Keeping a food and fitness journal, very important tool

          Keeping a food journal is a very effective way to keep track of the number of calories that you eat everyday. And whether you are trying to lose weight or simply maintain a healthier diet, a food diary can help you out.

 Ive been using MyFitnessPal, its an online journal that you can download an app on your phone. Its easy and convenient. You can scan any food that has a barcode on it. Its way to easy, there is no way to have an excuse not to journal your food. Download the app and follow me jhensle8, add me as a friend and you can see what I eat on a daily basis. www.myfitnesspal.com

No excuses its Sunday funday, start a new week off right. Swim suit season will be here in a flash. Here are five reasons that if you are serious in making a change a journal will help you in your journey.

1. Your Food Diary Will Show You What You Eat

This is one of the most underrated aspects of keeping a food journal You probably think that you know exactly what you eat everyday. You probably even think you could guess the number of calories that you take in through your meals. But the truth is that most people eat more than three times everyday and most of their extra calories probably come from eating between meals. Especially if you are trying to lose weight, keeping track of these calories is what's most important.

2. Your Food Journal Can Help You Lose Weight

By seeing exactly what you eat everyday, you can begin to cut certain types of food out of your diet. You might be surprised to see that some foods that you thought were healthy actually have the highest amount of calories according to your food journal. By taking this into account, you can cut these calories by finding healthy alternatives for your diet.

3. Your Food Diary Can Help You Plan Out Meals

At first, you should use your food diary to keep track of the meals that you eat. But over time, you can actually use your food diary to plan out basic meals and snacks in order to create a more balanced diet.

4. Your Food Diary Will Show You What You Need To Eat

Whether you're not getting enough vegetables into your diet or you're skipping lunch a little too often, your food diary serves as a record of everything that you do--and do not--eat. Knowing that you are deficient in certain food groups can be helpful and can help you plan out your diet a little better than ever before.

5. Your Food Diary Will Keep You on Track

You may not realize it right away, but over time, your food diary will actually make you want to eat healthier. Every time you write down a food that has a lot of calories in it, you'll want to avoid doing it in the future. Your food diary can actually help you to look at food in a whole new way. It's one of the best reasons you should want to start a food diary today. Your food diary will not help you enjoy new foods, but it will give you a reason to try to cut back on your calories.