Diet Tip #3--Keep a Food Journal--No kidding!

To stay focused and keep losing weight, one must keep a Diet Journal.

What is a diet journal, you ask? Well, it is some form of written (or typed) documentation of what you ate during the day.

When I did Weight Watchers many years ago, we had to keep track in a booklet. Doing this journal is very instructive, indeed. I was surprised at the amount that I was eating. I was also surprised that I was not eating well -- not enough meat (protein) and fruit.

In today's electronic world, there are numerous sources for an online journal. I am using myfitnesspal.com. No bells and whistles here to distract you. No menus are suggested. I like it because I can easily enter a recipe and have the calorie count figured up. What I do not like is that everyone can enter in a food to the data bank and sometimes there are too many choices in a category. For example, when I was looking for sliced deli chicken, there were about 20 choices. I could not find the ONE that I needed, so I put in my own. Now there are about 21 choices. It just takes more time to enter one's calories when there are so many choices.

For the past two days, I have been gaining weight. Not a lot, just a half pound here and there. Why? I have not been keeping track of what I have been eating. (I have not been exercising, either!) If a dieter just enters in what was eaten on myfitnesspal.com, the journal for that day will tell you how many more calories you have to eat that day. It will also give you an idea of what you need to eat to have a balanced day, nutrition-wise.

Today I will be entering my food intake again. Let's hope I can burn some calories doing it.

Diet Tip #1

This past week my husband and I signed up for the "Scale Back Alabama" weight loss program. We have a team of 4 and we are to lose 10 pounds each in 10 weeks. This is a doable thing. I have lost weight before using Weight Watchers and earned my "lifetime" pin. Time and food have not been kind since I earned my status with that diet program. I did learn a lot and I use the skills WW taught me. I just have a problem with portions.

In honor of joining the SBA, I am posting a diet tip. I will try to post new tips as I find them. Here is the first:

The little pieces at the bottom of a chip bag DO NOT have fewer calories.