Where to Start on Your Health Journey

This can be a daunting process.

There is A LOT of information on the web of things to do, things to not do, but only YOU can know what works best for your body in the end.

Be empowered over your OWN body.

But how?

With the help of a food journal like AteMate.

A food journal is key. It provides valuable information as to what you're eating, when you're eating, and what sets AteMate apart, it allows you to reflect on HOW you felt too (now this here is valuable information!)

Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words and being able to see WHAT you actually ate rather than seeing numbers provides more information than you can imagine.

Let's touch on another important component, WHEN you ate. Do you actually remember when you eat throughout the day? Are you aware if you had a bite to eat between breakfast and lunch? Did your hunger change today compared to yesterday? Why try to rely on your own memory when a food journal can help you be aware of this. You have plenty of things to think about throughout the day. Don't put additional stress on yourself trying to remember when you actually had lunch and questioning yourself WHY you're so hungry later on when you're starving. Chances are, it's been quite some time since you last ate and it's time to eat again!

After journaling the what and the when, another important aspect of your eating is the HOW. Have you captured your feelings about how a meal made you feel? Are you feeling energized? Ready to take a nap? Bloated? Or just plain meh? Reflect on your meals throughout the day in order to build better habits going forward. Maybe that particular lunch was not what you needed for that day. However, without reflecting you won't be able to remember! Take the stress out of trying to remember all this and look back on the meals you had.

It's understandable how a food journal can be valuable to you, but how can it actually help you build healthy habits too?

1. It helps you understand your initial habits. 2. Allows you to see how things are going. 3. Takes out the guesswork when moving forward.

What's your initial intention in starting your food journal and going on your health journey? Why do you actually want to do this? Do you want to be healthier? Why do you want to be healthier? Is there something in particular you want to do? Maybe it's simply having more energy throughout the day.

How are you going to go about that?

Start with your normal routine. Journal EVERYTHING (and yes we mean everything). This is the time you'll be able to see what your initial habits are. Do this for a few days to a week to get a full idea.

From here look back. Look back on your reflections. How were those food choices? What are some things that you think you should switch around based on how you FELT during those initial days?

Felt sluggish at lunchtime because of that hamburger or pizza that you were ordering or buying from across the street? Did you have enough protein, complex carbs, healthy fats, and or veggies in that meal? What was a meal (or meals) that made you feel good? Why did they make you feel good?

From looking back and seeing where you felt good and what you want to continue or improve on, you can start making small changes.

> START SMALL.

It's not time for you to conquer everything at once!

Start with one small habit. Seeing a lack of color on your plate? Start by adding more color to your plates! Try to add a handful of veggies to a meal a day. Try upping that to two meals a day. Then look back and reflect. How did it make you feel?

Or another habit you may have observed: eating things from the bag/packaging, etc. Start by putting your food on a plate to be able to actually SEE the food that you are eating. Make sure you plate all your meals (including snacks). Then look back and reflect. How did these meals make you feel? Were you more aware of your choices?

These are two examples of where you can begin on your health journey and building healthy habits around food!

It's not about tackling the biggest problem immediately. It's about starting small and working your way up. Because yes, you can build those healthy habits. You've got the tools you need. Your AteMate food journal and yourself are all you need to reflect on how YOU feel about your food choices and how those foods make YOU feel. You have the power to do that!

> Feel empowered.

> Be empowered.