Do you keep a financial budget? If you pull numbers out of thin air, you're likely to find that you underestimate your needs. But write down every cup of coffee here and magazine there and you'll find that miscellaneous category needs a few more bucks alloted to it each month.
A food diary can uncover the same discrepancies. You may be "spending" a lot more calories than you realize just as quickly and easily as you plunk down a few bucks -- but the cost is still there. So, you'll need to find somewhere to make a cut or "earn" more exercise calories to "spend" in your calorie budget, too.
A food diary doesn't have to be anything special or expensive. A spiral notebook or day planner works great. Then, make like a reporter and cover the "W's" -- when, where, what. You will also want to have some indication of your portion size. You don't have to break out the measuring cup, but it's nice to have an estimate.
Did you eat because you were hungry? Stressed? Bored? If you think you may have a problem with emotional eating, it is well worth the extra effort to go beyond the basics with your food diary and record the things that lead you to eat, not just what you eat, but why. Take the time to record your eating triggers as often as possible, such as mood or stressful situations. This will allow you to plan for alternate coping skills.
For a food diary to be truly accurate, you'll need to record all those "extras" such as butter on a dinner roll or milk in your tea. These items are easily overlooked and forgotten so it's important to keep it in "real time" and not trust yourself to update it later. They don't seem to matter now, but if you decide to begin losing weight by counting calories, the habit of accounting for everything will come in handy.
Of course, even the best-kept food diary will do you no good if you simply jot everything down and never actually do anything with the information it contains. Review it regularly to learn about your eating habits and identify doable solutions for changing your bad habits.
Here is some more helpful advice for keeping a great food diary:
Why You Need a Food Diary
Food Diary Print Out
How to Keep a Food Diary
Create a Food Journal Step by Step
If you prefer to keep your food diary online, About.com's Calorie Count is a great place to do it. You can track your calories by searching a huge database of foods and beverages and add them to your online food diary in the click of a mouse. Plus, you can meet lots of other folks who want to lose weight in the community, all for free.
Previous Daily Tips:
Add Healthy Foods to Your Diet
Try Plate Portioning
