Meal journaling is a great way to shed excess pounds, and it can help you reach your weight loss goals by identifying triggers and help you past weight loss plateaus.

What is meal journaling?

Meal journaling is a practice where a person records what they eat and drink throughout the day, and it can be done in a variety of ways such as on paper, in a spreadsheet, or even through a smartphone app like in the ShiftSetGo app. Meal journaling helps to keep track of your food intake, which in turn helps to keep you accountable for your diet. By being honest about what you are eating, you are more likely to make healthier choices and stick to them. Also, you or your weight loss coach may be able to identify patterns in your eating habits that can be easily changed to help you reach your weight loss goals. Another benefit of meal journaling is that it can help you to spot problem areas. If you are having difficulty losing weight, you can use your meal journal to identify any areas where you may be overeating or eating unhealthy foods. You can then adjust your diet accordingly to make sure that you are getting the right nutrition and calories to reach your goals.

Finally, meal journaling can be a great motivator. Seeing that you have been following your diet and making healthy choices can be a great way to stay on track.

Identify Emotional Eating Triggers

Meal journaling is a great way to help you lose weight. It is an effective way to track and monitor your food intake and can help you identify any unhealthy eating habits. Meal journaling can also help you to identify any areas of your diet that need to be improved. With regular journaling and tracking, you can make changes to your diet that will help you reach your weight loss goals. The first step to effective meal journaling is to make a list of the foods you eat daily. This list should include everything you eat, including snacks and drinks. Make sure to include the amount of each item you eat as well. This will help you to better track your calorie intake. Once you have a list of foods and amounts, you can start to look more closely at your eating habits. It’s important to start your meal journaling with an evaluation of your current diet. Do you eat a lot of unhealthy food or do you tend to eat large portions? How often do you have snacks between meals? Are you eating all the necessary nutrients for a balanced diet? Surprisingly many people don’t eat enough.

After you have evaluated your current diet, you can start to make changes to help you meet your weight loss goals.

10 Tips to keeping a meal journal for weight loss

1. Start by setting a specific goal for your weight loss and record it in your journal.
2. Record everything you eat and drink in your journal, including the time, place, and any feelings or emotions you may have experienced at the time.
3. Include the portion sizes of your meals and snacks in your journal.
4. Take note of any physical activity you do, including the type and duration of the activity.
5. Use a food scale or measuring cups to ensure accurate portion sizes.
6. Record the BLT’s too, these are the bites, licks and tastes that can add up!
7. Make note of any patterns or triggers that may be causing you to overeat, such as stress or certain emotions.
8. Look to identify trigger times as well, are you snacking too much at night, or after lunch etc.
9. Keep your journal in a convenient place, such as on your phone, on your counter or in your bag, so you can easily record your meals and snacks throughout the day.
10. Review your journal weekly with your weight loss coach to make changes to your program as needed to help you reach your weight loss goals.

Weight loss isn’t just about what you eat and how much you exercise. It’s also about understanding the patterns and triggers that lead to overeating, and identifying ways to make sustainable changes to your lifestyle.

That’s where meal journaling comes in. By keeping track of what you eat, when you eat, and how you feel, you can gain insight into your eating habits and identify the areas where you need to make changes.

Meal journaling can help you:

• Track your progress and make adjustments as needed
• Identify patterns and triggers that lead to overeating
• Develop a sustainable, healthy relationship with food
• Help your weight loss coach identify any areas to improve to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

Without a meal journal, the weight loss coaches at ShiftSetGo cannot help a client properly identify why they may be struggling with their weight loss or have hit a plateau. When clients bring in their completed meal journal to each and every weight loss coaching appointment the coaches can much more easily help them identify where changes can be made.

It’s like keeping a financial budget. If you don’t track it, how can you manage it?

With meal journaling, you can finally take control of your weight loss journey and achieve the results you’ve always wanted. Don’t let your struggles with weight loss hold you back any longer. Try meal journaling today and start seeing real, lasting change.

To help you get started, make sure you have downloaded the ShiftSetGo app and start using it today.

Not an app person? No problem, just grab a meal journal from your coach at your next coaching appointment!

If you are ready to lose weight, schedule a free consult with one of our coaches today!