One of the best ways to change old eating and exercise habits — and support healthy weight loss — is to keep track of them with a diary.

Your weight-loss program should make keeping a food and exercise diary easy. You can use your weekly menus and activity schedules to keep track of your habits. Or, if you prefer, you can use a separate notebook to log your habits. Regardless of where you make your notes, consider the following tips when recording information. Your food diary

In short, every time you put something in your mouth, write it down. It's helpful to write down more than just the food item itself. Record the following information:

* Date, including both day and month.

* Time of day.

* Where you were at when you ate — in your car, at your desk, on the couch.

* What you were doing when you ate. Were you working? Watching television?

* Your mood. How did you feel before and after you ate?


* Triggers. What prompted you to eat? Did something in particular happen that day?

* Who were you with? Were you alone? * What did you eat?

* How much did you eat?

* Were you hungry? How hungry?

* Rate of eating. Did you eat quickly? Slowly?

Be honest — the diary is only for your eyes. Plus, it won't be helpful if you're not truthful. Record the information for a few days. Afterward, you likely will see patterns. Perhaps every time you get angry or upset you find yourself reaching for cookies.

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