How to Keep a Food Diary for Weight Loss

Overview

It may seem a little tedious to write down everything that you eat, but it can be a very useful tool when it comes to weight loss. Every calorie and every pound counts--and adds up--so keeping a log of everything that you eat can help prevent unwanted pounds. It can also help you pinpoint your problem areas--what's wrecking your diet and preventing your weight loss.

Step 1

Log what you eat. Every meal, snack and beverage should be logged in your diary. You can pack on calories and pounds without sitting down to a real meal--the handful of candy here, the chocolate mocha with whipped cream and sprinkles there. Don't leave anything out of your food diary for the most accurate picture of what you're consuming each day.

Step 2

Record how much you ate. In addition to what you ate, you need to accurately record your portions. Record the weight or measurement of your food--for instance, a 4-ounce piece of chicken, ½ cup of rice, 2 tablespoons of salad dressing or 1 cup of popcorn. If it's easier to record quantity, write it that way--one apple or banana.

Step 3

Don't forget additives and flavorings. Don't just write that you had vegetables if you sautéed them in oil--make sure you count the oil, marinade or other seasonings that you use to prepare your food. Don't forget condiments (mayonnaise or ketchup) and salad dressing.

Step 4

Track the time and place. To help you figure out where you eat most and at what time of day you're most likely to splurge, record these details about your snacking habits. Next to what you ate, jot down where you were when you ate it, what time it was, and if you were alone or with friends. You should also note what you were doing at the time, like working or watching a movie. This can help you determine patterns in your eating habits, and figure out ways to thwart bad habits.

Step 5

Examine your thoughts. Consider how you felt and what you were thinking when you were eating, and record a word or short phrase describing your mood and thoughts. Maybe you tend to eat when you feel lonely, anxious or depressed. If you can identify what triggers you to eat, you can find healthier ways of coping with those emotions that spare calories and pounds.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/31555-keep-diary-weight-loss/#ixzz1aWhHPnBP

1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward

Don't Let a Setback Stop You from Pushing Ahead

"Fall seven times, get up eight." - Japanese Proverb
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." - John Quincy Adams
"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." - Chinese Proverb
"Never give in. Never. Never. Never. Never." - Winston Churchill
"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." - Samuel Johnson

These quotes all say the same thing. No matter how many obstacles you run into, what matters is that you’re able to overcome each of them, one at a time.

"Two steps forward, one step back" is usually a negative term to describe someone who is having trouble making progress. But switched around, "1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward" means that instead of grousing or feeling guilty about a misstep, you can still come out ahead if you put your head down and push forward.

Steps back can take many forms: a family vacation, breaks in your routine, personal tragedies, injuries, or that lost weekend in front of the tube. A big mistake people make when trying to get healthier is that when they fall off a bit or something happens, they think they "have to start over". Wrong! When missteps do happen, a better strategy is to simply take two steps forward. You’re still ahead of where you were before, far beyond the starting line.

In tennis, losing one point isn’t the end of the world. It happens to the best of them. In fact, if you can consistently win a few more points that you lose, you may end up in the hall of fame. With healthy eating and exercising, as long as you’re consistently out-stepping your steps back, you’re ahead of the game. If you expect perfection (and many of us do), you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and guilt.

Guilt can be debilitating to your healthy habits. When you mess up (or even when things are messed up for you), it’s natural to feel guilty. At that point, you have a choice: to let that guilt plummet you into a cycle that could spit you out worse off than before, or to accept the step back and say "where do I go from here?"

Of course, consistent success is still something to strive for. You don’t want to roller-coaster up and down. That’s an "old" habit, remember? And the 1Step/2Step strategy doesn’t lessen the need to do your best. You should still work hard to keep those steps back from happening. But it helps to be prepared with a plan and a positive attitude for when they do happen.

Many times, this means a rededication, a refocusing, and a recommitment. You might want to look at your program and see why it’s allowing those landmines to stick around. Use it as a learning process. Ask how you can keep that misstep from happening again. 

