:: EVERY.SINGLE.THING ::

Becoming aware of my eating habits has been pretty eye opening. When I first started working with my nutritionist, she told me to write down everything I was eating for 30 days. She said, "EVERY.SINGLE.THING." In the first week, I was shocked at how many extra calories I was consuming by nibbling. I usually did okay during the morning, but as soon as lunch hit I was like Cookie Monster. Num! Num! Num!

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As I was cleaning up lunch, I would always eat the remaining bites of whatever from Piper's plate. As soon as dinner prep started, so did my munching. I ate an entire meals worth of calories from 'tasting'. Then after dinner, rather than boxing up the (barely there) leftovers, I'd just finishing them. It was easier. Then I liked to have a little snack before bed even though I was totally stuffed. I was honestly shocked as I totaled up 900+ non-meal calories IN ONE DAY! 

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Writing EVERY.SINGLE.THING. down really made the difference. In the past when I've participated in Weight Watchers, the weeks I would lose are the weeks I journaled my food. My laziness always gets the best of me. Using a journal is often a pain, so I got to the point where I wouldn't eat the extra snack so I didn't have to write it down. As I started this, I was consistently losing about 5-6 lbs a month. SLOW, but extremely steady. It happened 3 months in a row. 

There are so many free journaling tools out there. These are the few that I've used.

MyFitnessPal.com

ChooseMyPlate.gov (seriously... Did you all know the Food Pyramid we grew up is no longer? For my job I've been updating our course content to reflect the USDA's new food recommendations. This site is totally cool and very helpful. Check it out!)

Self.com (They've got a contest going on right now for all of you weight losers out there)

WeightWatchers.com (although this one costs a few bucks a month)

It will make all of the difference in the world. It not only prevents you from eating to much, it helps to make sure you're eating enough.  What other food journaling programs/techniques have you used?