The importance of food journals is often underestimated. They are frequently dismissed as time consuming and pointless. Most effective trainers and nutritionists require clients to keep them for documentation purposes and to better assist in meeting desired goals. I think food journals are the best way to keep us accountable for the things we put into our bodies. This is the first line of defense whether you use a trainer or nutritionist because it is what you see first and must often show as verification of your discipline or lack of. Additional benefits include:
1)Providing a Record of What Does/Doesn’t Work. It serves as a notation for how well you did or did not look. This can be beneficial because if you ate certain foods for 4 weeks and were happy with your appearance, you know exactly what to do to get that same look next time. It takes the guessing out of tweaking your physique, which is especially important for competitors.
2)Works on Conscience. Many times, if you know you shouldn’t eat that doughnut, having to record it and potentially show it to your trainer or seeing it as a reminder may occasionally work to deter you from consuming it. It’s just good old fashion guilt!
I have kept a food journal since I began competing in ’04. Also though there are some gaps in my journals, I can tell you almost everything I have eaten over the past 5 years. It has made it so much easier to make adjustments to my nutrition even for non-competitive purposes. I initially started by using a regular writing journal and recording the date, times, meals, calories, and my workouts. For the past 2 years I have since found that an Appointment Daytimer works best for me, as it has the dates written and times pre-printed in 15 minutes increments. I simply circle the time and write in the food in blue ink, followed by my workouts in red ink. If I am weighing myself, I use black ink and print it right next to the date. What I like the best is that I can view the entire week on one page.
Once you know what works, I’m sure you can loosen up on how much you choose to record in your journal, but for me, I have found through trial and error that it keeps me fully accountable and also helps me remember what I have eaten throughout the day.
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