Move Those Feet!

Write it down!

In the struggle to lose weight, few tools will serve you better than a food diary. Even if you’re just looking to stave off those extra pounds, keeping an honest account of your daily food intake can be key. A completely accurate record of eating habits will help you get a handle on your real relationship with food, giving insight on not only what you eat, but when, where, why, and with whom. It’s reporting for nutrition. But in order for it to work, taking responsibility for keeping it faithfully is essential. You must write down what you’ve eaten right after you eat it…don’t count on your memory at the end of the day. Don’t look at it as a chore, but instead as a way to raise your food awareness. Knowing that you will have to record eating Oreo Cakesters at 1 am may help change your opinion on the necessity of the act itself. The only successful weight loss program includes a change in lifestyle, and the first step to that is mindfulness. As you build awareness of your food habits and begin to see patterns in your eating, you will also begin to take more responsibility for your food choices. You’ll also learn to be in touch with how you feel about food and about your eating habits. A food diary forces you to pay attention to the feelings you have about food and eating and makes you aware of your own ability to make choices, good or bad. Good choices will help you lose weight and keep it off through your lifetime. Here is the information to include with each entry:

• Time: Record the exact time that you are eating.
• Food: Note what you have eaten, how it was prepared, and the size of the serving as best as you can determine it. Also include as many ingredients of the dish as you think necessary.
• Degree of Hunger: Define hunger as a desire to eat regardless of the reason, and rate the desire on a scale from 0 to 4, with 0 indicating no hunger and 4 indicating extreme hunger.
• Situation (Place/Activity): Where were you and who were you with when you had the food or drink? This will give clues on eating habits in particular repeating social situations such as dinner with the family or drinks with co-workers.
• Comments: Write down anything that may be relevant to your food choice or the way you felt after eating. Maybe after you eat that brownie you realize that you only did it because you were bored or lonely. This realization may help motivate you to find another way to fill yourself up without food.

Remember that attempting to keep the diary in your head is likely to be less effective than putting things down on paper. Writing things down helps us focus and lends authority to the process itself,  helping you pay closer attention to your eating. It also increases your committment by turning your long-term weight loss or maintenance goals into short-term reminders. It serves to create an internal dialogue that emphasizes the importance of what you’re doing. Writing it down will also empower you: this is a problem you’re solving, not a condition that makes you helpless. So write it down… consistently, thoroughly, and in black and white for all to see.

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