The food diary: 5 benefits

Let's be honest, losing weight can sometimes seem like a mission impossible .
I've been there, I know what it's like!

Between crazy restrictive diets , intense workout routines, and questionable eating habits that we struggle to break, it's sometimes hard to know where to start .

And that's where food journaling can be a valuable tool in achieving your weight loss goals.

In this article, we will therefore explore the main benefits of keeping a journal during your journey.

1) The food diary brings us face to face with our reality.

We are often terrible judges of ourselves, whether good or bad.

And it is not uncommon for us to think we are “ eating well ” even though we skip meals due to snacking or say to ourselves “it’s okay, I didn’t overindulge last night”, even though we ate 2 maxi best of, at Macdo.

The reality is often very different from what we imagine.

In any case, I know that this was my main problem personally: I suffered from a huge lack of objectivity with regard to my eating behavior.

Keeping my journal honestly and regularly exposed my bad habits, my excess calories, my emotional hunger, and my general lack of structure in the organization of my diet.

And keeping a journal could also help you open your eyes to a reality from which you may still be hiding a little.

2) Better recognize emotional hunger thanks to your food diary.

Do you tend to binge more in the evening when you come home after a stressful day at work?

Do you find yourself downing a packet of cakes without realizing it, following an argument with your partner?

Or are you likely to eat more when you're feeling lonely or on Sunday evenings before returning to work?

Joy, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, your emotions can greatly influence what you eat, how much you eat, and how often you eat.

And if it is completely logical and natural to eat a good waffle because you want to treat yourself or down an ice cream pot like Bridget Jones after being dumped... this can, however, pose problems. small problems when it becomes more systematic and regular.

This is more akin to emotional hunger , this famous eating behavior that pushes us to “ eat our emotions ”.

Many of us are affected, and for many it represents a certain amount of suffering . Emotional hunger actually contributes to our weight gain and can be an obstacle to losing those kilos that bother us.

Thanks to your food diary, you can identify these habits and put things in place to improve the situation or better manage the triggers of emotional hunger.

Indeed, your food diary will provide you with a wealth of information about your behavior. When you fill it out, you can annotate your page by writing down the feelings that preceded or followed the meal or snack. This will make it easier for you to identify your patterns and be able to recognize triggers.

This is also why in our WEIGHT LOSS JOURNAL , we have provided a space on our daily page, in which you can record your feelings about meals.

And to increase awareness of these emotions, we have also created a complete tracker , which allows you to analyze the evolution of your emotional management .

We also provide you with tables to list the triggers you observe and put words to them.

We have, in a way, created a +++ food diary !

3) Food diary = accurate calorie consumption tracking!

4) Your food diary, this non-judgmental partner

Recognizing that we have eating problems can be difficult, in fact our behaviors can sometimes even make us feel ashamed . We then don't talk about it to our loved ones or even to our health professionals, for fear of being judged .

For example, I had difficulty detailing what I ate daily to the dietitian, whom I had seen a few months before starting my diary. On the one hand because I didn't really have an idea of ​​the doses but also because I didn't take responsibility for everything . (How to manage 6 Nutella pancakes as a snack every day…..)
However, to resolve a problem, you need to be able to discuss it and approach it honestly.

You can then go to your health consultations with this same journal to help the professional understand you better and advise you better, that's what I did! My dietitian was curious to see how I ate to lose my first 10 pounds in 2 months. To her great joy, she was able to see that I had eaten a balanced diet and that I was eating enough. She took the opportunity to advise me on certain aspects.

Moreover , many practitioners recommend the use of a food diary.

5) Your food diary makes you lose weight!

Yes, I admit that the title of this last paragraph is a bit garish , but it's true!

In 2008, the Kaiser Center for Health Research conducted a study of 1,700 people, which found that people who kept a food diary for six months lost twice as much weight as those who didn't.
A detailed account of their eating habits effectively keeping them on track to achieve their weight loss goals by making them responsible and conscious of what they were eating.

Plus, a new study published in Obesity showed that keeping a food diary takes less than 15 minutes a day if done regularly. It's fast, isn't it?!
So why not try the paper or tracking app to carefully monitor your weight loss ?
I invite you to discover, if you haven't yet, our Weight Loss journal which brings together your food and sports journal, your diary and your habit trackers in one place !

In summary, the food diary is a powerful tool to help lose weight effectively and sustainably . By tracking your calorie intake, identifying your eating habits, making more informed food decisions , and monitoring your progress, you can achieve your weight loss goals.
Remember, the key to success is to remain patient and honest with yourself. Weight loss is a slow, gradual process . Don't get discouraged if you don't see immediate results. Continue to journal and follow a healthy, balanced diet.

I kept my diary for 3 months and I have no regrets, I lost 15 kilos! But above all it allowed me to integrate good, lasting habits and regain my balance. So to lose the 10 kilos I had left, I didn't need to resort to a journal again.