Food diaries are an excellent self-monitoring method for those who like to be in control of their weight loss. For seven days, stick to your usual pattern of eating. Each day, enter everything that’s passed your lips, however small. Then you’ll have a good idea of what needs modifying and by how much.
Obviously, if there are several take-aways and other high fat foods, cutting those out would be a start. But if that’s not the case, and what you’re eating looks OK, then just reduce the amount. Either way, use your food diary as the basis for the changes you wish to make.
Then take the next seven days and write down exactly what you’re going to stick to. Think of what you’re going to eat and drink, and what exercise you want to include. Where food is categorised, create a list of prohibited food and ‘treat’ food. And then write down the food you can eat in generous amounts.
As far as alcohol is concerned, keep it to a minimum. Write down when it’s not allowed, and when and how much it is allowed. Cans of soft drinks containing sugar are out. Next comes physical exercise, and whether it’s a walk in the park, or visits to the gym – write it down.
Accurately weigh yourself the morning your regime starts. Each week, repeat the process, modifying your plan according to the results you’re achieving. Make a note of your weight in your diary once a week.
With a plan like this, you’re in complete control. It’s a good idea to add useful comments each day to illustrate what’s helpful and what’s not. Mark down which days you completed your proposed exercises. Monitoring your weight and health is so much more manageable with a personal record.
Do keep your expectations reasonable though. At first, it seems to be all effort and no reward! Patience and perseverance are everything. Keeping up your motivation is sometimes tough, so try to dwell on the end result and the joy it will bring!
If you lose your way for a short while, try to get back on track quickly. It could be that you should look at altering your diet. There are some relatively easy ways to introduce more exercise. A thirty minute routine three times a week is a good habit to get into.
Feel good about every pound you lose. Quantifying the results you achieve makes dieting a great deal easier to maintain long-term. You may not want to splash out on clothes until all the weight has come off. But you could spoil yourself with a pamper session when you reach a mini-goal.
(C) Scott Edwards. Try WeightLossDietWar.com for smart advice on dieting and weight loss help.
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This post was written by Scott Edwards on August 31, 2009
The good news is that these changes are, in large part, the result of inactivity and can be reversed with exercise. Diet