I've seen it a million times. A client comes to me for the purposes of dietary counseling and he or she will tell me, "I hardly eat anything at all."
I ask all of my clients to complete a food diary for me and when I provide them the results, they're shocked at just how much they actually do eat.
Why would these individuals tell me they didn't really eat much at all? Were they trying to fool me?
The answer 95 percent of the time is no, they were actually fooling themselves. The problem is, as our busy lives go on, we tend to eat more than we think we do. We underestimate the exact amount of our daily intake because we fail to take into consideration portion size (usually much larger than what we think), grazing (such as taking a handful of jelly beans from a candy bowl) and fluid calories.
It's only when individuals are asked to write down everything they eat and drink that the true story is told. The importance of keeping a food diary goes way beyond just the food we eat. A recent study following 1,800 men and women over a six-month period showed that those who kept a food diary lost 50 percent more weight than those who did not.
So what's the secret?
Here are few perspectives on why food diaries are important:
Food Logs 101:
You don't need a personal dietitian to start a food log, all you need is the time and commitment to track everything you put in your mouth. Studies show that tracking your food intake for a week or more yields the best results, but even recording your food for one day can make a difference. Be specific and track everything. I tell my clients to carry a pen and paper at all times to record consumption of food. Do not rely on memory because at the end of the day, chances are high that you'll forget something "minor." You'll forget about that sample at a grocery store or your conversation with your co-worker when you grabbed a handful of goodies from her desk -- those calories count.
Remember to accurately assess portion sizes. That means you'll have to measure out all your food choices at least for a few days. You may quickly realize that your portion sizes are much larger than you need and this may force you to assess your goals to consume only appropriate portions of food. For example, a serving of meat should be equivalent to a deck of cards, a bagel should be equivalent to a hockey puck and a serving of peanut butter should only be the size of a ping pong ball.
Make sure to record the time of day and emotions surrounding your food choices. This will help you better assess how far apart your snacks and meals are. The further out your meals are from one another, the greater the fluctuations in your blood sugar will be and the more likely you will overeat at your next meal. Aim for five smaller meals a day rather than the usual three squares. Second, assess any connection between your emotions and your food choices. Knowing your triggers will help you avoid the stress eating pitfalls.
Finally, record where you consumed food and assess how often you are eating in appropriate settings. Food should be consumed in an enjoyable environment free of distractions and disturbances. Several studies show that eating in front of the TV or in the car actually makes us eat much more.
Be Honest
I've seen people get so wrapped up in the food log that they actually start lying to themselves and under-report their food consumption. Remember that honesty is truly the best policy when you are doing a food diary simply for yourself or at the request of a health professional.
Keeping your records may mean further motivation to reach your goals. Keeping a food diary provides a historical perspective on all the amazing changes you've made throughout the weeks, months and years. It provides a tool that can be used to keep your motivation up to make further changes and may also increase your self-esteem as well! Getting back on track with healthy eating is difficult enough. Arming yourself with all the tools you'll need to get on track and stay on track is crucial. Keeping a food diary has been shown to have a dramatic effect on this!
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This was clearly demonstrated in a wonderful BBC documentary called “10 things you need to know about losing weight”. Number 3 is "count your calories" and therein lies the rub... people often under reported them.
You can view this informative video and learn about the 9 other "things" here:
http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2010/07/weightloss-tips/
I also measure my portions for things like brown rice, steel cut oats etc. I was finding I had portion distortion.
This sound impressive, until you consider that, by two years, at least half of both groups will have gained-back all of the weight they lost initially. At five years, only about 5% will have maintained their initial weight-loss, and most (somewhere between one-half and two-thirds) of the remaining 95% will weight more than they did when they started.
At some point, you'd think that people would start to realize that the "weight-loss industry" does nothing more than victimize the obese and create return customers.
Over ten years, at 2,000 calories a day, a human being will consume 7,300,000 calories.
To maintain weight within ten pounds over ten years by counting calories requires an accuracy of about 0.5%, or 11 calories a day.
Are you seriously proposing that anyone who doesn't live outside a laboratory can estimate their caloric intake within 11 calories every day for ten years?
Anorexia is a mental illness with a very high fatality rate, and its onset is triggered by dieting.
If you find yourself afraid to put anything in your mouth without writing it down, you may be headed in a very dangerous direction.Keep the focus on health, and you'll be a lot safer.
I track everything I eat with an online tool, and I weigh and measure my food. It's amazing how you assume that piece of chicken is about 3 ounces, but when you put it on the scale it is actually 7 ounces.
It's a lifestyle that will be very rewarding, but you do have to prepare and work your program.
I started tracking my food last week, and OMFG I got a shock on how much I was consuming. Especially how much calories there is in liquids. One latte, one juice and a cookie extra a day really adds up over the months.
Your up-front approach with tips and suggestions makes this sound so easy and fun that I just started by writing my lunch! uh oh, I'll be better at dinner after my snack.
Thanks, you really inspire me to be stay healthy.