Revisiting Journalling ... Get Creative!

Journalling is difficult.  What makes it so difficult is that we have to admit to ourselves what we are putting into our bodies and then, question ourselves as to why we made those choices. 

If we eat a piece of cake (or cookies, or chips, or substitute your own particular food vice) because we were stressed having to write it down makes us face up to the fact.  If we ate a piece of cake (or cookies, or chips, or substitute your own particular food vice) because we were stressed having to write it down may also cause us to consider NOT journalling.

Struggling with a food journal takes some time and some self-development, self-control and self-discipline.  If we are struggling with weight loss then its obvious self-control is something we have not conquered yet.

A food journal can serve many purposes.  It can help us see what we are doing wrong in our weight loss efforts but, it can also help us SEE WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT!  Those who journal faithfully will tell us that there is no better feeling that looking at previous food journals and seeing the point in time when under the snack column you begin to see “apples” instead of “Doritos”.  Yes, at first it may seem like a lot of effort that can best be described as self-punishment, but there comes a time when we will begin to realize that we need to change the habits that we have lived with for a long time.

All the experts tell us that journalling works!  There are no ifs, ands or buts about it … time and time again studies have proven that writing it down works.  A recent study of 1700 overweight men and women showed that those who kept a regular food and exercise journal, along with eating a low-fat diet and exercising 30 minutes per day, lost 18 pounds in 20 weeks, compared to a nine-pound loss among those on the same eating and exercise program who did not journal.  Now I don’t know about you, but if carrying around a little piece of paper and a pencil will help me double my weight loss … I’m going to revisit trying it again!

Researchers believe journalling works because:

·        The journal makes us accountable

·        The journal can help us identify where extra calories are sneaking back into our diet

·        The journal can act as a deterrent – it is bad enough that we would have to write down that we ate a double fudge chocolate brownie – but if we have to write down that we went back for another piece, well, we just might not eat it?

·        Instead of being an evil chore the journal can provide a VISUAL and CONCRETE RECORD OF OUR SUCCESS!

Some tips for successful journalling:

·        Write down the portion sizes of the foods you eat – remember to make it in servings, not helpings

·        Write down other habits that are helpful such as the amount of water everyday

·        Sometimes it helps to write down other details about your eating experience, such as where you ate, who you were with, and how you were feeling emotionally at the time

The rule of thumb has always been to write down everything you eat or drink, including snacks and water immediately after you ate or drank it.  By looking at your journal frequently during the day it will give you an idea of how many calories you are allowed for the rest of the day.  You can clearly see when you go over your calorie limit, or sometimes when you’re eating too few calories over the course of the week (remember too few calories can derail your weight loss efforts as easily as too many).  Realistically, and depending on which method of journalling you prefer, writing it down as soon as you put it in your mouth is simply not feasible.  If it is hard to do it will not get done.  Some other options for successful journalling are:

Plan your day’s intake in advance … A food diary usually helps one account for what they have already eaten during the day … but if you feel some lack of commitment in admitting that you have overindulged throughout the day, consider mapping out the day’s intake in advance and just following the script.  Instead of writing down what you have eaten simply check off the things you've eaten that were written down already.  OF COURSE, you must add anything “extra” underneath.  This also helps you to compare what you thought you would want to eat with what you actually ate.  That comparison can be a powerful tool.

Do your journalling in the evening … Enjoy your day and then do your journalling in the evening after dinner.  Is this the best way to do it?  Quite frankly, it is not – but remember, even a little accountability is better than no accountability at all.  This could be a less stressful starting point to help you to get accustomed to doing the journalling and eventually committing to it.

(The next one is my favourite tip as far as keeping a food diary)

Document not only the foods you've eaten, but the foods you've turned down … When you “reverse journal” with foods that you turned down you will want to get things on that side of the list.  When you gaze back at this journal of foods that you turned down, you will be proud of yourself.  That in it self is a great motivator!

Get creative in how you journal …

Dieting success if obviously important, but how do we make journalling a success?  The easiest way is to find the method of journalling that works best for each individual.  What works for me may not work for you.  What had worked for you for 6 months may not be working as well as if used to and its time to switch things up a little bit. 

Some people find that a small notebook works best for them.  They are able to write down the foods that they eat in an informal manner possible including calories counts or other small tidbits of important information.  It can be very discrete to carry with you so you can pull it out, jot something down and slip it back into a purse or pocket.  It may seem like a small deal, but think about … pulling out your black moleskin journal to make notes – it’s kind of all mysterious and important looking!

