When you keep a record of the food and beverages you consume, you can assess your diet quality as well as gain insight into weight management issues. Writing down when, what type and how long you exercise can also be motivating and help you commit to a healthier lifestyle. Several free online and printable diaries are available to help you reach your health goals.
CDC Diary
It's easy to underestimate the number of calories you consume on a daily basis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend keeping a food and activity journal to help you get a more accurate picture of how much you eat and how many calories you're burning with exercise. Once you have a clearer understanding of your eating and activity habits, you can make changes that promote a healthier lifestyle. The CDC provides printable food and physical activity diary tools to encourage you to track your calorie intake and expenditure.
USDA Plan
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides a wealth of free online tools to help you reach and maintain a healthy weight. The MyPyramid Plan assesses calorie needs based on your age, sex and activity level. The tool gives you a healthy calorie target and breaks down your nutritional needs from each food group, identifying how many servings of each you need, as well as offering suggestions for making smart choices within each group.
USDA Tracking
The USDA provides the MyPyramid Tracker tool to help you track your daily food intake and physical activity -- your energy balance. The tracker enables you to enter the foods and beverages you consume and then assesses your diet quality. The tool calculates the number of calories you take in, as well as your calorie expenditure based on your physical activity entries, making it easier to adjust your habits to support weight loss or maintenance. You can track your eating and exercise patterns for up to a year.
Alternatives
If you find online tracking too time consuming, consider using a notebook as a food and exercise diary. You can estimate calorie intake and expenditure, as well as track changes in your weight. Ultimately, you should choose the method that best motivates you to make healthy choices in your diet and exercise routine. Regardless of which food and activity diary you use, try to live more healthfully by cutting back on added sugar and salt in your diet. Limit saturated fat intake to less than seven percent of your calories, and try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Balancing Calories
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: My Food Diary
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: My Physical Activity Diary
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: MyPyramid Plan
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: MyPyramid Tracker
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Daily Food and Activity Diary
