Health, Double Your Success With a Weight Loss Journal!

Keeping a weight loss journal can actually double the number of pounds an individual loses, according to a recent study printed in The American Journal of Preventative Medicine and reported by Nanci Hellmich of USA Today! Long believed to be a valuable weight loss tool, research confirms that the use of a food diary amplifies weight loss! Over 1600 obese adults participated in the study that was conducted at four separate clinical research facilities around the country. In addition to being encouraged to utilize the weight loss journal to record daily food intake and exercise, participants were also offered optional weekly sessions with nutritionists and behavior counselors. Study participants did not have to follow a particular diet but they were asked to reduce their caloric intake by 500 calories a day. A diet heavily infused with fruits and vegetables was recommended along with moderately intense exercise, of at least 180 minutes each week. After six months it was obvious that the dieters who kept weight loss journals lost twice as much weight as those who chose not to. In addition, dieters who attended support sessions lost more weight than those who did not; and participants who regularly exercised lost more weight than their sedentary counterparts. So there you have it, three definitive strategies that enhance weight loss: food diaries, support sessions, and exercise. Let’s focus on the food diary as that strategy doubled weight loss. To get started, purchase a journal, a spiral notebook, or download free printable weight loss journal pages from the Internet. Use your journal for everything weight-related. Record your weight, your measurements, your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Record everything you eat and drink, and all of your activity. Your food diary is also a great place to record the weight loss facts you discover throughout your journey. As you read weight-related books and magazines, jot down interesting tidbits that you want to remember. To make a weight loss journal truly effective, use it to record your emotional journey through weight loss as well. It’s a great tool that can help pinpoint destructive patterns and make it easier for you to sharpen your goals. It enables you to look back to see what went wrong or determine what went well so that you can reproduce it. Use your food journal to solve problems, generate new ideas, and clear your mind. Gail M. Davis provides additional information about the advantages of keeping a food diary. Visit her website, Easy Weight Loss Tips where you’ll find this and many other tips for motivation, activity, preparing healthy recipes, and much more!