Healthy Dieting

• eliminate french fries—save 270 calories
• substitute “light” ice-cream for full fat brands— save 170 calories
• have four cups of popcorn instead of crisps—save 220 calories
• order a regular hamburger, rather than a quarter -pounder—save 300 calories

Examples of exercise that burns 220 calories

• walking at 4 mph for 1 hour
• a half-hour aerobics class or exercise video
• walking up and down stairs for 20 minutes
• cycling at 5 mph for 45 minutes

What do you eat now?

Do you have any idea how many calories or how much fat you take in in one day? Most people don’t. Chances are you are eating much more than you think. Researchers have found that people generally underestimate what they eat by 25%. Keeping food records is vital to weight loss. I know this for a fact. In my many years of following dieters, I found the people who kept account of their food intake not only lost weight faster but continued to maintain their goal weight. No kidding. Write it down and you will take it off.

When you write down on paper what you eat, you tune into the fact that you are eating. A lot of food enters your mouth without your even knowing it. This is true especially if we are emotional eaters. Remember the last time you finished off a packet of crisps? Did you enjoy each and every crisp? More likely, by the time you realized the packet was empty, you wondered who ate them all.

Keeping track of what you eat for even a few weeks helps, but it’s best to continue doing it until you’re well on your way to achieving your goal. It’s helpful for many reasons. As I already mentioned, it shows you what you are eating in terms of calories. Also, once you learn that something has 900 calories, and you have to write that down in your chart, it often stops you from plunging into it. Not always, but sometimes. So, recording everything makes you conscious of what you really eat and it helps you plan your diet.

Something that record-keeping is NOT meant to do is to make you feel guilty. There is no place in dieting for feeling bad about yourself. If you eat a high-fat food because you can’t stop the craving, write it in your records, but don’t be cross with yourself. Write it down with the calories so you can go back later and rethink that situation or that choice. Maybe in the future you can plan a different strategy so you won’t be as tempted by that particular food.

Now that you see the point of food records, here are the details. First, make extra copies of the chart at the back to use throughout your programme. Then write down everything you eat and drink for one full week. I mean put down EVERY crumb, bite and nibble that enters your mouth. Be sure to guess the amount too. The first week is easy because all you enter is the food. Don’t bother with calories yet. And, by all means, don’t evaluate your diet as good or bad. Pretend you are a reporter whose only job is to take down the facts.

After the week has passed, take your chart and, using the food lists in Appendix A, figure out the calories for each food. This doesn’t take as long as you think because, as you will see, you repeat a lot of foods. Most people eat only 20 different foods a week. It shows what creatures of habit we really are. Use the space below to record your favourites.

You may also find calorie information on the boxes and bags of many of the foods you eat. Watch out for the serving sizes marked on packages. Start reading labels. For example, a small packet of crisps is 300 calories. You can also get calorie information from many fast-food restaurants. Be bold and ask.

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