Are You Honest in Your Record Keeping?

Whenever I first meet with a client who wants to lose weight, I tell them that the first thing to do is spend a week keeping a journal - in which they write down everything they eat.

I want more than that, of course. The times they eat, how they feel before and after they eat, and so on.

Keeping a detailed journal allows the individual to know themselves - do they overeat because they are hungry all the time...or because they are bored? Or because they are depressed and need comfort food?

Are there any foods they eat that engender cravings, such that they can't stop eating that particular food after a small portion? (Chocolate and salty snacks are the main culprits here...)

But when they, and you, keep this journal (and even after you get started on your new life, you should continue to keep a detailed journal), are you honest about it?

According to 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet, there are people who lie...even in private journals to themselves! (Well, I can believe that. Many years ago I caught my mother stepping on a scale. She did not like the amount it told. So what did she do? She adjusted the scale so it read 5 pounds lighter! Well, that's one way of losing weight...)

Losing weight - and maintaiing your new weight once you have achieved it - is a never ending process. I hasten to say it's a process like learning a new skill, learning a new topic, and so on.... it's not something to obsess over and fret about.

Health is the key, not weight.

(Indeed, on that note I've found a new blog I like, called Defiant Athletes. http://liveoncejuicy.com/imperfect-athlete/. These are athletes who are large and in charge, and participate in sports because they love sports, not to lose weight.