So I have been keeping a food journal for the past several months. I was recording most every calorie I ingested, including coffee, candy, drinks, snacks, and all meals.
This helped me see my eating patterns and my areas of weakness, and foods I don't eat enough of.
I also used this journal to log my workouts and runs, and how I felt after each one.
That being said, seeing all those days in writing where I ate way too many calories, or completely skipped my workout.....ended up depressing me so much that it was almost better if I didn't write that stuff down!
So, instead of being a motivational & educational thing, it ended up being another "to-do" thing that I kept failing at.
So, I stopped keeping a food journal a few weeks ago, and I'm glad to be free of it!
Since I stopped writing in my food journal, I've been running more regularly and I've been incorporating more weight lifting into my workouts.
Since stopping my food journal I've actually lost about 4 pounds! Yippee!
So, I know enough about healthy foods now to know approximately how many calories I'm eating, so I don't need the food diary anymore!
Food journals work for a lot of people, especially those folks new to eating healthy, whole foods and watching their caloric intake. But after awhile the usefulness should wear off and you should be able to estimate your daily calories on your own. This is what I did!
So what I'm trying to say is that I enjoyed keeping my food diary and it helped educate me about what I'm eating, but I'm glad to be rid of it!
But I encourage those just starting out on an exercise and eating healthy lifestyle to give a food journal a try!
yay Rachel!
ReplyDeleteNow I am following you. I don't know why I did not realize your blog was from Blogger! Very cool! Anywho I have tried food journals & they have always been stressful to me. Way to go for the weight loss! You are inspiring! :)
ReplyDeleteI started a food diary of sorts on Monday (www.thedailyplate) and I use the log on runnersworld.com to track my workouts and since this is the first time in my life I started tracking my eating I lost 2 pounds this week (I only aimed for 1). But, I think both websites are great (though daily plate does tend to overestimate calories burned and underestimate calories in food I believe) for someone just starting out!
ReplyDeleteHey y'all! Great remarks!
ReplyDeleteAnna, those 2 sites sound like great things to keep folks on track with their fitness journeys! I actually have a log on runnersworld.com too, but because I don't have access to the internet everyday, that soon fell by the wayside.
That's a bummer that daily plate seems to lack accuracy with their calorie counts--that's something most treadmills do, too. But I think it's great that you've lost 2 pounds! (although I don't think you need to lose any weight at all because you're beautiful!)
Jenny--Thanks!!! :)
Ms. Stone-- yay for following each other's blogs and for your encouragement! Thanks a bunch!