The diary is a powerful tool that holds a mirror up to your eating and exercise habits. It uses the principle of self-surveillance (monitoring yourself) to help you change your behaviours, with the proof being the results on the scales.
Why should I keep a diary?
- It keeps you honest
- It’s the best way to manage your energy balance
- It’s evidence of where you’re going right, and when you’re going wrong
- It allows you to chart improvements in your diet, fitness and health over time.
It’s worth investing 5-10 minutes each day to complete your diary.
What should I record?
- Everything you eat and drink
- Your exercise sessions
- Your weight, measurements and photos
- Any thoughts or comments you might have
- Your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose details
When should I record it?
It’s best to enter any food or drinks as soon as you eat them – otherwise you might forget what you’ve eaten.
You can enter your:
- Breakfast and morning tea in the ‘Morning’ section
- Lunch and afternoon tea in the ‘Afternoon’ section
- Dinner and supper in the ‘Evening’ section
If you can’t access the diary regularly throughout the day, you can print a PDF diary, jot down what you’re eating then enter it online at the end of the day.
Alternatively, you can try planning your day in advance by filling in your diary the night before. You can then print it and follow it like a menu plan, logging in at the end of the day to make any necessary adjustments.
Time-savers
There are two features of the diary that can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes you to enter your food and exercise. These are:
1. Combos
Combos are collections of food or exercises that you eat or do regularly. For example, your regular breakfast (cereal, milk, fruit and coffee) or current gym circuit (treadmill, weights, bike, swiss ball). Once you’ve made a combo, you can add it to your diary by:
- Clicking ‘Add food or exercise’
- Searching for the name of your combo
- Selecting the combo from the list of search results
2. Quick add
When you’re searching for a food or exercise, you may notice that items you’ve previously added to your diary appear at the top of the search results, highlighted with a star. Clicking one of these items will instantly add it to your diary along with the last entered portion or time.
Keep in mind that your first few visits to the diary might take a few minutes. Once you’ve set up some combos and have a few items in your quick add list, you should be able to record each meal within 60 seconds.
Creating new foods
The Club’s food database is extensive. However, if you can’t find a food item and you have its nutrition label, you can add that food to your own personal database by going to the My Foods page. On that page you can enter the food’s name, energy (in kilojoules or calories) and other nutritional information, such as saturated fat and protein. Once you’ve saved this food, you’ll be able to search for it and add it to your diary like any other food or exercise.
Menu plans and exercise programs
To add your entire menu and exercise program into your diary, view the week ahead in My Program and click ‘add to diary’.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add a food or exercise?
- Go to the diary and click ‘Add food or exercise’
- Enter the name of the food/exercise is the search box
- Click to select your food/item from the list of search results
- Confirm the portion size or duration, then click ‘Save’. You only need to save the item if you are changing the portion/duration from the default.
How do I change an entry?
To change any diary entry be it a food, exercise, weigh-in or health log, you simply click it and make any adjustments necessary, then click ‘Save’.
How do I add a weigh-in?
A message will appear at the top of the diary when you’re due to weigh-in. Simply click the link that appears with the message and follow the prompts from there.
What if I can’t find the food/exercise I’m looking for?
If you cannot find a food or exercise in the diary database, you can click on the ‘Can’t find it link’ at the bottom of the search results. This will send a request through to our team who will try and track down the information and get it added to our database.
How do I add a comment?
- Go to the diary and scroll to the bottom of the page
- In the ‘other records’ section, click ‘Comment’
- Enter your comment and click, ‘Add to diary’
How do I add a combo?
- Go to the diary and click ‘Add food or exercise’
- Search by the name of your food or exercise combo
- Select the combo from the search results
How do I make an express entry?
- Go to the diary and click ‘Add food or exercise’
- Search ‘Express’
- Select either ‘Express food’ or ‘Express exercise’, type in a note or a name (e.g. various snacks) and the calories, then click ‘Save’
How do I upload a photo?
Photos can be uploaded with your official weekly weigh-in. You can upload one photo each week.
My calendar doesn’t observe a normal week?
The calendar that appears on the left-hand side of the diary reflects your program week. The first day of the week is the day you’re due to get your program. You can change the day your program becomes available in the My Profile section.