Maintain A Food Journal: Here's How It Can Help You Plan Healthy Meals With Foods Of Your Choice

Are you trying to eat healthy? Many often believe that they have to compromise on their favourite foods in order to eat healthy. Understanding what your body needs is a crucial step that can help you determine what to eat and when. To start making healthy choices as per your body signals, you can try maintaining a food journal. It can help you plan your meals that are nutritious as well as loaded with foods of your choice. Recently, as a part of her Instagram series, 'unlock 6 steps of healthy eating', nutritionist Lovneet Batra shared the importance of listening to your body and how a food journal can help you plan healthy meals.

Healthy eating: Maintain a food journal to plan healthy meals

The nutritionist explains, "Listen to your body, it never lies. Stay in tune with your signals and respond to them correctly. Maintain a food journal and write down what you are eating and how you are feeling after eating that food item. It will help you understand your current dietary pattern and the changes you need. According to this data, come up with a plan that is nutritious as per your food choices."

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How food journal can help plan healthy meals?

Maintain a food journal where you take two mins to write down what you ate, how much you ate and how your body felt (fresh/lethargic, unwell, energized, etc.) after eating the food item.

According to Batra, instead of judging yourself for your habits, use this journal to really understand your patterns, cravings, likes and dislikes and then use this valuable data to make a meal plan filled with healthful and energising foods that you know you will enjoy and sustain healthy eating habits.

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It will also help you analyse what you ate and what needs to be eliminated from your diet. It will also help you come up with alternates to unhealthy foods you wish not to consume in future.

She also high lights that you should eat your food intuitively. Avoid distractions while eating. Many watch a video, listen to music or read a book while eating. This often leaves them unsatisfied with the meal. Also, there is a possibility to under-eat or overeat.

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So, start writing down what you and how you felt and plan healthy meals for the coming days!

(Lovneet Batra is a Delhi-based Nutritionist)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.