How to Maintain a Diet Journal for Life

Buy a steno-pad. You could also buy a cover for the steno-pad which has pockets but this is optional. Using a word processing program such as Microsoft's Word is a great way to organize your diet journal electronically. Save your work by month and year in separate folders to your hard drive.

Make a calendar on the first page of the pad, starting with Sunday on the first line, then Monday on the second line, Tuesday on the 3rd line, etc. for the entire week. Leave a line open after Saturday, then start again with Sunday. Put the day of the month beside each day of the week. There should be two columns of days, Sunday through Saturday.

At the top of each column, put the words: "Calories", "Weight", and "Exercise".

Put a paper clip at the bottom of the page to mark this page as the one to return to at the end of the day.

Write down everything you eat and the number of calories/kilojoules. Start with day one of journal (next page). If you're on the Weight Watcher's™ program, also add the highly recommended points.

Total up your calories/points at the end of the day and go back to your first page and record the total number of calories/kilojoules consumed that day.

Record how you feel, your emotions and the temptations that you resisted on your daily diet pages. Don't forget to also add what kind of exercise you did and for how long, and anything else about your day that is relevant.

Try having 4 days on one page. just divide the page into 4 equal sections with pen and use smaller writing. This helps you get an overview of your progress. Alternatively, you can choose to have one page devoted per diet day if you want, so you can make more entries, (e.g., emotions, exercise etc.).

Total up everything at the end of the week. On your main calendar page, total up the total number of calories/kilojoules/points at the end of the week. Also record your weight. Once you get a whole book filled, you will see how many calories/points it takes to maintain a certain weight, and you can see the weeks where you have lost or gained weight. You may also learn the triggers that cause you to eat more or less food.