Below, certified personal trainer Annette Hudson shares her secrets for getting the most out of writing a food and fitness journal in this interview with the author.
How Food Journaling Works
Why is diet journaling an important weight loss idea?
Hudson: Journaling is critical if you are serious about weight loss. Keeping a food journal has been shown to double the number of pounds a dieter loses, according to a Kaiser Permanente Study done in 2008.
How does food journaling work?
Hudson: I like to tell my clients to "Write what you eat and you'll eat what's right!" People naturally make better food choices when they know they will have to write it down. If they have to show their food journal to someone, it's better yet.
Food Journaling Basics
What type of journal should a dieter get?
Hudson: For my clients, a food journal is usually a wallet-sized spiral bound notebook.
How does a dieter use a food journal?
Hudson: Write the date on the top of the page. Write the following words across the top line: "Time," "Food Eaten," "Calories," and "Fiber." Then, keep track of each meal by writing the information in the correct column.
After each meal, total the calories and fiber and circle them. That way you can be aware of how many calories you have left in your allotment for the day. At the end of each day, circle the total calories and fiber, so you (or your nutritionist) can see how you did.
(For more information on calories and diet see: How to Lower the Calories in Foods and Low Calorie Cooking Basics.)
Fitness Journaling Basics
Is there any other types of journaling one can do while dieting?
Hudson: Another type of fitness journal is an exercise journal. I doubt you could find a successful bodybuilder or fitness competitor that doesn't have one of these. This is where you track your strength training and cardio progress.
How does it work?
Hudson: In one section of the notebook, write the date and the number of minutes that you stayed at your target heart rate doing cardio.
In the other section, record the date at the top. Next to the date list the muscles that you worked in your strength training workout. Then record the exercises that you did and the number of pounds and repetitions you did.
Even better, keep this information on a spreadsheet so you can quickly check your old numbers. I say "old" because you should aim to always increase either your reps or your weight each time you do a strength training exercise. Increase your reps until you can do 12, and then try to increase your weight. Then increase your reps until you can do 12 again, and so on.
Recording your workouts will increase your results dramatically because you will constantly challenge your muscles. This challenge causes them to rebuild stronger, using fat as fuel to do so!
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