Thursday, June 2, 2011

Identifying What you will eat, Part 1: Keeping a Food Diary (+ Challenge & Giveaway)



If you’re new to meal planning, the 1st thing you need to do is nothing. I know this sounds counter-intuitive. But before making a change, you need to know what you are changing. Remember what we think that we do and our actual patterns of behavior are quite different.

***So for two weeks, keep a food diary. The challenge will be to maintain the diary for two weeks and then on 6/20/11 share in the comments your Food families (ethnic food categories, "American" for anything common to your home growing up, unless you identify with a cultural subset) and what items you must keep stored to meet your scheme. Also, share 3 links to the sites you found most informative. The first person to post all details in the comments will receive a Modern Menu Recipe-holder and my top 10 go-to dishes with pictures and instructions, as well as plenty of room to add your own. The 2nd person will receive 5 spices (my choice) and Modern Menu Notebook, the 3rd person will receive a Modern Menu bookmark and notebook.***

When keeping a food Diary, write down the following:

When you eat
When you eat
How quickly hunger returns

When you wake
When you sleep
What you do (energy-wise: do you walk to the grocery store, or take the car?)

If you snack, what do you opt for?
How do you make your food choices?
How much unused food makes it to the garbage can?

(In two weeks, I’ll ask you to share your findings --not the whole diary but what you *learned*)

I’ve done this, and what did I learn?

There are a number of things that I bought, planned to use and they stuck around. If my Guy doesn’t tell me he’s hungry, I’m more likely to snack on leftovers than make areal meal. I cave on Pappa Murphy’s and Subway when PMS-ing. If I don’t get enough protein I’m a grouch for 2 weeks out of the month, and my emotionalism runs higher.

Perhaps, for some that’s too much info..but you have to know what your body is doing to treat it properly.

So carry a notebook around with you, and this will help you make decisions going forward.

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