Newsletter Archives

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Newsletters from 2008

• Eating for the Wrong Reasons
• Still Not Eating Breakfast?
• Leaner Cuts of Meat
• Back to Basics
• Added Sugars
• Make 2008 a Winning New Year

Newsletters from 2007

• Make Every Day Count
• Get to the Root of Your Cravings
• More Holiday Meals Ahead?
• Making a List and Checking It Twice
• December - The Final Stretch
• Exercising and Losing Weight
• Thanksgiving Is Not for Gobbling
• Curb the Sugar - Curb the Fat - Curb the Wrinkles
• Checklist for a Thin Body
• This Halloween, Don't Fight The Candy Monster
• Winter Comfort Foods Made a Little Less Fattening
• Gaining Weight After Thirty? Here's Why!
• An Apple a Day Keeps the WEIGHT Away
• Eating Right Is More Effective Than Eating Less
• 30 Things You Can Do Instead of Eating
• School Is On - Pack Your Lunch
• When You're on the Run
• Are Summer Treats Adding to Your Waistline?
• Should We Sue McDonald's?
• Feeling Satiated Longer
• Cool Off with Mouth Watering Melons
• Picking Friends for Weight Loss
• Something New for the BBQ
• Take Your Meal Plan on Vacation
• Eating to Avoid Belly Fat
• Four Tips for the 4th of July
• Water and Sports Drinks
• Food Labeling Can Be Misleading
• Getting Sneaky with Your Food
• Lose 8 Pounds in 4 Weeks!
• 100 Calorie Packs
• Gardening for Weight Loss
• Curbing Nighttime Eating
• Shopping for Weight Loss
• Shopping the Supermarket Perimeter
• The Joy of Eating
• Light Lunches
• Fruits and Vegetables Make a Difference
• Eggs and Weight Loss
• Calorie Burning Drinks
• Fad Diets
• Weighing Yourself Daily
• Eating Disorders
• Taste Buds and Weight Problems
• The Fourth Meal
• Eating in the Fast Lane
• Valentine's Treats
• Eliminate, Reduce and Substitute
• Build a Little Muscle - Lose a Lot of Weight
• Your Self Image and Weight Loss
• Taming the Hunger Beast
• Looking Ahead to 2007

Newsletters from 2006

• Looking Back on 2006
• Monitoring the Food You Eat
• Holiday Beverage Makeovers
• A Gift of Health
• Never Say Never
• A Piece of Pie
• It's a Family Affair
• Enjoying the Holidays without Gaining Weight
• Pack on the Vitamins and Minerals - Not the Pounds
• Eating in Large Groups Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
• Lose Weight with a Hobby
• Trick or Treat (Making It through the Holidays)
• Is Obesity a Choice?
• Lose Weight Now and Be Healthier Later
• Satisfying a Sweet Tooth
• Brown Bagging It
• Spicing Up Your Weight Loss
• Free Diet and Weight Loss Tutorial
• Small Changes Yield Big Results
• Monitoring Your Progress
• Barbecuing Fruits and Vegetables
• Eating Low Glycemic Foods
• Five Myths Debunked
• Keeping Count of the Extras
• Water Doesn't Have to Be Boring
• Got a Hot Body?
• Sneaking in More Fruits and Vegetables
• Indulge in a Smoothie
• The Risks of Rapid Weight Loss
• Forgoing Meat for Weight Loss
• Hitting a Plateau
• Vitamin C and Weight Loss
• It's not the Cookie, It's the Bag of Cookies!
• Fire Up the BBQ and Make It Lean
• Improve Your Health with a 10% Weight Loss
• Getting Fat on Corn
• Weight Loss Begins in Your Mind
• Drinking Green Tea
• Counting Calories
• Calories - How Low Should You Go?
• What if the Weight Comes Back?
• Tips from Successful Dieters
• Women's Health Initiative Dietary Study
• Revving Up Your Metabolism
• Diet Pills
• Sugar Addiction
• Dark Chocolate, Health and Weight Loss
• Support from Family and Friends
• Dealing with Slips
• Watching Out for Bad Fats
• Good Fast Food
• A Supportive Environment

Newsletters from 2005

• New Year's 2006 - A New Beginning
• Looking Back on 2005
• Not in My House!
• Soup and Salad
• Eating Smaller, More Frequent Meals
• Holiday Feasts
• Whole Grains for Health and Weight Loss
• Trimming the Fat
• Watching Out for Sugar
• Substituting with Fruits and Vegetables
• Quick, Easy, Healthy Breakfasts
• The Benefits of Eating Breakfast
• Measuring Success
• Changing Behaviors
• Lifestyle Changes
• Falling Short of Your Long Term Goals
• The Battle of the Kitchen
• Calcium and Weight Loss
• Food Substitutions for Cooking and Baking
• Emergency Meal Kit
• Eating at Night
• Salt, Weight Loss and a Healthy Heart
• Snacking between Meals
• Beware the Food Pushers
• Assessing Priorities
• Making Changes
• Smart Eating at Parties and Picnics
• Little Changes Can Make a Big Difference
• Vegetables and How to Cook Them
• When to Stop Eating
• The Size of Your Dinner Plate
• Cooking Tender, Tasty, Low Calorie Meat
• Take a Second Look at Your Breakfast Cereal
• Feeding Your Emotions
• The Right Attitude for Weight Loss
• Sleep Like a Baby for a Trimmer Waist
• If You Stop Losing Weight
• Put Your Drink on a Diet
• 2/3-to-1/3 Proportions for Simple, Healthy Weight Loss
• Managing Your Weight Is Like Managing Your Finances
• Weighing In on Your Dog's Diet
• The Value of Keeping a Food Journal
• Cut 150 Calories and Drop 15 Pounds

The Value of Keeping a Food Journal

Newsletters

Counting calories not only helps us because it causes us to eat fewer of them, but also because it makes us more conscious of what we are eating. Keeping a food journal does this as well, and much more.

Think what it would be like if you had a tiny camera that you could strap to a pair of glasses or baseball cap that would monitor everything you ate. Imagine that it would give you a full report of daily calories, percent of protein, fat, carbohydrate... well, you get the picture.

Although this would be a great invention, it would still miss the point. Keeping a food journal not only helps you understand how much and what types of foods you are eating, but if done right, it helps you understand WHY you are eating.

Most of us don't make the connection between how we are feeling and what or why we are eating. A journal helps you become your own detective and determine what feelings trigger you to eat. And when you start to realize why you're eating, you can find a substitute behavior.

I encourage you to keep a record for a month. If daily sounds like too much, then keep it for two weekdays and one weekend day each week. Keep it with you at all times so that you can track what you eat and how you are feeling when you eat.

Remember to:

1. Record all that enters your mouth.
2. Take a moment to reflect on how you're feeling (anxious, tired, bored, happy).
3. Analyze your day's intake and think of one thing you could do better next time.
4. And one thing you would like to keep doing.

After monitoring yourself, you'll begin to understand your emotional reasons for eating. Once you know some of your personal "triggers" you can then work on substituting a different behavior. For example, if you realize that you always eat when you feel anxious, you can try going for a walk or taking a moment to relax instead of heading for the potato chips.

Becoming your own food detective will help you understand what, when and why you eat, and that's the first step to changing your behaviors.

Healthy regards,
Megan Porter, RD