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What Is a Food Journal?

A food journal is used to document what you eat and other details related to your health habits. Food journaling is a practice that can improve wellness and help you lose unwanted weight. If you are struggling with challenges in the area of weight loss, starting a food journal can help you overcome barriers.

  1. Function

    • The act of keeping a food journal involves the process of writing down the foods you eat each day. It is a transportable book that you can take with you wherever you go for recording your food intake and related information such as when you ate and how you felt at the time. A food journal helps you track the amount of food you eat so you can better identify reasons why you may be struggling to lose weight.

    Benefits

    • Recording your food intake in your journal will make you more aware of when, what and why you eat. You can identify if you are getting all the nutrients your body needs through foods, snacking when you are bored or overdoing it on unhealthy foods when you are stressed. You will then be able to recognize where you need to make changes to reach your weight loss and health goals.

    Features

    • Your food journal should be small enough to carry with you throughout the day. Choosing a portable journal increases the chance that you will take it with you. Select a journal based on your personality, needs and budget. It can be in the form of an inexpensive notebook, a notepad with a character on the front that makes you smile or a fancy, leather bound booklet.

    Types

    • Your food journal can take on many forms and can include different information based on the goals you have set for yourself. For the best results, it should include three main pieces of information: the food you ate, when you ate it and how you were feeling when you ate it. In addition you can include information such as the portion size, the calorie content, the fat content and a summary of your thoughts and feelings that day.

    Considerations

    • Remember to record every single thing you eat or drink in your journal. If you get into the habit of forgetting it or skipping over some foods you won't be able to identify where you need to make changes. Be honest and don't be too hard on yourself if you feel you have eaten too many unhealthy foods on a specific day. The goal of keeping a food journal is to improve your health and well-being over time.

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