Individualize your plan

Food diaries simplify figuring out what works ‑- and what doesn't ‑- when it comes to your eating habits. It's easy to review your past week's intake or zero in on weekends or figure out the difference between lunch and dinner calories. Research from the National Weight Control Registry shows that just about half of the people who lose weight and keep it off follow a formal weight loss program. But the other half develop their own individualized program, borrowing the best from several different plans to craft something that works for them. Try incorporating a journal into your plan, and make it work for you.

More than just calories

Simply keeping track of what you eat and drink is a huge help in losing weight. But you can take it a step or two further as well. Many online programs make it easy to find out how much fiber you're eating, if your food choices are too high in saturated fat and whether you really need to take supplemental calcium. For some people, just keeping track of the number of servings from the different food groups is a helpful tool. Good health is more than an ideal body weight, and using a comprehensive food diary can help you achieve your nutrition and body-weight goals.

Tips for keeping a food diary