Food Diary Fact Or Fiction?

May 4, 2011 by Tatianna

 

Years ago someone talked me into having a Food Diary , I am not sure if I saw it on the internet or a Tv, or a girlfriend recommended it to me.  At the time, it seemed like a great Idea and a lot of people were saying it’s the best thing to do if you want to stay in shape. So of course I had to try it out.

Every day I carried that journal everywhere I went, and every time I placed something in my mouth I wrote it down ( sound’s a bit crazy doesn’t it? ). It got a bit crazier over a period of few weeks, I became completely obsessed with food, and with that came the guilt. Every time I ate an extra cracker I was guilty, and that made me really depressed. Thankfully I also had a head on my shoulders, I realized pretty soon that the Food Diary was not doing me any good, and how food obsession can become a problem.

I know that a lot of personal trainers and nutrition coaches recommend keeping a Food Diary, I am not one of them. Because I can’t tell people to do something I don’t believe in.

Just imagine you are going from just living, to counting every calorie, or portion and writing it all down.
I always watch those weight loss reality shows and it makes me feel sad for people who are struggling as it is, and on top of that they have to keep track of counting the calories. I think that’s why so many people give up and gain the weight back. No one wants to live that ( at least not me ).

In my humble opinion, being healthy suppose to make you feel good, not guilty or depressed.

I believe in awareness of the foods we are eating, instead of calorie counting. I also believe we should listen to our bodies a bit more, stop eating and stuffing our selves when we feel full. To achieve that, it is best that we eat more slowly and with higher awareness. When we eat too fast, our brain doesn’t have the time to register how full we are – that causes over eating. If we change the quality of what we eat and how we eat it, we are never going to need a food diary.

I my self don’t always know when I should stop eating, there is times I am really good about it, and there is times I’m not – we all do that. I became a bit more aware in the last couple of years. If we can at least cut down on stuffing our selves and listen to our body, isn’t that progress?

Now, I am not saying keeping a Food Diary doesn’t help some people, it just didn’t help me.

I think life is complicated as it is, why make things even more complicated. Just enjoy your life, if you feel like you need to loose weight, ask your self what kind of food am I eating, or have I been listening to my body? Do I eat enough nutrients to be healthy? Our body is very smart, it stores fat because it lacks something in our system. Dig into the depth of the problem instead of scraping the top.

Tomorrow you might hear of a new Diet Hype coming out, research everything, see if it makes sense to You first.

I hope you enjoyed reading my post, as much as I loved writing it :). Feel free to feedback!

Tatianna