Food Journals - there has to be an easier way!

Food journals...they are not particularly glamorous. There are not particularly exciting.
But study after study shows that they DO WORK WELL when people are trying to lose weight. Research has shown that people UNDERESTIMATE THEIR CALORIE INTAKE by 20 to 40 %! The best way to find out what is really going on with our diet, is to actually record our food intake, including calories. It is also helpful for many people to begin to track their protein, carbohydrate, and fat consumption, but this can be complicated without nutrition education.

The "old fashioned method" of keeping a food journal was with pen and paper. People would look up calories in a book (a great one is "The Calorie King Calorie Fat, and Carbohydrate Counter" by Allan Borushek), and then write out the journal by hand. But there is an easier way...

You can now journal online, and let your computer do most of the work for you! There are several free online journal sites, and the Calorie King also has an oustanding site, for a small fee (www.calorieking.com). One of my favorite free websites is TheDailyPlate.com, which has teamed up with Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong website. The Daily Plate allows you to easily track your calories, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, etc, etc. It even allows you to see the ratios of protein, carbohydrates, and fats in your diet, on a "pie chart."

In my practice, patients who are using an online journal lose about twice as much weight in the first month as patients who are trying to keep track of calories in their heads. Impressive! The online journal also allows my dietician to analyze the diet, and recommend adjustments to improve weight loss and control appetite. Maybe journals aren't glamorous - but the results can be!