Product Review: Ultimate Food Tracker

What's one of the most essential components of weight loss success?

Keeping track. Logging what you eat, how much you eat, nutrition information, emotions and exercise is essential information-gathering. It enables you to compare, for example, how many calories you ate in a day to what your goal is. It helps you to realize, perhaps, that you lean towards eating in times of stress. Simply logging and reviewing your journal helps you overcome obstacles to health and weight loss success. It can help your dietitian work with you more effectively to reach those goals too. Not to mention, it sure does help you maintain accountability to your goals.

What's equally as important?

An easy way to keep track. There's a variety of ways to log this information and the right tool for the job is different for everyone.

If keeping track on paper (versus electronically) works for you, then The Ultimate Food Tracker made by Around the Plate could just be perfect. It's created by someone who definitely knows her stuff when it comes to food and nutrition, a Registered Dietitian. Since I'm a Nutrition Expert in the Around the Plate online community, I was given the opportunity to trial my own complimentary copy in order to pass along my opinion and review to my readers and clients.

The Ultimate Food Tracker is fun, yet discreet. The cover comes printed in a variety of styles and colors (you can even order your own custom style), but can also be easily disguised as a regular-old-notebook if you're not so keen on everyone knowing your dieting business. It's not bulky, and only 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches in size, so it's easy to tote around--essential if you're taking food journaling seriously. Each day has it's own page for recording what you eat and how much water you drink with separate sections for each meal and snack. There's already neat little lines to record whatever nutrient you're tracking, which makes it suitable for any nutrition plan. One detail that I particularly like is the line at the top of each page to record your goal. That way it always stays fresh in your mind! There's plenty of room in the margins to write whatever else you want, but the only two things I miss are: a dedicated space to write notes (how you're feeling that day or when you eat) and a line to tally up your daily totals. It's super clean and super easy, to use which makes it a very effective tool.

The Tracker also gives you some sound advice that all food journals don't, and again, it comes from the experts in the field. On page 2, you'll find advice on setting achievable goals and how to use the Tracker most effectively to do so. It's definitely a good choice to help you stay on the path toward reaching your nutrition goals (and a good buy at only $8 for a month of pages).

More information about the Ultimate Food Tracker is available in thePlate Boutique, where you can also order your own.