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As many of you know I am on a quest… a quest to lose weight and be healthier.  This is not a New Years resolution but something I have been working on for 6 months now.  I feel like this time is different.  I am working hard at making real life changes.  The first thing that I am doing differently is journaling.  Weight Watchers suggests that you do it, nutritionists suggest that you do it, even many counselors are having people journal for weight loss.  I am now a huge fan.  Journal writing is working for me for many reasons.

1. Getting it Out:  Let’s face it, none of us who are over weight are fat because we want to be.   Many times it is not even because of anything more than dealing with our demons.  We all have them.  We all have reasons for emotional eating.  It is not usually that we are so hungry we just cannot stop.  It is often that we are eating to feel better.  We then overeat and from that point we are filled with worse emotional baggage than we started with.  I have found that stopping myself in my tracks and writing in my journal has helped a lot.  I can look back and see what my triggers are and I can get whatever is “eating” me, out of my head.
2. Planning:  Writing in a journal has offered me the opportunity to really plan.  I do not mean that I am planning meal by meal.  It is so much more than that.  I have been able to plan social eating.  I have been able to review in my head and on paper different techniques for avoiding picking, overeating and even plan for meals.  In my journal two days before Thanksgiving I did something I still find to be quite silly.  I drew a picture of a plate and put how much space each item at dinner should occupy on my plate.  I know that it seems quite silly but it worked and I continued to lose weight over Thanksgiving.  I also found that my weight loss slowed over Christmas week.  My journal was also not touched that week.  Since there was no plan, I was not able to be successful.
3. Track Weight Loss:  In the front of my journal I have dates and weights.  It is a quick way to track how I am doing.  I am also able to go back and reference how I was feeling emotionally during peeks and valleys.  I even track my period in relation to weight loss.  This enables me to look at the whole picture and not get stressed.  In tracking my weight I have determined that I gain up to 7 pounds the week before my cycle begins.  This has enabled me to remain calm even though the scale is moving in the wrong direction.

All in all I believe in the power of the journal.  I have filled three one subject notebooks front to back over the past 6 months.  I have found this to be a positive way to assure that I stick to eating healthy and that I am emotionally happier.   If you do not journal I would very much suggest that you try it as part of your weight loss journey as well!

Becca

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