I recently filled in a food journal for three consecutive days. I was surprised at how this exercise in discipline (writing down everything I ate) revealed habits that I wasn’t totally aware of. While I had never done this before, I think it can be very helpful in exposing some of the little (or big) problems with our nutritional habits. I did this because I just began a two-month nutrition consultation with sports nutritionist and world-class runner, Alicia Shay. Basically I’m hoping to increase my energy, feel better and improve my running performance. Regardless of whether it is for the purposes of “finding” more energy, losing weight, or simply becoming more conscious of what we are eating, the following are nine reasons I think a food journal can be helpful: [Read more…]