An honest look at my food

I used to be religious about keeping a food journal. I kept detailed notes about everything I ate and drank in a given day -- calories; fat, fiber, protein and carb grams; how many glasses of water I drank. Call me OCD, but I was new to running and I had a lot of goals for my mileage, my weight and nutrition. Immersing myself in those details helped me focus and meet those goals.

Fast foward. I'm a relatively seasoned runner now. I know my goal pace for any given run and I can pace myself with or without a watch. With one look, I can size up the nutrional value of a meal, and I drink 8-10 glasses of water as a habit. Although I'm proud of my progress, I've been thinking lately that all that progress has allowed me to become lazy. I think less about what my body needs and more about what I *want* to eat. By dinnertime, I've forgotten what I had for breakfast.

I read a story in the Chicago Tribune this morning that reminded me how valuable food journaling is and how it helped me focus on my overall fitness goals in the past. Food journaling helps you avoid mindless eating and make every meal count. It helps you identify patterns in your behavior. There's no judgement in a food journal. It's not about slapping yourself on the wrist. It's about taking an objective look at your food intake and making adjustments based on the facts.

Yes, it can be time consuming. But the information you get can be the difference between meeting a goal or not. Do what works for you. If you like details, track every bite. If you prefer the 30,000-foot view, keep it simple. There are dozens of paper and online journals that have fixed columns and rows, but you can also keep it simple in a spiral notebook.

Check out these journals:
WEbMD -- online, printable

What I Ate -- mini, unstructured, printed

DietMinder -- printed

Diet & Fitness Journal -- spiral bound

FitSuger Fitness & Food Journal -- online, downloadable

Thanksgiving salad? No thanks.

I've been a big fan of Tara Parker-Pope for a long time, but she made a lifer out of me this week. Her post Going Vegetarian for Thanksgiving makes me want to weep tears of joy. Finally! Someone gets it... we vegetarians don't just eat salads!

I wish I had a dime for every time someone said, "We'll make a salad so you have something to eat." It's a nice offer, but do meat eaters really think vegetarians exist on salad alone? Don't you realize we need a variety of choices and nutrients just like you do? Our palates aren't unrefined and we don't lack creativity in the kitchen. We just don't eat meat. For vegetarian athletes it's especially important to have options. Nutrition fuels our performance, and a steady diet of salads (or filling up on mashed potatoes) doesn't cut it.

Take a look at the side dishes on your Thanksgiving table. You probably have all the good stuff fall offers -- butternut squash, apples, pumpkin, mushrooms, pecans. They include carbs, protein and fat, and they can be prepared in flavorful ways without sacrificing nutrition. This Thanksgiving I'm declaring a moratorium on the infamous green salad. (Now here's hoping my well-intentioned family gets on board.)