by Jennifer Blanke

Created on: August 07, 2008

Keeping track of the food you eat is vital to losing weight, changing poor eating habits, or adding specific nutritional elements into your diet. Your doctor may want you to lower your salt intake or your cholesterol. You may need more fiber in order to meet the daily recommended allowance. In order to know what you are consuming on a daily basis and to see if your body is getting everything it needs, you must keep track of the food you eat. This can be achieved by keeping a food diary or journal; a basic log book of what you eat.

Keeping a food journal or diary is simple and can be done on paper, computer, or online. These records can be individualized to keep track of calories, fat, fiber, water intake and anything else needed. Food journals or diaries are the way to go!

Paper food journal or diary
There are numerous types and styles of food journals available through retail outlets. A little investigation and you will find something to suit your needs. You can also create your own food journal either by using print outs from various websites or simply a spiral or three ring notebook. Figure out what you want to keep track of and list it at the top of the page or type it once and make copies to place in the ringed notebook. You will also need a complete food book that lists nutritional information such as calories, fat, fiber, and sugar. This information can also be found online. If you are currently involved with a specific weight loss program, check to see if they have a food journal available.

Computer food journal or diary
Convenience is the key and if you are at the computer all day, then this is your best choice. You can create a word document or spreadsheet with the headings you desire and then throughout the day, go to that document and log in your food. You can even get creative and use an Excel spreadsheet to tally your calories on a daily and weekly basis. Nutritional information is available online and here are a few websites that offer a large database of food: www.calorielab.com, www.calorieking.com.

Online food journal or diary
There are many websites that offer a free food journal or diary. They range in the scope of information you can enter and offer a variety of functions including exercise logs too! Here are a few sites to check out: www.my-calorie-counter.com, www.fitday.com, www.thedailyplate.com and www.myfooddiary.com ($9 per month).

Being aware of what you eat is very important to your overall health and well-being; so begin now keeping track of the food you eat!

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