Dear Diary, I want to lose weight…
Image sourced from indulgy.com
For me, accountability is a huge motivation.
My gym text message me if I haven’t been for a visit in over a week and this works wonders. That text, albeit probably produced from a computer which cannot judge me, makes me feel guilty to the point where I schedule my next work out, stat. The thought that somewhere at the gym, a fitness god is preparing to put a black mark next to my name jolts me into action. Knowing that my gym is keeping track of my workouts keeps me accountable.
So, I wasn’t surprised to learn that keeping a food journal can do wonders for weight loss.
A study, conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that women who kept food journals lost an average 2.7 kilos more than women who didn’t journal.
But that wasn’t the only interesting finding.
The study found that women who skipped meals dropped 3.6 kilograms less than women who ate regularly and ladies who lunched in a restaurant at least once a week lost on average 2.3 kilograms less.
According to Anne McTiernan, the director of the Hutchinson Center’s Prevention Center who conducted the study “Knowing what you are eating and knowing how much you are eating seem to be the key.”
Sounds like accountability to me.
What if that secret Tim Tam at 3pm had nowhere to hide? What if you couldn’t conveniently forget about the cheeseburger before dinner?
You might just decide to give them a miss. Looks like it’s ‘Dear Diary,’ for me!
Helpful hints:
- Not sure how to get started? Check out this food journal advice
- If you have obsessive or compulsive personality traits, keeping a food journal may not be the best option for you
What you may not know:
- Find it odd that a cancer research center conducted a weight loss study? Well, truth is that overweight and obesity are both associated with higher risks of some types of cancer. Click here for more info.