• Take a walk in the woods to clear your head and regroup.
• Have a personal "bounce back" motto that will re-energize you. Put it everywhere.
• Take a break if you think you’re trying too hard.
• Return to the basics. Are you making it too complicated and tough on yourself?
• Plan ahead for irregularities in your schedule, call ahead to healthy restaurants, pack healthy snacks.
• Stay aware of what you’re doing. One meal mess up can turn into a one day mess up, a one week mess up if you’re not careful.
• Remind yourself of your success so far when you need a boost.

Unlike people who run 10 miles today because they should have run two yesterday, "2 Steps Forward" doesn’t necessarily mean doing a lot more to make up for a blunder. Just make a commitment to do things as right as possible as much as you can.

Mike Kramer, SPARKPEOPLE Staff Writer

Week 3 Update

We are 3 weeks into this 10-week challenge and we've already lost over 600lbs friends! That is great news!

If you took our mini-challenge on Monday at weigh-in, you realized just how good a workout simply standing and balancing on one foot is! This is a great exercise to do during commercial breaks while you are watching your favorite shows each night. The average commercial break is 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Can you stand and balance on one foot until your show comes back on? Try it!

And now be amazed at how long our mini-challenge winner stood balanced.... a Whopping 12 minutes 10 seconds! And she is MICHELLE KUNTZ! And we pullled 2 additional winners from everyone who participated and they are Becky Russell and Jaime Heilman! All 3 have won their own copy of Bob Harpers Ripped Core workout! Congratulations!

Don't forget to check the column to the left to find out how to participate in Week 4's mini challenge!

Everything You Wanted to Know about CALORIES

You know by now that both eating and activity affect your weight. Eating provides your body with the energy it needs, while physical activity burns off calories. So the key to successful weight loss is finding the right ways to balance the calories you take in with the calories you put out. It all sounds so simple – and it really is.
But there’s actually a lot to know. How to track calories in food. How calories are used and stored as fat. What is starvation mode? Can you cut calories too far? What to do about plateaus? This simple, little thing called a calorie can actually seem pretty complicated. Read on to help sort through the mystery.

The Confusing Calorie. The calorie is a measure of energy available to the body. When you eat food, the number of calories it contains is actually the amount of energy units the food provides the body. The calorie is also the measure of energy that your body uses. Your body uses calories for many functions, such as breathing, pumping blood, resting, sitting, working, and exercising. So the calorie is used to measure both the amount of energy contained in foods, as well as the amount of energy your body uses.

The difference between the two is the Calorie Equation. When you eat more calories than you use, the rest is stored as fat and you gain weight. To lose weight, you simply need to use more calories than you eat so your body is free to call upon other energy sources – such as stored fat.

Where Do Calories Come From? There are six classes of nutrients: carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Of these six classes of nutrients, only 3 provide calories or energy for the body: carbohydrate, protein and fat:

• 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories
• 1 gram of protein = 4 calories
• 1 gram of fat = 9 calories

Calories are also found in alcohol. Alcohol is not a nutrient because it cannot be used in the body to promote growth, maintenance, or repair. It is a toxin that is broken down as an energy source and can be converted into fat.

• 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories

How are Calories Used and Stored? The function of each calorie-providing nutrient is different, but the end result of excessive intake is the same…FAT STORAGE.

Carbohydrate is broken down into glucose for immediate energy needs; the surplus is stored as glycogen for long-term energy needs and brain function. However, after the glycogen stores are filled, the excess carbohydrate is stored as FAT.

The nutrient Fat is initially broken down and used for its primary functions, such as providing cell structure. However, any excess fat fragments will be reassembled and stored in the FAT cells.

Protein will also encounter the same fate. Once protein has met immediate energy needs and provided the body with other building and repairing functions, the excess will be converted into FAT and stored away.

All foods supply energy or calories. However, some provide more calories than others. No single food or class of food is “fattening” by itself. When the calories provided in food are not needed by the body, the excess is stored in the body in the form of fat, no matter what food the calories came from. And while the storage of most cells is limited, fat tissue is able to store an unending amount of fat.


