Day 24: Start A Log, Blog Or Journal | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon
It’s time for Day 24 of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon. Only one week to go…
All tasks in the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon are adapted from my 52 Weight Loss Missions program.
Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to think about and complete them. Ready?
What You Need:
- Pen and notebook, or
- Blog or online/offline journal, or
- Interactive Log from your 52 Weight Loss Missions Action Pack.
Step 1
On Day 3: Trade Your Judge’s Robe For A Lab Coat we swapped judgement for observation so we could learn what works and doesn’t work for us on our weight-loss journey.
Today we’re going to use that observer perspective to start making daily notes.
As our first step, let’s agree to put aside five, ten, or fifteen minutes every day, or most days, to make notes on what we observe.
If that seems like a big sacrifice, remember that no book, program or system can give you the perfect diet, exercise and mindset combination that works for you. Your individual solution will take some experimentation, and making notes will accelerate and clarify your discoveries. If you really want to lose weight, and especially if motivation or mindset have tripped you up before, then you cannot avoid getting to know yourself better on the path to weight-loss success.
I’ve found the practice of making daily notes invaluable in identifying patterns and suggesting solutions in my own weight loss.
For example, I love chips and have a large bag every few days. It’s one of my strategic splurges. Several times I’ve tried to give chips up – and every time, I overeat many other things and gain weight. I guess they meet a need for crunch or salt or something that I can’t get so easily elsewhere.
By keeping a log, I soon recognized the pattern and left the chips – and my weight – in peace.
Step 2
Next, let’s decide where we’ll make these notes.
You could:
- Buy yourself a nice pen and notebook or journal
- Start a blog – either private or public, if you want to share your journey with the world. (If you link to www.52wlm.com I’ll see your pingback and come and check you out.)
- Make notes on your phone or iPad
- Use the Interactive Log in your 52 Weight Loss Missions Action Pack if you’re a customer. You can use the interactive features to enter text from your computer or iPad, or print it out and write by hand.
Step 3
Last, let’s decide what we’ll make notes about.
Depending on your challenges, you can makes notes about what you eat, when you exercise, how you feel, what you notice, anything that comes up.
Here are some tips for making your notes:
- Write as little or as much as you want. Just a few minutes most days is fine.
- You can make observations about what you eat, how much, how well you stick to your diet actions, your exercise, how well you stick to your exercise program, your emotions, your motivation, etc.
- Focus on observing – notice when it’s easier for you to eat and/or exercise well, and when it’s harder. I’ll say it again because it’s so valuable to know: This information is priceless. You can’t find it in a book or buy it in a program. You can only discover it by observing yourself.
- You don’t have to use correct spelling or grammar – unless perhaps you’re writing a public blog.
- You don’t have to read it back – it’s just a way to anchor realizations.
- When you learn something interesting, look for ways you can apply that information to your lifestyle – eg:
- Buying cute clothes really motivates me to eat well. I’ll re-do my budget so I can buy a new outfit regularly.
- When I go for a walk at lunchtime I have more energy and feel better than when I try to exercise in the morning. I’ll schedule more lunchtime exercise from now on.
- If I have an apple before I leave work I’m not so ravenous at dinnertime. It’s definitely worth buying and keeping afternoon snacks handy.
So… are you ready to make today’s entry?
Check in!
And you’re done!
Be sure to leave your comment below to check in and stay accountable. If you’re reading this by email or in a reader then please click here to leave your comment.
See you tomorrow!
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I have so many beautiful notebooks that I need a little time to choose the best one for a journal!
Can´t live sane without journaling! Paper works best for me. Using the computer for food and workout journaling (excel-sheet) started to weeks ago – and it´s an eye opener to face the facts how easy all these calories are a accumulating.
I am trying to log what I eat. This is always hard for me. This is something that I try to improve upon each day!
The truth that comes from the mighty paper and pen! 🙂
I will use the status feature on MyFitnessPal to create my notes.
Not a big fan of tracking and observing things, but I can give it a try.
I jot things in a notebook it works for now
I’m hopeless at keeping diaries or journals, so I think I’ll look into another blog 🙂
OMG! Sorry for the choppy and terrible spelling, you’ve got to love spell check.
This sounds like a fun and interesting writing “assignment”. Gotta get busy!
I can see that sometimes just logging food may not be enough. Good idea!
I love pretty journals, but I hate dirtying them! Maybe it’s time to actually use one and not just keep buying them and keeping them somewhere ‘safe’!
Another area that I am prepared for, I have numerous journals and pads of paper. Follow through is the key. Write, write, write, I love to write.
I’ll write in a Journal as I found out that I love paper more than electronics.. I’ll write abut my motivations to lose weight as I find new ones everyday.. So I want to encourage myself more for it.
OK iphone/ipad works for me as that is where I enter my daily food intake and exercise on the “Lose It!” app. I’m confident this exercise will be not only a challenge, but an impetuous for change!