Keeping a record of your daily caloric intake is a excellent way to develop an eating plan to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle. According to Kaiser Permanentes Center for Health Research, keeping a daily food diary will help you lose twice as much weight as those who don't keep a food diary. Keeping a food diary to record the calories per serving of food that you ate is a lifestyle choice that has far reaching benefits.
Step 1
Purchase a lined diary with a spiral bind. The spiral bind will help you keep the diary open at a particular page, making it easy to quickly record your calories during your daily activities.
Step 2
Record the date on each page and provide sub-heads for breakfast, dinner lunch and snacks as well as a column for the time that you ate each food.
Step 3
Record the foods that you eat daily along with the serving size and number of calories in each food as soon as you eat them. For lunch, you may write "1 cup cottage cheese" and "116 calories" right next to it. Read the labels on your food packaging or visit an online calorie-counter for the nutrient profile for foods that are not packaged. You may also wish to record the amount of fat, carbohydrates and proteins for each food.
Step 4
Review your diary at the end of week to determine what foods you ate too much of. Look for patterns in your diet. If you have a weakness for snacking late at night, your diary may make it clear how often you do it. Make an effort to eliminate less healthy foods that are high in calories during the next week.
Tips and Warnings
- Don't panic if you forget to record something. At the end of each day, you can record the foods that you forgot. Buy a diary that is fashionable and small, making it easier to carry around with little inconvenience.
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