My Food Journal

by Catherine Ipcizade | More from this Blogger

15 Aug 2006 06:53 PM

I was never a food journal kind of gal. After all, why would I want to write down what I ate? I already knew; after all, I ate it, right? Then I decided to write a book. And in that book I decided to conquer my weight issues. So I started a food journal.

You can start a food journal any day of the week. It's not part of any particular diet. You don't have to use fancy paper. Just buy a spiral notebook and simply jot down on a piece of paper what you eat each day. When I began my food journal, I realized a trend right away-I eat a lot of carbohydrates. And not the good-for-you whole grain type; the white type. The type that converts to sugar quickly. I realized my trigger times, that is, the times during the day when I blow it. I don't always eat a ton of food at mealtimes. But at around four o'clock in the afternoon, I could eat a house, or at least a few too many cookies. This is my trigger time. I also noted how much water I drink each day. I hadn't realized how easy it was to go an entire day without water.

Starting a food journal was therapy for me. I did it faithfully for twenty-eight days. By the end of the four weeks, I knew where my problems were and could easily see what I needed to do. Because I refused to "diet" during that time, I didn't lose a tremendous amount of weight, but I did lose six pounds, and to me, that was wonderful.

If you feel like a food journal is a waste of time, just try it for a week. Even when you've eaten a tempting "no-no" food, include it in your journal. Chances are, it'll be the first step toward new choices for you, too.

Learn more about Catherine Ipcizade

Cathy Ipcizade is 30 years old and currently resides in Southern California. Prior to coming to California she grew up in Arizona.

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