The use of a journal that contains relevant and up to date information is important for enhancing weight loss success over the long term. Jay Alexander in his book “Beyond Self-Confidence” states that goals and aspirations written in a journal are twice as powerful for effecting change as compared to those that go unwritten. Another great advantage for using a journal is it will also allow the monitoring, measuring or modifying of a weight loss program as your needs change.
In order to be effective consistent entries must be made documenting food choices, exercise and weight loss results.
Consistency: Using a journal to record food choices, exercise routines or weight lost to date may seem like a lot of work but it will create accountability. This will help you to move effectively toward your goals. If you can visually see the progress being made each week the motivation to stay on track is easier to maintain. Recording your goals, results and efforts will produce a concrete record of your accomplishments also. Getting educated as well as using a journal to will help you stay on track will stabilize your weight loss results.
Food Journal Entries: Being able to monitor the kinds of foods you eat on a daily basis by making food journal entries is important. It is easy to eat food and just not pay attention to the amount and calorie count of the food. Making food entries in your journal that record all the food you eat in a week will inform you about your eating habits. For the first time you will be able to see how much food and what kind of foods you eat. With this information you can begin to modify through elimination those foods that are not contributing to your weight loss goals.
Exercise Journal Entries: Diligently making exercise journal entries will allow you to measure how many calories you are burning off each day as a result of your hard work. One of the advantages here is the comparison between how many calories are being consumed and how many calories are being burned off through exercise. This is the information that will allow you to modify your program for acceptable weight loss results. Find out how many calories are burned per hour for the exercise program you are using. This will allow you track and record the total calories burned during exercise.
Weight Loss Journal Entries: As you plan how many pounds per week you will lose through exercise and diet it is a good idea to make weight loss journal entries. You can use a small notebook or if you wish a poster board that can be tacked to the wall. In the journal you can track how much weight you have lost each week and how much weight you have lost so far. Weight lost will allow you to see how close to the finish line you are at any time. This will help keep your motivation level high and give you reason to feel good with each week of successful weight loss.