An Excerpt From a Wedmd article called "10 Medically Proven Ways to Lose Weight":

1. Journaling
Writing down your daily food intake is a way to acknowledge the importance of your weight loss mission and help you to take it seriously. Tracking your food, your emotional triggers, and daily physical activity helps you identify patterns and habits that lead to overeating and inactivity. Just the act can keep you on task: When you know you have to write it down, sometimes that doughnut becomes less appealing! The National Weight Control Registry says that journaling is one of the most powerful tools used by all successful dieters.
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Many of us on the board use journaling to help us stay on track both privately and publicly. If you go to a nutritionist or RD, the first thing they will have you do is start keeping a food journal. My most successful clients are the ones that journal.

Today’s challenge is to keep a public food journal just for today. Record when you ate, what you ate, how much and report back with your journal entries tonight. Record every taste, nibble or extra bit.

Please also take the time to answer the following questions:

Were you surprised by anything?

Did you make any different choices because you wrote it down and had to post?

How did it feel to write everything down?

Late confession:

B: banana, milk (can't remember if I had a sandwich or not)
L: Grilled chicken leg, side salad, lite French dr.
S1: grapes (maybe half a pound (?))
S2: Tea, pie slice
D: WW Mac and ground beef casserole, red wine (1), water

Does it feel any different to write it down? No
Was this a standard day? I usually eat more at lunch to ward off any hunger pangs. And I don't eat cake in the afternoons.

Bfast: 7 grain Eng. muffin w/ PB, fruit salad and milk

Snack: 100 calorie snack

Lunch: WW Pizza and salad

Snack: Orange and String Cheese

Dinner: 2 Cheese Quesadillas and Grapes

Snack: 100 calorie snack

My biggest thing was I could of not had the last 100 calorie snack.

I also had a hard time and did not make it to my weekly Yoga class.

Food journal 5-2-07

5:30 am 1 pkg Lance Snack Crackers
1 banana
½ can diet coke

1pm chicken salad sandwich (onion roll and 1 serving Publix chicken salad)
Diet coke

5pm 4 pieces of Dibs Vanilla Ice Cream (1 serving is 26 pieces)

7:30pm Poached Salmon
About a dozen roasted taters (about the size of pecans or walnuts)
Green Giant broccoli and cheese sauce
1 diet coke plus


I was going to have an evening snack but it has gotten to late.

No big surprises- about typical
No difference in what I would eat if I wasn't posting.
Writing it down today was no problem, I was home all day. Don't think I would want to have to keep up with it on the weekend when I am on the go all the time.

Today's Total: 27 points

Breakfast:
2 Kashi waffles with 1 T. peanut butter (5)
1/2 grapefruit (1)
coffee with soy creamer (1)

Snack:
1/2 c. pistachio nuts (4)
Kashi granola bar (2)
piece of dark chocolate (1)

Lunch:
celery sticks (0)
green onion and tomato frittata (6)

Dinner:
1/2 shrimp quesadilla with peppers, onions, and tomatoes (3)
tortilla chips (3)

I was determined to stay within my points because I'm reading The Beck Diet Solution and one of the techniques she suggests is "No Choice" -- don't give yourself the option of eating something not on your plan. I was surprised that I was happy with half a quesadilla when I usually have a whole one.

I write everything down every day and even share it with some friends on a private website, but posting here takes a little more courage because a lot of the other people on this board eat much less than I do.

forgot the questions

Were you surprised by anything?
No, not today. I was sort of suprised one time when I journaled on fitday and WW points REALLY carefully one time for 23 days.

Did you make any different choices because you wrote it down and had to post?
no

How did it feel to write everything down?
Same as always. Just something I do most days.

Today wasn't super great, but could have been worse:

B - 1/2 c. maple and brown sugar oatmeal

L - veggie pizza and pepperoni pizza, they were cut into sm. squares. I had 6. My guess is about 2 1/2 pieces of regular size pizza. Salad. And a piece of cake. (We had a baby shower at work...)

D - The chicken mixture for lettuce wraps (1/2 c.) mixed with about 2/3 c. of Kashi 7 grain pilaf, and 3 coconut curry chicken spring rolls.

IF I eat anything else, which I doubt I will, I will eat the fruit I took for a mid-morning snack that I didn't eat.

Other than coffee this morning, I've only had water to drink.

Dawn

My mil was here, today was not great foodwise.

2 slices whole wheat toast, smart bal lite, apple butter

1 cup strawberries

coffee/1.5 oz half/half
* * * *
1 Mexican bread-like-cookie
1 Mexican candy

* * * * *

Chili's Guiltless chick sandwich, broc, peppers, parm cheese, couple bites black beans, 1 tsp of mils cheese/broc soup

* * * *
Burger King kid's choc milk shake

about 10 "sour" life savers

* * * * *
Chinese chicken salad (with 1 oz chicken - too hard to pick it all out) (homemade)

Hot Sour Soup (homemade)
Didn't have it.

1/4th apple dipped in 2 tsp carmel

10:15pm Adding 1/2 c. strawberries, 1/4 c. GoLean, 1/2 cup milk. I'm hungry.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GoingSkiing,

B: Egg & cheese wrap (my once-a-week treat, usually on Tuesday but was off sick yesterday)

S1: None as I was at a meeting in DC all morning and the fruit I'd bought this week wasn't transportable in that setting (bad planning on my part).

