Food Journaling

Do you KEEP a food journal? or do you keep a food journal?


If you are not being accurate and honest, you are doing yourself a disservice.


It is estimated that those that keep a food journal under-estimate their caloric intake by 40%, and over-estimate their workouts by 60%.


That's CRAZY! No wonder you aren't losing weight!

T

The Nutrition label.
This is the label on the side of a box of elbow macaroni (brand is hidden for legal purposes).
Do you see where it says serving size - 2oz?
Do you know what 2oz of uncooked elbow macaroni looks like?


Well, before I show you I want to ask you this: How many of you eat pasta, of any shape or size and just load it on your plate and then sauce it up? How many servings do you think you are eating? What would you log into your food journal? Most of you would put 1 or 2 servings in your food journal. I know this because i did it too.


This is what 1 serving of elbow macaroni looks like

That is 1/4 cup (or 2oz) of uncooked elbow macaroni. I know the picture doesn't do it much justice, so go and physically look at your 1/4 cup measuring cup.

That 1/4 cup WITHOUT sauce is 200 calories.


Pick your jaw up, please. I know it's shocking, and you might feel food deprived, but you won't be, and here is why.


When you eat the foods you are supposed to eat according to the recommendations, you are not binging. With that said, you are suggested to eat every 2-4 hours; this keeps your metabolism burning, your hunger satiated, and you will be less likely to crave and binge. Your larger meals and meals with higher carbs (if you can't avoid them) should be eaten in the morning and for lunch. For the remainder of the day limit the carbs and keep your main meal smaller, this way your body has time to burn the calories before you go to bed resulting in fat storage. If you cannot avoid a larger dinner meal, go for a brisk walk after you eat to burn the calories.

But let's get back to the counting part. Here are some tips, that I recommend that you follow, when counting your calories and adding to your food journal:


1. REVERSE ENGINEER YOUR FOODS - I will give you an example of how i RE'd my daily java, that i refuse to give up: I pulled out all of the items i use to make it, the grounds, the milk, the sugar. Since i measure my coffee and milk everyday i already know how many cups/oz i'm putting in of each. Thankfully, 8oz of coffee has zero calories, but that milk and sugar? That's another story. I put 3 spoons of raw sugar in my java; so what i did to measure, since the label says each serving is a tsp, I shoveled those beautiful tan bits of sweetness into my cup and poured them into a little bowl and i took a tsp at a time out and counted - I use 7.5 tsp of raw sugar in each serving of my java. I use 6oz of whole milk, which is just shy of the 1 serving of 8oz and 150 calories. After I add it all up my java is 250 calories, and all 250 are sugars/carbs/fat. I KNOW! Thankfully, I only drink one cup a day or, 14oz if you add it all up.


2. DON'T JUST PICK FROM A LIST OF SIMILARS - If you have a nutrition label, USE IT! I cannot tell you how many times i would look at the label on my product and compared it to the pre-programmed item and they were different. Yes, this takes time in the beginning, but once you make YOUR custom food lists/items then you will know that they are 100% correct. You spend time at the salon to get your hair and nails done, right? Then spend the few minutes to create your accurate food item.


3. COUNT EVERYTHING - Down to the last piece of gum you chewed, and yes they have caloric info on the packages too so add them. Every calorie counts when you are trying to find the reasons to your weight gain, loss, or stagnation. 

4. AWARENESS - Be aware of what you are eating, what it will cost you (health wise) to help you make better choices when you are eating at the restaurants with friends and family. Most have some sort of nutrition information in the menus, especially the chain restaurants. Take a picture with your cell phone of the nutrition info or go to their website when you get home and see it there. Yes, they have them posted on their websites. If you know in advance where you are going, you can take a look and make an educated decision before you get there. Doing this will also inform you on how many calories an item you would want has, and how much of that item you should be eating to stay within your allotted caloric intake. Example: did you know that Outbacks Bloomin' Onion® has over 1500 calories? There are 6 servings to 1 onion; that means if you just sit there and pick at it until half of it is gone, you are eating about 3 servings, (not including that dip that comes with it), and dinner hasn't even arrived yet.


Bottom line is invest the time to educate yourself about what you are putting in your mouth. Your body and heart will thank you later.


Yours in fitness,
Tara