How and why you should keep a food journal

I spent the past week writing down and analyzing everything I ate. I learned a few important things from this.

First, my protein consumption is fine. I’ve been a bit worried a bit this since I started eating a vegetarian diet, but the numbers I’m seeing this week tell me that I’m doing ok. No need for protein supplements. Second, it looks like my food plan is working. I still snack a bit more than I should, especially on candy and chocolate, but my plan of leaving a bit of cushion in my calorie goals to account for these snacks is doing well and I never exceed my daily targets.

There were a few surprises. On the one hand I learned just how calorie rich corn is. I’ve always assumed it was relatively healthy but it looks like I should moderate my intake of it somewhat. On the other hand, I found a dairy product with great nutritional value in the form of cottage cheese, something I had been grouping with other, less healthy, dairy products.

However, my goal for this week wasn’t to learn a lot about my own diet but to help you learn about yours. I would really recommend that you go through this kind of exercise yourself. It will teach you a lot about where you get your calories. It will also force you to face some your unhealthier habits.

If you do choose to keep a journal, here are some tips.

• Write down food you eat as soon as you eat it. Yes, even if it’s a handful of peanuts. Don’t wait until later, just write it down now before you forget. If you don’t have time to figure out the calories right now, that’s fine, write it down and come back to it later.
• Don’t forget your drinks. Yes, liquid calories and fat still count. I know this is called a food journal but you should include every source of calories in it, liquid or solid.
• Don’t cheat. It amazes me when people cheat on this kind of food journal. Who are you cheating here? Do you think someone is going to secretly read your journal and then confront you with “AHA! You ate a candy bar on Thursday!” This journal is meant to educate YOU. If you cheat on it, you’re just cheating yourself.
• If you can’t get accurate numbers, guess. Not all food comes in nice packages with nutritional values printed on them. If you don’t have access to exact numbers, guess. Do a simple Google search on the name of the dish you just ate and the words “nutrition” or “nutritional values”. More often than not, you’ll find something. If that fails, try to break the food down into it’s components. Worst case scenario, give it your best guess, and again, be honest. Putting down 3 calories for the steak you just ate because you couldn’t find an exact number online is pretty silly. Maybe you could look up a different kind of steak and put down those numbers.
• Keep going for at least a month. Food habits change from day to day, from weekday to weekend and from week to week. If you want a clear picture of your diet, you need to keep track of it for at least a month.
• Analyze your food journal and see your results. Once you do, decide on any changes you need to make. A year later, come back and do another month long food journal. What’s changed? Have your efforts succeeded? Do you have any new bad habits?

Being healthy is relatively easy, but spotting your own unhealthy habits is sometimes hard. We may hide them from ourselves or we may not know that something we do is unhealthy. So spend a month and research what you eat, what you learn may surprise you.