25
Dec
Journal Your Way to Weight Loss
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Do you ever get discouraged about your weight-loss progress?
Do you worry your efforts aren’t good enough?
When you don’t see the results you want, do you give up hope?
If you sometimes lose sight of the steps you’re actually taking—especially easy to do facing the end of the year—this simple and powerful tool can help bolster your confidence:
Keep track of your progress with a success journal so you remain committed and positive when self-doubt gets in the way.
What is a Success Journal?
A success journal is a daily recording of all the steps you’ve taken to treat yourself with love and respect. Permanent weight loss isn’t just the result of the food you eat. It’s about how you treat yourself on all levels. Recording every positive step helps you stay connected with your overall progress. And it’s so easy: You simply take a moment at the end of the day to reflect as you answer this question:
“What did I do today to take good care of my mind, body and spirit?
Your entry might look like one of these:
“I took the stairs instead of the elevator at work. I’m happy I did that.”
“I ate way too many cookies after lunch but I didn’t beat myself up. I let it go.”
“I took “me” time and read passages from an inspirational book. It relaxed me.”
Every positive step you take brings you closer to reaching your goal weight. Recording even seemingly small steps, like parking away from the store entrance so you walk farther, helps you appreciate all your efforts, validates your progress and gives your motivation a real boost. Ultimately, those small steps become new habits and create permanent lifestyle change.
Support Your Weight Release Journey in Four Ways
Positive psychology research emphasizes the value of acknowledging steps you take toward reaching a goal. When you routinely make a point of noticing, and appreciating, the positive changes you’re making, you begin to re-program your mind. Your attention shifts away from looking only at what’s “not working” to more easily notice what’s going well.
You see what you look for. If you doubt you’ll reach your weight loss goal, you’ll find evidence that you’re not making progress. You may undervalue the positive steps you’re actually making. Recording daily successes helps you notice those steps.
Keeping a success journal isn’t just a “feel good” exercise, although it will help you feel good. It works because you’re training your mind and brain to scan your experiences and find the healthy choices you’re making. Your memory becomes imprinted with images of taking care of yourself. This gives you confidence and strength.
Here are four ways using a success journal can support your weight loss journey: (more…)
When you’ve tried every diet program out there, why is it still so hard to lose weight? You know you want to be slimmer yet the scale doesn’t budge. And in those rare moments it does, those pounds keep coming back.
Springtime clutter clearing can be a stressful time for people riding the yo-yo dieting roller coaster:
Have you been riding the yo-yo diet roller coaster for years?
Successful weight loss is so much more than counting calories, drinking “craving-crusher shakes” and following the latest fad diet.
