Food Journaling

Food journaling

Research has concluded 'subjects that use a food diary lose THREE TIMES as much weight as those that don't',

The Flash Diary is the easiest way by far to keep a food diary!

A food diary is a daily log of what you eat and drink each day. The diary helps you (and your doctor, coach or therapist) understand your eating habits. It can help you realize what you consume, when, where and why. Once you know this, you can make changes to your diet to improve your weight.

• It can help you remember what you have eaten that day.
• If you are also tracking calories, you can see where you can improve if you are trying to achieve a goal.
• It will let you see if you are eating too much or not enough.
• It will let you see what time of day you typically get hungry and help you adjust your eating schedule.
• It can help you realize if you are eating out of boredom rather than hunger.

The FLASH DIET (Photos)

Food diaries are hard, complicated and easy to forget.  The FLASH DIET tries to uncomplicate things by simply taking a photo of everything you eat, right before you eat it.  Fruit loops for breakfast?  Flash it!  Oatmeal with berries and PB and a drizzle of almond milk.  Flash it!  

At the end of the week, you can look over all of your photos and see the meals that were healthy, and the ones that were not.  The 'splurges', and the 'I have to eat healthy' photos.  you can also see what meals you do well with, and which you struggle with.  This knowledge will help you to get better with the areas of struggle.

If you want to take it up a step, then POST your food photos to Soc Med. for accountability.  Its easy to post a healthy lunch, but much harder to post a bag of peanut M&Ms or a pint of Ben & Jerrys for a snack. And your accountability partner, or others on SM will comment if its unhealthy and they know you are on a healthy eating 'binge'.  Why would they do that??  Because you TOLD THEM TO!!!

The flash diet takes out the need to carry a journal.  It will log what time it is, EXACTLY what was being eaten, and you can write down your thoughts, break down the components and such, when you have time and you are motivated to do such, at a later time instead of every time you are going to eat.

Places online to post your photos.

Body Space @ Bodybuilding.com You can use this site for free, but if you are serious about your workout and nutrition, the monthly BODYFIT would be a good option.  Its under $6 a month!

Evernote  Evernote is amazing.  You can do so much MORE than just save and share your food photos

Flickr  a Free Flickr  account. You get 1,000 of your favorite full-resolution photos and HD videos, shown with ads.

StickK  stickK is an ever evolving Commitment platform with the tools to help you achieve your goals.

Written Diaries

Tips for Food Journaling

Remember the 4 W’s  What, when, where and why (and how 4x)

• What did you eat?  Be as exact as possible
• When? What time of day? 
• Where did you eat?  Homemade, restaurant, or take out/fast food?
• Why were you eating? Were you really hungry?  Stressed? With other ppl? Bored? Take note.
• How/what were you feeling when you decided to get food? 
• How satisfied were you AFTER you ate the food? This is IMPROTANT INFORMATION!
• How much did you consume (a small, normal, large, gorge amount) (snack, lunch, out w'friends)
• How much did it cost? Paying attention to costs can help you stop eating out so much and start making food at home
• If you are tracking calories, try to estimate the portions from the 5 food groups.
• Lastly, it keeps track of how many times a day you eat.

Using a Food Journal Can Help You Lose Weight — And Keep It Off

Keeping a food journal can feel like a drag!  And for some of us, it is a drag. 

BUT, in a study with 142 participants,  people who logged their food at least twice a day were more successful at losing weight than those who did it once — and those who logged three times per day lost the most!!

How does a journal help you lose weight?

First, it holds you accountable. Consistently logging your food helps you consider WHEN, WHERE, WHAT and WHY you’re eating and HOW hungry or satisfied you felt afterwards, as well as HOW much you ate.

This record-keeping can help you have a more positive relationship with food. It also draws your attention to food-related problems that may have. 

The second reason it works is that provides you with information about you, the foods you enjoy (and don't enjoy) plus the places and situations where you eat. It can also help you notice any negative feelings you have before you eat, and help identify why you might be eating (for reasons that have nothing to do with your hunger).

What to write in your food journal

First try to stay as consistent as possible and be patient with yourself. If you miss a day, no big deal. Just pick it back up the next day.

Ways to keep your journal

Pen and paper (good luck with that).

Write a note in your phone, (again, good luck with doing it every time you eat something)

Taking pictures of your food, (people won’t judge you nearly as much, or even really ask)

Use an app. MyFitnessPal, Fitbit and LoseIt — are free apps you can use to track your food.

To start:

Log foods as soon as you can. The key is to record what you’re having when you’re having it. But that’s not always realistic, so take a pic. and fill in the details after.

Write down where you're eating. Most people don’t eat all their meals at home. Keeping a physical or electronic record of where you eat will help you become aware of your where, when and how much food they ate, as well as the cost.

Think about how you're feeling or what you're doing. Reviewing patterns is helpful for finding ways to make specific changes, like if you always grab a snack when you're stressed at work. Once you notice this, then you can try to interrupt the pattern by doing something else.  Maybe take a break and go for a walk.

Flavor over filler. Let’s say you ordered a burrito at lunch. Did you need the wrap, rice, beans, guac, cheese, sour cream, salsas, and meat? Or, were you super full afterward, sluggish through the afternoon in a food coma? Next time you can order a burrito bowl instead. This could help move toward your weight-loss goals by giving you more flavor with less filler.

Note what you may have "missed" at any meal. Did you order a bunless burger at lunch today and then down a bag of chips while driving home? This is not helping your weight goals. If you skip meals or skip satisfying components at a meal, you're likely overeat later on.

Use your food log as a library. It's a go-to list of your favorite items to order, the restaurants where you had a great salad instead of pizza, great homemade recipes you enjoyed, and which options or modifications left you feeling satisfied, not deprived.

Most importantly be honest with yourself. If you’re using a food log but not being totally truthful in your entries, then it's kind of useless. The only person who has to see it is you. Start from a realistic place and make gradual changes. Habits are a result of the choices you make consistently.  Gradually changing your eating habits will work better than completely changing all at once.

Are food logs effective?

If you know you’re susceptible to obsessive eating patterns or food phobias, have a history of an eating disorder or if for any reason at all a food log makes you feel guilt, shame, or fear, then this isn't for you. Keeping track of what you eat is supposed to help you stay mindful and accountable — not feel bad about yourself.

If a food log helps you make positive lifestyle changes, then that’s 15 minutes of your day well-spent!

The Benefits of Food Journaling

Why Keep a Food Diary?