Tracking diet in a food journal leads to weight gain

There was a bit of talk about this in an earlier thread which I never got around to replying to.

I think the article itself is somewhat confused as further down in the article one of the main points was that lean people plan out their day so they know what they are going to be eating next - and isn't that a lot of what logging/tracking food is about?

Looking at it objectively, I think perhaps can be stressful if you aren't ready to lose weight and make changes - but that goes for any form of weight loss method. It is empowering when you are ready, stressful when you are not.

The only times that I've been very successful in my weightloss efforts have been the times that I religiously keep a food journal. The only times that I've NOT been very successful in keeping the weight off have been the times that I stopped religiously keeping a food journal. It's not for everyone -- it IS for me :happy:

Mantra: Correlation does not equal causation.

I think if you allow it to stress you out, then I can see how it might be counter productive. As a nutritionist friend of mine is fond of saying "Stressing over eating a "bad" food is worse for you than ACTUALLY EATING the "bad" food."

So if you go over your calorie goal by say.. 100 calories, but then stress about it, and this is a frequent event, then I can see how it might lead to weight gin because of the stress.

But if you do it simply as a tool to keep yourself accountable, then it can be a very useful tool. I have been successful in my weight loss partly because I keep track of what I eat. I didn't realize how quickly calories added up and was eating way too many calories and not burning enough. Of course that led to weight gain.

At first I stressed about being "perfect." But then I realized I needed to relax. Now, I'm happier with how I eat than I have ever been, I'm loosing weight, I'm getting healthy, and I've learned how to listen to my body. Some days I need more calories. Some days I need less... so I pay less attention to the number of actual calories I am burning, and pay more attention to what my body is telling me. I'm actually in the middle of an experiment of NOT counting calories. I spent last week not journaling at all. This week I'll journal, but not really pay attention to how many calories I'm eating.. continuing to eat intuitively. Then at the end of this week, I'll see how much I have lost total, and then go back and see how many calories I actually ate each day.

Everyone has got to do what works for them. For me, journaling is very helpful, but I don't let it stress me out.

God bless!

If I know I have to log the crappy bad for me food Im about to put in my mouth I'll think twice about it! I think if I just logged in a notebook I wouldnt be nearly as successful.. but with a community of support I think that helps a LOT.

Everyone is different. I can certainly see that to some people, forcing themselves to record everything they eat could be quite stressful, which could theoretically lead to weight gain. Personally, I like numbers. I find great comfort in seeing my calorie intake and knowing it's under my goal. It is the opposite of stressful. It depends on the individual.