30 Day Challenge -- How do I create a Food Diary?

Here's the deal. Yesterday, I gave you a whole host of things to eat while on the thirty day challenge. Today I am going to explain how to keep track of it.

Did you know research shows that people who keep careful track of their food actually eat healthier? I guess it's all that guilt we feel when we actually write down that we ate four pounds of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and seeing it on paper is, well, kinda gross.

My food diary looks like this:

 And yes, it is paper. It is a spiral notebook that I keep on the kitchen counter with a pencil tucked into the spiral. I know, I know, I'm a terrible tree hugger and if you want to figure out a way to do a food diary digitally, more power to you, but I am rather fond of my spiral notebooks. In fact, I have an entire filing cabinet full of them. I'm a list maker and I like to write things on actual paper and check them off. As a matter of fact, if I do something that is not on my list, I will write it down just so I can check it off. It is immensely satisfying, this checking off thing. You should try it.

This is a copy of a page from last year's food diary. Notice the bottom where I have the little squares? Each square stood for 12 ounces of water (the above shows squares for twenty ounces). Every time I finished a glass of water, I would mark it on my diary. That way I was keeping track of the amount of water I was drinking (80-100 ounces is key here) and I got that whole "checking off" satisfaction thing too.

Last year my plan was 900 calories/90 carbs. However since my shakes are heavier on calories and carbs, I have increased this year's challenge to 1,000 calories/100 carbohydrates. I am also a lot more informed on complex carbohydrates vs. "regular" carbohydrates and intend to add some rice and whole wheat pasta into my diet this time. By the way, I broke down my tuna salad so that I could evaluate everything that was in it. I use Miracle Whip Light which has only 20 cal/2 carbs for the amount I used and for those who are wondering, English Sauce is what they call Worcester Sauce in Brasil and is a habit that we have gotten into due to our Brasilian family.

So, some of you are wondering where I get some of this info and how do you work the Challenge into your daily lives when you are not at home. I found a great resource that I love. It is called the Calorie King and I downloaded the book to my Kindle and use it anywhere. I keep a tiny notebook in my purse and just record stuff there when I am out and about. I work at home and homeschool my kids, so we are home a lot and I can get to my kitchen diary most of the time. When I cannot, the little notebook in my purse serves to help me keep track of things when I'm out and about.

You can learn more at www.calorieking.com

Got tips or ideas for your own food diary? Let's hear them!