Week 4: Tracking Your Eating Habits

Dear Readers

Here’s a tip for eating right: Write!

Writing down everything you eat may seem tedious and unnecessary. You know when you’ve been bad, right? Jotting down “4 chocolate chunk cookies and 1 bag of Doritos” would only make you feel worse.

Maybe so. But maybe you wouldn’t reach for the fourth cookie if you knew you’d be writing about it later. Make it a habit to write down what you eat and you’re likely to develop better eating habits. Plus, keeping a record also can provide a reality check. Many dieters regularly underestimate the number of calories they consume.

• How to Count Calories Accurately
• Use the FitnessMagazine.com Calorie Charts to get a better idea of how many calories you’re consuming

If your body or doctor says it’s time to change your diet, an accurate journal can be invaluable. It allows you to analyze your eating habits, spot problems, and make subtle — or not so subtle — alterations. If you seek out advice from dietitians, nutritionists, or trainers, your food diary will help them help you.

If sharing your diet triumphs and pratfalls with a steno pad isn’t enough motivation, share them with friends, family, and even strangers!

• Read about one woman’s weight-loss blog and how it helped her
• Learn how to start your own weight-loss blog

Here’s the (sugar-free) icing on the (low-carb) cake: Writing about the foods you eat, avoid, and crave can help other people with similar struggles. Ready to share your diet tips and tricks? E-mail your tips to the editors at FITNESS magazine, and you could be featured in an upcoming issue!

How many servings of fruits and veggies did you eat this week? Not sure? Add one now: go grab an apple, a banana, a handful of baby carrots. Then log in and update your “You Can Do It” profile!

Next Week: Drink Up!