How to Watch What You Eat

Watching what you eat will help you to lead a healthier, more productive life. Staying motivated by setting realistic short and long term weight goals is the key to maintaining healthy eating habits. The amount and type of food that you can eat each day depends on how fast you want to reach your target weight. Performing a regular cardiovascular workout will help you reach your weight goal at a faster rate and also allow you to enjoy a few extra meals.

Things You'll Need

• Calorie book
• Meal containers
• Scale
• Journal

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Instructions

• 1

  Plan your meals a week in advance. Break up your daily diet into six small meals and check the calorie content of each individual meal. Plan to eat more carbohydrates early in the day to help give you energy. Eat more total calories earlier in the day and then taper off in the evening. Try not to eat for at least four hours before you go to sleep at night.

• 2

  Take your lunch with you to work so you can avoid eating out at a restaurant with your co-workers. If you do occasionally eat out with a co-worker or your boss, order something light off of the menu and drink water instead of soda or tea. Keep a variety of healthy snacks in your desk at work so you do not have to eat food from the vending machine.

• 3

  Drink plenty of water every day to keep hydrated and help suppress your appetite. Keep several water bottles with you at work and take them home to refill every night if the quality of water at work is not acceptable. Avoid drinking beverages with caffeine such as coffee or soda. Increase your daily water consumption if you do have a caffeinated drink on a regular basis.

• 4

  Monitor your weight on a weekly basis. Weigh yourself on the same day every week at the same time, preferably in the morning when you first wake up. Use the same scale each week to get a consistent reading. Reward yourself with a dessert at the end of the week if you are ahead of the target weight goal. Cut out a portion of one meal if you are behind schedule.

• 5

  Write down everything you eat during the day in a journal. Use the journal to keep track of your weight goals and progress. Set realistic new goals for the weeks and months ahead. Refer back to the journal when you set new goals and note the weeks where you made significant progress. Eat the same way going forward to continue working toward your ultimate weight goal.