by Sam O'Quinn

Created on: October 07, 2008   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

In a culture of over-indulgence, instant gratification, and a litany of fast food restaurants, we have become overweight and unhealthy. There are hundreds of fad diets out there to help you on your way to a healthier, thinner, better you. However, most of us know that the word diet' is a profane four letter word to be avoided because diets usually fail. The true key to weight loss and better health is lifestyle change.

One major step toward this newfound lifestyle change is keeping a food journal. The objective of keeping a food journal is to make yourself more aware, conscious, and accountable for what and how much you are ingesting. It may sound tedious and time consuming, but a food journal only takes a few minutes to complete. It is an extremely beneficial tool in holding yourself accountable for your actions, informing yourself of the nutritional values of food, tracking your daily activities, and even why you are eating. Many people over eat because they are emotional eaters instead of eating simply because they are hungry.

A general rule of thumb is to take a week and simply write down everything you eat and drink, as you normally would, without doing the calorie, salt, sugar, cholesterol, and fat calculations. This gives you a baseline of how much food you are actually taking into your body without being conscious of the nutritional values. Try to make this baseline as non-biased as possible. At the end of the week, count up the calories, fat, cholesterol, salt, and sugar you have been ingesting. After you have your baseline, you will be able to improve upon your lifestyle change by adjusting your food intake and being conscious of your actions.

There are several ways to keep track of your progress. There are many Internet sites that offer support to people trying to lose weight, which includes online food journals. The simplest method is to carry a notepad in your purse or car so you can write down how much you are eating when you are finished. That way, you don't forget those two bites of dessert you had or the extra roll you munched on while you were waiting for your salad. You can either purchase a calorie counting book to carry with you, or if you prefer, use your favorite search engine to search for nutritional information. Once you establish a routine, keeping a food journal will become a breeze as you learn the nutritional values of your favorite foods.

A food journal is a great tool for insight regardless of whether you are trying to lose weight, watch your cholesterol, control high blood pressure, or simply improve your overall health. By being honest with yourself about how much you are eating and perhaps even why you are eating, you will be able to make a lifestyle change you can live with. While keeping a food journal may seem like a hassle at first, you will soon be celebrating your success as you become a healthier, more conscious, you.

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