Luckily, at the beginning of the year I purchased a weekly planner/calendar that I set aside just to record my meals, since I already had an inkling that my poor lunches were partially to blame for my weight predicament.
The one I got is from Martha Stewart's Home Office line at Staples and what I love about it is that each day is broken up into three general time "zones": morning, afternoon, and evening. Plus, there are two additional rows that you can title yourself, for whatever seems most useful to you. In my case, the two bottom rows are for "Exercise" and "Social/Misc." For instance, if I know I'll be eating out because of a party or dinner invitation, I add it to the "Social/Misc." Or, sometimes I will record if something out of the ordinary is going on that may affect my eating (i.e. feeling down, having a cold, traveling, etc.)
In the morning, afternoon, and evening rows, I jot down what I ate each day. Sometimes, if things are particularly hectic or I'm more forgetful than usual, I will have to go back and add things in, and as a result sometimes I don't have quite perfect record-keeping. But I try to log as much as I can.
Anyway, when I went back and looked at last week, I realized that I ate out much more than I originally thought. I had lunch at quasi-fast* food places 4 times last week! And the meals that I did have at home were only moderately French (in spirit, if not in cuisine style).
What about you? Do you have any experience (good or bad) with food journals that you can share with me? If so, please do. I'm always looking for new strategies for success!
*I think of McDonald's, Taco Bell, and similar restaurants as true "fast food". For me "quasi-fast" food places include like Chipotle or P.F. Chang's or In-N-Out Burger, which I deem not quite as bad/processed as true "fast food", but they aren't really bastions of health either.
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