why its a good idea to keep a food and activities journal

one of the first things i realized when i began to listen to the Angels was the importance of keeping track of what we eat, when we eat and how we feel when we're eating it.

there are many many reasons why it is helpful to keep such a diary or journal, but the immediate benefit i saw in the beginning was that it gave me a really clear picture of what i was REALLY eating (or not, as the case might have been.)

i always believed i ate a balanced, healthy diet. i knew all about the Four Food Groups and the Food Pyramid. i knew about RDA's and vitamins and minerals and proteins and good carbs and bad carbs. i've raised six children and all of them are healthy. so i thought i knew what i was doing.

it wasn't until i made my first few Angel lists that i began to see that while i might be feeding my chldren a healthy diet, i wasn't necessarily eating it along with them. i saw immediately that there were lots of missing colors in my individual rainbows. i also saw how i tended to deny myself by forgetting to eat - that i could go as long as EIGHT hours a day with nothing more than a banana and a couple pots of coffee in my system. i remember how surprised i was when i laid all my lists out and did my first assessment. i was more than surprised, actually... i was shocked.

this is why, in the beginning, especially, until such things as complete proteins and rainbows are habits, it's very helpful to keep track. you don't have to create a fancy spreadsheet either (let me know and i can send you mine!)... a running list will do.

although from time to time ive tried using the spreadsheet, i found that keeping my food list as part of my daily schedule helps me to get a clearer picture of my days. it also reminds me to include time for exercising and meditating in my list of Stuff To Do.

some people have found that including their food and activities as part of their personal journals can also work. so do experiment with what works for you - there are no right or wrong ways to follow the Angels' Guidelines - there's only what feels right for YOU.

it can also help to post your food and activity lists as part of a community. over the next few days, i will be posting mine in separate blog entries for each day. please feel free to list yours in the comments section if you like. we are all unique individuals, and we will all be drawn to different kinds of foods. our food choices will reflect our diversity, because the Guidelines encourage us to eat what helps us feel good about ourselves, not just what someone says is good for us.