Food Journal Reflection

As I reflect over the past few weeks of keeping a food journal I think back to food journals I have kept in the past.  In my earlier attempts of journaling I would stop keeping track after a few weeks for one reason or another. However, I did always find that when I kept track of my eating, I tended to eat better and make better food choices. Perhaps this is the reason I ultimately decided to forgo the long term tracking of my diet? My intention with my new journal is to keep up the awareness of my eating, even if I don’t keep up the actual journaling of my diet. 

Some of my experiences in the past few weeks have been that when I felt stressed out in one or more areas of my life I was more tempted to make unhealthy food choices. It was during these times of temptation that it was especially important to be conscious of food choices and to maintain healthy eating patterns. I also noticed that if I did not receive enough hours of sleep during the night I would be tempted to make poor food choices, such as forgoing breakfast altogether and having 2 cups of coffee. The trade off was always short lived and resulted in me being both hungry and tired just a few hours after waking up in the morning. This food journal exercise has brought to light how dependent I am on caffeinated beverages to start my day. I am currently trying to replace my morning coffee with a fruit smoothie. I am also more in tune to the fact that when stress and sleep deprivation strike...I am much more susceptible to making poor food choices. I need to be diligent about working on eliminating or at least reducing, stress and making a concerted effort to get an adequate number of hours of sleep per night.

When I stray from the rule of moderation, I find myself indulging in foods that offer little in terms of nutritional value. I need to constantly remind myself of the direct relationship between making good food choices and my overall well being. Taking responsibility and control of my own eating habits is a compelling reason to continue food journaling. I hope to introduce and encourage this idea of personal responsibility in my students. It is something so simple, but is so often overlooked or ignored. 

Part of taking responsibility for our food choices is to become informed food consumers. I think it is important to be aware of how food products are marketed. Food companies often times use attractive packaging to get our attention and sometimes place misleading nutritional information on labels that present additional challenges to our efforts to make good food choices. Ultimately, we are responsible for what we put into our bodies. Therefore it is in our best interest to take the time to educate ourselves about the ingredients in the products we consume.

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