Have you ever reflected back on your day and couldn’t remember all that you ate? Or have you ever completed a meal and then beat yourself up for eating too much or overindulging? It happens—sometimes we mindlessly grab handfuls of this or that throughout the day, take too many tastings while preparing a meal for our family, or finish off our children’s’ dinner scraps. Therefore, we have lost count of all of the calories that we consume which often leads to unwanted weight gain instead maintaining progress within our health related goals. So “how do I stop this routine” you ask?
LOG your foods PRIOR to eating!
Yes, I agree logging can be tedious—but logging also keeps be very helpful because it helps you accountable for everything you put into your mouth. We become MINDFUL of what, how much, and why we eat. We need this mindset to achieve and maintain our healthier body composition!
Numerous studies show people who keep record of their eating lose more weight than those who do not. Journaling keeps people focused on their body composition goals. NuStart program participants that log accurately—daily—achieve more consistent weight loss and weight management than those who don’t. Remember, just because your brain forgets the extra handful of candy your body doesn’t. Below are tips to help make logging easier:
- Log in 1 spot—choose the most convenient and least frustrating logging tool.
- Options include: phone app, computer, or handwriting in a journal.
- Show proportions, time, and specific food.
- Keep in mind that your emotions and where you eat can be helpful to identify eating patterns.
Logging allows you to Evaluate!
- Rate your day—details are better; however, if details inhibit you from logging consistently consider utilizing a simple “rate my day” method by setting basic criteria to rate your day. Below is an example:
- You set daily criteria of 7 servings of veggies, 64 ounces of water, 7.5 hours of sleep, and 15 minutes of exercise. Then rate your day on your app or on a calendar marking either green, yellow, or red with the goal of stringing as many green days together as possible. A quick glance at your calendar will be a good gauge to how you’re doing.
- Make it easier—save the foods you eat daily/frequently within ‘meals’ or ‘favorites’ in a phone app to log more efficiently.
- Plan ahead—plan what you’ll be eating for several days out. Having a plan and a grocery list will help you resist mindless eating and impulse purchases.
- Log prior to eating—plan what you’ll be eating to help eliminate the excuse of not remembering or that you ran out of time. Avoid waiting until the end of the day. Logging after hardly ever works and if you can’t log accurately, it’s a total waste of time.
- Accurately record portion sizes—use a scale to weigh your food so you become familiar with portion sizes or use a visual tool like your hand to help you ensure you eat the proper proportion.
- Be honest—record every food morsel, no matter how big or small. Even little bites and sips add up over time. Accuracy will truly make a difference.
- Log consistently over the course of months—logging for just a few days here and there is not enough. Logging consistently over longer periods of times will help you identify your eating patterns and enable you to make adjustments as you work to achieve your healthier body composition. Over a year’s time you will be able to identify seasonal eating patterns…so its important log throughout all four seasons. Consistency and accuracy are keys to achieving success.
Once you realize your patterns and habits, it will become easier to implement changes. Logging is a great way to help you develop the awareness you need to make meaningful change in your eating patterns and food choices.
