Food Diary — Keep Track of What You Eat 和 Drink

Writing down what you consume shows your daily 和 weekly intake in a snapshot. Research shows that people who kept food records lost twice as much weight as people who didn’t track what they ate. Food tracking can help you identify your healthy habits, 比如选择有营养的零食, 以及需要改善的习惯, such as drinking too many sugary drinks.

想想你的健康目标. 减肥? 减少钠的摄入? Reduce your cholesterol or blood pressure? 写下你的目标. This will keep you stay focused on why you are tracking what you consume.

Here are some ways to keep a food diary: 

• Write down what you eat 和 drink on paper, keep notes on your computer or digital device, or use a food tracking website or app.
• Track what you ate, the times you ate 和 portion sizes. Add notes about what you were doing while you were eating. 工作? 看电视? Also include how you were feeling at the time. 饿了? 强调?
• Include the amount of specific nutrients, 比如卡路里, 钠, 饱和脂肪和/或纤维, 这取决于你的健康目标.

At the end of each week, review 和 analyze your food diary. 你达到你的目标了吗? Do you see any patterns or triggers that are barriers? For example, maybe you notice you crave a snack in the afternoons 和 head for the vending machine. Now that you have identified this as an unhealthy pattern, you can think of ways to combat it. 例如, you can pack healthy snacks at home, such as unhealthy nuts or unsweetened dried fruit, 把它们放在你的桌子上. Or bring portable fruit, such as grapes, an apple or a banana, with your lunch. By doing this day after day, you’ll create a new, healthy habit.

Once you identify the obstacles, you can focus on ways to overcome them. 从小事做起. 你不可能一次解决所有的问题.