Ever thought of keeping a food diary?
It’s not rocket science and keeping a food diary is the best way to start analysing what you’re you putting into your body, when your putting it into your body and why your putting it into your body.
You should keep a record of all drinks, including tea, coffee, fizzy drinks and juices; everything including water intake (or, as in most cases the lack of water intake!).
Of course you don’t need a PC to keep records and files, just a simple note book, of the paper variety! and a pen will do. You need to try and write down portion sizes and exactly when and where you eat.
The only way to accurately record your calorie intake is to gain an understanding of your portion sizes, mainly by weighing them. I found this web site very usefull and easy enough to use with lists of basic foods calories and weight of food; http://www.caloriecounting.co.uk/resources/intro.htm
I would recommend that you write down what food you eat, the weight of portion and when; then at the end of the day you can sit down and look up the calorie intake by using a web site like this or maybe buying your own book.
You should try and write down how long it takes you to eat a meal as lots of people eat too quickly. You might also notice that you are eating too often, around once every 4 hours should be addequate. If you’re eating more often than this then you’re probably not getting a heathly balanced diet because you tend to graze all day.
Have you ever thought of keeping a hunger scale? I mean a scale from 1 to 10 of how hungry you are before you eat. This will help you to see if you really are hungry of if you’re eating out of habit at certain times. Also note down where you’re eating and I don’t just mean at work, at the sandwhich shop etc, you should make a note of which room in your house. Some people tend to overeat infront of the telly. If you eat at the dinner table do you eat less?
Changing your eating habits along with the food you consume can be the start of a more health lifestyle for most people. Keep a regular diary of your eating habits so you can cut out the bad ones.