♠ Posted by Unknown in Quick Weight Loss at 3:47 ص
As a child, you may have kept a diary to record your daily activities,
your hopes, and your fears. If you wrote
in the diary each day, it might have seemed as if the diary itself had become
one of your best friends. As you grew
older, the diary might have become a record of your job search, love life, or
wedding plans. Psychologists, in fact,
tell us that writing down your goals can be the first step to achieving
them. It has been demonstrated that
individuals who kept a written record of their hunt for employment were more
likely to find the job they wanted than those who did not.
It’s not surprising, then, that some dieticians recommend keeping a food
diary or journal if you’re hoping to lose weight. If you’re not accustomed to writing, the idea
can seem a bit daunting at first. After
all, if you don’t seem to have the time to record all of your baby’s “firsts”—the
first words, the first steps, the first day of reciting the alphabet—how can
you be expected to find the time to write down everything that passes through
your lips? It’s a valid question;
however, if you stop to consider just how much time you spend eating, surely
you can find the time to write down what you eat.
The key to keeping a food diary
is motivation. You have to have a desire
to record your food choices. One good
way to do this is to place a picture of your heaviest self onto the cover of a
notebook. Also, make sure that you keep
the notebook in full view, either on your bedside table or on the kitchen
table. This could provide you with just
the incentive you need to make note of what you’re eating. Another motivating factor could be to log
your daily weight at the beginning of each diary entry. That way, you can see if your dietary choices
are having an effect on your weight. If
you find that you are shedding pounds, you can affix a gold star next to your
entry. The gold star can provide the
psychological boost necessary to continue to lose weight.
Of course, the next question you’ll face is: What exactly should I write down for each
entry? To begin with, just include a
running list of foods, along with portion sizes. You might be surprised to find out not only
what you’re eating, but also how large the portions are. Next, categorize each food entry. Is it a fruit, vegetable, whole grain, or
fat? Such information could be vitally
important in determining where your excess pounds are coming from.
You can also use your journal for meal planning. If you think about what you should eat ahead
of time, you’ll be less likely to indulge in the wrong foods. Such planning can make you feel more organized
and more in control—two important elements for losing weight.
If you indulge in comfort food every
once in a while, don’t panic. Eating
high-calorie foods occasionally can help prevent a feeling of deprivation which
can lead to overeating. The key is to
eat “bad foods” in moderation. It is
also important that you write down everything you eat, including fatty
foods. Trying to hide your food choices
by not writing them down is counter-productive and could lead to feelings of
guilt.
Yet another helpful idea is to write down your goal weight each
day. This can be an important element of
psychological warfare. Knowing what your
goal is—and mapping out a way to get there—can improve your chances of
achieving critical milestones.
Also, when possible, try to make
your diary experience fun. Do your
writing on the patio, by the pool, or in your bathtub. Set the mood by playing some of your favorite
music in the background. Decorate your
diary by using colored pens or colorful stickers. Whatever you can do to make your diary-keeping
chores more interesting will certainly be helpful.
Be aware of the fact that it
could take you a while to get into the diary-keeping habit. But, once you see those pounds melt away,
you’ll find it’s well worth the investment of time and energy.
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