How Many Calories Do I Need? Your energy needs take precedence over all other body functions. For an adult, there are three factors that determine your total energy requirements:

• Basal Energy Requirement. This is the minimum amount of energy needed by the body at rest in the fasting state. It includes basic body functions such as respiration, cellular metabolism, circulation, gland activity, and body temperature control. It is affected by such things as age, gender, pregnancy, body composition, nutritional status, sleep, climate, and fever.
  
• Physical Activity. The amount of calories needed for physical activity depends on the type of activity or work, the intensity and the duration. To learn calorie levels for different activities, check out the Calorie Lookup tool in the Fitness Resource Center, or print the Calories Burned Chart from the Printable Resources page.
  
• Specific Dynamic Action of Food. This is the amount of calories needed to manage food intake and includes digestion, absorption, and metabolism of food.

Balancing the calories you take in with those you put out is the safest, healthiest way to control your weight – for the next two weeks, or the next 20 years. It takes about 3500 calories to make one pound of fat. So to lose one pound, you can:

a) Burn 3500 excess calories (if you have a few hours to kill) b) Eat 3500 fewer calories (starvation diet, anyone?) c) A combination of exercise and diet (the best option)

For example, to lose one pound in a week, you could simple create a calorie deficit of 500 per day (7x500 = 3500). That could be as simple as cutting out one donut (280 calories) and jogging for 25 minutes (240 calories) each day.

Paying attention to both sides of the Equation actually makes it easier to lose weight than relying on one or the other, and is much easier on your body. 

Starvation Mode. There is a common misperception that to lose weight, the lower the calories, the better. Ironically, the key may be eating more calories. You can actually hurt your body's ability to lose weight by going too low. Here's why. The body has a protective mechanism. When calories drop too low (we recommend a minimum of 1,200 for women and 1,500 for men) the body reacts as if it is starving and tries to conserve energy. It will lower your metabolism, conserve calories and fat, and you will not burn calories as quickly. This results in a slower weight loss or even no weight loss. This is what's know as "Starvation Mode."

When calorie intake falls below 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day, it is also extremely difficult to follow a balanced diet and obtain all the nutrients that are needed by the body to stay strong and energetic and prevent disease. These very low calorie intakes can also lead to other health problems such as eating disorders, gout, gallstones, and heart complications. For these reasons, we strongly suggests not going below 1,200 calories daily for women and 1,500 calories daily for men.

Muscle Power. Fat tissue lowers the rate at which one burns calories, because fat tissue requires less oxygen and is very inactive. On the other hand, muscle is a more physically and metabolically active tissue. It therefore burns more calories than fat. Through exercise, especially strength and resistance exercise, you can decrease the amount of fat in your body and increase the amount of muscle. This will then help you burn more calories each and every day, even when you’re not exercising.

Muscle also weighs more than fat. Near the beginning of your program, you may gain some weight after strength exercising. This is perfectly normal. As the composition of your body changes from fat to muscle, the muscle will help burn off that remaining fat at a faster rate, uncovering your lean, fit muscles.

On The Dreaded Plateau? Hitting a plateau during a weight loss program is normal (though it can still be frustrating). Your body requires fewer calories to function as your weight decreases. It needs time to adjust to all the healthy changes that are occurring due to the weight loss. So continuing to follow the same eating and exercise patterns won’t work forever.

Everyone’s body will adjust differently. To jump-start your metabolism and break out of the plateau, you may need to select a different form of exercise to stimulate other muscle groups to become more active. Do not become discouraged; this may take several weeks or months. Stay focused on all the positive things you have accomplished. Your goal during plateaus is to try not to gain any pounds back. Get energized with a brisk walk. Add on a little jogging or running. Try a new piece of equipment. Test out a strength training routine. Try a new activity like dancing, rollerblading, or cross-country skiing. Start taking the stairs at home and work.

SPARKDIET RESOUCE CENTER

Ending Weight Stigma ...

