CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dear Cindy,

For several months, I've been exercising regularly and trying to eat healthy. I've lost a few pounds and feel much better and stronger, but I am not losing weight like I think I should. I am taking a group strength-training class three times a week and walking almost every evening. I walk very fast, so I should be burning calories. I think I need to lose about 20 pounds before I will feel lean. I have no more time to exercise more so it is probably my diet, but I have cut down portions. Any advice? -- Sandra

Dear Sandra,

You are certainly doing a lot of things right. Your exercise commitment is enviable and combining strength training with cardio walks will definitely pay off in the end. Your heart and lungs as well as your muscles will be strong with this program.

Your weight-loss goal, however, requires an emphasis on diet in addition to your physical activity. Losing those 20 pounds will involve a concentrated effort to count calories to ensure that at the end of most days you are in a calorie deficit.

How to affect eating behaviors?

The most successful way to keep our food choices and portions in check is to see them recorded in black and white. That's right -- a food log or diet journal is often the missing link on the weight-loss chain. Many shudder at the thought of putting everything they eat and drink down on paper, but those who hate it most probably need it most. It adds accountability into the weight-loss puzzle. It's true that being dedicated to your training will make you stronger, but if you can't budge the belly fat, your eating habits are highly suspect.

Why must I track my diet?

Losing weight is 70 percent about what we put in our mouth -- including beverages, which many people fail to truly recognize as calories. Food logs hold us responsible for what we say yes to each day. Writing down everything we pop in our mouth or gulp down on the run gives us a clear picture of why we fail to reach weight-loss goals.

Now, before you freak out about adding one more duty to your day, remember you may need to track these dietary habits only for 10 days to two weeks. This is enough time for patterns to emerge and to reveal why you're losing the battle of the bulge. Seeing when you eat is as important as when you don't eat because skipping meals can sabotage your exercise performance as well as your ability to shed pounds.

There's an app for that!

If you prefer higher-tech tracking, pick up an app for your phone. Surprised? Of course not. Actually there are many apps available that assist in this task and make tracking your diet easier to swallow. Lose It is a free app and one I prefer that allows you to search foods and beverages with a touch on your smart phone. It even has countless chain restaurant menu items from which to choose. In addition, it asks you to log in your physical activity each day so that it is clear the amount of calories burned compared to calories eaten. Because accuracy is the key to managing your diet, these apps are friendly tools for people on the run.

Dietary journals work

Studies show that the longer food logs are kept, the healthier food choices become. When you realize you must record every morsel, every snack and every sip, you tend to be more deliberate and to scrutinize what makes it into your mouth. So give it a try and track your eating habits for at least 10 days.

Then what?

How do you learn from this dietary journal? The first step is to observe how and when you eat and drink. Look at obvious flaws in patterns. Do you rarely eat in the morning and eat heavy at night? Do you grab fast food on the run and have few relaxed sit-down meals? Are you eating repetitiously with very little variety and color in your foods? It is filled with starchy carbs? These are some of the issues that will put weight on and keep it on. To feel and look lean you must eat lean.

If some of these flaws in your diet aren't apparent, take your log to a dietitian or nutrition expert. Look for credentials and spend time with them to uncover ways to improve and clean up your meals. Understand that your food log will not be perfect, but it will be the best indicator of your eating habits and can be a helpful tool in learning to eat for health.

Optimum goal

Ideally, your goal with a food log is to figure out how to achieve energy balance once you lose your 20 pounds. An energy balance (expending the same amount of calories through body maintenance and physical activity as you are consuming) is how you maintain your weight loss without drastic fluctuations.

A lean diet is filled with nutrients

Pay close attention to the quality of calories you consume. After all, if you are cutting calories, the ones you allow must be nutrient dense with good sources of protein and plenty of fiber. Active people can't live on small amounts of low-quality food. Water must be your primary source of hydration. Leave the sweet beverages, including diet drinks, in the store. And, when you are ready to cave and order the double-cheese pepperoni pizza, remember what a fellow boot-camper told me: Nothing tastes as good as lean feels. Not a bad title for a food log.

Cindy Boggs, corporate fitness presenter, author and Activate America director, has been an ACE-certified coordinator/instructor since 1989. Send your questions about fitness, training or health to YMCA of Kanawha Valley, 100 YMCA Drive, Charleston, WV 25311, or e-mail cindys...@aol.com. Look for Cindy's award-winning fitness advice book, "CindySays ... You Can Find Health in Your Hectic World" on her website, www.cindysays.com, or contact her at 304-342-3533.