Yesterday, I talked about setting up a journal to help motivate you and keep you on track for reaching your weight loss goals. Today I’m going to give you some specific directions on how to set one up. I need to point out though that the journal must be useful for you. Perhaps what was useful for me, my methodologies, and the way I set mine up is not what’s going to be useful for you. So please take whatever ideas you find helpful. Please disregard whatever is going to hinder you in your progress.
A journal is all about honesty. It’s the one place where you can say things like, “I ate the donut even though I shouldn’t have. . .because I was mad.” It’s the one place where you can let it all hang out–the good bad and ugly. In fact, if you’re not honest, it doesn’t work. The point is to be honest so that you can pin point specific behaviors that are leading you towards eating more or eating unhealthily.
If You Aim for Nothing, You’ll Get There Every Time
This has to be one of my favorite sayings of all time. If you have no goals–you can’t achieve them. So you have to start by setting goals.
On the first page of your journal, post a current picture of yourself. Your picture will be more helpful and revealing if you wear a swim suit for it. I know, I know. Some of you are cringing at the thought but trust me. . .you’ll be thrilled to buy a new swim suit and have your picture taken in it when your current one is too big! So go ahead. . .get in that swimsuit and get that picture. You’ll need to update this picture monthly.
Secondly, list one goal. No more or no less. Just one goal that will lead to a healthier lifestyle. You are likely thinking that you have a whole slew of goals to list. . .why limit yourself? Because you can reach one goal. You can stick to one goal all week long and make it a habit. If you write down all of your goals, then you are likely to fail. It is hard to change habits, and to change a whole bunch of them all at once is nearly impossible for most of us. So stick to one goal that will lead you to weight loss.
Good goals might include drinking more water, eating a certain amount of fruits and vegetables per day, or getting some exercise every day. Remember not to set lofty goals but rather increase gradually over time. If your goal is to exercise one hour five times per week and you current don’t exercise at all–why not set your goal at 10 minutes per day? It’s not the ideal but it is closer than you are now to reaching your ideal goal.
I Have My Goal–Now What?
For me, my first goal was to drink more water. So at the top of every page I listed the date, how much water I drank that day and whether or not I achieved my goal. If I didn’t meet the goal I wrote why. Then I wrote down everything I ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I even included the bite I had of this or that and the drinks I had. I also wrote down feelings, thoughts on my behavior or other information that I felt pertinent to how I ate. I realized that I ate more when I was sleepy. I also ate more unhealthily when I didn’t have my snacks planned out and when I took my kids to lessons. So my next two goals dealt with getting more sleep and planning out snacks.
In this way, it is possible to achieve a lasting weight loss and a healthier lifestyle.