Eating a healthy diet is not difficult, but it can be challenging to consistently eat healthy foods without a solid plan. Achieving a healthy weight through a reduction in calories and dedicated exercise can make you feel better about yourself, reduce your risk of stroke or coronary heart disease and may reduce your risk of some cancers. Use your personal food and diet planner to lose weight and teach yourself new, healthy habits.
Benefits
Keeping track of your food and diet choices can save you money, help you stay focused on your goals and give you a permanent place to record your accomplishments. A food and diet planner affords you the opportunity to plan what you are going to eat every day of the week, enabling you to shop for the best prices and stock up on healthy items when they are on sale. Additionally, writing down all the food you consume in your planner can help you monitor whether you need to raise or lower your caloric intake based on your weight-loss rate.
Food and Diet Guidelines
Use a reliable, medically researched diet to lose weight. A good place to start is the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid.gov. Write your target caloric intake into your food and diet planner. Use the guidelines to outline how much of each food group you should eat to keep your body functioning properly while losing weight. If following a 1,400-calorie diet, you should eat about 1 1/2 cups each of vegetables and fruits, 4 oz. or equivalent of lean meat and beans, 5 oz. of grain products, 2 cups of milk, 17 g of oils and 171 discretionary calories a day.
Types
You have the option to create your own planner using a paper journal, a spreadsheet program or taking advantage of an Internet diet planner. Using a homemade journal or computer spreadsheet allows you to completely customize your planner, while an Internet program may be easier to update. Many online planning systems automatically calculate your calories and percentage of calories from different food groups. Some programs allow you to tailor your eating plan to your food preferences. If you use a homemade system, use a food calorie resource book to look up calorie amounts.
Strategies
Write down your weight-loss goal, anticipated time frame, workout goals and body measurement specifications. Make your grocery list and write down your planned meals in your planner. Every time you eat, write down or input the food and calories into your planner. Twice a day, analyze how close you are to your calorie and nutrient goals. If you are within your calories after lunch, but low on vegetables, use the information to eat extra vegetables at dinner. If you have eaten more calories than you anticipated by early afternoon, eat a light dinner to stay within your diet plan.
Considerations
If you are using an Internet planner, look for one that is free or has a low cost. Consult your doctor or registered dietitian for advice on weight loss goals and techniques. Exercise several days a week to improve your fitness and burn more calories.
References
- Weight-Control Information Network: Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight?
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Where to Start
- MyPyramid.gov: MyPyramid Plan
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005
- Cleveland Clinic: Heart and Vascular Health and Prevention: Sample Food Diary
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Food Diary Instructions
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