What was the last fad of diet you tried? Have you been keeping a food journal in order to best document your weight loss journey? Nowadays we don’t need to go to the health, or the ‘self-help’, sector in a bookstore to find the manuals we need in order to assist our dietary needs. We can just download an app, log in, tap or scan a barcode, and the machine does it all for us. Sounds easy, right? Maybe not so much. Weight loss and health plans are a commitment. And sometimes when we have developed unhealthy habits throughout our lives, we need to really apply to the job at hand in order to learn (or re-learn) how to get the results we need, and stay on track. It doesn’t always go to plan however! Here are 8 things that only people who keep a food journal will understand.
You Aimed Too High Too Quickly
You were starving and ended up overindulging because the calorie amount you began with was too small and you realized what you were eating is probably what you should be consuming only as breakfast or lunch.
Calories Begin To Morph Before Your Very Eyes!
You start looking at everything as a calorie, noting that the “small things” you snack on can take up a lot of your daily calorie quota! This can be a good thing though, as you begin to eat only the things that are necessary to your diet.
The ‘Calorie Counter’ Takes A New Form
You start dreading the calorie counter, or certain foods. Trying to weigh everything can get a little tedious. But, if you start to play the guessing game, if you get lazy or self-assured over time, and think you ‘know’ the calorie intake, you can end up with a haphazard journal. You can end up having your time and efforts wasted if it isn’t documented right, and you look at where your results should be compared with where they actually are.
Some Meals Can Lose A Little Love
In order to adhere to the food journals correct amount of calories and to enjoy a satisfying dinner, the rest of your meals can start to look a bit forlorn … (picture half an apple and a weak black coffee for breakfast. Only 33 calories! Hello, pasta for dinner!)
Snacks That (Also) Leave A Lot To The Imagination
You might try to snack on things like cucumber and celery because they are low cal, but you can end up just full of water, hungry, and a little over–alkaline’d. We are endlessly surprised by how many calories are in carbohydrates, or simple things we would normally consume! Some foods are a delightful surprise, though. Like natural yoghurt – low calorie and high calcium!
Live And Let Log
You spend a huge part of your day “logging” in your food journal instead of just living! You also can form a phobia of your log book if you are not careful. As it is constantly telling you things that relate to your weight and your goals and your relation to your weight and your goals, the all-consuming nature of it can be scary, not to mention, it can feel a little judgmental! (Particularly those apps that send you personal messages on your weight loss journey. Back off!)
It Can Be Hard To Measure At The Local Dining Table
Eating out becomes a confusing mess of immeasurable calories. You may even go missing from the dinner table in an attempt to burn off the accidental scoop of fried ice cream that made its way onto your plate and blew out your whole regime. (However, you may become super excited when you go out to eat dinner and the calories are printed next to the meals on the menu.)
Misplaced Ideas On Calories…
You have an X amount of calories left for the day so you use them all up on quarter of a cheesecake, instead of making healthy rational choices for your body and what it needs. In a food journal’s defense though, it can be just as encouraging as it can be discouraging. When you play by the rules, weight loss simply is a game of mathematics! Do the time, commit to the formula – and you will see the results.
Featured photo credit: Picjumbo via picjumbo.com
