Write yourself thin:
need to lose weight?
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Grab a notebook and pen, and you've got the tools you need to shed pounds for
good.
Natural Health,
May-June,
2003 by Linda Knittel
Writing down what you eat each day practically guarantees
weight-loss success. In fact, dieters who record daily what they consume drop
twice as much weight as those who don't, according to a study by a health
insurance company. As you lose pounds, you'll gain something else: a keen
understanding of why and when you overeat. You may learn that you're feeding
your stomach when you really should be feeding your soul. "Keeping a food
journal forces you to be accountable for what you're putting into your body,"
says Victoria Moran, a New York City-based motivational speaker and author of
Fit From Within (Contemporary Books, 2002). "It also provides you with a clear
picture of the food patterns that keep you from reaching your weight goal."
Starting and maintaining an effective food journal is simple
and takes just 10 to 15 minutes a day. Here's how to do it right.
How to Start Your Weight Loss Journey
Food will be the focus of your journal, but you'll also track how often you
exercise. To identify your unhealthy habits, you must commit to writing in your
journal every day for four weeks, says Bob Wilson, a nutrition Specialist at
Kaiser Permanente. a nonprofit health insurance company in Portland, Ore.
Experts say that's enough time to change your habits and start losing weight.
And if you regain weight, you can resume journal, keeping for short periods to
get back on track. To begin, follow these five steps.
Step 1 Get Your Journal Ready.
Purchase a notebook (preferably a 6- by-9 inch one) and take a few minutes to
prepare the pages: Allot two pages per day for the next two weeks, and divide
each set of pages into four columns. Label the columns as follows: What I Ate,
When and Where I Ate, How Hungry I Was, and How I Was Feeling. At the bottom of
one of each day's pages, mark off space and label it Exercise.
Step 2 Record What You eat.
For the next two weeks, dine and snack as you normally would. Immediately after
you finish eating or drinking something (even water), write it down in your
journal, recommends Anne Fletcher, R.D., a Minnesota-based nutritionist and
author of Thin for Life (Houghton Mifflin, 2003). Fill out each column as
completely as you can. If you do something else while eating or drinking (like
working or watching television), note that under the column When and Where I
Ate. For example, Monday's lunch entry might include the following information:
What I Ate: 1 can albacore tuna, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1
stalk celery, 2 slices rye bread, 2/3 cup baked potato chips, 5 Hershey's
Kisses, and 2 cups green tea
When and Where I Ate: 1 p.m., at my desk while working on
deadline
How Hungry I was: ravenous
How I Was Feeling: stressed
At the end of each day, estimate the calorie and fat counts of
everything you ate and drank. Whenever you consume a packaged food or drink,
note in your journal under "What I Ate" the calorie and saturated fat count from
the nutrition label. For those items that don't have a label, wait until the end
of each day to add their calorie and fat counts. Consult a calorie and fat
counter, like The Doctor's Pocket Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter (Family
Health Publishing, 2002) by Alan Bomshek, or the website CalorieKing.com, for
this information. Also note how much water you drank.
Finally, write what you did for exercise that day and for how
long.
Step 3 Study Your Notes.
After two weeks, review your journal. Use a highlighter to mark the days when
you ate and drank more than 2,500 calories or more than 65 g of fat. Note the
days you drank less than four glasses of water. Next, scour your journal for
eating patterns (like skipping meals) that may be impeding weight loss; for a
list of common patterns and tips on how to overcome them, see "How to Analyze
the Secrets in Your Journal," right. Finally, mark which days you skipped
exercise.
Step 4 Set Goals.
On the next blank page in your journal, create a list of goals for the coming
week. Weight-loss experts recommend the following four: Pledge to drink six to
eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Promise to cut back on calories; Derek
Johnson, R.D., a Los Angles-based nutritionist, recommends shaving 500 calories
a day from your diet until you reach your ideal weight. Commit to replacing
foods high in saturated fat, like butter, cheese, and red meat, with foods high
in beneficial unsaturated fats, like almonds and avocados, and omega-3 fats,
like salmon and walnuts, Johnson says. And plan 30 minutes of moderate to
vigorous exercise a day (eventually you'll want to add another 30 to 45 minutes
of mild to moderate exercise to that amount).
Add your own food goals for the week (like eating more
vegetables). And note any anticipated obstacles, Fletcher says. If you have a
business dinner scheduled, plan to call the restaurant ahead of time to
familiarize yourself with the menu. Record your actual weight and target weight.
Step 5 Keep Writing.
Create two pages for each day of the week ahead, again dividing each page into
two columns. For the next seven days, abide by the eating and exercise goals you
set and record everything you eat and drink, as well as when, how, and how much
you exercise. After seven days, weigh yourself and write down how much weight
you've lost. Check to see how often you met your goals. Then create a new goals
page (include new goals and a new workout schedule, and consider modifying the
goals you missed from the week before) and a new set of pages for each day of
the coming week. Again, record all meals, snacks, and workouts throughout the
week and review your notes after the seven days are up. You've now kept your
food journal for four weeks.
