Keeping A Food Journal

6:40 AM - 1 bowl oatmeal with slivered almonds. 1 6oz. can V8 juice. Decaf coffee. 

Oh yes, this is my life. Writing down every bit of food and drink that passes through my lips. I've been assured by books and been-there-done-it individuals that the best way to lose weight is to track your food. And the best way to track your food is to write it down. So I've got my little kitchen journal where I duly record what I eat. 

3:40 PM - 1/2 pbj sandwich, 1 green apple, 1 leftover piece of veggie pizza

I'm only on Day 5 and it's been an eye-opening experience. People - I eat a LOT of food. Wow. So much for the "I must have a slow metabolism" excuse. Um, no. Piggy just can't stop eating. 

To my credit, I eat fairly healthy things. A handful of almonds (which a book I'm reading just referred to as "little fat bombs"), whole grain bread with honey, soy yogurt, high fiber cereal... The issue, as has become apparent, is I eat gobs of this stuff. Especially at night. My little journal is pristine for the early morning hours but as the clock edges toward 6 PM, food entries start getting crammed in the margins. I apparently have a cereal addiction that kicks in about 8:30 each night. 

8:45 PM - 1 small bowl cereal w/soy milk. Decaf green tea.

It's helping, though. This weekend when Blair and I went grocery shopping they were passing out free samples of some berry-granola bar. I started to reach for the sample then thought, "No, I don't want to have to record this," and walked by. That was probably 80 calories saved right there. When I'm cooking, I usually nibble on food as I'm preparing it. That's stopped as I don't want to have to write down, "1/2 a carrot, handful of grapes, 1/4 pita wedge, chunk of sweet potato, etc." for an entry. 

And my big win - at Saturday's 10K race I managed to leave the race without eating a Krispy-Kreme doughnut. That is HUGE. I'm a doughnut addict of Homer Simpson like proportions. Dena does not walk away from doughnuts. Period. Except I did. Because I didn't want to have to write down that I ate one. 

Lest anyone think I'm sobbing over back issues of Cosmo at night, wishing I was model thin, that's not it. This summer is all about the quest for the under 4-hour marathon. The less you weigh, the faster you run. That's my motivation. And I'm not starving myself, by any means. I'm aiming more toward making better food choices on a consistent basis and having a splurge like a piece of cake be a splurge and not something I eat just because it's there. 

So my question is... does journaling about food count as writing time?? ;)