Write It Down, Bitches


So?  What did you eat today?  I bet you can't tell me everything you put into your mouth today.  If you don't know, how do you expect to lose it, bitch?  If I've learned anything over the years about weight management, it is to write down EVERYTHING I consume.  Food journaling is one of the most critical parts of managing your weight.

So once you've written it down, what should you do with it?  Good question....  Once upon a time, back when I had a real job and stuff, I paid a personal trainer to evaluate my food journals and tell me what to do next.  These days, not so much.  But don't fret darlings, you don't need the bank roll of a Hilton to make your food journal work for you.  There are countless resources online (I'll post some links at the bottom.) that will digest all the information you enter and tell you what it means.  There is also the "old fashioned way" of reading labels and figuring it out yourself, but really, who are we kidding?  No one wants to do that!

So your goal is to write down EVERYTHING you put into your pretty little mouth, determine your caloric intake for the day (or points if you're doing the Weight Watchers point counting thing), and make sure you are expending more calories than you are consuming.  Some even encourage writing down your mood when you eat to determine if you are eating things for the right reasons. (You mean I shouldn't have eaten that whole box of Twinkies while I was angry at The Boy for being lippy?  Hmmmmm.)

So?  What does a food journal look like, you ask?  Well, it's really as simple as having a notebook with blank pages, writing down what you ate and at what time, the serving size, and IF you're calculating "the old fashioned way", the calories, fat, and protein consumed.  But if you are as anal as I am, you may want to use a form of some type.  Never fear, there are a TON of web sites that offer them for free. Here is a list of free, printable versions offered online:
These are a few options, or you can google "printable food journal", or you can make your own...  Whatever works best for you.

My favorite site for tracking what I eat is Livestrong.com.  Not only does this site have a crazy big library of brand name and generic foods, but you can add your favorites if they are not there!  It also has a quick little questionaire you answer and it tells you how many calories you can eat to meet your goals...  AND if you enter your info as the day progresses, it will tell you how many you have left for the day.


Find one that suits you and start this new habit!  It will only help you in the long run!

Today's tips were provided by That One Mom of Chronicles of an Only Parent.

19 comments:

adrienzgirl said...

Great advice. Thanks for driving the journal point home.

There are mobile apps to do this as well for SmartPhone users. :D

adrienzgirl said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I know what I ate cuz I WROTE IT DOWN! :) Yeah me!!
btw..I want to be part of this challenge yet haven't quite figured out how to get on the list. My blog is www.oh4petesake.blogspot.com and my specific post for this challenge is at http://tinyurl.com/ydelozv
What else do I have to do to be added??
This is gonna be fun!

Unknown said...

I know what I ate cuz I WROTE IT DOWN! :) Yeah me!!
btw..I want to be part of this challenge yet haven't quite figured out how to get on the list. My blog is www.oh4petesake.blogspot.com and my specific post for this challenge is at http://tinyurl.com/ydelozv
What else do I have to do to be added??
This is gonna be fun!

Menopausal New Mom said...

Great info to keep us accountable. Those calories can add up!

BTW gals, I posted my Lose It Bitches Plan, photo and first update today for the weigh in.

Mae Rae said...

that is a great post. writing everything down makes you accountable for the scale over the next few days too. If it is up two days after eating something then it is a tell tale sign, you should not be eating it.

Kat said...

I write mine down...it is the ONLY way to stay on track. Great advice and lots of great sites to check out!! I'm working on my blog now...

Kat said...

I write mine down...it is the ONLY way to stay on track. Great advice and lots of great sites to check out!! I'm working on my blog now...

Anonymous said...

I am using My Fitness Pal and love it. It's interesting when you record everything you put in your mouth. I've already learned quite a bit!

Laura said...

I use a site called Fat Secret. I love that it also tells me the WW points value to what I eat as well. I am also a fan of a FitDay.com & thecaloriecounter.com

Anonymous said...

I used this great app for my ipod touch called Lose It! It was awesome and made keeping track of my food SO convenient!

CrazyAssMomma said...

thank you!!!!!!!
i just signed up @ my fitness pal & its fricken awesome.
and sooooooooo fast & EASY!!!!!!!!

gayle said...

My first day I got this cute little notebook but I haven't used it yet..I think I need to look into the online ones!! Thanks so much!!

Unknown said...

Can I also suggest Sparkpeople?
They have food/calorie trackers, goal settings, exercise trackers etc.

They also have this cool thing where you can actually map a walking/running route in your OWN neighborhood and it will give you the distance. It's cool...

:)

I will admit that I had McDonald's for lunch today... I am still a fat bitch. But I didn't eat a "meal" I ordered sides and shared with my 4 year old.

GunDiva said...

The thought of writing everything down, quite frankly, scares the sh*t out of me. But I can account for everything I ate today and know that I didn't burn nearly that much off at the gym, but I burned off more at the gym today than I did yesterday or the day before or the day before...

Meg said...

Great advice. Quite aside from the exercise thing, and making better choices generally, THIS is a huge thing. Part of the deal with Weight Watchers is that you track what you eat...so I CAN tell you what I've eaten, every day for the last 7 weeks. Every. Single. Thing. Even that piece of gum I ate this morning.

It's a key...a really big golden key...to this weightloss journey we're all on.

Queen of Feisty said...

A.J. said it for me, I have used Sparkpeople and love it. I need to check out the neighborhood walking thing too.

I am so bad with this idea. I will write the first day but never after that.

Grrr... just need to do it.

Feisty

Anonymous said...

Great post, journaling is so key.
But, you had to mention Twinkies in that post? Now I am craving one! Funnily enough there was an aisle end display at Target a couple days ago that had all these Hostess 100 Calorie Twinkie/Cupcake/whatever packs.
I almost grabbed a box justifying it with "well they are only 100 calories" but you know what? I put it down, cause I didn't want to journal that fucker!

Tracie said...

I signed up for sparkpeople yesterday. I haven't used it yet but I did sign up for it.