Food Log: Fill & Download for Free

I’ve written hundreds of training and diet plans at this point, and these are the things that I say most — not always, because my recommendations are actually customized — but quite often.Drink more water (2–3L per day)Get more sleep (7.5 hours minimum)Stop drinking so much (a bit is OK)Weigh yourself regularly.Keep a training logKeep a food logSkipping breakfast is fine (people often think they are doing wrong when they skip “the most important meal of the day”)Set protein to ~1.6g/kg. This is more for some people, less for others, compared to their “typical intake”.Supplements are overrated and most can be flushed down the toilet.You don’t need to go to failure but you should go quite close.I’d say that’s the biggest ten. Sometimes this advice (especially 2, 3, 4 and 9) is not received well, and thus we move into my favorite phase: negotiations.“OK, you can get 7 hours of sleep with 8 hours on weekends, 5 standard drinks per week but not all at once, two weigh-ins per week and you can keep the BCAAs, in return for a food and training log as well as hitting 1.6g/kg in protein. Deal?”Follow me on Instagram for daily diet and training tips! Subscribe to my YouTube channel for longer form, informative content.

If you don’t keep a food log, you will fail. That’s a truth you can take to the bank.Beyond that, it’s simple. Eat and lift. There’s plenty of good advice on specific lifting programs and your situation is not special, so go find it.

Exercise is key to weight maintenance. I’ve noticed that the people who are most successful at maintaining weight loss continue to exercise regularly and monitor their food intake. Many people don't realize that as we lose weight, our metabolism will be lower than it used to be, so we’ll need less food. If we maintain our old eating habits without modifications, we’ll be at risk for gaining that weight back.Stress management, though we don’t typically associate it with nutrition, is so important. A lot of us are emotional eaters and will reach for that bag of chips when we’re not even paying attention. Find methods to deal with stress you’re facing. Some ways people who are successful do this are going for a walk, meditating, exercising, or picking up a hobby.Last, food logging. Tracking your food can help you to continue to be mindful during your weight maintenance efforts. It’s not the most fun thing to do by any means, but it is very effective. In almost all cases where a patient is struggling with weight loss or weight maintenance, they’re consuming too much without realizing it. Food logging will help to identify areas you can improve on.