What are the benefits from keeping a food journal?

Question

how does a food journal work? i mean sure you write down the stuff you eat, but is it just for making sure we dont eat too much? Or is it to see how we progress with our eating habits over time along with our diet?

Answer 1

It is about both.  It will help you see when and why you eat, as well as keep a more accurate record of what you actually do eat.  Here are a couple of helpful links.  The first one is a rather neat on line food journal.

http://www.nutrawatch.com/

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/

http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_ea...

Answer 2

it lets you keep track of your food and how much you are taking in. sometimes we eat more than we think we are. also the amount of waters you are having which are great because you can make sure you have had your 8 glasses that day and stayed within your calories too.  

Answer 3

It's more to see what you're really putting into your body, not to help you obsess over every little calorie.  Most of us don't monitor what we're eating.  We just eat what we want and what's convenient, not realizing how much we're eating or its nutritional value.  That's how people become overweight and start to develop problems like high cholesterol and type II diabetes.