We all know how easy it is to give in to food cravings, and overindulge.
I happen to love food, and unfortunately have an affinity for sweets, so I have to watch my weight from time to time.
Luckily there is a great solution to get back into shape fast , effectively and in the healthy way: keeping a FOOD DIARY!
It REALLY WORKS !! But the trick is that you CAN’T CHEAT ! You have to write down absolutely everything!
When you write things down, it will increase your awareness of what you are putting in your mouth on a daily basis. You will also be able to check that you are getting the right balance of nutrients in your diet, so reviewing your diary at the end of the day is really important.
For me, knowing that I have to write everything down, automatically makes me pay closer attention to my food choices and eat less. I won’t put a second piece of my favourite blueberry pie in my mouth because I don’t want to see it in my food record. It really helps that you are countable to someone. Even if it’s only you!
5 Tips for keeping a food diary and losing weight the healthy way:
- Mark everything down as soon as you have eaten. Keep a pen and your diary in your kitchen. Don’t wait until the evening to mark things down. Write down the specific time you ate or drank. Have a meal or small snack every 3 to 4 hours. Also try drinking more water to speed up your metabolism). Pay attention to portion size.
- Try to cook at home as much as possible. Steer away from processed food: they are loaded with fructose and lots of harmful ingredients. Try to use fresh ingredients as much as possible(preferably organic). Try to limit your starchy carb (potatoes, bread, pasta..) and sugar intake. Add more fresh, organic vegetables in your diet. Only have one fruit per day max, since consuming too much fructose will ruin your diet. Favour berries over fruits.
- Pay attention to what you drink! Your drink can contain a lot of empty calories. Try to drink only water(preferably spring water or filtered water), sparkling water, tea/coffee(without milk and sugar) or kombucha. You can also juice your own drinks, but if you want to lose weight, make sure that your drinks don’t contain too many fruits. Fruits are high in fructose, so they can easily eliminate all your hard work if you consume too much of them. Also steer away from alcohol and diet sodas. Alcohol is converted by your body into simple sugar, and diet sodas will only make you crave more sugar. Remember, that the foods you choose to eat are THREE times more important for controlling your weight than your exercise. It’s very easy to ruin your diet with sugary foods and drinks.
- Try to practise some kind of exercise! You don’t need to spend a lot of time for that if you do HIIT exercise(high intensity interval training). That means doing some form of exercise(like spinning, running) with your maximum capacity for 20-30 seconds, then rest for 90 seconds. Repeat 6 to 8 times, and your workout is done. You will achieve the same result as what you’d get by doing running for an hour. Actually even better, since you’ll keep on burning calories after your HIIT workout. If you do regular running, you only burn calories while doing it. You only need to do this kind of exercise 1-3 times per week. So no excuses! 🙂
- Mark down your weight every day. Weigh yourself every day at the same time. If you do weight lifting, don’t be surprised if you start to gain weight. Muscle is 3 times more dense than fat, so this might happen at first (even though you’ll get firmer). Seeing your weight plummet will get you more motivated and determined to keep on going. Keep on filling your diary at least for one whole week!
If you don’t own a food diary yet, you can get the one that I use (I made it myself). It has motivational quotes for every day of the week to help you get motivated! I love using it!
You will get the motivational food diary for FREE when signing up for my newsletter(keep on scrolling down). I hope you enjoy it and get results fast!
If you know anyone who might benefit from these 5 tips for keeping a food diary and lose weight the healthy way, please share this article.
