Weight Loss Diaries...
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| Wed, 07-21-2004 - 12:31pm |
Earlier Kris had posted a question about journals and I thought it would be a good opportunity to start a thread about them.
As many of you know we have a 'journal' section on the board. (It's #4 folder) Anyone is welcome to start a journal there. It can be whatever YOU want it to be- food, exercise, thoughts- all of the above!
-The beautiful part of it is that there's no "right" way to do it- quote from below!
But how helpful can they be?
When I first started to jump aboard the wagon seriously I wrote my own at home. I had everything in it! Sometimes at the end of the week I would look back at it and see how in general the week went, but often I didn't have to. I knew. Having to be accountable, even to just myself, kept me on track- most days!
At the moment there are only about 4 of us using the journal section, and by looking at them you can see how supportive everyone can be to one another when you 'report' in.
How about the rest of you...
Do you have a food journal? exercise diary? anything?
How helpful do you find it?
What's the most important aspect of it for you?
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Here's an article I found on the benefits of a journal- (in the last part it talks about non-judgment, this to me was important, when I first started....now however I find it a good tool to be judged, as I found I just can't trust myself anymore, lol)
http://www.ivillage.com/diet/experts/wlcoach/articles/0,,221987_54503-1,00.html?arrivalSA=1&cobrandRef=0&arrival_freqCap=2
Dear Diary...
When just about all nutrition professionals are in agreement about some aspect of weight control or health, my ears perk up and so should yours. We know, for example, that vegetables are in this rarefied category of "things about which there is complete agreement." What other food or supplement qualifies for this VIP status? Turns out it's not a food at all but a food journal. Most clinical nutritionists agree that it is critical to weight loss success.
Here's why-
When you keep a food diary, you're basically undertaking a project the sole purpose of which is to better understand you. The ancients believed that naming something allowed you to master it. Journaling gives you mastery by using the power of your own voice. In our case, the universe we're attempting to master is that of our own bodies, but the possibility exists that we'll end up mastering so much more.
Fact vs. Fiction
The journal helps you to crystallize what you're feeling and focus in on what is actually going on. Feelings are often diffuse, elusive, and hard to pinpoint. Separating "what happened" from the story we make up about it is easier when we write it down. (Think Sgt. Joe Friday in Dragnet: "Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts.") Always remember my favorite mantra: The facts don't make us miserable … the meaning we attach to them (our "stories") does.
I lost out on an audition. My boyfriend didn't call me. I gained ten pounds. These are simple, neutral facts. Where they get us in trouble is when we begin to make them "mean" something. "I'm a crummy actress that no one will ever hire," or "No man will ever find me attractive," or "I'm a fat slob with no will power" are examples of the "stories" that we make-up about the previously mentioned facts.
A good exercise for separating fact from personal fiction is what I call the "So what?" exercise. State the "fact" that you think is upsetting you as plainly and neutrally as you can; then add the comment, "So what?" (I gained ten pounds. So what?") "SO WHAT?" the little voices in your head screams. "SO I'm a big fat slob with no will power and I'll never have a life -- that's so what!" But that is not "the fact" at all. The "fact" is this: You gained ten pounds. That you will never have a life is a story. The journal let's you clarify this all-important distinction, so that you can deal with the facts ("So what?") and leave the story behind. (Hint: The facts by themselves are NEVER as bad as the stories you tell yourself about them).
Conscious Eating
Food journals also have the more mundane purpose of letting us really see what goes into our mouths. A lack of consciousness is the biggest enemy of success in weight loss. Most overeating -- in fact, most eating -- is unconscious. It's a mindless, habitual, conditioned reaction to a wide variety of cues, few of which have to do with hunger.
By forcing your feelings into consciousness by writing down what you're doing, when you're doing it, and how you're feeling at the time, you get the opportunity to really examine what's what and to transform automatic behavior into conscious choice.
Food and Mood
Journals also let us begin to make connections between food and mood. One of the problems with the American diet is that we eat so much and our physical and emotional reactions to food are often so delayed, that we lose sight of the effects food has on our moods, energy levels, and mental outlook.
By making room in the journal for notes about what is happening and what we were feeling, we can also bring into clear focus just what conditions are dangerous triggers for non-nurturing eating behaviors.
No Judgments
Finally, for many people, the journal is one of the only places where we can really be alone with ourselves. Freed from the knowledge that someone else will see and judge what we're feeling and saying, we can make many discoveries about ourselves. We can explore feelings, behaviors, fantasies and even "unacceptable" thoughts that we spend a great deal of energy keeping hidden, not only from our loved ones but from ourselves. The journal is your private letter to yourself. Freed from the constraints of social acceptability and "proper behavior" you're able to really delve into the deepest parts of yourself.
In 10 years of practice, I've yet to meet someone who gave journaling an honest try and didn't get some benefit out of it, often a benefit that was wholly unexpected yet profound. The beautiful part of it is that there's no "right" way to do it. You can scrawl angry words on a page, "say" things to parents, husbands, and loved ones that you've never been able to "say," or just make a simple old list of what you're eating and when.
Be willing to be surprised by the results. You almost certainly will be.
cl-vi_islandgirl
Getting Fit in Your 30's

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
See, that's EXACTLY why I don't keep a journal, accountability. I don't want to be accountable for my failure of not exercising.
LOL
Oh man. yup, they say journals help. oh i need help. but i'm so lazy. hehehe.
~Cher
Give it a try Cher....even if just for a few days (off line, in your own 'private' notebook or something) and just see how it goes!
....go on, try it....
....I dare ya ;-)
cl-vi_islandgirl
Getting Fit in Your 30's
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