by Arlene Mae

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

BLTs, Bites, licks and tastes seem harmless. But in reality they add up really fast. There are several benefits to keeping a food diary. It is not only a place to record your BLTs, meals and snacks but a place to record how you felt, who you were with, and what time it was.

These things may not seem important but they are all related to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. A diary or journal is a place to record what and how much you consumed. It is forever written down so it can be used as a reference either by the dieter or the doctor. Often times when weight loss is slow or the dieter has a weight gain, the journal is a great place to go look at the weeks where there was a weight loss and check out the types of foods you consumed that week, in comparison to what the dieter is currently consuming.

In addition to what and how much, it is a place to record if you have eaten enough of the basic guidelines for weight loss. Make check boxes on the side of your journal so you can easily see if you have met your healthy guidelines for the day. Check boxes can be used to check at glance if the dieter has met required servings of healthy oil, dairy, veggie\fruits and daily water intake for the day.

Not only record the food intake but mark what time of day it was and how you felt. The ideal person eats several times a day. Not full size meals, but 3 moderate meals and 2 snacks, the idea is to eat every 3-4 hours. If the blood sugar level remains steady, then the dieter will not experience spikes that lead to over eating. An even blood sugar level ensures the calories you consume will be burned instead of stored as fat. Once the dieter becomes ravenous hungry, their ability to make the correct choices is impaired. It is best to carry healthy snacks with you to ensure you have something to keep your hunger under control. Monitoring how you felt when you ate, will help determine if you eat in reaction to events or emotions. Whether you were sad, bored, upset or happy, at the time, mark it down.

Above all else, be honest while keeping a food journal, to cheat is to only hurt your self. The journal or diary is not only a place to discover negatives; it is a place to see what you are doing right. Record your weight each week at the end of the journal, reflect on what you did good and what you can do better. Write down goals for the following week.

Planning is to key to success on a weight loss journey. The journal is the place to plan your day. Write down what you are planning to eat, go back and make changes as necessary, this is a working document. It has been proven the dieters that plan ahead stay ahead. So start using a food journal and begin your weigh loss journey, don't forget to count the BLTs along the way!

Learn more about this author, Arlene Mae.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.