What supermodels eat: 5 diets for an ideal body

What is a weight loss diary

The classic version of a weight loss diary is a notebook or notepad in which all the necessary information is entered.
A simple student notebook is often used, but nutritionists recommend having a bright, beautiful diary for these purposes. It will be enough not only for basic notes, but also for entering other useful information and your own feelings. You can decorate your notebook colorfully and attach a photo that will serve as a good incentive on the way to achieving your goal. Good options: online diary for weight loss, using office programs. There are several options for keeping diaries to record the entire weight loss process. For example:

Why keep a diary

The benefits of keeping records while dieting are obvious. A diet diary is necessary in order to:

• strictly follow the goal;
• create a nutrition culture;
• control weight, perform figure correction;
• keep track of what you eat and the number of calories you consume;
• observe the dynamics of weight changes;
• strictly follow the weight loss program.

How to lead

There are rules for keeping a food diary for weight loss. For convenience, it is recommended to reflect in it a table of calorie content of dishes and the glycemic index of foods. You should write down:

1. Weight. Weighing is carried out in the morning before meals. Record daily weight loss.
2. Body parameters: bust, waist, hips, each leg at hip level.
3. The amount of water you drink.
4. Nutritional information: entire diet, portion sizes in grams, ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates.
5. Physical activity. It is necessary to record what exercises have been completed and what has not been done.
6. Information about your health status. It is important to reflect all changes in well-being.
7. Additionally, it is recommended to include: recipes, website addresses, skin care tips, new sets of physical exercises.

The form of record keeping can be in the form of a table. Ideally, a handwritten diary should contain the following items:

• volume (weight, size);
• calories;
• products;
• taste assessment;
• why do you eat;
• duration of the meal;
• place of meal;
• the time when you get up and when you go to bed;
• sleep duration;
• time when you eat;
• other information.

It is very important to enter all data daily. The only parameter that may not be shown every day is changes in body proportions. After all the entries, it is necessary to summarize the amount of all calories eaten, note all violations in nutrition, daily routine, and the results of body weight loss. It is imperative to record positive changes, but you should not overload with unnecessary information; it is important to adhere to the recording system.

Tips for entering data into a diary will help you predict the result as accurately as possible and achieve your goal faster. Additionally, it is recommended to record:

1. Meal time. It is advisable to indicate the beginning and end of the meal. This is explained by the fact that the length of time spent at the table affects the amount of food eaten.
2. It is necessary to know the exact weight of the products. You can prescribe it in glasses or spoons if you can’t weigh it.
3. Counting the amount of fats, proteins and carbohydrates is required.
4. Reasons for eating food: for a child, a snack in company, out of boredom, due to stress, as a treat, etc. Analyzing the reasons will help you not to eat more than normal.
5. Taste of food. It’s a good idea to write down whether you liked the dish or not. You can use a five-point system, where “5” means “very tasty” and “1” means “didn’t like it.”
6. Sports training. All motor activity must be recorded.

Write about more than just food

Many people who are losing weight keep a diary and enter information in it exclusively about the foods they eat. But this approach is not correct. Of course, information about what was eaten and in what quantities helps to understand the reasons that interfere with weight loss.

But often people start pampering themselves with tasty foods in order to get rid of negative emotions. Therefore, experts recommend recording in a diary information about the mood in which the person started the meal, and what mood he was in when he finished it. Such notes help to understand the purpose for which the food was consumed. This allows you to see whether a person is prone to stress eating.

Watch the video about keeping a food diary for weight loss:

Sample

An example of how to fill out a food diary for weight loss will help you organize your own notes:

• date – 05/13/2018;
• personal details - 24 years old, height 176 centimeters, weight 81 kilograms, hips, waist;
• target – 65 kg;
• period – 2.5 months;
• The diet is low-calorie, 2000 calories were eaten today.

Notes: you need to reduce your daily intake to 1500 kcal, then the weight loss process will go faster. I have a huge desire to eat sweets, but I overcome it with drinking water, rosehip decoction, and tea. The physical activity is small, so I added moderate intensity exercises. Total: no more than 1500 kcal per day, sports - at least 10 minutes of jogging every day. Make it a rule to go for an evening or morning jog.