Some people enjoy a larger, almost scrapbook like food journal.  They can let their creative side out … paste in bits and pieces of motivation found in newspapers, magazine articles or websites.  The example below includes some personal motivation doodling and recipe tips as well.  It doesn’t have to be neat.  It doesn’t have to be organized.  It is personal.

Some people are very tech-savvy and can use their computers, cell phones or other “gadgets” that are available on the market.  Some even measure the ingredients for you and give you a per-serving calories count.  Obviously there are many, many, many “apps” available.  I personally have not tried any cell phone or on line apps so cannot recommend or discourage any.

Tech savvy teens have even begun to use texting and Instagram as methods of journalling food and exercise.  An eight-week study of 31 families showed that teens were nearly twice as likely to stick to a diet plan if they could text-message about their diet and exercise choices.  The study’s authors concluded that an immediate response from a nutritionist helped keep them motivated.  You could achieve the same results by texting with a “diet buddy”.

Ever thought of keeping a photo-diary?  Most of us carry cell phones with us.  If it is too difficult to write everything down maybe snapping a quick picture of it will work?  And think about it – walking past the candy jar at work and grabbing a quick candy becomes that much more difficult if you have to reach into a pocket for your cell phone to snap a picture of it first.  That may give you just enough time to realize that you really don’t need to consume that candy after all.

Many people, myself included, find in difficult to journal food no matter what the method.  If there something out there for us too?  Well at http://voices.yahoo.com/weight-loss-food-diet-journal-writing-prompts-27183.html I found a list of *Writing Prompts* that get you thinking about why you are on this weight loss journey and what got you to this point.  If writing down every morsel of food is not up your alley, then maybe trying to write down (or even just think about) the answers to some of these questions will help.  Keep it in a convenient spot at answer one or two of the prompt every day.  When you get to the bottom of the list start all over again and see of your answers change.  If not * then maybe traditional journalling may be the only way to go.

CREATIVE JOURNALLING WRITING PROMPTS

Are you looking for creative writing ideas for your daily or food journal? Here are fifty journalling topics related to eating and dieting to inspire you. Have fun!

1. I love to eat my favorite snack because ...

2. If I quit snacking on junk food I ...

3. When I secretly snack I feel ...

4. If I quit snacking between meals I ...

5. Telling others that I am dieting makes me feel ...

6. I wouldn't mind dieting at all if ...

7. The most fun weight loss diet is ...

8. People who have to diet to stay slim are ...

9. Thinking about weight loss is stressful when … 

10. If I could lose weight once and for all, I would … 
11. Weight loss is important to my health because … 
12. Weight loss is important to my spirit because … 
13. I feel most attractive when I weigh … 
14. Writing in my journal about food and dieting would help me by … 
15. When I eat sweets my body … 
16. Eating sweets makes me feel emotionally … 
17. I can eat sweets if … 
18. To me - cake, cookies, and candy are … 
19. When I eat dairy foods my body … 
20. Eating dairy feeds makes me feel … 
21. Milk, cheese, and eggs are to me … 
22. Fermented foods like yogurt and buttermilk affect me by … 
23. I am afraid that is I lose weight my significant other will … 
24. I am afraid that if I lose weight others will think … 
25. My secret fear about diets is that they … 
26. What is most exciting about starting/maintaining a diet is … 
27. This time when I diet I hope to … 
28. This time when I diet I definitely will … 
29. My friends help me with weight loss when they … 
30. The person who inspires me most to lose weight is … 
31. When I lose a few pounds it will be fun to … 
32. I'd like to help others diet by … 
33. The thoughts that help me most with weight loss are … 
34. It's most helpful to my diet when people tell me … 
35. It helps me to lose weight by reading … 
36. After I lose weight, I will be more successful at … 
37. I will feel the perfect weight when … 
38. Next year at this time my weight … 
39. One year from now my body … 
40. One year from now the foods in my diet will be … 
41. Weight loss will always remain important to me if … 
42. Dieting will no longer be important to me when … 
43. If all foods were not fattening, I would eat … 
44. Sometimes I dream about eating … 
45. I watch people eating who are … 
46. My favorite drinks are … 
47. The beverages I shouldn't drink are … 
48. I feel wonderful in my body when I eat … 
49. I feel wonderful in my body when I drink … 
50. I am now a grand success at weight loss because …

After all that, if you are still ambivalent about journalling know that you are not alone.  I looked at several weight loss websites that wrote about journalling (many of which offered on line trackers to compile this and most of them had comments about journalling.  Most of these comments referred to using an on line tracker available at www.sparkpeople.com but I felt including some of them here might help us get on the food journal bandwagon.

