Write Down What You Eat

Write Down What You EatBy Michael D. Morrello, M.S.

Licensed Psychologist

Write Down What You Eat• Write a food plan that includes everything you are

going to eat tomorrow. • Tomorrow, you’ll check off whatever you eat that’s on

the plan and write down any food you eat that isn’t on the plan.

• You’ll continue to plan and monitor your eating every day until you’ve lost all the weight you want.

Planning What you Eat is EssentialIt helps you to think about how you’re going to get and prepare the food on your eating plan. It helps you to remember what you’re supposed to eat and when.

Write Down What You EatIf you don’t plan ahead, you put yourself in the tougher situation of solving problems in the moment. It helps you to eliminate spontaneous eating.

It helps you tolerate occasional hunger and cravings and learn you can withstand them.It helps you to make decisions about eating before you encounter triggers.

Write Down What You EatOnce you’ve written down your plan, make sure you have the food or the ingredients to make the food.

Is there anything you can do today to make tomorrow go more smoothly, such as cutting up vegetables for tomorrow’s dinner.

Write Down What You EatThere are some internet websites that will help you write down what you eat and help you monitor your calories and nutrients.

Write Down What You EatWhen dividing your balance of macronutrients you should strive to get 50% of your calories from carbohydrates, 25% of your calories from protein, and 25% of your calories from fat. In regard to fiber, men ages 50 and younger should get 38 grams per day 51 and older should get 30 grams; women 50 and younger should get 25grams and 51 and older should get 21 grams of fiber daily.

Write Down What You EatYou need to choose two diets, one that you plan to follow and another in case the first diet does not work.

Any diet will do as long as it is healthy and well-balanced. There is no miracle diet.

All diets enable you to lose weight in the same way– by getting you to eat fewer calories.

Write Down What You EatResearchers at the US Department of Agriculture have determined that most people who don’t vigorously exercise need to reduce their daily consumption to between 1,400 and 1.500 calories to lose weight.

There are two types of diets, one that suggest you stick to a set eating plan and the other type is a counting system.

Write Down What You EatSet Eating Plans

Pros: Not having plenty of choices makes it easier for some people. This makes it easy to decide on what you will eat.Cons: This inflexibility can create an image of “good” and “bad” foods. If you slip and eat something not on your plan, you might convince yourself you have blown it and keep bingeing. You might not be able to sustain a set eating plan in the long term. It is also difficult to maintain on vacations and special occasions.

Write Down What You EatCounting Systems

Pros: You can more easily match your diet to your lifestyle. You can also make sure your diet includes all of your favorite foods.

Cons: These plans might provide you too much flexibility. You might eat foods that are not particularly healthy. It also take more time and energy to figure out what you will eat.

Write Down What You EatGuidelines for a Doable Diet

1. Your Diet should be healthy2. Choose a diet that includes food you like and you

can easily prepare3. Choose a diet that is flexible.4. Choose a diet that allows you to budget for

indulgencesA diet that puts your favorite foods completely off-limits will likely lead you to crave those foods sooner or later.

Don’t Skip Breakfast!

Write Down What You Eat• Several studies show that keeping a written record of

what you eat increases the likelihood that you’ll lose weight and keep it off.

• One study showed, that dieters who kept detailed food logs were even able to lose weight over the winter holidays.• Dieters who didn’t keep a log gained weight.

Write Down What You EatIt helps you remain accountable for what you

actually eat.It is amazing what our minds both naturally forget and allow us to forget when we really don’t want to remember.Even dietitians have difficultyremembering what they eat. In one study dietitians were asked to estimate how many calories they consumed. They underestimatedtheir calorie consumption by 10% .

Write Down What You EatChecking off what you’ve eaten and writing down what you hadn’t planned to eat forces you to become aware of what you’re doing. You can’t fool yourself when you’re looking at the evidence in black and white.

Writing Down What You Eat will Provide the Following Benefits

1. It helps strengthen your motivation. It gives you the opportunity to give yourself credit.

2. It helps build your confidence. As you focus on how well you’re following your plan you begin to realize that you can stay on your diet.

Write Down What You Eat3. It helps you recognize and solve problems. When you look at your successes and failures you can recognize what worked and areas causing you problems. Then you can take a problem solving approach to fixing your problems areas.

Write Down What You EatHow to Monitor in Writing What you Eat

Carry the food plan you wrote the night before with you throughout the day. As soon as possible after you finish eating, make three kinds of notations.1. Put a check mark next to the things you ate that were

written on your plan.2. Cross out anything you had planned to eat but didn’t 3. Circle any food that you ate too much of and write

down and circle any food you ate that you hadn’t planned to eat.

Be sure to make these notations immediately after eating.

Write Down What You EatIf you wait, you won’t be as conscious of what you ate, you’ll be at higher risk of unplanned eating, and you’ll forget about some of the food you ate—all of which increases the risk of your gaining weight.

At some point, you’ll feel tempted to stop writing down what you eat.This generally occurs when you stray from your diet and you’re trying to avoid facing it.Take a step back. It’s 10 times more important to write things down now.

Write Down What You EatBe aware of the sabotaging thought that says, “It doesn’t matter if I don’t write my food intake down this time.”

Of Course it Matters!