Recently, a client of mine, let’s call her Samantha, was contemplating losing weight. I made a suggestion: I told her to start a food journal and to send it to me. Journaling is the best way to understand what’s going on. Plus, if Samantha had to send it to me, she would naturally start cleaning up her diet. She wasn’t happy with this suggestion—food journaling, if done right, is tedious. I would not only need to know what she was eating, but would also need to have an idea about portion sizes and how the food was prepared. Once I saw the look of horror on her face, I came up with another idea that was MUCH easier: I wanted Samantha to send me a photo of everything she was eating. She was in!
Within a day or two, I got clarity! Where were the fruits and vegetables? There were some, but not nearly enough. Once I pointed this out to her, within days, her photos started to change! Look at this before and after:
Here, she was eating some Japanese food, which is fine—this was seared tuna and beef rolls. But look at her plate! No colors.
Compare that to this colorful plate!
These photos told us a lot! Samantha was starting to change her habits, and was religiously journaling through photos. I was thrilled! It’s too early to know if Samantha will lose weight but I know for sure that she’s eating healthier and that’s what’s most important. (Stay tuned for Samantha’s progress! 😉)
Unless photos are photoshopped, they don’t lie. If you want to figure out what’s going on, start taking photos with your phone. The pictures will tell a great story, which might help you get clarity on where you’re going wrong.
Fitness Food and You 