Mr. Marshmallow According to WebMD, it's been scientifically proven that keeping a food journal is the key to successful weight loss.
I would rather chew the pages of my journal than write my food consumption inside! The last thing I need is a permanent record of the three Snicker bars, four Rice Krispy treats, and package of mint Milanos I ate -- all before lunch! With my luck, I will have journals and memoirs published and years from now it will be uncovered on a sordid talk show, a collection of journals has been uncovered detailing the midnight snackings of a depressed, overweight queen.
"Tonight on Maury Povich, we discuss journal #8 in Mr. Marshmallow’s collection, in which we witness first hand his obsession with frozen marshmallows and warm Brie. See the handwritten journal with pages smudged in what we have determined is melted Cadbury Mini-Eggs. . ."I don't know where this obsession comes from, this anger I feel over the thought of writing down every piece of food to pass my lips. Perhaps I am afraid - fearful that the world will see just how much food I can hide. The bag of Halloween chocolate I can finish in the car on the way home from the grocery store, the wrappers all quietly hidden in an old coffee cup, like sins absolved after confession.
Or it may be my rational side, knowing that my journal would be pristine - pages of entries detailing the glorious record of a health conscious disciplinarian.
"It's simply baffling . . . he has consumed nothing but collard greens and lima beans for months and he looks like the body double for one of the fat mobsters on that Sopranos show."It is ironic that as a writer, I am sitting here championing the reasons for not keeping a journal. I am the nurse who smokes; the lawyer screwing his assistant and promising a promotion in return; and the police lieutenant siphoning money from the case evidence. I am hypocrisy. Perhaps I need to acknowledge my fears and reservations and just write it all down. It comes down to denial. And perhaps I am wise for knowing this, and recognizing my weakness.
Do you think a weight journal helps with weight loss? Would you be able to look at your weight loss journal as progress or a reminder of who you were?
Comments (17)
numbers drive me absolutely crazy so as long as i was just counting portions and what not, not calories i think it would work
You and I do the exact same thing, I think. I'm not a writer so I won't word this very well, but - I think we would both rather "black out" when we eat a bunch of stuff we know we shouldn't and then just shunt it out of our minds so we don't feel bad or disgusted about it. Writing stuff down in a journal forces you to confront that.
If you can force yourself to do it, though, it's super effective. I find it's most effective to write whatever I'm nom-noming on before I eat it, instead of after. After makes you think "damn, it's over with before it even started!". After also sometimes leads to cramming 6 of said thing in your mouth before you get up the willpower to write it down.
if it doesn't work for you don't do it. but don't dismiss it totally, because it might work later.
I love this post.
My own weightloss journals read like sick little memories.
I don't think a journal is something that is supposed to scare you at all. I find it to be a hugeee motivator. And once I start making progress and I see it written down it really really encourages me to keep it up. If you don't obey your dieting rules, it can be depressing. But you aren't supposed to let it drag you down to the dumps. If you follow your rules you look at it with huge satisfaction!
During the bad times it is really depressing for me, but once I start on the right track, it's hard to go back to lazy and eating unhealthy!
Of course, my journals keep track of my weight more than what I consumed or how much I excercised.
a weight journal is supposed to help. but I can see how looking back on them, it might bring back reminders of an ugly past
sometimes it might be motivation. for others it might be a reminder of the past. it depends on the person.
I've always felt the same way about keeping a journal. Recently though, I started really trying to keep my diet within a rigid set of guidelines. Suddenly the record is of my success (sometimes marignal) at meeting that goal rather than a sad reminder of my failures.
I didn't keep track of my meals while away last weekend. When I got home I felt sick and ate almost nothing for a day or so. Then, before I recognised what I'd done a whole bag of those individually wrapped lifesavers had disappeared.
Without the journal to give me gratification I immediately fell back into my old routine (see-food diet).
My weight loss journal a few years ago helped a lot, until it turned into a very unhealthy obsession.
I've kept a weight-loss journal. The point behind it is that you are able to see clearly what's going on in your body. When you eat three snickers bars in a row (which I think most people have definitely done) you forget about them or don't really count them as legit food. But when it's written down, all 300 calories (unless you get the big size, which is obviously better) are in front of you. Add those calories to the handful of chips you had (100 something) and all the other bits and pieces of things you eat and you'll be right up past the point of average calorie intake. If it's written in front you, you're just more aware. Awareness is the key.
I journal everything with my health - my weight, my exercise and my food intake. I've been doing it for years and it has helped me to stay on track. When I start to backslide, I can look back at what I have done in the past that helped me and that seems to get me back on track.
I like writing down what I eat and how much I exercise- it helps me focus, and because I do it online, I know that people will be reading what I am eating. Really helps me stay on track, and, like dryvona@xanga.com said, it becomes a record of successes, rather than failures.
I also think that writing it down is a way to get over whatever food you think you shouldn't have eaten- it's kind of like dealing with it, then letting it go. I think about it much less when I write it down, otherwise I sometimes dwell on it.
I am too lazy to analyze how many calories are in a plate of chow mein or my prime rib steak.
i keep a journal of what i eat and how much exercise, i think its just part of mentally conditioning yourself for something, in your case loosing weight. i believe its supposed to bring about a level of conscienceness about what your doing, be it eating or exercising. maybe it can help identify patterns or feeling, like how you felt after eating that whole box of cookies or how you felt after eating a piece of fruit for a snack.
hopefully you'll being to realize you are happier and feeling better when you live a healthy lifestyle, along with a food journal, its really important to keep an exercise journal. good luck!
I always lose the most weight when I'm keeping track of my food... but then, I think that might be because when I actually start tracking my food is also when I'm more serious about actually losing weight... Either way, it works well for me (extra motivation to go to the gym when I go over). But it doesn't always stop me from eating that extra cookie either...
I lost 80+ lbs by keeping a food journal. I absolutely agree it's an essential part of any successful diet.