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Keeping a Journal While Dieting
Many people find that keeping a journal while dieting is a helpful and welcome addition to their weight loss program. Not only does it help you keep track of the technical aspects of your dieting, but it is also a great way to express your feelings and over time, allows you to look back and view the progress you have made. Below you will find some suggestions of things that you may want to write in your weight loss journal.
The Basics
First and foremost, you will want to keep a record of the basic aspects of your diet. These can include, but are not limited to:
A record of what you eat throughout the day
How many calories you have consumed
Your daily water intake (make sure you get 8 glasses a day)
Your daily or weekly weight
Any exercise you perform (type, and length of time you did it)
Calories burned from your exercises (you can use Our calorie-burning calculator)
Your Thoughts and Feelings
Keeping track of your daily thoughts and feelings about your weight loss program can help you stay on the right track. Record how proud you are on days that you excel and also how you made it through any challenges that day. It is also a good idea to keep track of your feelings on days you slipped off your diet so that you can look back on days you are tempted to remind yourself of how that candy bar will make you feel emotionally long after it has been eaten. If you find yourself tempted to cheat, you can also reread an entry from a positive day to remember how good you feel when you stay on track.
Inspirational Information
Also keep a section in your journal that is dedicated to things that keep you inspired during your dieting. Some ideas of things you can include are:
Motivational or humorous comic strips
Quotes that inspire you
Pictures of yourself that allow you to see the progress you have made
Pictures of things you will reward yourself with when you reach your goal weight
Articles or magazine columns you find inspiring
Success stories of others (you can find many personal weight loss stories online)
A log of the people who have mentioned that you have lost weight
And anything else that inspires you. Read these pages often. The will help you keep your motivation and can also give you a self-esteem boost on those rough days.
How to Keep Your Journal
You have a few options to choose from when keeping a journal while dieting. You will find a few of the options available listed below:
Use a composition book or three ring binder
Use free printable journal pages
Use a spreadsheet program (such as Microsoft's Excel)
Use an online diet and fitness journal like FitDay
No matter how you choose to keep your weight loss journal, many dieters find that writing down the key points of their weight loss plan can make a difference and help them to reach their weight loss goals.
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