Can A Pen And Paper Help You Lose Weight?

Have you ever used a diary to keep a list of the things you ate that day? Sometimes you can get so caught up in the activities of our day that we don't notice what we put into our mouths.

If I asked you what you ate yesterday we may be able to give me details of your main meals and what you ate then. But, can you recall all the little things in between that may have passed your lips? "That little biscuit here, that bar of chocolate there."

They mightn't seem much alone but when you add them all up it, it could be the extra calories that end up sitting on your hips and stomach.

But Is It Practical?

Now the thought of using a diary every day to record every thing may seem like a bit of a chore and seem unworkable in your busy day but it doesn't have to be long term thing. Just take a pen and paper and carry it around for a week at least, to record all the things that pass your lips during your day.

The benefits of keeping a food diary is...

1. That it can make you aware of where you're falling down in your diet and uncover what bad habits you may have.

2. It may shock you into how much you really eat in your day. (We've all seen those diet shows where they take an overweight person and put their daily food intake in front of them. Often this is a wake up call that they need to make a change to their lifestyle and cause them to lose weight.)

3. It can make you think twice before putting that cookie in your mouth, it may disappear forever never to be seen but the evidence that it existed still remains on your page where it can't be argued.

A food diary could be the wake up call you need. But remember, if you do you use a food diary please use it correctly and record everything like

1. What you ate.

2. How much you ate.

3. What time of the day.

4. Where you were.

5. Who you were with.

Doing it like this you may start to notice a pattern of your eating habits during the day like when you seem to snack more and what you snack on, and whether you seem to eat more when you're with particular people, etc.

Your losing weight could be as simple as staying busy at that snack time or just avoiding buying the little treat in your weekly shopping that causing all your problems.

If you do this half heartedly or cheat here and there by not putting entries in your only you won't get the full benefit and you'll only end up kidding and cheating yourself.

Remember the definition of insanity is "Doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result" Don't expect that you can continue to eat the way you do and the weight to magically fall off, it'll never happen, things have gotta change!

For reference Travel at a Glance: Bangkok, Thailand