Keep A Food Journal For Weight Loss

Are you looking to lose weight, but aren't sure of how to begin? Have you had problems losing weight in the past? One thing that can help tremendously in losing weight is keeping a food journal. Yes, writing down everything you eat might seem tedious at first, but you will see very quickly that it is worth the effort.

First, start making the food journal *before* you start your weight loss plan.  Not only does it make you more aware of exactly what it is you are putting in your body, it gives you a 'visual' to help you decide what changes to make as time goes on. If you utilize the food journal correctly you will write down every snack, drink and meal that you consume each day for about one week. By doing this you can then begin to create your weight loss plan going forward. Take the week that you worth down all of your foods and add the calories up for each day. Next, go onto to free calorie weight chart and see how close you were to the amount of calories you need to maintain your current weight. If you are way over that amount then you know what you need to do to lose the weight. If you are under then look closely at the foods you were eating. Were they high in fat or sugar? How many servings of vegetables and fruits did you consume during the week? Look closely at the food choices you were making and in most cases you will notice there are many poor food choices that you will need to change.

Next, you must begin your new weight loss food plan and map out the entire week or weeks ahead of you with which meals and snacks you will be eating. Track your progress in your food journal and write everything down, even the times when you may cheat off of your diet and they can be very crucial. When you write it all down you are not only receiving the benefits of learning exactly how many calories you are consuming each day, but you are also noticing a pattern as far as which times of the day you are more prone to stray from your diet and when you need to play close attention to having the right foods in the house to avoid those occurrences in the near future. You will continue the food entries into your journal for quite some time after you have reached your weight loss goals to track your progression and to also look into any changes you may need make for the future. You will also receive other benefits by keeping a food journal such as which foods may be making you sick and which foods result in giving you more energy during the day and which ones make you tired as well.