Keeping a food diary or journal is a great tool to assess your eating habits and patterns; what you’re eating or not eating, etc. It helps identify what nutrients you’re missing out on and what foods you should probably cut back on.
“Research shows that for people interested in losing weight, keeping a journal can be a very effective tool to help change behavior. In one weight loss study of nearly 1,700 participants, those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records.” ₁
It also helps with Intuitive, Mindful Eating which is the act of listening to your body and it’s natural hunger cues which helps you become more mindful of what you’re eating and slowing down to actually chew and enjoy your food.
To change your behaviors, you have to become aware of them and keeping a food journal helps you do just that. And let’s be honest, with so many distractions in the world today, it’s hard to remember what day it is, let alone what you had for breakfast yesterday or the day before.
“Those who kept daily food journals consumed fewer calories, resulting in twice as much weight loss, as those who did not keep journals. The study indicated that about 70% of participants lost enough weight to lower their health risks because they kept track of what they eat daily.” ₂
Not only that, “keeping a food record of everything you eat and drink was identified as the #1 key strategy for weight loss in a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.” ₃
So as you can see, keeping a food journal is not “busy” work for your health coach or nutritionist for no reason. It’s a very effective way to identify how your body responds to foods, which helps you lose and manage your weight for the long-haul.
Benefits of Keeping a Food Journal:
- More Aware & Accountable of what you eat
- Easier to stay consistent and truly change your eating habits, resulting in a true lifestyle change
- Increases your chances of weight loss & keeping it off
- Decreases your risk of chronic disease or illness
3 Tips to Keeping a Successful Food Journal:
- Document What You’re Eating & Drinking- are you eating more processed foods and not enough whole foods? OR See a pattern of how certain foods make you feel or any food allergies/intolerances you were unaware of. Drinking too many sodas or juices and not enough water?
- Document How Much You’re Eating – (Portion Control) Are you eating too much, or NOT enough?
- Document What Time You’re Eating- are you late night snacking, eating out of boredom or going too long without eating?
These are great ways to start tracking your food and becoming more mindful of what you’re consuming. I recommend keeping a food journal consistently for at least one to two months. This way you have plenty of entries to review and get an idea how your body is responding to certain foods, etc.
Some of my clients continue to keep their journal throughout the whole duration of their 3 or 6 month program just to make sure they feel comfortable and solid with their new eating patterns and foundation.
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There’s power and accountability in writing, so I prefer and recommend writing over digital trackers. That’s why, after 10 years of being in the industry and not feeling comfortable with recommending other journals to my clients because they all were lacking something, I created my very own 90-Day Holistic Nutrition Food Guide that has successfully helped my clients get control of their eating patterns, lose weight and reverse ailments and MORE!
It’s an interactive guide that guides you to eating the right foods for you and your body specifically, which will help you lose weight, eliminate cravings and create a healthier relationship with food.
So grab your copy of the 90-Day Holistic Nutrition Food Guide and start your JENuine Journey to better health!
❤ Jen!