Write to Lose
A Food, Diet and Exercise Journal
Resources
10 behaviors for successful weight loss and maintenance
- Record every bite
- Plan meals in advance
- Make healthy food choices, lots of vegetables and fruits!
- Eat without distraction, no t.v., reading, computer, driving!
- Drink enough water
- Avoid problem/ trigger foods
- Stop eating when full
- Stick to calorie unit or budget
- Order carefully when eating out at a restaurant
- Avoid mindless eating by with your own strategies that work!
1. Record every bite
How many times do you pass a bowl of candy and pop a couple in your mouth? Do you ever finish dinner, and while cleaning up, eat while you put away the leftovers? Or eat all of the leftovers? We tend to underestimate how much we consumer every day by at least 500 calories. Or you may pass a plate of cookies at work and pop two in your mouth. It is crucial to know how many calories a day you are eating. You wouldn't go shopping and not look at the price tags. You wouldn't try on a 5,000 dress and pay for it without being aware of the amount you are spending. Every day you have a caloric budget. If you eat too many calories, you will gain weight. If you eat the amount that your body needs to maintain it's current weight you will stay the same. If you create a deficit, you will lose weight!
Know exactly how much you are eating each day. Become an expert on reading different food labels, and pay attention to serving sizes! Go to websites like caloriecounter.com to determine exactly how many calories are in the food you eat. And write down every bite you eat to know exactly what you are eating.
2. Plan meals in advance
You come home from work exhausted to your screaming kids and have no idea what you are going to make for dinner. You eat a bag of chips while cooking them spaghetti, and then have two heaping bowls yourself. Or you order pizza. In order to eat for weight-loss success you must be prepared. You need to go grocery shopping at least once a week so you have the food you plan on eating in your house. You need to know exactly what you are eating for each meal so you don't grab other foods when you are starving!
3. Make Healthy food choices, with lots of vegetables and fruits
Vegetables and fruits are naturally low in calories. So it is easier to lose weight and keep it off if they are a big part of your eating plan. You can steam, sauté, grill roast, and eat large portions of non-starchy vegetables and still keep your calories low. Try not to prepare them with lots of added butter or oil, a little can go a long way. If you like to cook, experiment with different recipes. If you don't, become an expert on streaming and roasting or find a restaurant you like that can prepare them for you. If you are not a big vegetable eater, find the ones you like and make them a staple of at least one meal a day.
Fruits can be a little trickier because you do have to watch your portions. It is very easy to eat way more than a serving size of grapes or berries. Make sure you measure your portions, and stay aware of what you are eating!
4. Eat without distraction, no t.v., reading, computer, driving!
Make sure to try to eat without distractions; no t.v., reading, computer, driving, or talking on the phone! Are you guilty of eating meals in front of the t.v, eating in the car, or reading with you meals? If you are distracted while you are eating, you will often eat much more than if you take time to sit down, eat your meal, and move on to the next thing. If you need to eat on the way to work, make sure your meal is planned and that you do not do any extra snacking. Otherwise, make the time to eat before you do anything else! This will help you stay focused on how much you are eating, and when you are full!
5. Drink enough water
It is important to stay hydrated throughout the day. When you don't drink enough water, you often mistake thirst for hunger. Make sure to get at least 4 6 ounce glasses a day, more if you are active. And try not to drink too many of your calories, especially alcohol, pop and juices. Those calories add up quickly!
6. Avoid problem and trigger foods
The behavioral psychologist, Dr. Stephen Gullo, has made groundbreaking success in helping thousands of people lose weight. His work has proven that so many times a person will gain weight time and time again eating the same foods. These foods can be anything! If you have a hard time eating one cookie, one serving of cereal, one piece of bread, or anything else that you can't portion control, these foods need to be out of your life! His strategy of boxing in certain foods works like this. If you have a problem with bread, limit eating bread only to situations you can control, like a sandwich, or a piece of toast with some protein in the morning. Otherwise, do not eat bread! Eliminate the breadbasket at restaurants, don't keep extra bread around the house or at work, you get the point. By writing in WRITETOLOSE, you will easily begin to identify your trigger foods and start to figure out how you need to box them in so you can enjoy permanent weight loss. Set rules for yourself and stick to them. If you would like more information on Gullo's brilliant eating strategies, check out The Thin Commandments Diet.
7. Stop eating when full
It is important to listen to your body and stop eating when you are full! Do not worry if you have food left on your plate, put it away for later. If you are at a restaurant, take half of your meal home. It usually takes about twenty minutes to get full, so eat slowly, put your fork down in between bites, and chew your food well. If you pay attention to when you are satisfied, and not stuffed, it will be much easier to eat the right amount of food for weight loss!
8. your calorie budget, units, or points
No matter what plan you are doing, try to stick to it! Think of it like sticking to a budget, if you eat too much, you will not lose weight! If you are following an eating plan or diet, make sure you understand what you need to do and then do it! If you feel like you can't stick to your weight loss plan, try another, until you find a way of eating the right amount of calories, and the right foods that keep you satisfied and still losing weight! There are thousands of plans out there, find the one that works for you and then stick to it!
9. Order carefully when eating out at a restaurant
It is so easy to get off track when you go out to eat. Plan in advance what you are going to eat and then stick to it. Avoid the bread basket by not getting one on your table. Stick to salads with protein, vegetable soups, and main dishes prepared without sauce and then get it on the side. Order steamed vegetables whenever possible. It is entirely possible to stick to your plan when you eat out, you just have to be prepared and very mindful of what you are doing. And watch alcohol! It adds a lot of calories, and lowers your resistance to overeating.
10. Avoid mindless eating by sticking to your own strategies that work!
What is mindless eating? You may be very familiar with it. It is coming home from work starving, and eating anything not nailed down while you are trying to figure out dinner. It is cleaning up after a meal, and instead of putting leftovers away, eating them instead. It is not stopping after a meal, it is eating all afternoon and all night long. It is eating while watching television, eating while on the phone, eating while driving. The list is endless, and it accounts for the main reason why so many people can't seem to lose weight!
So what should you do? Make sure you write every bite in your journal. You will start to notice patterns when you have a hard time controlling your food intake. Once you are aware of when you overeat, you will be able to come up with strategies to change your habits. If you go too long between meals, plan for healthy snacks. If you tend to eat chips mindlessly in front of the t.v., set a rule for yourself that you will only eat a small amount of chips with a meal, and in the kitchen. The more you pay attention to your eating, the more you will understand your trouble times, and you will be able to make lasting changes necessary for lasting weight loss.
