The first thing that I insist upon for each and every one of my clients is to keep an open mind and upbeat attitude. The next step towards a healthier lifestyle is to maintain a detailed food journal. Just as someone might keep a “personal goal journal” or “daily blessing journal”, the all important food journal should include the foods you eat along with the time you are eating. Feelings and thoughts about food as well as being able to evaluate your degree of hunger should be included in a well thought out food journal. It would be so much easier to provide my clients with a pre-written calendar like diary, including days of the week and a space for each meal and snack. But that doesn’t work because it is not individually created and reflective of what a person is eating and feeling. On initial assessment, a form is just perfect because the basic details of one’s dietary habits can be initially evaluated. But when one “creates” her own food journal (with guidance of what needs to be included by a health care professional), including specific comments on eating behaviors, timing of meals and even blood sugar readings it becomes personal. Eating is very personal. Everyone is an individual. And that is why nutrition counseling based on specific dietary needs works and ” general pre-printed diets” don’t. Food journals will identify nutritional issues as well as emotional and behavioral responses to daily situations.
If you write it, you own it. If you write down what you eat, you will connect your food and exercise program. At least initially, basic portion sizes and little bites have to be included. (100 calories here and 50 calories there still count). If you have diabetes, writing down your food and connecting it with your blood sugar response is the only way to see if your diabetes care plan (food, exercise and medications) is working for you. Requiring clients to keep a food journal allows them to see what they are actually eating. “Had a bad day” is not a descriptive food record. Honestly recording your food is a way to document what you are doing and why you are doing it. People who keep food journals significantly improve their chances of losing weight and more importantly have an increased chance of keeping the weight off long term. And for many, that is the ultimate goal!
If you have a blood sugar issue and you record what you are eating and when you are eating it, you will eventually be able to identify which foods and how much carbohydrate cause an increase in blood sugar levels. Reviewing the food journal with your registered dietitian can help pinpoint why you are not losing weight or why your blood sugar levels are high in the morning or why you are starving in the mid afternoon. According to a study done in 2008 (by Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health) of about 1700 people showed that those who kept a detailed food journal of what they ate and drank for six days a week lost twice as much weight as those who did not keep a food record. Wow!
If you have been resistant to writing down your food, consider how interesting it would be to evaluate what you eat and why you are eating it. It’s time to learn how to change your habits. Writing down what you eat, when you eat it and how you feel about your food is an incredibly important tool in improving your overall nutritional health. Stop fighting and start writing!
If your dog is overweight, chances are that you are not walking enough. Dogs tend to resemble their owners. We have all seen those pictures of cute doggies who appear to have a striking resemblance to their owners. I am a dog lover, and proud owner of “Seamus”, a rescue dog who is the perfect blend of Saint Bernard and Collie. I can say without reservation that I feel better after walking my dog (and so does he).