- Raising Vegetable Eaters
- The Reasons We Eat
- Seafood Choices for Your Health & a Healthy World
- Five Ways to Green Your Kitchen on a Budget
- What a "Natural" Label Really Means
- Cutting Grocery Costs without Cutting Nutrition
- Reduce Food Waste by Eating Smarter, Not Clean Plate Club Membership
- Is Fast Food the Problem?
- Whole Grains: More Than You Think
- Probiotics for Cancer Prevention?
- What's Your Vegetable-to-Meat Ratio?
- Nutritional Gatekeeper: How Big a Role?
Weight Issues and Solutions
Keeping Track for Success
Keeping a log of eating and activity habits has long been considered the gold standard for effectively encouraging behavior change in relation to weight control and other health goals. Studies repeatedly show that people who monitor food and exercise most consistently tend to be most successful in changing their habits. The success associated with record keeping could be attributed to the greater awareness that develops after detailed notes are taken. Or, perhaps the people most diligent about record-keeping are simply most motivated to change behavior. Either way, research and technology now offer multiple strategies to make it easier for people to monitor their habits.
A standard food record includes a list of everything you eat and drink throughout the day. Since it’s the details that affect the nutritional content, the record also asks for information related to how the food is prepared, the portion size, and the time and location of the meal. More detailed food logs may require you to record the calories, fat or other nutritional content of your food choices. If the goal is to become more aware of the impact of your emotions on eating, you might also be asked to make note of your mood each time you eat.
Despite such copious record keeping, getting an accurate account of your daily intake remains tricky. The constant logging is time-consuming, and it’s easy to miss the little bites of food scattered throughout the day. Furthermore, most people significantly underestimate their portion sizes.
A recent study published in 2007 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association suggests an alternative if such detailed record keeping turns you off. As part of a 16-week weight loss program, half of the participants were asked to keep a detailed log of eating and exercise habits for the full length of the program, while half were asked for detailed records for only the first eight weeks and then transitioned to simpler, check-off type records. Those who completed more records lost more weight, but weight loss did not differ based on the type of record. Researchers concluded that it may be the act of self-monitoring that matters most.
Another alternative is to record only those behaviors related to a particular habit you want to change. If you want to boost your vegetable intake, for example, you might create a refrigerator chart and make a check mark for each standard serving you eat each day. If snacking is your downfall, try logging what you eat and drink between meals, perhaps noting whether you were bored, stressed or truly hungry. If you don’t get in a walk as often as you intend, “X” off each day that you do on your calendar.
Technology may make tracking your habits easier, too. Research at the University of Vermont recently tested the effectiveness of personal digital assistants (PDAs) that had been pre-loaded with nutrition analysis software for keeping food records. Users of PDAs and traditional paper formats were equally successful when it came to frequency and accuracy of record keeping and in losing weight. But once again, more frequent self-monitoring in either format was linked to greater weight loss.
Perhaps you’d prefer tracking behavior change online. Today there are many free Web sites that help you do just that. America on the Move, for example, promotes small gradual changes such as finding 100 calories a day to cut from your diet and adding 2000 steps to your daily walking tally. Free registration at www.americaonthemove.org allows you to keep a daily log of your activity and converts your steps into a virtual walk across the Oregon Trail or even across the United Kingdom. The federal Web Site that explains and promotes the MyPyramid approach to healthy eating (www.mypyramid.gov) also has a tracker section where you can assess and monitor both eating and physical activity.