![\"Motivational](\"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Motivational-Journal-02-510x340.jpg\" "\\"Motivational")
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Whenever I feel like I\u2019ve been snacking too much, or that I may not be eating as healthy as usual, I turn to my food journals. I\u2019m slightly weird that way. I have notebooks for everything\u2026to-do lists, checklists for every month, goal lists for the year, doodle diaries, sketching books, my own personal journals, and of course, my food diary.<\/p>\n
For me, I find scribbling things down in my notebook is helpful. I like to write what I eat and see if I ate enough nutritious foods that day. It\u2019s how I keep myself accountable. Not only do I write what I eat, but sometimes I\u2019ll jot down how much water I drank or the supplements I\u2019ve taken. At the bottom of the page, I\u2019ll write down what fitness I did for the day and for how long.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re making it a point to lose a couple pounds, this is an easy way to do it. Many of us don\u2019t really realize how much we nibble on throughout the day or how much we eat when we\u2019re not hungry. Writing down every bite and being honest is the key. If dropping a pound or two is your goal, you can add extra information to your food journal, like when you stopped eating for the day, your measurements, or your weight. It might sound silly, but try to \u201cimpress\u201d your journal\u2026make your day\u2019s intake look as perfect as you can. Many times I’ve wanted seconds on something, but didn\u2019t indulge because I didn\u2019t want to write it down.<\/p>\n
You can go out and just use an ordinary notebook if you want, but I like to make things fun. I\u2019ll grab my scissors, glue, health magazines, catalogs, and fun papers to make a collage. I think it\u2019s more motivational to have inspiring pictures on the cover.<\/p>\n
![\"Motivational](\"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Motivational-Journal-03-510x299.jpg\" "\\"Motivational")
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These are my last two food journals.<\/p>\n
![\"Motivational](\"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Motivational-Journal-01-510x340.jpg\" "\\"Motivational")
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Sometimes at the end of the day I\u2019ll grab a red marker and grade my day\u2019s intake. It gives me an idea of what I could work at the next day. I\u2019ll circle what I should\u2019ve had less of or write notes to remind me that a protein snack after a workout would\u2019ve been a good idea. I try to not have any red ink on my pages. I guess it\u2019s kind of a game for the organizational nerd in me.<\/p>\n
![\"Motivational](\"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Motivational-Journal-04-510x340.jpg\" "\\"Motivational")
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![\"Motivational](\"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Motivational-Journal-05-510x340.jpg\" "\\"Motivational")
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I certainly don\u2019t do food diaries all the time, just when I think I might need to be more careful about what I\u2019m eating. It\u2019s been very helpful for me at maintaining my weight and reaching my fitness goals.<\/p>\n
Do you use a food journal? If so, do you find it keeps you healthier? Whenever I feel like I\u2019ve been snacking too much, or that I may not be eating as healthy as usual, I turn to my food journals. I\u2019m slightly weird that way. I have notebooks for everything\u2026to-do lists, checklists for every month, goal lists for the year, doodle diaries, sketching books<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15],"tags":[1600,1592,1596,16,1601,1589,1599,1594,1591,1598,1590,1597,1595,1603,1593,1602,17],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178,"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions\/178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colourfulpalate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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