When you want to take more control of your weight — many people simply write down what they ate during the day and how many calories each meal was in some type of food journal. This can be either a literal journal, a Word doc on the computer, or an app on their phone. But calories may not be the most important part of your food habits. In fact, you might not even need to track calories at all.
“I use food journals to help clients understand how and why they’re eating,” says Tiffany Bassford, certified international health coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. “How you come to the table is just as important as what’s on the table, and journals can be a powerful tool to help uncover this.”
We asked registered dietitians what they recommend their clients to track when starting food journals for better control over their eating behaviors. Here are the 6 things nutritionists actually suggest logging in a food journal. For more weight-loss success tips, here are common habits of people who’ve maintained weight loss.
References
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Children's Minnesota. (n.d). How can I avoid overeating when I'm hungry?
Dennis, EA, et al. (2010). Water consumption increases weight loss during a hypocaloric diet intervention in middle-aged and older adults. Obesity (Silver Spring).
Harvard Health Publishing. (2017). Struggling with emotional eating?
Harvard Health Publishing. (2015). The importance of staying hydrated.
Sleep Foundation. (2022). Weight loss and sleep.
Spivey, A. (2010). Lose sleep, gain weight: another piece of the obesity puzzle. Environmental Health Perspectives.
Thornton, SN. (2016). Increased hydration can be associated with weight loss. Frontiers Nutrition.
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2015). Bowel movement.
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