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How to start a food journal
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A food diary can be a powerful weight-loss tool or something that offers an eye-opening perspective of your eating habits. Find out how to track what you eat and drink, and reach your nutritional goals.
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By Vickie Reichardt
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What do you eat in a day? How much? And, more importantly, why?
Jennifer Shamblaw, a registered dietitian with Toronto Public Health, says keeping a food journal and recording that information can be an invaluable tool towards developing healthy eating behaviours, meeting daily requirements per Canada's Food Guide and, in many cases, losing weight.
"It can be a huge wake-up call for many people who often underestimate their serving sizes and portions," she notes.
But how do you start a food journal, and what information should you include? Here are some of Shamblaw's suggestions:
1. Record it all. In order to have an accurate picture of your diet, record every item of food and every beverage you consume in day, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant (e.g., include cream and sugar in coffee, ketchup on fries, etc.)
2. Measure. "Serving sizes absolutely need to be recorded accurately," says Shamblaw. "People simply don't realize how much food they're eating." Use measuring cups and spoons to get precise amounts. This may seem excessive at first, but consistently measuring helps you learn what constitutes one serving, and the more familiar you become with portion size, the easier it is to gauge quantity when dining out.
3. Monitor the what, when and the how. How and why you're eating is just as important as what and when, says Shamblaw. So, in addition to recording what you've consumed and the time you consumed it, record how (e.g., in front of the TV, at a food court) and why (e.g., because you're hungry, because you're depressed). This can help target external cues and underlying issues related to eating, as well as track the spacing of meals and snacks.
4. Journal immediately. The best way to keep up your journalling is to record the information as you eat, rather than waiting until the end of the day (when you might forget something) to recap.
5. Take notes. If your journal is cumbersome to carry with you all day, keep a small notepad in your bag or your pocket to take with you when you're out so that you can record anything you might eat or drink, and then add that information to your journal when you get home.
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