Habits Forming?

seashel90

Hello! Don't know if other people are having the same hard time I am having starting a new habit of filling out a "food diary" every day. It should not be so hard--you think!?

janelleginnetto

Habits take 21 days to form. So yes, it does get to be a pain sometimes. Some people find it easier to pre plan your days or even make meals for the whole week and do it that way. As long as you are determined anything is possible. Good luck.

kommodevaran

I remember using the food diary as easy and even fun. Are you struggling with something in particular - finding the correct entries, logging the correct amounts, allocating calories into individual meals? Are your meals very complex? Do you eat out often? Logging is just a tool to become more mindful of portions. The habit you're really out to form, is to eat less. Have you set a too high weightloss rate, so your calorie target is too low for you, are you hungry? Or do you just resent the idea of eating less? Or resent the idea of not being able to eat mindlessly or using food as a coping mechanism? ETA: Are you eating strange foods or at strange times? Or, or?

tinkerbellang83

Things that may help:

• Maybe don't worry about the calorie element for a couple of days and just get into the habit of logging first.
• Logging at a convenient time as part of your daily routine, if you're busy in the evenings, make time for it in the morning.
• Pre-log if you already know what you're planning to eat for the day, you can tweak portion sizes, etc later.
• If there are common meals you make from scratch or eat the same amounts of create a recipe, it's a lot easier to log than listing ingredient separately every time you eat them. For example I eat a weetabix with milk every morning Mon-Fri so I have this saved as a "Work Breakfast" and then I can just add any fruit/toppings in addition.
• Make use of the Recent/Frequent Food lists.

As @janelleginnetto mentions habits take around 21 days to form, and it takes around 66 days for it to become an automatic thing.

wryone4

I find pre-logging, whenever possible really helps. It gives me a plan for the day and I am logged at the start of the day. If I can't pre-log, sometimes I will set reminders in my phone to alert me to log. I do find that logging really helps keep me on track. When I do it consistently, I really see progress. Give it time and stick with it and you may find it gets easier.