Successful Weight Loss Programs ALL Need This - Few Include It…
Dieting - losing weight - trimming the waistline, whatever you want to call it, if - You Don’t Know What You Are Doing Wrong - You Can’t Change! Successful weight loss programs should always include a journal.
Each body gets it’s extra weight from different sources. Before you can find the most successful weight loss programs to take it off, you have to know (from your journal) where it came from. Anything you can’t find a way to measure, can’t be improved.
Weight loss is a one-step-at-a-time process. To get healthy results that are fast and long lasting, we need to go back to the basics. In other words, we need to find out what we are doing wrong before we can change.
Keeping a daily food journal is the first and smartest step to take. Your food journal is just what the name says, it’s a record of your daily eating habits. It can be truly complex with tons of details or it can be clean and basic. Either method will work to help you stick to any successful weight loss programs you attempt.
Your food journal could record a wide variety of useful data. Most basic, just write down everything you eat every day. This quick and easy step will give you unexpected data - guaranteed. You’ll soon start to see patterns in the way you eat. You’ll discover - never before noticed - bad eating habits that you hadn’t even considered.
It’s our habits and daily patterns that make us succeed (or fail) in any aspect of our lives. We habitually do things without even noticing. Your good as well as your bad habits and patterns will quickly emerge once you begin writing everything down in your food journal. After your habits have been exposed, it’s a simple matter to find the successful weight loss programs to counteract them.
Many food journals include portion sizes, protein, fiber, fat, calories and other nutrients. It IS a lot of work but it’s valuable information and definitely worth the time and extra effort. It won’t be long before humongous mistakes start to appear. What, why, when and how much you eat will start to take on a whole new meaning.
You could move from the strictly factual journal into more of a diary format. You could write down triggers that make you eat even when it’s not for hunger. You can record your cravings, how your weight loss program is affecting you on a daily basis and your inner feelings. There are many formats and things you can write. The key to keep in mind is that it’s YOURS! Make it any way you want.
Your food journal isn’t something you have to worry about anyone else reading. It’s not like a traditional diary that you keep by the bed with a lock and key. Face it, reading a list of what you ate that day isn’t exactly tabloid fodder. (Unless your life actually IS tabloid fodder. Then you should hide your journal.)
Save your money, you don’t have to go out and buy some fancy leather bound journal. Use whatever tools work best for you when creating your food journal. A pad of paper and a pen work just fine. You could make an Excel type spreadsheet on your computer - or any other type of word processing program. Keep the icon on your desktop for easy access and so you don’t forget where it is in your computer.
Whether you choose a simple notebook you slip into your pocket or purse…a voice recorder, palm pilot, laptop or any other device, pick something that fits your lifestyle. The whole idea is to make it easy to maintain and something you will actually do - EVERY DAY!
Remember, updating your food journal every day and reviewing it at the end of each week is the key to finding those unwanted habits and patterns and keeping track of your progress. For finding quick ways to lose weight, your journal is far more valuable as a weight loss tool than your scale!
Reaching specific goals and milestones deserves a reward. Give yourself an “ATTABOY” or “ATTAGIRL”. No, don’t celebrate with a tub of ice cream. This may seem hokey, but go out and buy some of those gold star stickers that the first graders like so much. Whenever you deserve a reward, put one in your journal. Believe it or not, seeing all those gold stars can be pretty motivating and they’ll become very important to you. They aren’t fattening, either.
Don’t beat yourself up over minor setbacks. We all have them. Just look through your journal, find out what went wrong and change it. Pretty soon, you’ll be back on track for your daily gold star.
Your doctor can offer a lot of good advice and keep you healthy and safe. Be sure to take your food journal with you, and show it to them, when you visit your doctor. Also, always get a physical before starting any diet or exercise regimen.
It’s a little extra work, but a food journal works wonders for most of the people who keep one. Consider starting yours today- it’s the best method for finding quick ways to lose weight!