Kicking It VIII: Track meals in a food diary

Special to Village News

It all starts with a food diary. You know that small, red Atkins Carb Counter? It is my bible. Starting out, everything that went in my mouth went in my diary.

For months I noted every morsel of food whether it was a half a cup of peas or a tablespoon of fat free diet ranch dressing, an ounce of ham, 1/2 cup of green beans, a cup of lettuce greens, a teaspoon of jam or even a smear of butter – it all went in the food diary.

At first, meat was weighed on our new food scale. An ounce isn’t very much, one adjusts. For instance, an ounce of ham is enough to scramble into an...