Weight loss plateaus can happen to even the strictest dieter and a stoppage of weight loss can cause your motivation to take a hit. Even if you haven't changed your habits, your previous weight loss success can stall after a few weeks. Before you give up on your healthy lifestyle changes altogether, a closer look at your diet and exercise habits can give you a better idea of what is stopping you from losing weight. A diet journal can help you track your behavior to identify possible problems.
Step 1
Purchase a plain journal that allows you to list the date at the top and break the day into several meals. You'll need to record your meals and a variety of other daily factors, so choose a journal that has plenty of writing room. You can also keep a journal using a word processing or spreadsheet program on your computer.
Step 2
Date the first page and write down anything you put in your mouth, whether it's a healthy meal at lunch or a handful of chocolate chips while baking. As you write down what you've been consuming, you may notice right away that you have a few bad habits, like finishing off your child's dinner or the last piece of bread while cleaning up dinner dishes. This can contribute to a stall in weight loss.
Step 3
Write the time that you ate and how you felt as you were eating to help you identify emotions that tend to sabotage your weight loss success, like stress or boredom. At the end of each day, write down the caloric values for everything that you ate for a daily tally. Compare your daily tally against your new weight. If you're still eating the same amount of calories as you did when you were 10 lbs. heavier, you're eating too much and that can stall weight loss.
Step 4
Record how much physical activity you do each day and the intensity with which you perform those activities. When your body becomes used a single activity, like running, it learns to complete that task with less energy in order become more efficient. This efficiency can slow your calorie-burning potential. If reading through your journal tells you that you typically do the same types of exercise, change things up with a new class or machine at the gym.
Step 5
Keep your journal on a daily basis. Writing about your diet and activity choices can also give you a chance to write about other things that may be a roadblock to weight loss success, like low self esteem or a tendency to substitute food for a social life. Read your journal after a week of entries and you should be able to clearly identify what is stopping you from weight loss success so you can learn to overcome the roadblocks.
Things You'll Need
- Journal
- Pen
Member Comments