Keeping a daily food diary is a proven way to help you lose more weight and make better, more conscious decisions when choosing the food you consume. In fact, the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research found in a study that those who kept daily food diaries consumed less calories and lost twice as much weight over time as those who did not. It's a fairly easy way to stay accountable to your resolve to make healthier choices, and keep a close eye on the amount of calories you consume each day.
Step 1
Purchase a blank diary to use for your records. A daily planner works well, as they dates are already separated for you to use, but a traditional journal can also be helpful. You might also want to try an online diary, which allows you to select from a menu of food choices to add.
Step 2
Divide each date into several columns. At the top of the first, write down "Food"; the second should say "Amount"; the third should read "Feelings," where you can record why you were eating, notes Arthritis Today magazine; and the fourth should list "Calories." Each time you eat anything, no matter big or small, you'll separate the food into these four columns for easier reference.
Step 3
Record the foods that you eat daily. For breakfast, you may write "Cereal" under the type of food, "1 cup" under "Amount," "Tired" under what you were feeling at the time, and a calorie count in the fourth column, like "210 calories." If using an online food journal, just choose your foods and amounts from the provided lists and select the meal when it was consumed. The program will then tally the amount of calories automatically.
Step 4
Remember to count calories carefully. If the nutritional facts on the side of the cereal box says that it only has 150 calories for a 1/2 cup serving, and you've eaten 1 cup, you'll need to double your caloric intake for that item. Be precise in recording calorie counts so you can paint an accurate picture for yourself of your total caloric intake each day.
Step 5
Add up the numbers in the fourth column at the end of every day to see how many calories you consumed that day. According to your weight loss goals, you can decide whether to raise or lower that number during the next day.
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