During treatment, it is important that you record everything that you eat or drink, and what is going on at the time. We call this 'self-monitoring'. Its purpose is two-fold: first, it provides a detailed picture of how you eat, thereby bringing to your attention and that of your therapist the exact nature of your eating problem; and second, by making you more aware of what you are doing at the very time that you are doing it, self-monitoring helps you change behaviou which may have previously have seemed automatic and beyond your control. Accurate "real-time" monitoring is central to treatment. It will help you change.
At first, writing down everything that you eat may be irritating and inconvenient, but soon it will become second nature and of obvious value. We have yet to encounter anyone whose lifestyle made it truly impossible to monitor. Regard it as a challenge.
Look at the sample monitoring record to see how to monitor. A new record (or records) should be started each day.