The answer to successful weight loss may be hiding in your desk drawer – a pen and a pad of paper. A study published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that individuals who kept a food diary as part of a behavioral intervention program were more likely to achieve weight loss. Other stong predictors included greater amounts of physical activity and higher attendance rates at weekly group sessions led by nutritionists and behavioral specialists. Individuals who recorded more days experienced greater weight loss.
Why do food journals work?
- They identify patterns of food consumption. When you document the foods eaten, the reasons for eating those foods, and the feelings that were experienced around those snacks and meals, you are able to identify why you eat what you do. For instance, your diet records may show that you eat high-calorie snacks at night on days that have been particularly stressful. This recognition will allow you to devise a plan to avoid this trigger to eat.
- They increase your awareness of those areas in which you are consuming an inefficient amount, or an overabundance, of nutrients and calories. You may find that you are skimping on breakfast and binge eating at dinner. You may also discover that you are not consuming enough plant-based foods and that most of your calories are coming from fatty fast food meals. By putting food measurements into writing, it helps to make it “click” just how much you are actually eating of a particular food or food group.
- They promote portion control. Areas of excessive calorie consumption are easily identified. For instance, did you really need to eat two chicken breasts at dinner or could you have had just one with a little extra salad?
- They provide accountability. It is easy to “mindlessly” eat and to convince yourself that “a little here and a little there” won’t make a big difference. But, when you actually have to write it down it is not so easy to “cheat” yourself.
What should you record in a food journal?
- What you eat and drink.
- Measurements of what you eat and drink.
- Time that you ate.
- Why you ate.
- Episodes leading up to the eating event.
- Feelings before, during, and after eating.
- Include weekends as well as weekdays and light days as well as overindulgent days.
Where can you find online tools to help with food diary recording, calorie calculation, and meal planning?
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Diet Diary
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institure Meal Planner
- USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion Healthy Eating Index
- MyPyramid.gov
- FitDay
- NutritionData
Has a food journal helped you to lose weight? Share with us, we want to know!
Sources of Information:
Sports Nutrition Guidebook, fourth edition, Clark. N.
ACSM’s Resource Manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, sixth edition.
Am J Prev Med 2008:35(2), “Weight Loss During the Intensive Intervention Phase of the Weight-Loss Maintenance Trial,” Hollis, J.F., et al.
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