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Track Food Groups to Simpify Diet
By Cindy | September 23, 2007
I lost track of how many times I’ve started writing down what I ate, and by the third day, I would give up because I had forgotten to write everything I ate the day before and I was so frustrated. See, I know that writing a journal is a highly effective tool to track food. I think Fitday is a great tool to plug in everything I eat, but I would forget or run out of time to write everything down or try plug the food items into the computer consistently. I would also get frustrated trying to break down all the elements of a dish. If you’re able to consistently keep a journal of all the things you eat, then I applaud you. You are accomplishing a terrific feat! Maybe I can slowly incorporate a food journal into my life as I improve upon my eating habits. Right now, adding the step of writing all the details to everything I eat tends to fall to the wayside.
To start focusing on my diet, I have been thinking about the many ways I can work on changing my eating habits. I love food. I want to balance my diet to incorporate all types of foods. MyPyramid allows individuals to plug in all their essential information to determine individualized dietary requirements. It does not put together meals or gives you shopping lists, but it’s a fantastic tool to get you started toward a healthier lifestyle.
Here’s what I plan to start doing. I’ve done this once before several years back and I immediately saw changes in how I organized my meals and balanced my eating habits.
- Find out the number of servings for each food group needed in a day
- Write down a list to reflect the separate servings
- Laminate a Page or use a Dry Erase Board in the Kitchen
- Put a check mark by the food group you consumed
- At the end of the day, quickly examine where you fell short or where you overindulged
- Erase and start over the next morning
At this point in time, I do not have the time to crunch numbers. By focusing on the larger picture, I’ll be able to quickly assess my diet. I found that I dropped snacking on processed foods. I always found it hard to match them with the food groups. I started eating more vegetables and fruits. This very small step is simple and easy to consistently maintain. Consistency is the key for life-long rather than a temporary change to dieting.
This is the beginning of adjusting my diet. It’s not complicated. Rather than looking at what I “can’t eat” as so many diets tend to dwell on, I look at what options I have left to choose from in the day.
Here’s an example of what my Food Group Tracking Page Looks Like:
Grains (7 ounces)
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Vegetables (3 Cups)
___ ___ ___
Fruits (2 Cups)
___ ___
Milk (3 cups)
___ ___ ___
Meat & Beans (6 ounces)
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Fats, sugars and sodium (6 teaspoons)
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Water (8 cups)
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Have you started making a commitment to eating healthy? How are you becoming aware of the foods you eat? Are you able to track everything you eat in a day? How do you do it? What are your tips and ideas?
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Topics: Nutritional Knowledge |
September 23rd, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I really like the dry erase board idea!! I have tried writing my food in a journal and it really made a positive difference in my eating habits. Something that worked for me was when a friend and I exchanged our food journals (via email). If I knew someone was looking at it, I was more likely to eat healthy. I didn’t want my friend to know I ate 7 chocolate chip cookies before dinner!
September 26th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Good post. I generally just write it all down in a journal of mine. This way I remember to write it down when I’m out and about.
Will check out Fitday though, looks promising.
September 26th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Lisa, What a great idea exchanging food journals with a friend. The motivation definitely sounds like it would be effective.
Weightwatchee, Taking a small journal around is an excellent idea. I always forget the extras that I’ve munched on when I’m in the car. Must watch those mindless snacks while driving.
September 26th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Last school year I took a couple of classes that had us tracking our food for a certain period of time and then analyzing what we ate. I was floored to find out how much caffeine I was consuming in my diet each day. I was drinking 72 ounces of diet pepsi a day. One can of caffeinated soda has 38 mg’s of caffeine One can is 12 ounces so I was consuming at least 228 mg’s of caffeine a day. I have cut down now I am at 190 mg’s of caffeine a day. I am sleeping better and functioning better too.
September 27th, 2007 at 9:33 am
It’s incredible how aware you become of what you’re eating once you start to keep track of it. As a mom on the go, I don’t have time to write down everything I eat, so I use the voice recorder on my cell phone. I also find this very useful when I need to remind myself to make healthy eating choices .
September 30th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
It is pretty powerful when you actually put things down to paper. I know that I consume lots of caffine. One cup of coffee is about 169mg. I usually drink 2. I’m still unsure of the caffine effects. I wonder if it does affect people differently. There are so many different views and studies about caffine’s effect on the body and exercise.
I like the idea of using a voice recorder. I wonder if my cell phone has a voice recorder. I guess I can just leave a message on my home phone line!
October 1st, 2007 at 5:57 am
Most newer cell phones do..check your’s for a voice memo or voice recorder feature in the handbook or in the options menu. I use it all the time to track what I eat and then when I’m home..I write it down.
November 27th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I like this idea. I really need to incorporate more veggies in my diet and am always looking for ways to trick myself into eating them more. If I eat more veggies less room for snacks!
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