So, are you keeping a diary?

By diary I'm not talking about the one where you gush over that beautiful looking guy or gal you met while standing in line at Starbucks getting a grande mocha with whip cream and caramel on top. I think that's like 500 calories or something. I rather eat McDonalds hah.

But seriously, what I'm talking about is a food diary.
You see, the problem with a lot of people when they first start trying to lose belly fat is that in the intitial consultation, they say that their diet is pretty good with a few exceptions of dessert here or there, etc. However, what they never talk about is the actual amount of food they are eating per meal; basically the size of their portions.

This is one of the biggest factors when it comes to losing weight and dieting. It is especially hard in the beginning.

Normally, the person might eat good, but they just eat way too much. This is obviously a bad thing since a pound of fat equals 3,500 calories and can add up real quick.
So an easy way to keep track of everything is to keep a food diary.

It can sort of be related to taking a picture of yourself in the mirror with your clothes off or on to see what your body really looks like and to understand how much weight you really do have to lose. A picture doesn't lie and neither will your diary as long as you write everything down.
You can do this before you embark on your diet or during it to make sure you stay the course.
It's pretty simple, you don't need a giant notebook, just one of those little scribble pads that you can pick up anywhere.

Each time you eat something or drink something write it down. Preferably you want to write down as much detail as possible. The more detail the better because the more feedback you will get.
So for each meal, I want you to write down the calories for that meal, as well as the amount of carbs, proteins, and fats.

At the end of the day, tally each number up. At the end of the week I want you to tally all of the numbers up and weigh yourself. If you lost a pound without exercise, then you created a deficit of 3,500 total calories, or about 500 calories per day.

And the same goes for the reverse, if you gained a pound without exercise, than you ate in excess of 500 calories a day or 3,500 total for the week.

Use your diary as a tool to keep yourself on track and be real with yourself. If you lie to yourself about how much you eat then you are only hurting yourself in the long run.