Have you ever considered how many calories you consume throughout the day, or even the quality of those calories? What percentage of them are carbohydrate, fat and protein? Are you getting your daily dose of vitamins and minerals? Logging what and how much you eat is a proven tool for losing weight and keeping it off. In fact, a researcher at the Kaiser’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore found that keeping a food journal can double weight loss! Hear that? Double it!

Tips for keeping track

1. Keep a journal handy (i.e., “in the kitchen”) and record what you eat right after you eat it. If you wait until the end of the day, you’ll likely overlook something you ate earlier in the day.
2. Record your healthiest choices first. When you have to smudge the list of healthy foods with some not so great choices, those choices really stand out, motivating you to keep the list to ONLY healthy choices the next day.
3. Don’t give yourself a bad grade if you slip up. Everyone has a bad day. Leave it at that, and move on to the next snack or meal, concentrating on making better choices going forward rather than fretting over the past.
4. Try not to reward yourself with food. When you have a string of healthy-eating days, it might be tempting to have a large dip of Ben and Jerry’s as your “prize.” Don’t do it! The short-term yum-effect isn’t worth the guilt you’ll experience later. Instead, treat yourself to a manicure, or a movie with friends (sans the popcorn and treats, of course).
5. Don’t get bogged down with specifics right away. For the first couple of weeks, just get in the habit of writing down what you eat at least three days out of seven. Then, graduate to an online log that allows you to choose quantities of specific foods. These sites will tabulate your calories, nutrient intake and give you an accurate idea of what is missing in your diet, or what you’re getting too much of.

Here are some sites to try:

My Food Diary
My Calorie Counter
The Daily Plate
My Fitness Pal
Spark People
Calorie Lab