RANDOM COMMENTS ABOUT JOURNALLING

I really dislike thinking about what I'm going to eat, and what I have eaten all day, but that's what got me here in the first place, mindless eating that is. Now, I am tracking and I am so much more mindful and accountable.*

*Tracking food helps keep me mindful of what I am eating. Does it help me to lose weight? Not so much.*

*It really does help. You have no idea how many calories you are actually eating until you write them down.*

*I been tracking my food for over 3 years now and can't lose any weight much. I might forget to track my food about 3 times a month, but it is hard to track my food when I am out to eat and then I don't feel like tracking it. So I just need to find a new way of eating.*

*I measure or weigh everything at home so when I am eating out I can better guess my portions and calories. You don't know how much you are eating, little bites add up, if you don't learn this. Let's face it...we wouldn't have a weight problem if we were doing this correctly to begin with, talk about portion distortion! I was going to make a large salad as a meal and when I started to calculate I found it had more calories and fat then I wanted so I made the changes before. When I had it made I knew exactly what I had and how much I should eat. This is the most important thing for me to do to lose weight.*

*Yes, tracking does work because when I see my total calorie intake for the day, I'm less likely to continue eating, or if I am hungry, I at least make a better choice (fruit over cookie). However, I must be consistent with tracking and that's where I tend to fail a bit.*

*Here's something that really made a tracking breakthrough for me. Track EVERYTHING, even when I go off the rails. There are several advantages: Tracking inserts a little intentionality so that when I eat those potato chips but not as many since I'm measuring them out. It limits my all-or-none thinking, too. The actual amount of calories I consume is never as much as my mind tells me it is (though I have been shocked) and I am more likely to think about how I can had exercise or plan for the future to avoid the problems that lead to overeating.*

*It takes less than five minutes to enter your food. What it does require is actually planning your meals. Once you know what you're going to eat, instead of trying to grab something when you feel hungry, then there is no problem at all keeping within the boundaries and still achieve your required weight loss and health improvements. I usually track after I do my workout in the morning and sometimes I find myself having to try to add food in order to fulfill my calorie requirement - no starving, no hunger and no misery. I actually eat more now than I did before and it's more of the right kinds of things.*

*I am grateful for the food tracker! It is like a mini challenge each day.*

*Everyone here gained weight for different reasons - mine was post-partum depression and inactivity. I found tracking my food did one thing quite well - stress me out. I also gained weight, felt miserable, and had very little energy and that is not good when you have a toddler wanting to jump and play with no rest. Once I stopped, I started losing and pretty steadily. I'm down over 12 pounds and feeling great.*

*It really does make a lot of difference in my weight loss. I never realized how many calories I was consuming a day and this has made a huge difference in my awareness.*

*It feels onerous at first but after a while it becomes a habit. It forces you to account for that little nibble and snack so you see what you're really eating.*

*When I'm thinking consciously of what I have to track, I tend not to be so vague about what I'm eating.*

*Keeping track not only shows how I got the way I am...(way too many calories) but also shows just how little protein I take in per day. Tracking now is and always will be part of my daily routine. I enjoy playing the numbers when planning meals to keep the calories and protein within the range set for me.*

If you are just getting started in your journaling efforts or if you are looking for some way to switch up your journaling efforts the following are several sites that generously offer printable food journals/diaries in many different formats.  Check them out, print on or more of them and see which format works best for you.

10 Weeks At a Time Weight and Measurement Tracker

http://www.freebiefindingmom.com/free-printable-weight-loss-chart/#_a5y_p=1153714

One Week At a Time

http://www.healthyeating.org/Healthy-Eating/Healthy-Living/Weight-Management/Article-Viewer/Article/230/food-diary.aspx

One Week At a Time Including Calorie Tracker

http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Food-Diary

One Day At a Time Including a “Burn & Brag” Section for Exercise Tracking

http://www.deliciouslywell.com/daily-health-tracker-free-printable/

One Day At a Time Including a “To Do” List

http://www.mommysideabook.com/health-and-fitness/online-calorie-calculator-for-homemade-recipes/

One Day At a Time Including Exercise Tracker and “Note to Self” Section

http://backonpointe.tumblr.com/image/25934653770

One Day At a Time Food Diary

http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2014/01/printable_food_journal/

ONLINE RESOURCES

US Government “Supertracker”

https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/default.aspx

Helps you track food, nutrition, physical activity and weight management.  Also has links to save recipes and set weight loss goals.

TOPS Excel Spreadsheet

http://www.tops.org/TOPS/Member/MemberDocs/General/TOPSfooddiaryMar2013.xls

Allows you to enter your daily calorie allowance, and then enter calories consumed and the food you ate … it does all the math for you subtracting calories from the daily allowance as you journal.