The Value of a Weight Loss Journal

Default Alt Tag for this page

One woman who experienced a great deal of weight loss using medical weight loss shared the value of keeping a daily log of her weight loss journey. She found that the daily discipline of keeping track of her journey helped her to stay on task. She also found that having a regular log of her efforts served as an encouragement when she felt like losing additional weight, but the tasked seemed daunting.

Here is how she kept her journal:

  • Comprehensive record of foods eaten. If she put it in her mouth, she logged it into her journal. This way, she could get see what she was consuming and compare weight loss effects based on varying foods.
  • Logged all the water that she drank. This allowed her to assess her water intake on a regular basis and it provided her with measurable data on how water intake affected her weight loss.
  • Daily weight changes. There is some debate about the value of measuring your weight loss on a daily basis. Some think it is valuable, while others feel that the constant assessment can be discouraging because there can be variations from day to day that still result in net losses over a week. Regardless of your philosophy of how often to weigh in, keeping diligent track of your weight loss is important.
  • Finally, she took the time to capture her ongoing feelings day by day during her weight loss journey. This would serve as an outlet so she didn’t feel like she was constantly complaining to her friends and family when she was having an emotionally down day.
The use of a journal can really be a valuable asset as you walk through your weight loss journey, even if you are not normally journaler. It doesn’t have to be a complicated endeavor. Take a few minutes at each meal or at the end of each day and journal. It could make a big difference.