Trying to keep yourself motivated to stick to your healthy eating regime can be one of the hardest things to do!
And there is definitely not a 1 size fits all approach ……..
But 1 thing i have found incredibly helpful over the years for myself and clients, is keeping a food diary.
And from my own experience, the nicer the diary, the better. You’ll find you’re definitely more committed to writing in it, and will look after it, as opposed to a note pad or basic notebook.
So why use a food diary?
When you record all your food, you’re holding yourself accountable to yourself, or a trainer if you’re using one, or you may even just do a weekly check in with your partner or a friend.
When you know that someone is going to look at your food diary, you’re definitely more likely to keep it looking as clean as possible!!
And even if you’re not showing anyone, you’ll find that simply by writing everything down that passes your lips, you’ll start to think about what you’re reaching for every time you open the pantry door or fridge, because you know that you then have to go write it down. And you know the more things that you write down that you shouldn’t have been eating, the worse its going to look by the end of the day!!!
And we ALL want to feel like winners and successful, and we wont feel like that, if we’re reflecting back on a bad day. And you might then run the risk of eating more, due to that sense of failure ? it can be such a viscous cycle!
So as we write everything down, and start to make great choices that we know are going to benefit our journey, we start to feel successful, amazing, stong, committed, like a super hero and all those other amazing feelings of accomplishment. And then we make even better choices and we start to feel on top of the world and invincible ?
So start by finding an awesome diary, or make your own, covering it in images that inspire and motivate you.
Use the first page to write your goals, and put a photo in it of yourself when you felt the most happiest.
Use 1 page per day. Write down everything that passes your lips, including drinks.
Try and be accurate with rough portion sizes and timing of meals and snacks.
Record what training you did that day, and how your mood was. Did you have a great day or a shit one!
Were you feeling gasy, or tired and lethargic? Were you suffering from headaches?
After a while you’ll not only start to make the best choices for yourself, but you’ll start to identify the foods that make you feel the best and if you’ve had enough water for the day ?
So if you’ve been struggling to lose weight for a while, try a food diary and see how you get on. And remember we all have bad days, or days where we forget to record anthing, just get up and start the next day afresh.
And yes sometimes it can feel like 3 steps forward, 1 step back, BUT that’s still 2 steps forward! And that’s still PROGRESS in my book ??
2 Comments
well said. totally will be taking this on 🙂 i have bad days even as I am studying nutrition. we all have good and bad days. yeah like the idea of showing friends and family that can pull you in. to make sure you keep on track. I kinda like food diaries, more for keeping track of health issues, like allergies and food intollerances and behavioural issues stuff, i think you start to see a pattern after a while. I was just having a discussion with a person today that was actually here to write up my disability support plan , about their grandson being diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication is affecting the boys sleep, I suggested they look into diet like removing artificial food colours and stuff like that – and they were like yeah thanks for all the tips you’ve given me.
Yes it doesnt all have to be about weight loss. I think its a very good tool to use to assess allergies, moods,etc. Good luck with it Gabs. Remember we all have bad days but as long as we are moving forward no matter how slowly, then we are winning!!