choices. Take the opportunity to learn healthier habits to deal with your emotions. Do a workout, go for a walk, or do a 5 minute meditation to ground yourself again.

If weight loss is the goal, another tip is to write down your weight and inch loss on that week of your food diary. Why? If you have a bad week or you're feeling a little meh, you can refer back to a great week you had and repeat.

I also like to track my workouts in my food diary. It helps give more detail to why you had a great week/loss or a not so great week. If you revert back to a previous week, that you had a super achievement, but you didn't track your workouts, then you may not be able to repeat the result. You can't out exercise a bad diet, but on a good diet doing some intense workouts will create a greater calorie deficit. Track your workouts in your food diary.

Be truthful and accountable. Keeping track of everything you eat or drink in your food diary. If you enjoy a juice in the morning or cafe mocha in the afternoon, they contain calories and need to tracked. These are empty calories. They don't feed you, but contribute to weight gain. Track every single thing and you will see where you can cut out empty calories. A food diary can make you think twice before eating if you know you are going to have to write it down!

Who should keep a food diary? You, if you want to. If you have the determination to succeed in your goals, this is a tool that will definitely help you. You need that inner motivation to keep a food diary and see it as the tool that it is to aid in weight loss. If you are not focused on your goals, keeping track of your food is just a chore. Like everything else, it's mind over matter. If you are willing to succeed, you will see it as a tool.

Niamh has been working as personal trainer and fitness instructor, focused on helping women bring their sexy back. If you would like to know more about her services you can email her at info@fitnessatthebodyshaper.com