Dieting: Keeping a Diary

Here is my two cents on keeping a diary for your diet.

What is the point of keeping a diary? Doesn't it just entail an extra chore to the already arduous task of dieting, and doesn't it act as a reminder of the constant calorie counting, exercise regimes, weight controlling, etc.?

In the past I never ever kept a diary for gym, dieting, or anything like this. Now I keep one and I've lost more weight than I've ever lost before on any regime.

This isn't to say that I never lost any weight before keeping one, or that a mere collection of papers is the key separating success or failure.

What a diary DOES however do is provide you a little reference point to life, and creating a friendly habitual activity for the day. Looking back through your diary shows your story, a record of what has happened to you since you started it - in my case what I have eaten and how much I weigh every Monday, along with a couple of one-line anecdotes here and there on the topic (and occasionally off-topic, as tends to be my habit).

For every day practicality, a diary can serve as your little policeman. Each time you eat something, you MUST write it down (or take a photo if you're using the picture method), and when it's documented it's harder to deny it (the law student in me coming out a little there).

Low calorie ink

Looking at what I ate, and knowing I'll have to write down anything else I eat provides a check that makes me feel less inclined to shovel more food in the general direction of my face. It also allows me to try and maintain a balanced diet, filling in what things I should eat when I am lacking in them, or cutting down on what I have already had nearly enough of.

A factor I find that is really helpful with this diary is if I look back I can see the ups and downs of my diet, and from that obtain the resolve to persevere and improve. It's also fun to read my little notes and remember when and why I wrote them! When I see how long I've stuck to something, and I see what I have achieved in that time, I feel proud of myself and know I am on the right track, and I hope the same applies to anyone else who attempts this!!

Image sources: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/diary/images/11202659/title/tom-riddles-diary-photo; http://www.clipartof.com/portfolio/prawny-vintage/illustration/vintage-black-and-white-girl-tearing-up-a-book-1115190.html