Dear (Food) Journal,

While I am admittedly no financial whiz, I am thoroughly familiar with the practice of budgeting… (after all, it’s expensive living in NYC, and a girl’s gotta eat!). A budget is a breakdown of one’s expected income and expenses, and provides consumers with the power to adjust their spending/saving/investing behavior according to their desired financial goals.

But what does any of this have to do with nutrition, you may be wondering?

Funny you should ask  🙂

Just like budgeting moola to help us spend more responsibly, we also can budget our food intake to help us improve our eating habits and overall health. Before creating any budget, however, we need to first assess our habits – right now. This is where FOOD JOURNALS come in. Food journals are a powerful tool for doing a diet inventory (kind of like expense reports!).

When I meet with a client for the first time, I usually instruct them to keep a week’s worth of food journals documenting everything they consume (including portion sizes, method of preparation, and brand). I also encourage clients to make note of any emotions before, during, and after the meal or snack. Finally, I have them rate their satiety level on a scale of one to ten (1 being ravenous, 10 being stuffed).

Food journals not only provide insight into your eating patterns — what, how much, and even how food you’re eating — they can also give you ideas about the types of dietary adjustments you can make for the better. Another significant benefit of food journaling is that the very act of tracking your food intake can actually lead to making healthier dietary choices! Food journaling has even been shown to help people lose weight (probably because it promotes more mindful eating).

Here are some examples of new insights you might discover:

  •  You’re still hungry after your typical salad + soup lunch — which also happen to be lacking in protein. Intervention idea #1: Add some beans to your salad, a slice of whole grain bread with hummus, or a greek yogurt to your lunch for an added protein punch.
  • You overeat in response to boredom, loneliness, excitement, guilt, etc. Intervention idea #2: Make a list of alternative activities you can do instead of eating, and choose one of these next time you feel triggered by one of these emotions.
  • You eat a generally healthy, balanced diet during the day, but find yourself binging on junk food every night. Intervention idea #3: Throw out the junk food you have stocked in your kitchen so that it’s less convenient (or impossible) to access at night. If you feel that completely cutting out your nightly post-dinner sweet fix is too drastic, replace the junk with a bowl of fresh fruit and low-fat yogurt instead.

There are a ton of snazzy apps and websites out there dedicated to making the pursuit of food journaling easy and fun, while offering a lot of other neat resources as well (see below). For example, Supertracker will analyze your nutrient intake based on your estimated requirements (you have to enter some additional personal data to use this feature), and offers a physical activity tracker , a recipe data base, and customized health tips.

While food journaling can certainly be a big help for checking in with eating habits, reducing mindless eating, and inspiring healthy dietary changes, I wouldn’t recommend it as a long-term intervention.  Writing down everything you eat all the time isn’t exactly practical, can get annoying, and can make you obsess unnecessarily. As Brit preaches in her last post, a healthy lifestyle (including nutritious eating) is all about BALANCE. Food journaling should not be used as a means to gain ultimate control over food. Rather, think of food journaling as check-up tool, with the intention of gaining a better sense of the connection between your current eating habits and your body’s needs.

Bon appetit, GRIT by Brit readers!

Guest post by FalafeLover, Grit by Brit Nutrition Expert – A registered dietitian, psychological counseling grad student, former Israeli professional basketball player, former college teammate of Brit.

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Lak’s Week 3 Update: #workouthairproblems

Lakshmi’s Week 3 Update

Hi pals – Week 3 of my Grit by Brit 4-week plan is done and I’m still going strong.

I had a little drama in the workout arena this week because I had a Keratin hair treatment. For those who are blessed with naturally silky smooth hair, when you get a Keratin hair treatment, you can’t wash your hair for three days. How does one stick to a workout regime? #texturedhairproblems. My body was so in the habit of hard core workouts that I started to feel really antsy when I couldn’t workout. Like cranky and irritable. My work around was to bike and use the elliptical, but just to go really slow so that I wouldn’t sweat. Yes, the calories burned were significantly less, but I felt much better. Moreover, I was more amazed by the fact that my body was telling my brain, “Get your workout on!”

I had some moments going off track in the food arena, but by in large, I’ve stayed on track. The G by B plan has done an excellent job of telling me what to eat and when to eat. But, I realized that I need another rule around how much to eat to really kick me into gear. Being 5’2″, I just don’t need as many calories as I want to eat. Any guidance here, Brit?

Brit’s Advice for Lakshmi

  • In regards to you #texturedhairproblems I suggest you check out www.sportyafros.com – “Where Hair and Sports Collide”
  • As for the calorie intake, Lak is definitely right.  There is only ONE true way to lost weight = Burn more calories than you consume.  For the last week of the plan, try to keep your calorie intake to 1,400 calories per day on days that you don’t work out and 1,600 per day on days that you do work.  YOU CAN DO IT!
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