As in...

"today I ate 3 hotdogs for supper. 3 was too many. Next time try only 2."

I was thinking about how I should do something of the sort. I need to listen closer to what my stomach is saying to me; not what looks like a portion at the time. I always grab too much. Portion control is not my friend at the moment! LOL

Lots and lots of us keep a food journal. I am a calorie counter, so i keep a log to know where i am. If i dont log, i dont lose. I end up way under estimating. Logging it in keeps me all too aware of how i am doing.

I also journal about which foods made me hungry, which kept me full. What exercise i did for the day. And just basically how i am feeling and what my goals are. I write it all down.

Absolutely give it a try. What program are you using for weight loss?

Hi Stacy,
Thanks for your reply. I like that, journalling what KEPT you full and what kept you hungry. I'll use that too.
I'm not in any program--I'm just trying to get my eating in control..step by step. I'm finding alot of great tips and inspiration from the people on this site.
Thanks again!

I log every bite, if I don't I find I eat way more calories than if I keep track,it really is not much of a chore.

Sort of. I count calories and use fitday.com to do so. I do not fiddle with entering exercise because I don't think the calories burned are accurate, so I use the journal page every day to log my exercise (or lack of), general comment on day/week, goals, etc. When I get in a slump, I'll reevaluate goals and give myself little pep talks on there -- my one dinner splurge has turned into a weekend splurge. I need to get back on track! That kind of thing...

I think journaling by hand would be a great idea too, I just have not had success keeping up with it.

hey mabela, I can definitely relate to that!! I had 3 hot dogs a few nights ago when i would have been totally satisfied with just one! I shouldn't rely on just my eyes and keep an eat to how my stomach feels....

and yes, i've recently been keeping a food journal and it has saved my life. i never knew HOW MUCH i was eating before i started this journal last week! i recommend it to every single person as the #1 tool to have for losing weight!!

leda

I get really stressed out if I don't write down everything I eat. I keep TWO food journals actually, between thedailyplate.com and FitDay more recently. I even write about food and food mishaps in my non-diet related Livejournal. :P

I log everything I eat and I plan out most of my meals in advance. So in the morning, I log everything I am going to eat for the day. The only exception is my 2nd afternoon snack; I know how many calories I can have for it but I don't always know what I'll eat until I get there.

I manage portion control this way as well. I know how many calories I want to eat per day and I make sure my portions will fit within that limit. That way, I don't have to guess what size a portion is; I know exactly how much I can eat.

Barbara , you said it best, this is the way I do it. too.P.S. my name is Barbara, too.Just noticed that we live near each other as well.

Hey There -

For the past two weeks I've been using Fitday. It has helped me to stop binging so much for the simple fact that it helps me get over that "all or nothing" mentality I suffer from. When I used to go off my plan, I'd think I'd ruined myself for the day, so I might as well go all out. Now I can say "okay so I ate that extra hot dog, but I'm still at 1,500 calories, which isn't bad at all" and that helps me stay in control and not work it up to 3,500.

You might want to check out the Self Challenge at self.com. It is free and includes a food diary where you can select what your mood was when you ate each meal. It is already helping me realize that I most often eat when I'm bored or anxious. They also let you put a checkmark by the day if you stayed on your plan. I know it's silly, but seeing those little checkmarks are like gold stars to me.

I am convinced that you're not ready until you're really ready to commit to a Plan to change things once and for all. I just started last Tuesday after many false starts and you know what? I wasn't ready. I started Tuesday disgusted and very upset that my weight climbed up as high as it did with all my 50 lbs. weight loss regained. Nopers... nothing could have prepared me for the shock of it all.

Today is June 21st. It's evening time, all 3 meals have been eaten for the day. I'm calm, not hungry, not feeling jittery or light headed. I feel in control with a clear conscience and feeling good about myself. I also know that I don't need another plate of food to fill me up. In fact, I don't want to eat anymore lol.

I ate out w/my Mom today at Beverly Hills Cafe'. I ordered a fresh fruit cup with my chicken salad pita. I also had a side of cole slaw. One weird thing was that I had the exchanges to cover that lunch without a problem but I couldn't eat that 1/2 pita sandwich at all. Just couldn't do it.

This has been years.... I put that 1/2 sandwich in a to go container. When's the last time you've taken a doggie bag home? Is this control or what?

It proves one thing... you're really ready when you are really ready. When a candy bar doesn't lure you and you see some blaot off of your face, your fingers and hands, when you can sleep on your stomach and not be a victim of a painful GERD attack you are winning. My jeans are looser and even with TOM, my bra isn't squeezing my bust or making me run home to get into my pj's because of pain, that's an nsv that sure has put me in control.

Nursechef, you hit the nail on the head. What you wrote rings so true. Especially about when you are ready, you are ready, and all the meals being eaten for today, not hungery, jittery, and you are feeling good about yourself. That is awesome. That is SO much better than sitting here thinking "when am i going to get my eating under control, when is enough enough...blah blah blah". Thank you. That was eliquent.

hi all!
i really like fitday-it's easy to use and i can do it at work. i think the simple act of keeping track just keeps me mindful of what i'm putting into my body. it's also interesting because-it doesn't judge you, so you get to just see the patterns emerge. i don't know, i find that helpful. and i also know when i'm starting to crash out because i stiop keeping track...
someone said something very interesting to me yesterday (this is in keeping with this themse-sort of!) which is that it is so much better to think of this process as continual as opposed to stop start-which is totally the menatality i get into, like, oh gotta start all over again, when really, i haven't stopped-i just took a detour...
i don't know, makes sense to me...

I am following a modified Medifast diet, incorporating other diet supplements as well, such as the NewLifeStyle products into my plan. I log my meals on MyMedifast.com daily for the Medifast products and just add the nutrition stats in for other products that Medifast doesn't list or recognize. Even when I eat something extra, I add that in, also. I have a certain number of calories, carbs, fats, and protein that I want to have daily, so this is the easiest way to keep track of my eating. It is working, that is all I know, thank goodness! Best wishes for everyone's success!
Joan