Food Journal and Calories

If you have no idea what you eat, start a food journal. All this means is that you write down what you eat for a few weeks. When, where, how much, with whom, how you felt about the food, how your body reacted. The more detailed the better. Don't be "good." Eat whatever you eat and write it down. Liquids count.

Your body needs a certain number of calories to live, based on your size, age, and so on. To lose weight, your body needs to use more calories than it takes in. If you have no idea which foods contain many calories and which don't, consult a book or the Internet. A pocket-size calorie booklet is very handy. Make a short list of your favorite foods (the foods that appear often in your food journal) and learn how many calories they contain.

Between food journaling and calorie awareness you will be able to identify two very important things:

• Your food problem areas
• Your food downfalls

Problem areas are usually recurring behaviors, or entire food groups. For example, fast food, sweets, all-you-can-eat buffets. Your eating style could be a problem. Do you snack all day? Do you eat like a bird in public, then indulge in private? Do you eat until it's gone? Do you eat very fast? Here's a big one: can you tell when you're full?

A downfall, also known as your Achilles' Heel, is a particular food that you eat to make yourself feel better, for comfort or reward. Downfalls are rarely broccoli or apples. They are usually food like cookies, French fries, pie, beer, wine, burritos, ice cream, chocolate, scotch, pistachios, pizza, sticky buns. Both problem areas and downfalls contribute to weight gain, so you need to know what yours are if you want to lose weight.

For the psychology-oriented, it can also be very helpful to know a little about what attitudes you developed in your family of origin. What was mealtime like when you were a kid? Is there obesity in your family? Any eating disorders? Do you equate food with love? Or control? There are lots of books on the psychological issues associated with food and eating.

Go as far as you want to with research, just don't lie to yourself. If you lie to yourself anyway, find a nice psychologist to help you get real.