A recent study (reported in August 2008 edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine) asked people to keep a food diary– simply writing down what they ate.  The research included 1,685 overweight adults over 25 years old who were asked to eat a healthy diet, exercise and to keep a food journal.

Those who wrote what they had eaten six days a week lost on the average TWICE as much as those who made food journal entries less often in this study.

The findings showed that you don’t have to keep an elaborate food diary.  It seems that the act of writing down what you are eating is what’s important. And it’s more effective if you write it after you eat, not at the end of the day.

To begin your food journal find a notebook that is small enough that you can carry around with you. You need to carry the food journal around with you on daily basis so that you can truly focus on where your calories are.

Write down everything that you eat for 1 week. This will be your starting week in your goal to lose weight. This will give you a realistic vision of exactly how much food you consume on a daily basis.

Sit down at the end of the first week and look at your food journal. Look at what you have been eating and realize this why you have not seen and weight loss. The eating trends that you have now are what are causing you to not lose weight. You need to change your eating habits to lose weight. Your food journal will help you to do this.

Start implementing changes after analyzing your diet.  Begin reducing portion sizes. You should be evenly dividing your overall caloric intake for the day by five or six meals every 3 hours or so.  This helps keep your insulin levels even all day long and optimizes your utilization of the nutrients you are taking in.  Start analyzing the types of calories you have been taking in as well, making sure to have an adequate balance of complex carbohydrates, protein, and good sources of fat.  For example, try to be somewhere around a 55%, 35%, 10% respective.

A common thread for what makes journal writing so powerful is that it is focused reflection and review.  Sit down every week and evaluate how you have done with your eating through your writing in your food journal. You will also want to weigh your self when you sit down with your food journal. You can keep track of your weight by writing it down in your food journal as well.

Stop putting off getting back in shape and start being accountable to yourself and keeping a record of what you are putting in the one body that you have.  You may find some of your habits surprising, and being accountable for it will allow you to change those habits for the better and get you to four fitness goals.