Do you overeat while eating both alone or with someone? : Use a Food Journal.
Food is one of the necessary elements to get the energy to go through our lives. I am a person who has a bunch of activities and needs energy. So, I have to eat, but when I eat, I tend to overeat to fulfill my energy, because I have a mindset that if I eat more, I will get enough energy to spend the whole day. That mind could encourage me to eat more even when I eat alone or with friends, family members, or work colleagues. I did not even realize what I was doing at that time.
Do you guys feel the same? I could share how I overcame from bad eating habit.
I use a food journal to track what I eat in a week. But, before we get all the explanation about a food journal, I want to share something in short with you about why we (as humans) need food.
Why do we (as humans) need food?
All our body parts need energy and come from the food we eat. Even while we’re breathing, our lungs need energy.
High-quality food not only makes our body healthy, but full of energy. Our body is ready to fight for life.
Bodies digest all of the food we eat into fluid in our stomach, and our digestive system works it on to give us energy from carbs and glucose. So, the point is humans need food.
What is a food journal?
A food journal is a tool to track what we eat and drink all day long. We could track many foods from appetizers to main courses, and the last desserts.
We also track beverages from soda, juice, and another beverages at any time. It could happen at breakfast, coffee breaks, and lunch until dinner time. Simply, you should write everything that comes into your mouth.
Food journals also can identify our eating habits. Based on the purpose of a food journal, we can recognize what we are doing in our eating habit.
When we eat while watching tv, while we’re reading a book, or when we eat we do something else at the same time. Because of those activities, we do not focus on them. As a result, we overeat.
Even when you eat with someone, you see a lot of wasted food, just as you are not grateful for the fate you got. In the end, you overeat.
How do I make a food journal?
I make a food journal to identify my eating habit because I will overeat while I do something else in my eating time. My weight gain easily, due to that reason. I use a food journal for a month.
Food journals have many elements. You could write everything food you eat. You can use the traditional way with a pencil and paper, or the digital way like an application or template. These are elements I include in a food journal:
- How hungry was I?
- Where did I eat?
- When did I eat?
- What I ate?
- How many portions did I eat?
- How long did it take to finish my food?
- What did I do while I was eating? If yes, what was it?
- Who were you eating with?
- How was my mood when I ate?
- What did I crave when it was not my eating time?
It could be better if you could describe it in detail. I know it’s hard, but it helps you a lot. You can identify many things you never took care of, then realize it. You will become more careful about what you eat. It’s never too late to fix it.
Does a food journal work?
Yes, it does! BUT everything has two sides, it could be a good side or bad side.
A food journal is just a tool to help people recognize what’s wrong about their body, and try to identify what it is, then fix it step by step.
If you use it effectively you will feel the impact, but if you don’t or you do not have a definite purpose for using this tool, it becomes horrible.
I can share with you the benefits of a food journal. Some of those, I experienced while doing a food journal. I hope it can help you understand more how to use it.
Here are the benefits while I doing a food journal:
- Why’s
You could recognize the reason why your eating habit went wrong.
Why do I overeat? Why do I eat even though it’s not my eating time? Why do I choose to eat while I watching Tv? Why do I feel guilty when I see so many left-over? All of those “Why,” You can find the answer, and You will try to fix it. - The environments and people can influence you
You recognize the way you eat could be influenced by the environment or people who come with or around. “If the restaurant is crowded, it will make me lose my appetite.” - Finding the root of problem the eating habit
You could find out exactly what you’re doing while you’re overeating. Doing two things at once while eating, it’s bad. Another reason, If I feel ecstatic, there will be a chance I will eat more than I should. - Spoil the exact amount of what you consume
You found out the amount of what you eat, what you drink, or what you eat as a snack. If I am bored, I will eat a bunch of snacks, even when it’s not the time to eat. - Bonus! Maintain the body weight
Your body weight will be stable because you eat well and fulfill your needs. In the future, your body will be grateful to you.
Those are the lists I experienced while doing a food journal for a month. I found this tool is impactful for fixing my overeating. After I fixed it, I stopped keeping a food journal. The result is I became more aware of what I ate without using a food journal.
If you’re interested, I will encourage you to try in a short time (in a week) and discuss it.
