Write Off The Pounds

One of my SMART goals for 2010 is keep a food journal. I was once again convicted to do this after reading the Diabetic Living (Winter 2009) article on page 64. Here is a summary of the article and some of my thoughts.

According to Malena Perdomo, R.D., CDE, with Kaiser Permanente Colorado and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, a food journal can help “people start to really understand the connection between diet, exercise, and blood sugar”. As a recently diagnosed PWD (person with diabetes), I definitely need to find that connection. At this point in my disease, I have the hardest time with my morning glucose readings. To me, it doesn’t make sense that my glucose is high first thing in the morning. I mean, really! I haven’t eaten in 8-10 hours. So, why is my sugar so high? By documenting some of my food intake, I am hoping to find that magic formula for just my body.

Be honest in your food journal. Uh-hmmm. I have had issues with this in the past. I didn’t want to admit what I had eaten…or wasn’t really sure how many calories I had consumed. My goal is to write everything down and give a best guess if I’m unsure how many calories are in a particular food. It’s the best I can do, right? It’s time to let go of my perfectionism.

One step which I’ve never been at is analyzing the food journal. Look it over and note any areas of improvement. Food journals can reveal:

a. (un)Healthy Eating

b. Eating consistently

c. How the food I am eating affects my blood sugar

d. How exercise affects my blood sugar

e. Emotional Eating

Malena Perdomo, R.D., CDE, suggests including the following information when keeping a food journal:

1. Times you eat

2. What you eat

3. Blood glucose

4. Medications, if any

5. Physical activity

6. Feelings

Part of the cycle for me will include daily food planning. My goal is to plan 3 meals and 2-3 snacks per day to reach a caloric intake of 1230-1580 calories, 33-58 grams of fat, 166-240 grams of carbohydrates, and 60-130 grams of protein.

In addition, I am planning to burn at least 200 calories a day for 6 days per week. By following this plan, I hope to lose 11 pounds by April 1st which will in turn, I hope, reduce my daily glucose levels as well.