If you do any kind of online research you will see that studies show that people who keep a food journal are fifty percent more successful on any diet plan. I don[t know about you, but I am always interested in increasing my success!
I always get asked why I keep a food journal even after the seven months I have worked with Dr. Jack. “Don’t you have the plan down yet? How long do you intend to do that?” I have lots of reasons but here are a few and why I keep the kind of journal that I keep.
So, first, I used the old paper and pencil method. Now I have used all kinds of apps on my phone for keeping track of my daily intake of food. I have used Spark people, my Fitness Pal, and my Food Diary to name a few. And I liked and disliked them all for a variety of reasons. But, when I started with Dr. Jack, he sent me a journal kind of one to keep. I printed out the pages and put them in a three ring binder and thought I would start with that and move to one on my smartphone. However, once I started with his, I kind of got hooked on it and found that I liked it.
First, each page is divided into three sections. In the first, you write down what you ate, how much and then the calorie count for the day. That is pretty standard with weight loss apps, but what I especially like is that I can spread out the papers at the end of the week and REALLY look at it. When my weight loss is slow or stagnant, it is easy to spot that I ate too much of one thing or another or that the way my calories are spread out might need some modification. It also has the plan right on the page, so you know what you can eat that day and what you should avoid.
The second section is a checklist of things you did, like taking supplements, how many hours you slept and how much water you drank. That helps too because again you can readily spot trends. When I don’t sleep enough? I am not helping my fat burning mode. If I get to the end of the day and my water is short, I try to squeeze in some more.
But what I especially like that I have not found on an app, is a column where you write down things that affected your eating that day. Do you know that column has proved to be the most useful in terms of data I keep? I have learned that certain things have huge impacts on what and how I eat. Stressful days? I noticed that when I don’t eat enough, stressful days are even worse and I am craving things. Days where I come home from school craving a snack are because I didn’t eat enough during the day. Salads, and their big chewing, crunching help me to feel like I ate tons more than I actually did.
As much as I love apps on the go, I find that writing things actually helps me process emotions and parts of my day, so that I can learn from myself! I have also found that my mood most definitely impacts my eating. And I have learned that when I know it is going to be a stressful day, I need to be prepared. I may never conquer emotional eating completely, but I know I am in a far better place than I was seven months ago, largely because I faithfully write it all down every single day.
I know people tell me how they don’t have time, and I want to yell, “Cut me a break!” I work two jobs sometimes six days a week, and I can take ten minutes from somewhere to do that. I also found that when I had bad weeks, I just send the copies along to Dr. Jack and he finds these itty bitty things that I don’t even realize are holding me back.
I also keep a weekly log of my weight, my muscle mass, and all those other numbers I used to dread. I try to stay off the scale but I check on Sundays and then I look at the trends there too. That helps me to stay focused and to realize what I can do to help things, and also to realize that I just have to exercise a little patience.
I am sure a day will come along when I will feel I don’t need it anymore…. maybe after I reach the goal, and maybe not. I may still do some of it just because it has been so helpful to me. I have learned a ton about myself by doing it, and while I have watched my size shrink, I have watched my thought process change from low self esteem to confident and assured. It has helped me stay focused and motivated. Was it worth the time??
ABSOLUTELY!!!!!