How to Analyze the Secrets in Your Journal
When you scrutinize the information you've recorded in your journal each week,
chances are you'll notice some patterns. Spotting the patterns and learning ways
to overcome them will lead to long-lasting weight loss, says Woodbury, NX.-based
Maria Walls, R.D., a senior nutritionist for Weight Watchers. Here are the six
most common harmful eating habits and how to change them.
You Skip. Meals and Splurge Later.
Do you wake up early but don't eat anything until midday? Or do you get so
wrapped up in work projects that you skip lunch? In both cases, you probably
become famished and are more likely to make poor food choices and overindulge,
says Walls. Deprivation followed by overindulgence can wreak havoc on your
weight-loss efforts. To keep your metabolism steady so you can lose weight, eat
breakfast within 45 minutes of waking, and then eat every 3 1/2 hours, snacking
on a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts between meals, says Johnson.
You Ease Stress with Food.
If you find yourself overeating when you're stressed, you need to find other
ways to manage that stress. Pinpoint the most pressure-packed times in your day
and, although it may seem counter intuitive, schedule a quick break during those
times. A short breathing exercise or walk outside will help prevent or alleviate
stress so you're less likely to reach for food. For easy stress-relief tips, see
"How to Get Instant Calm," page 53. In addition, keep healthy snacks like celery
around so when you feel the urge to munch, you'll reach for those instead of
chips. Or get into the habit of drinking a cup of mildly sedating chamomile tea
(Matricaria recufita) to soothe your frazzled nerves.
You Nibble Late at Night.
For many people, emotional eating occurs between dinner and bedtime, says Walls.
If your journal reveals that you consume up to 50 percent of your daily calories
after dinner, check how you felt during those times. If you were bored, make a
list of nonfood activities you can do to relieve the boredom, Walls advises.
Read a book or write a letter. If you tend to feel blue in the evenings, call a
friend or take a short walk outside.
Your Hormones Drive You to Eat.
By comparing your journal entries with your menstrual cycle you may notice that
cravings hit at certain points in the month, says Johnson. Once you've
discovered when your cravings occur, stock your kitchen with satisfying healthy
foods during those times. For example, if you crave salty foods during your
period, snack on soybeans in the shell, also called edamame (available in
natural food stores and some grocery stores). If you crave sweets, keep fresh
fruit on hand. But keep in mind that these foods aren't calorie-free (edamame
has i88 calories per 1/2 cup and a medium apple has 80 calories), and eat
sensible portions.
You Eat Mostly Carbohydrates.
If you see the words "bread," "cookies," and "pasta" in most of the entries in
your journal, you're eating too many refined carbohydrates, which can cause
erratic blood sugar levels and make you crave more food, says Johnson. To keep
your blood sugar levels even, eat foods containing healthy fat (like fish and
flaxseeds) and lean protein (like nuts and beans). When you do choose breads and
pastas, select only those made with whole grains (like quinoa, spelt, or wheat).
Determine when your carb cravings hit and have healthier options on hand at
those times.
You Eat More When You Eat Out.
If you exceed your daily calorie count because of rich restaurant food, cook at
home more often. When you do eat out, choose a restaurant that offers a healthy
menu and head off hunger pangs with a small snack (like a few nuts or a piece of
fruit) before you arrive. Then sip a glass of water while you peruse the menu to
distract yourself from overordering or nibbling on bread. And if you feel
comfortable with your dining companions, let them know you're watching your
diet; you'll be less likely to overeat if they know you're trying to cut back.
Linda Knittel is a freelance writer in Portland, Ore. Keeping
a food journal has helped her pinpoint which foods make her feel sluggish.
Success Story
How a New Mom wrote Off 27 Pounds
Abby Adams, 43 Santa Monica, Calif.
Two months after giving birth to her third child, Adams
stepped on her scale and realized she had gained more than 30 pounds. Determined
to get her pre-baby body back, she consulted Derek Johnson, R.D., a nutritionist
in Los Angeles. He suggested she keep a food journal and record what and when
she ate and how much she exercised. "I kept my journal on the kitchen table and
wrote in it right after I ate," says Adams.
When Johnson evaluated her journal, two patterns stood out.
Adams ate too many carbohydrates and not enough protein. And she went for long
stretches during the day without eating anything but would then overindulge.
To remedy these problems, Johnson suggested that Adams choose
high-protein egg whites, yogurt, and fish instead of bread and other simple
carbohydrates. Johnson also asked Adams to create daily journal entries for six
eating times to make sure she ate healthy snacks (like fruit or a protein bar)
between meals.
In only 3 1/2 months, Adams dropped 27 pounds. She still
writes in her journal every day. "Without seeing it on paper, I never would have
believed that I could eat so well and so much and still lose weight," she says.
"The journal has been a great way to keep me on track."
COPYRIGHT 2003 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
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