Have you ever kept a daily food journal? It’s a surprising valuable tool if you find that you’ve put on extra pounds in recent years and would like to trim down safely and permanently. How exactly can tracking what you eat and drink on a daily basis help you? Here are 5 very compelling reasons:
Cultivate your awareness
Have you ever heard the phrase, “eating on auto-pilot?” It’s a common practice for many Americans, meaning that they eat for many reasons that have nothing to do with real hunger, or without really considering what they’re munching and why. Writing down what you consume puts you squarely in the driver’s seat and calls your attention directly to your eating patterns. It also helps you tune into your body, and determine when you may be engaging in “situational” or impulse eating instead of consuming regular balanced meals based on actual hunger.
Become more accountable
One of the best reasons to keep a food journal is to become accountable to yourself. That means that you take responsibility for what you eat, and when, which is something that many people aren’t accustomed to doing. Knowing that you’ll be recording your food choices may give you pause before consuming a big dessert when you’re really still full from dinner, or going back for seconds at a buffet, for example. This is especially important when you truly want to lose weight, because you’ll be reminded when you’re eating more than you need, which is obviously counterproductive to your goals.
Zero in on your triggers
Weight gain is often due to eating for reasons other than hunger. We may literally be triggered to eat by our feelings, also known as emotional eating. Triggers may include stress, boredom, anger, or sadness. Emotional eating is a coping mechanism as well as a double-edged sword, because even if we stuff our feelings down with food, they’re still there. Why is this unhealthy to mind, body and spirit? For one, it doesn’t resolve our issues, and can even compound our problems when it leads to weight gain. It can also damage our self-esteem and overall well-being. Keeping a food journal is the best way to identify these patterns, and ultimately change them for the better.
Regain portion control
Poor portion control is often implicated in weight gain. In fact, 54% of Americans typically clean their plates at every meal, even when food is “super sized.” If you want to get a handle on how much you’re really eating, your journal is a perfect tool. The first step is defining normal, healthy portions of foods you regularly consume. The Japanese, a famously slim, healthy culture, have a practice called Hara hachi bu which is to eat to just 80% full. It’s a wise habit and when you become accustomed to it, you not only heal from over-eating, you also improve your digestion and peace of mind, feeling better overall as you trim down.
Track your progress
By raising your awareness about your daily food choices and eating habits, your food journal is an invaluable tool in your quest to lose weight safely and permanently. As you pinpoint habits that promote weight gain and phase them out while gradually implement healthy new behaviors, your food journal is a valuable record of your progress. You really can lock in healthy new habits and transform your diet for good! Why not start living the confident, healthy, happy life, empowered life you’ve imagined?