Diet Journal, Nutrition Journal - Diet Tips

What's In Your Diet? Keep a Diet Journal.

Do you know how many calories you have consumed today, and do you know how much of your calories come from proteins, carbohydrates, and dietary fats? Keeping a food journal will tell you all of that and more. Keeping track of the foods you consumed will let you know where your calories are coming from, and how balanced your diet is. More importantly, it will let you know if you’ve consumed too many calories, or if you consumed fewer calories to create a calorie deficit.

It’s not necessary to keep a food journal indefinitely. If you want to know how much calories you are consuming and where your calories are coming from, simply keep a food journal for one or two weeks. This would be enough to give you a clear picture of what you’ve eaten.

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To do this is simple, just keep a diet journal for a week or two, and you’ll have a clear picture of what you've consumed. Here’s what to do: 

• Record all the foods that you eat - everything from breakfast cereal to what’s in your sandwich for lunch, and what you had for supper.
• Record everything you drink.  This includes tea, coffee, pop, water, milk, and anything else.
• Record all the medicine and nutritional supplements you take.  Are you taking extra vitamins, calcium supplements, protein supplements, or other types of supplements?  Write them down.
• Always record the amount of everything you ate.  For example, 2 slices of bread, a cup of milk, or a Big Mac, etc…
• Finally, keep track of the date and time and how you feel after eating.

Sounds complicated?  Not at all. See the sample diet journal below:

Free Diet Journal

If you're looking for a more sophisticated and detailed diet and nutrition journal, see here.

Okay, so now you’ve got your personal diet journal.  Keep it up for a week or two, and you’ll gain some insight into what you’re eating all the time.  This will allow to you to slowly make some adjustments.  You may also consult a dietician who can help you make changes in your diet according to your diet journal.

The “How I Feel” column is especially useful.  If you notice you’re feeling not so good after eating something, take note of it.  If you find it’s something that’s recurring, then get rid of it from your diet. 

For example, if you find that dairy foods cause you to feel badly each time, then you maybe lactose intolerant.  Reduce or eliminate dairy from your diet for a while, and see if you feel better.  Here’s a quick tip: if you must have some dairy products, then choose yogurt.  Why? Yogurt contains organisms that supply lactase, the enzyme needed to digest lactose, which you lack if you’re lactose intolerant.

Here are some eating tips for you to feast on:

• Don’t eat too much during one meal. 
• Eat the right foods.  You should have a pretty good idea now of what’s good for you.  Eating a lot of vegetables and high fiber foods is always good for you.
• If you must snack, snack on fruits, veggies, or dried nuts and fruits.
• Try eating 4 or 5 smaller meals instead of 3 large meals.  This also helps digestion and nutrient absorption.  The only downside to this is that it required a little more time cooking.   
• Exercise regularly.

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