Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your Amarillo personal trainer. Today we’re going to be talking about why you should be keeping a food journal during the holidays. This is going to be the first part in a two part series, so be on the lookout for part two coming soon. And if you have any questions about today’s blog, then please give us a call at (806)-322-3188
Well, research shows us that whenever we keep a food journal, we are much more accountable to actually eating well and doing what we’re supposed to do. So, huge bonus there.
And I think we all know that during the holidays, it’s really easy to get off-track. We have all the holiday parties and things, but not even that. It’s just extra snacking. It’s extra fatigue, it’s extra stress, and we’re constantly out and about doing anything from events with the kids, for ourselves, at the office, to trying to make sure that all activities are still going, and then getting Christmas shopping done, and those things.
And lo and behold, if you’re like me and have any birthdays coming up in the next few weeks, then that also adds into the mix. So, just a lot of things going on to add into extra snacking that you may or may not realize that you’re doing. So it’s a great time to really keep a food journal and make sure that you’re paying attention to what it is that you’re eating.
A bonus on that is that you could show that food journal on a regular basis to someone else. So, a lot of times with clients, I’ll have them email me their daily food log or their weekly food log, so that that way, then they can let me know. They know that I’m looking at it, and if there’s discrepancies in there, we can fix it before it becomes a huge issue.
On the accountability side, that makes you think, “Oh, I don’t want to write that down, so I probably shouldn’t eat it, because somebody else is gonna see it.” If it’s just you, we can kinda be like, “Oh, I knew that was all right.” But if it’s somebody else, then you kind of hold yourself to a different standard. So it’s nice to have that in there.
It also helps to keep you from skipping meals. And that may sound kind of silly, if you don’t have a problem with that. But a lot of people get so busy during the day that they start to skip meals, and they don’t even realize it. I can ask somebody for a 24-hour recall of what they did yesterday, and they have to sit there and think, “Hmm. Did I have lunch, did I not? Did I have breakfast? I don’t remember.”
So by keeping a food log, then you can make sure that you’re getting all your meals in. Remember that our goal is three a day, unless you’re doing some form of different nutrition that’s requiring different. But the majority of people, three times a day.
The other bonus to that is that it’s gonna help you to keep from food banking as much. Now, if you haven’t heard some of our posts, food banking is where, say that you know you’re going out for a big fancy dinner tonight, so you’re like, “Well, I just won’t eat lunch so I have extra calories to eat at dinner.”
Well, the problem with that is, you basically put your car on almost empty, drove it beyond the point that it could drive anymore, and then got mad at it through the afternoon that it was tired and couldn’t do anything, and then tried to overfill it in the evening to make up for not filling it in the afternoon.
Didn’t work, right? So, same thing with your body. Your body needs constant nutrition throughout the day. That’s where those three meals evenly spaced comes in. We talked about that a lot.
But as you’re doing that, you want to make sure that you’re filling your body with the fuel you need throughout the day instead of waiting for that last meal. Plus, when you don’t eat your lunch, and then you go to that last meal, you’re probably gonna overeat by at least two to three times what you should, because you haven’t had food in so long, so your body’s gonna be craving more calories.
So i’m going to end part one here. In part two we’re going to be talking more about food logging.
During the holidays I know that food can be a major stressor for people, but food logging can be a way to help keep everything in check and help to make you feel more in control. There are a lot of benefits that we’ve already discussed, and we will go into more of those in the next post, which is coming very soon.
If can’t wait for part two, or you want to know more about Custom Fitness and what we do here, then please give us a call. If you’re wanting the accountability and help with creating an action plan to see results, or are wanting to someone to help create a workout plan to push you to your greatest potential, then that’s what we’re here for. Our trainers are here to look out for you and make sure that you are meeting your goals in a safe way.
At Custom Fitness, we customize a plan for you. We sit down with you and find out what your needs are and then build a health and fitness plan around that. We have an entire team of dedicated professionals to help you with your health and fitness goals. To get your consultation set up, give us a call at 806-322-3188 or email us at info@customfitness.biz At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo, Texas. Have a great day.