Incorporating a diet food journal as part of your weight loss endeavor is essential to losing weight and keeping that weight off. Diet journals help you eat within a predetermined range of calories, ensuring you eat fewer calories so you can lose weight. Use your diet journal to keep you on a regular meal plan throughout every day, ensuring your blood sugar is steady. This can prevent binge and emotional eating so you stay on track toward your weight loss goals.
Step 1
Track the grams of protein, carbs and fats you eat. Use this data to monitor and adjust the percentage of calories you eat from protein, carbs and fat. Eat no fewer than 45 percent of your calories from carbohydrates to maintain good health, according to a 2006 article by Dixie Thompson, Ph.D., published in "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal." You need carbs to burn your stored body fat.
Step 2
Record the total number of calories you eat per day in your diet journal. Reduce your caloric intake by a modest 250 to 500 calories per day for long-term, sustainable weight loss. Use your journal to alternate between low and higher calorie days
Step 3
Record the grams of fiber in all the foods you eat in your diet journal. Fiber from peas, carrots, oats, beans, brown rice and fruits help lower your cholesterol. If you are a man, you should be eating 38 g fiber per day. If you are a woman, you should be about 25 to 26 g fiber per day, according to the Colorado State University Extension website.
Step 4
Designate a particular area on each page of your journal to track your water intake. Maintain your minimum hydration levels by consuming 11 cups of fluids if you are a sedentary woman and 16 cups of fluids if you are a sedentary man. Drink more water before, during and after an exercise session if you are active. Include the fluids from high-water content fruits like apples and oranges, from your coffee and from sports drinks.
Step 5
Include the intensity and duration of your exercise session for the day, particularly noting your energy level. Compare your energy level against the total number of calories you consumed that day. Increase your carbohydrate consumption and decrease your protein and fats if you feel you did not have sufficient energy for your workouts. Altering your nutrient content gives you more energy without consuming more calories.
Tips and Warnings
- Keep old diet journals to reference as you continue with your weight loss plan.
References
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal'; Carbohydrates; Dixie Thompson, Ph.D.; November/December 2008
- "Exercise Physiology, Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance"; William McArdle, Frank Katch and Victor Katch; 2007
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Your Clients Are What They Eat: Balancing Weight with Diet Part 1; Gary Miller, Ph.D.; January/February 2005
- Colorado State University Extension: Dietary Fiber
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; The Science of Hydration; Beth Stover, M.S., CSCS, and Bob Murray, Ph.D.; Mar./Apr. 2007
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