L: 3 oz. grilled pork tenderloin (rubbed w/Dijon mustard and spices b4 grilling)
Confetti pasta salad (ww pasta/4 kinds of veggies/homemade vinaigrette)
Snow peas
1 bitesize Dove Promise

S2: Fruit salad (homemade--cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries)

D: Not sure yet--probably cheese toast (2% cheese stick melted on ww English muffin)

S3: Fruit or Ghirardelli choc chips.

Here are my actuals today:
B, 7 am: whole grain english muffin with 2 T of light cream cheese

L, 12:15 pm: veggie wrap which had red bell pepper, field greens, onions, avocado and some goat cheese and field green salad w/1 T of vinegrette. I also had 1/4 of my dd's chocolate chip cookie.

S, 2:30: 1 container of fat free yogurt, 1/2 c of granola cereal (low fat) and 1/2 c of mixed fruit - berries and two pieces of pineapple

D, 5pm: home made nachoes - 1 oz of baked tortilla chips, 1/2 c of black beans, 1/4 c of lf cheese, 1/3 sliced small avocado, 1 roma tomato, green onion and 2 T of salsa; 1/2 c of mixed fruit (same combo as lunch but with some grapes)

In terms of liquids, I've had 16 oz of hot, unsweetened, earl grey tea and 40 oz of water. I still have more water to drink but will be at my 72 oz minimum by bedtime.

Questions:
Were you surprised by anything?

No. I routinely journal and this is my norm.
It was a pretty easy day for me though because I knew I was going to eat dinner at 5 pm which is my prefered time. I get snacky around 5 pm and if I wait for dh to come home to eat dinner at 7:30, it's a very tough time for me.


Did you make any different choices because you wrote it down and had to post?

No but I did think long and hard before having some of dd's cookie at lunch. I had an extra of working out though so I figured I was ok with the unplanned for calories.

How did it feel to write everything down?

Trying to maintain and not write down is disaster for me so it felt good!


PS For those of you who posted plans earlier in the day, did you stick to it???

I'm no longer surprised by it, but since other people might be, I figure I'll mention it...I eat many, many times through the day. Now that I'm on a 6 AM-3 PM schedule (which means I'm up at 4:45 AM), there's an "extra" morning meal.

(I've been trying the "5 Fruits a Day" since Monday.)

Breakfast (5 AM):
1 Oatmeal-to-Go bar, diet soda

2nd Breakfast (7 AM):
Banana, one piece of string cheese, water

Mid-morning snack (9 AM):
2 kiwis, 1 small tangerine, water x2

Lunch (11 AM):
1 container low-fat yogurt
1 c of red grapes
1 c of salad greens & tomato; 1 Tbl low-fat dressing
water

Tea (12:30 AM):
1 slice whole wheat bread, 2 thin deli slices of ham, mustard
17 low-fat Wheat Thins
water x2

(that's everything in my lunch box, so I imagine another glass or two of water while I'm work)

Edit! Yogurt skipped, walked the dog for 15 minutes instead.
Snack plan (4-ish)
1 container low-fat yogurt, water

Edit! Dinner's in the oven, as planned, and will be on plates by 6:15!
Dinner plan (6-ish is the hope):
"Mexican lasagna" (inspired by Rachel Ray's dish of the same name), two servings is roughly:
2 corn tortilla
1/2-3/4 c ground chicken
1/4 c: onions, tomatoes, red beans
2-3 TBL low-fat cheddar cheese
water x2

Then a low-fat ice cream bar after my 7 PM massage appointment, and work to be in bed by 9:45 PM.

Questions:
Were you surprised by anything?
No, not really. I tend to frontload my days, because when I'm tired (in the morning), I get snacky. If I have something good to snack on, then I won't get up and support the troops by purchasing their candy. So I drop $5 in every week to avoid guilt.

Did you make any different choices because you wrote it down and had to post?
Yes. A co-worker brought key lime pie to work. It was store-bought. And I couldn't see validating a slice of store-bought, not-that-good key lime pie to you all

How did it feel to write everything down?
Like I was reporting back to my trainer! She had me keep one for two weeks, until she realized it was the binges and lack of activity that were my downfall, not what I normally eat.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: D in St Pete,

I believe in journaling, not just what you eat but how you felt when you ate, how your day is going, etc.

I am also a planner (usually) I plan the week's main courses and then fill in the sides as we go.
It's not written in stone, but it helps keep me focused on what's happening.

Today's meals:

Breakfast: fruit, WW scone, cappacino

Snack: Orange

Lunch: Fresh salad with chicken, Ww toast squares, jello with fruit

Snack: Yoplait

Dinner: Fish, baked potatoe, salad, grilled vegetables,

Snack: popcorn.

My day is already planned out.

Breakfast:
waffle & yogurt, 380 cal., 5 g fat.

Lunch:
KD's chili pork stew, barilla plus, dried plums
400 cal., 8 g fat

Dinner:
Hamburg casserole, asparagus, berries, 365 cal, 11 g fat.

Snack:
don't know yet

I just saw a suggestion last week to use your camera phone to assist you in journaling. Not completely in lieu of, but if you don't want to carry a journal all day, take photos of your meal, so that you can remember later.

Additionally, the camera will give you a better sense of portion sizes too...

Dawn