Starting with Your Own

Bias. Stereotyping. Prejudice. Discrimination. Bullying.
These ugly words describe a serious problem spotlighted by Weight Stigma Awareness Week. Our culture is entrenched in the belief that fat is bad, people with fat are bad, people who exceed a BMI of 25 are unhealthy, and that only a narrow range of body sizes are beautiful. Billions of dollars are spent trying to attain the cultural ideal, but the more we diet, the further we move from it. Hello? Anybody home?
Whether subtle or blatant, weight stigma is broadcast into our living rooms and shows up in our classrooms, break rooms, and exam rooms. For many of us, weight stigma hits even closer to home: right between our ears!

By internalizing this cultural bias, we condemn ourselves to living within its limitations. We allow the bully to move into our brains.

What is the reality you are creating?

I'm not letting the bullies off the hook, but if you believe them, you become them. For example, you may have old tapes that sound something like this:

• I’m too embarrassed to be seen exercising.
• I can’t go to the gym until I’ve lost some weight.
• I’m trying to eat healthy but I’m not losing weight—it doesn’t matter what I eat.
• I’ll get diabetes because I can’t lose weight, so why change the way I eat?
• I can’t eat what I love in public, so I'll binge later in private.
• I’ll never look like I did in high school, so why bother with healthy eating and exercise?
• I don’t deserve someone who loves me because I’m too fat.
• I don’t feel sexy because of my weight.
• I don’t see how my partner can think I’m sexy so I thwart his/her attempts.
• I don’t believe my husband when he tells me I’m beautiful.
• I don’t want to go to the doctor because I regained the weight I lost.
• I don’t take my blood pressure medicine because I know I should lose weight instead.
• I won’t buy new clothes until I reach my goal weight.
• If I was thinner, I would ask for that promotion.
• I’d love to travel but I want to lose weight first.
• I love going to the beach but I hate putting on a bathing suit.
• (Add your own here.)

Making the impossible, possible

What if? What if, instead of waiting on the world to change, you booted the bully from your brain? Ask yourself, "How could my life be different if I didn't buy into those limitations?"

• I’m exercising.
• I go to the gym.
• I’m trying to eat healthy.
• I’m at risk for diabetes so I’m changing the way I eat.
• I’ll never look like I did in high school. I’m eating healthier and exercising.
• I eat what I love.
• I deserve someone who loves me.
• I feel sexy.
• My partner thinks I’m sexy.
• My husband tells me I’m beautiful.
• I go to the doctor.
• I take my blood pressure medicine.
• I buy new clothes.
• I’m going to ask for that promotion.
• I love to travel.
• I’m going to the beach.
• (Add your own here.)

Adapted from
Eat Mindfully, Live Vibrantly!
Michelle May, M.D.

P.S. You can only change what you are aware of. Any curiosity, discomfort, or outrage this article triggered was intentional. If you felt it, please learn more about weight stigma.

Mini Challenge Winners

Last Weeks mini challenge was 3 minutes of step-ups! Congratulations to all of you who completed it! FYI...we are going to revisit this challenge towards the end of our 10-weeks and see how we have improved! Meanwhile, our random drawing winners from those who completed the challenge are:

Sandie Knapp, Diane Aispuro, Dave Nieuwsma, Tracee Storms and Tamra Giannini

Congratulations! You all won an Expo Marker Biggest Loser Dry-Erase Board/Meal Planner. You can pick up your prize at the next weigh-in!

Moderation in All Things

How to Avoid the Diet Blues

What comes to mind for you when you hear the word diet? If you’re like most people, you probably imagine eating carrot sticks, going to bed hungry, and giving up your favorite foods—and that's why so many diets fail. Most people just can’t tolerate those kinds of restrictions for very long.

The more you try to eliminate your favorite foods, the more feelings of discomfort, deprivation and resentment build up. This can result in bingeing on all the foods you’ve been denying yourself, undoing all your hard work in a single day. But even if you can avoid that problem, are you willing to eat like a rabbit for the rest of your life?

