Keeping a dietary journal is a great idea whether you are trying to lose weight and maintain weight or whether you simply want to monitor your health and emotions. There are many ways in which you can keep a dietary journal, depending on your purpose. Here is a sample of a dietary journal that is extremely easy to maintain.
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Choose Your Equipment
Depending on what you prefer, you can have your dietary journal on paper or on your computer. You can buy a steno pad, an organizer or a diary to keep your journal on paper. On your computer, make weekly and monthly files on MS Word.
Organizing Your Dietary Journal
While you can get sample of a dietary journal online, many are overly complicated. Just create vertical columns for the days of the week from Sunday through to Saturday. Make three more columns alongside the first column with the weekdays and mark them as Weight, Calories and Exercise. If you wish, you can add an additional column that says ‘State of Mind’.
Frequently asked questions
Once a Day Entries in Your Dietary Journal
If you have a great memory, you can do this once a day. Start with your weight in the morning. Then write down all the calories you have consumed in a day. Also, write down how much time you spent exercising and what exercises you did. You should be able to tell how many calories those exercises were supposed to have burnt off.
Multiple Daily Entries
If you do not have such a great memory, then make entries in your dietary journal every time you eat as well as exercise. This way you will make sure that you don’t leave anything out and that all your calorie consumption as well as burning off is written down.
Additional Columns
This is just a sample of a dietary journal. Depending upon how well you want to scrutinize your diet, you can have many additional columns. For instance, you can record your weight at the beginning and at the end of every day. You can also mention the times when you eat so that you are better able to manage your hunger.
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Total up the Figures
At the end of every day or week, total up the figures in your calorie consumption as well as your calorie burn off column. You will see how much calories you have consumed and how much you have burnt off through exercising. This will help you plan your diet better.
Alternate System
Many find it difficult to think and calculate in calories. There are many systems that award points to different food items as well as to exercise sets. Using this system makes it easier for you to calculate, but be aware that it is not necessarily the most accurate system for monitoring your diet.
So, now that you have the sample of a dietary journal available, go ahead and start keeping track of how much you are eating and how much energy you are expending easily.
Top image source: appforhealth.com
