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family<br />
28 wellness<br />
How A Family Food<br />
Journal Can Help<br />
If you’re thinking about putting<br />
your family on a diet, whether for<br />
the purpose of weight loss or then<br />
opting for a healthier lifestyle,<br />
keeping a food journal can help<br />
you reach your goal.<br />
Getting started: Start<br />
your family journal a week or so<br />
before you start making a change<br />
in the choice of foods. This will<br />
give you the opportunity to know<br />
your family’s weaknesses and<br />
strengths while making their<br />
choices of foods.<br />
Make your own rules:<br />
How much? What kind? When?<br />
Where? You decide what works<br />
best for you while jotting down<br />
the family food details. You could<br />
either divide them into different<br />
food groups or take pictures of the<br />
foods your family has eaten during<br />
the day to track how healthy or<br />
unhealthy your choices have been.<br />
You can then discuss the choices<br />
your family members are making<br />
and if they’re really helping<br />
everyone’s health.<br />
Assess your family’s<br />
goals: One of you might want to<br />
lose weight, the other more keen<br />
on building up muscle...a food<br />
journal will help you see where<br />
each individual is falling short of<br />
the boost needed to reach their<br />
goal.<br />
Have nutrition<br />
guidelines: Consult a<br />
nutritionist and have certain<br />
nutrition rules. At the end of the<br />
day you and your family can<br />
write down what you ate and<br />
check them against the nutrition<br />
guidelines that you have for the<br />
family. There are free, printable,<br />
family food journals with daily<br />
slots for five family members<br />
to record their daily intake, on<br />
the Internet. There are also food<br />
journaling apps available, which<br />
range from snapping photos to oldfashioned<br />
logging.<br />
Menu planning:<br />
Be realistic about your meal<br />
plans. You may have the best of<br />
intentions and not a lot of time.<br />
Take a look at your calendar and<br />
create a menu plan that will serve<br />
your family well. What kinds of<br />
healthy foods can you rustle up on<br />
busy days? What would you prefer<br />
on lazy Sundays? Use your grocery<br />
days for chopping and dicing for<br />
quick wraps and salads for times<br />
you don’t have much time to cook.<br />
Journal the family<br />
favourites: Everyone has a<br />
favourite dish. Include, at specific<br />
intervals, a family favourite. This<br />
will help the family members to<br />
not feel deprived.<br />
yourwellness.com
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