Watching What I Eat

In my last post I talked about how horrible my eating habits are.
How I'll just keep eating and eating until I'm going to explode or if something is sitting in front of me I'll eat it, even if I'm not hungry.

So, not only am I going to have to eat better foods, I'm also going to have to watch my intake of those foods.

SOLUTION???

This is not just going to be a notebook filled with page after page of what I ate, when I ate it, how much I ate, how many calories I consumed...granted, all that information is going to be in there, but I don't want it looking like a spreadsheet. That's no fun.

I've come across so many different ways to keep a Food Diary or Weight Loss Journal or whatever YOU feel comfortable calling it.

I've seen 3-Ring Binders with the pretty colored printouts.

This one and many more available here.

A few girls I work with have had a LOT of success with the MyFitnessPal app and website.

Some simply use the "Notes" feature on their iPhones. 

It's all up to you. However you want to handle it.

Me? I'm extremely crafty and like putting my own spin on things. So what am I going with?
A COMPOSITION BOOK!!!! Yeah, that's right. The black and white speckled ones that were always used in high school. 

Yep! One of these babies!

"But Hobbit," you say. "You said you were crafty and wanted to put a spin on it!"

Oh not to worry. I've been printing out motivational quotes and such like crazy!
You just have to cut them out, glue them on, slap on a coat of Mod Podge to keep them from peeling off and...

BOOM!!!!!!!

Front Cover

Back Cover

Inside Front Cover

Now remember...A journal is not going to work if you don't write anything down.

And write. Down. Everything! Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, that handful of chips you grabbed out of the pantry, the piece of candy from the dish on your co-workers desk. All of these little bits add up.

IF YOU BITE IT...WRITE IT!!!

Now like I said before...Don't just make it some boring old spreadsheet. Add in goals, and add your triumphs, record your weight and measurements so you can go back to them occasionally and see your results. 

• Keep it with you. You can't very will record what you're eating if you leave your journal at home.

• Don't forget! It can be super easy to forget to write down that candy bar you grabbed at the gas station, or the cup of coffee you grabbed on the way to a meeting. That could add up to a couple hundred missed calories.

• Be Honest. No one has to see your journal unless you decide to show it to them. If you had a second brownie for dessert, write it down. This way, you will actually see the holes and hiccups in your eating habits, and can make changes accordingly.

• Take AND record measurements. It's not enough to write down that you ate spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner. Mark down how MUCH spaghetti and how much sauce. If a 1/2 cup serving of sauce is 90 calories but you had 3/4 of a cup, it makes a difference. 

• Go back to it often. You might notice a pattern. For instance, I always crave sweets at around 2:30 in the afternoon. By noticing patterns like this, you'll be able to recognize when your willpower isn't its strongest and be more mindful of what you eat. 

• If you're really serious about getting healthy and getting your body in tip top shape, show your journal to your doctor. They ARE trained to notice nutritional deficiencies, disordered eating patterns, or any road blocks to your weight loss after all.

I also plan on adding healthy recipes, any fantastic tips I find along my way, and charts to record my weight and measurements every so often.

I'll post more pictures so you can see what all I have going on along the way, don't you worry about that. If you have any questions or tips for me, please feel free to comment! =)

"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks."

-Hobbit