Handy weight loss aid
Even if you think you know well what you consume daily, people are prone to forgetting unpleasant things. For example, your colleague’s treat or a dinner that got out of hand. A food diary is a useful tool to gain insight into your eating habits and your areas for improvement.
Are you really eating as healthy as you think? Keep track of what goes in your mouth every day for a week or two. This is how you can see if your breakfast is very scanty and that it is not surprising that you are hungry again at half past nine (and then take two stroopwafels). Or that vegetable consumption leaves something to be desired. Over time you will naturally start to eat healthier, because it is very confronting when you see that apple point or bag of chips in black and white. And that’s exactly what it’s about.
Scientifically proven
Not only does it make sense, it has recently been scientifically proven that women eat less when they write down what they eat in a day. The study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, followed a group of 123 women between the ages of 50 and 75 for a year. from the research found that the women who consistently kept to their eating schedule lost nearly three pounds more than the women who didn’t.
Stripe you slim
It is therefore not surprising that many eating programs work in one way or another with a form of a diary. At some, such as Margriet Streep-je-Slank and Weight Watchers, that is even the starting point. In these diet methods, the important foods are divided into a number of groups. All foods are translated into boxes. The principle is simple: when you eat a sandwich, you cross off the corresponding number of boxes. You can also cross off the well-known eight glasses of water. It’s a bit of a puzzle at first, but it’s a good way to lose pounds in a healthy and varied way
Food diary 2.0
You can of course keep your food diary in a notebook or workbook. But don’t you think that digital is much more convenient? The Nutrition Center has developed the Eetmeter for this purpose. The Eetmeter is a food diary in which you can enter what you eat and drink on a daily basis. The tool shows whether you are eating enough nutrients and how much energy (calories) you have received. Also on the site Eetdagboek.com you can keep track of what you have eaten per day, complete with graphs and calorie counter. And you can see at a glance whether there is enough fruit and vegetables on your menu.
Not forever
A food diary is a useful tool, especially in the early stages of your diet, to learn a new, healthy way of eating. If you still find the food diary a nice stick behind the door after a few weeks, then you should continue with it. But if at some point you do know what you can have per day and what a balanced meal looks like, then it’s time to draw a line. Your goal has been achieved: a healthy diet and a healthy weight. Now just need to find the courage to start!
