The first step

The best way to decide where you want to go is to find out where you are now. You have written your reasons, your goals and potential barriers so the next step is the first step to a new you.
You will need to maintain a food diary for the next seven days.  Do not change a thing, carry on as normal.  You will then be able to see where changes can be made. Your food diary should show;

• The date and time of eating or drinking 
• An accurate record of what is eaten or drunk. For example, 'Roast dinner', is not accurate. Show, 1 chicken leg, 3 boiled potatoes, 3 roast potatoes, dessert spoon of peas and dessert spoon of carrots.
• Mood and/or situation. The type of food eaten is often tied in with your mood. Record what mood you were in when you made your food/drink entry.  Situation is also important. You could be at a buffet, picking at food or sat in front of the TV/computer snacking on biscuits or chocolate!
• You will also need to record your activity/exercise.  This could include gardening, car washing or spring cleaning.  Record how long the activity carried on for. If exercising, record what you carried out in terms of CV or weight workout.

The golden rule for completing your diary is, if it goes in your mouth it goes in your diary. Make your record as near as the time eating etc occurred.  If you leave it to the end of the day you will forget something!

Next time we will look at common outcomes and pitfalls and see how you can move past them.