Data must be entered daily. The next day's entry might look something like this:

• date – 05/14/2018;
• personal data - weight 80.7 kilograms, hip circumference 103 centimeters, waist 75 cm;
• result – +0.3 kg;
• daily diet - oatmeal, boiled chicken breast, vegetable soup, cottage cheese, lean cookies, ate 1478 calories in total;
• drinking regimen – 1.5 liters of clean water, green tea.

Notes: It’s very difficult to hold on, so in the evening I allowed myself to eat 2 sweet apples. I tried to work out everything with physical activity: twirling a hula hoop, jogging.

Don’t be upset if you don’t immediately see big dynamics. For the desired weight loss process to begin, time must pass and the body must react. The third day:

• date – 05.15.2018;
• personal data – weight 80 kilograms, hip circumference 102 centimeters, waist 74 cm;
• result – minus 1 kg;
• menu for the day - on an empty stomach I drank water, buckwheat porridge, chicken breast, cottage cheese casserole, light cookies, I ate a total of 1498 calories;
• Drinking regimen: 2 liters of water, green tea.

Notes: I’m glad that there has been a positive trend, my stomach has shrunk a little, I’ve refrained from unnecessary snacks, I continue to hula hoop, but I haven’t run due to weakness.

Online food diary

If it is not possible to keep records manually, you can always create an online diary of proper nutrition for weight loss. This will allow you not to constantly carry a notepad or notebook with you, or look for a convenient place to fill out indicators. All you need to do is turn on your phone and enter information at any convenient time. The peculiarity of such diaries is that they have a Personal Account, in which you can calculate the calorie content of dishes, plan your diet, monitor changes, and adjust eating behavior automatically.

Electronic weight loss diaries have several important and useful features. They are as follows:

1. All meals, exercise, and drinking regime are displayed.
2. Individual data is maintained and updated.
3. There is a separate block with recipes.
4. Calorie counting is automatic.
5. Possibility to communicate on forums.
6. The program can be installed directly on your phone and without using links in the browser.

In addition to the ability to independently plan your menu, you can always enter your personal notes, feelings, and information about your well-being in your diary. Sites that provide diaries have calculators for counting food eaten. Almost all sites are constantly updating their database of dietary recipes. To create an online diary, you do not need to study the sample form. All entered information is already structured.

Online records clearly demonstrate all the changes during weight loss. For convenience, you can choose the appropriate option. The most popular diaries are:

Controlling calories

Food diary

Allows you to calculate the number of calories consumed, as well as the number of calories expended.

go to FOOD > FOOD DIARY

• Go

Calorie calculator

If you want to know the calorie content of a dish, then you need a calorie calculator.

go to NUTRITION > CALORIE CALCULATOR

• Go

Mistakes when keeping a weight loss diary

With seemingly simple rules for keeping records, mistakes are always made. The most common ones when compiling a food and weight loss diary are:

1. Irregularity. To appreciate the benefits of recordings, you need to make them regularly. You cannot understand your mistakes or draw conclusions if data is not entered every day. You can adjust your diet only after a couple of weeks of recording your initial actions.
2. Incorrect product designation. This is especially true for those who keep online records. Often you include dishes in your diary that don't quite fit. Calorie counters indicate standard examples of recipes, so it is impossible to find out in what specific proportions the author used the ingredients.
3. Determining the portion volume by eye. Dieters often underestimate the amount of food they eat. The result is that the serving size is significantly higher.
4. There are no conclusions for the day.
5. No analysis is done over any period of time. It is optimal to summarize weekly.

How to Take Diet Notes: Sample Diary Planner

The easiest way to keep a food diary is in free form, describing every day everything eaten in each meal. What should be recorded? Mark the main points:

1. Listing of food eaten by time and quantity. Full description.
2. Write down breakdowns with a red pen: if you ate something that was planned to be excluded.
3. If you go crazy, still record what you eat. This will help you not to give up on your plans. Breakdowns happen. It is important to get out of them with minimal losses.