How to Journal What You Eat
"Journaling, Food Cravings and Overeating"
By Tony Ostian, Health and Fitness Director
Do you often wonder why you have such a hard time losing weight? Why you sit down and eat an entire bag of potato chips at one sitting?
Guess what?
The answer may lie in your eating patterns and the factors that affect them.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to fight against these factors.
That's because one of the most important tools in weight loss and creating a balanced life is
journaling.
Journaling is the actual writing down and keeping track of all the foods you eat throughout the day, as well as how you feel before and after you eat.
By keeping a journal, you'll recognize what factors trigger your food cravings, and how you can make adjustments to your daily eating patterns in order to successfully avoid
overeating.
In addition, to helping you recognize your problem areas and the things that prompt you to overeat, maintaining a
journal is an excellent tool for keeping yourself honest and on track in all areas of your life.
What's more, you'll be able to see an accurate picture of how much you actually eat everyday.
Most importantly, you'll be able to see when and how you can make positive changes. Thus, you eliminate guess work and ineffective adjustments.
So, be patient and listen to your body and mind while journaling.
Overeating or binge eating habits can stem from feelings of loneliness, depression, anger, and even boredom.
That's why it's important to evaluate possible causes or triggers to your food cravings. Once you've identified them, you'll be able to deal with them and maintain more control of your actions and choices.
During the holiday's, you may find that family gatherings bring on stress, causing you to
overeat at these times. To avoid this, make sure you eat a healthy meal beforehand.
Providing your body with its nutritional needs will help keep you satisfied and also less stressed.
Once you have your journal figured out and your eating habits are identified, controlling the situations will become a much easier task.
Of course, be completely honest when you start your journal. It's often tempting to be selective of what you write in your
journal. However, it's important to enter everything in order for it to be effective.
Finally, don't judge yourself. You're making the effort to change and that's a step in the right direction.
Happy journaling!
