Journaling your food is SO important

by Beth
(Virginia)

This is more of a general comment on journaling and not a specific how-to, as that my be different for everybody.

That said, I have done nearly every type of diet known to man. I think we all have by the time we get to this point.

However, one of the greatest tools at your disposal is journaling what you eat. Yes, even banded you should do this. Anybody who's had a band long enough knows how easily we can cheat and bypass the band. That's how some of us (myself included) re-gain some weight after having been banded.

I was a stress eater before banding. However, I am STILL a stress eater even after banding. The difference is that the comfort foods we usually turn to often go down pretty easily, even with the band. Try going through finals and papers due and reports to be cranked out and not feel stressed. That was me the last couple of years with full-time school. However, for you it could be a stressful job, a stressful relationship, or whatever triggers you.

The one thing I've noticed that ALWAYS worked was journaling what I ate. When you journal, you are required to be conscious AND conscientious of what you are eating. You not only have to answer to yourself when you see it in black-and-white, but you will also think about the fact that you'll have to journal this as you're sitting there ready to scoop that Ben and Jerry's into your mouth. It's accountability to yourself that costs nothing, but it also isn't as harsh as having your wife or husband or friend or significant other saying, "Do you really need to eat that?" We all know how THAT feels. But when saying it to ourselves, we often respond much better.

So if you're on a plateau, gaining, or even doing "kinda okay," consider journaling with a paid or free diet journal. Many times when people start doing this, their weight begins to drop almost immediately because we don't realize the little things we do to sabotage our weight loss.

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