Studies show that 95 percent of people who follow a highly restrictive diet to lose weight will put the weight back on when they return to “normal” eating again. So what’s the alternative? How do you manage to lose weight without eliminating the problem foods and problem behaviors that made you overweight to begin with?

The alternative is moderation—in your eating and, perhaps most importantly, in your thinking.

What is Moderation?
 On the surface, moderation simply means avoiding extremes. It involves finding strategies and habits that can be maintained over the long-term, without cycling between one extreme and the other.

At a deeper level, moderation is a commitment to balance and wholeness. It is rooted in the recognition that each person has many different (and often competing) needs, desires, abilities, and goals. Living up to your full potential means finding ways to incorporate all of them into your decision-making processes and choices.

Practicing moderation in your weight loss program begins with practical strategies, such as counting calories, measuring portions, learning about your nutritional needs, and planning healthy meals. Achieving a reasonable rate of weight loss (about 1-2 pounds per week) by combining a tolerable calorie restriction with exercise is the moderate way to go. Fad diets, eliminating food groups, severely cutting calories and using diet pills are just as extreme as completely denying yourself foods that you enjoy.

The idea is to follow a healthy, balanced, and enjoyable nutrition and fitness plan that you can stick with—for life. There’s no “ending the diet” or going back to “normal" eating or anything that will cause you to regain the weight you’ve lost. When you reach your goal weight, all you need to do is gradually increase your caloric intake to a level where you can maintain your weight loss.

Sounds simple, right?

Like many things, it's not quite as easy as it sounds. Chances are…you want results quickly. And you probably know that your current routine is problematic in one or more ways—too much fast food, sugar, or fat and not enough physical activity. Your natural inclination is going to be making big, sweeping changes to your diet and activity level right away.

In short, everything in you is clamoring for a very anti-moderate approach. You’re primed to play the extreme diet game, even though your odds of winning are less than five percent.

Moderate Your Thinking
 To rescue yourself from your own impatience (and the clutches of the diet industry that feeds on it), you need to moderate your thinking. Here are two core concepts that will help you do that:

Concept #1: Food is not the enemy. There are no "good" or "bad" foods. True, some foods offer you a better nutritional deal than others. Refined sugar, for example, provides calories for energy but no other nutrients, while fruit is sweet but also provides vitamins and fiber in a low-calorie package. But refined sugar isn't evil or bad—it can have a place in a healthy diet. It's important to know what you need nutritionally and where you can find it, so you can take charge of balancing your needs for pleasure, nutrition, and fuel.

The Payoff: When you stop labeling foods as good or bad, diet or non-diet, you won't feel guilty when you eat a food that isn't on your "approved" list. Instead you'll have more energy to learn about nutrition and improve your ability to make informed choices. And you won't have to give up your favorite treats if you find ways to work them into your meal plans so they don’t interfere with your health goals. Without the guilt and deprivation, you’ll be able to break the pattern of cravings, emotional swings, and binges that defeats so many diets. Without all those "diet" rules to follow, you’ll learn to trust your own instincts and make good judgments.

Concept #2: Progress—not perfection—is important. To be successful, you don't have to always make perfect decisions and have perfect days where things go exactly as you planned. If you eat more or exercise less than you wanted to one day, you can make up for it over the next several days if you want, or you can just chalk it up to experience and move on. Remind yourself that what happens on any one day is not going to make or break your whole effort. This is not a contest or a race, where every little misstep could mean the difference between winning and losing. It’s your life—and you’ll enjoy it a lot more when you can keep the daily ups and downs of your eating and exercise routine in perspective.

The Payoff: By refusing to be a perfectionist, you can take most of the stress out of weight loss. You’ll see small problems as what they are—very small problems, not major calamities that mean you've blown it. You'll be able to find pleasure and satisfaction in the fact you’re learning as you go and doing a little better all the time. No more making things worse because your perfectionism caused you to write off the rest of the day or week after one little slip.

-- By Dean Anderson, Behavioral Psychology Expert