Does keeping a food diary help you lose weight?

There are many ways of eating or eating trends to lose weight. However, nutritionists say that there is only one general formula: balancing energy input and output, combined with a healthy lifestyle.

Eating while watching TV can lead to overweight and obesity - Illustration photo

Diet is very important for weight loss.

According to Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung - National Institute of Nutrition, to successfully lose weight, you need a scientific diet plan, an active lifestyle, compliance and it needs to be individualized.

According to Dr. Hung, all weight loss diet programs have one thing in common, which is the need to reduce energy input compared to energy output over time.

Because if you do not reduce calories, overweight and obese people will not be able to lose weight. However, if you reduce calories too much, it can make you feel dissatisfied and affect your daily activities, as well as your work and study performance.

This leads to cravings and an inability to control food intake, especially when there are delicious foods, resulting in more "violent" weight gain than before.

Therefore, to limit this condition, it is necessary to reduce energy gradually, avoiding reducing daily calories beyond 500 Kcal/day or depending on the commitment of the person who wants to lose weight.

"There is no perfect energy number because each individual has different calorie needs for weight loss based on weight, height, medical history, activity level and other factors.

Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the amount of calories intake over time to get safe and sustainable results," said Dr. Hung.

How to plan a diet for weight loss

One is to determine your calorie needs and determine how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in the appropriate proportions in your daily diet. From there, determine how many main meals and snacks you should have per day.

Second, write down what you want to eat. Take some time to make a list of your meals and snacks.

Third, you should not eat too much, you should prepare meals in just the right amount, avoid the situation where you feel like you have to force yourself to finish all the food that has been prepared, or you have to leave leftover food for the next meal, which does not ensure food hygiene and safety.

Fourth, keep a food diary. In fact, sometimes you may eat more than you think and eat very little.

When you keep a food diary, you will be able to control what you have eaten, how much you have eaten, whether you have overeaten any food, and whether you have diversified your dishes and foods.

Doing so can make your life easier. Plus, you'll know what you like and you won't have to think too hard about what to eat next.

Five is to stock your refrigerator properly. Avoid always having your refrigerator full of food.

Before storing food in the refrigerator, divide it into small packages, suitable for each meal, note the name of the food and the date and time of starting to store it in the freezer for timely use.

Limiting the amount of food you like to eat in the refrigerator is one way to limit overweight and obesity.

Is it easy to follow a diet to lose weight?

Dr. Hung says following a meal plan to lose weight may not be as easy as you think.

So you need to plan, prepare in advance and keep a food diary to help reduce daily stress and make you feel more satisfied and have a better quality of life.

For adults, if your goal is to lose a few pounds, a balanced meal plan with simple recipes is essential to maintaining that goal.

For children in the growing age, planning to lose weight or slow down the weight gain process needs to be very careful and should have the opinion of nutrition experts. The reason is that the child's body is still developing and growing, so if the child loses weight in an extreme way, it will seriously affect the child's physical development.

Meal planning can help keep you on track, no matter what your nutritional goals are. Preparing, planning, and keeping a food diary doesn't have to be time-consuming or complicated.

"Finding the right weight loss formula for your body and lifestyle is not easy. With a little time, planning, preparation, and careful food journaling, following a nutritional diet to lose weight becomes easier.

We realize that meal plans and food journaling for weight loss may not be suitable for everyone, especially those with irregular eating habits," Dr. Hung shared.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ghi-nhat-ky-an-uong-co-giup-giam-can-20250218123954222.htm