I say, if you are really going to keep yourself accountable to something, anything, you have to write it down. This is something that has always been a help to me, and it continues to be.
So, for this whole weight loss thing, I have gone into Microsoft Word and made myself a goal sheet. I have titled it "12 weeks to Swimsuit Season." The fear of a swimsuit is very real for me, can you tell? Anyway, right under that, I put my current weight, and under that, the number of pounds I want to lose. Below that, I put down some goals for myself (want to tighten my abs; tighten my arms; have great legs again, especially working on my inner thigh area; have more energy; be able to fit into some of my pre-children dresses and shorts....you get the idea).
Then, below that, I have put a chart. This chart has 6 columns, and 7 rows. Each column has a title, each one of them relating to something that I am trying to accomplish each day. From left to right, the columns are: Date, Eat Well?, Junk Food Eaten?, Pilates Done?, Gazelle Done?, Drink 64+ oz. of water?
Then, I have seven rows, one for each day of the week. At the end of the day, I fill in each column with what I have done for the day. Yesterday looked like this:
2/20, one york peppermint pattie, Yes--Advanced Abs, Yes--21:04 minutes, 162.7 calories burned, 1.56 miles, and No (I screwed up on the water thing yesterday.) Then, underneath the table, I have: Weight loss total for the week: ??? I will fill that in on Monday for week number one! I am already looking forward to that, as I have worked really hard this week!
I am not saying that you have to be like me, and get all fancy, and do something on the computer. You could write it down on a blank piece of paper--it doesn't matter what it looks like! What matters is that you have something you can look at to see where you are, where you are going, and (later) how far you have come. Plus, I know for me, knowing that I have to fill that out each night before bed gives me some sense of restraint when it comes to eating (don't want to have to put that down in the junk column!) and motivation when it comes to exercise (don't want to have those columns blank!
By the way, if anyone wants me to, I can email you the document I am using....minus my personal facts, of course! :-)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Keeping yourself accountable
Posted by Devin at 1:06 PM
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5 comments:
That sounds really helpful (and like something I would come up with) will you send me yours because it sounds great! I like that you tallied in the junk jood. I'm not about to stop eating everything yummy, so I'm glad it sounds like you guys are not cutting everything out too. It's all about moderation, right?
Do you have any suggestions on the whole water thing? I have had the drink water goal for a year or so now, but I have a really hard time doing it when I'm cold. I am always cold right now, and drinking water makes me colder (I drink at room temp and that hasn't helped). I use a king size burger king cup since that is about 1 ltr it makes it easier to keep track of how much I've had to drink. But the cup tends to sit there...
I think writing stuff down is a good idea, too!!
I'm with a wilson, I don't want to cut out all the good stuff. My main goal at this point is to start looking at lower-fat options to things I like, watching my portions (like getting exactly 16 tortilla chips instead of a few handfuls out of the bag!)
As for the water thing, I find I do best if I carry bottled water with me. Then, if each time I go to the bathroom I chug a 16 oz bottle of water, it's pretty easy to get 64 oz of water in each day. Plus, the more you drink, the more you need to pee, then the more you drink....I'm glad I'm not the only one who drinks my water at room temp. I think drinking cold water actually makes me feel hungry. Weird.
Hey Devin...I like your idea of tracking...I too have tried to write things down from time to time and it's amazing to see how much I really eat when I pay attention. No wonder I need to lose weight, I eat enough for 3 people! =) It sounds like you are doing great, and this blog is great for encouragement for the days when I just don't feel like being good! (which are too many). I would love to see an example of your chart that you made up! It sounds like you put everything in it!! My email is edgit96@sbcglobal.net. Keep up the good work!!
Amanda,
Just sent the form to you in your email~~enjoy!
The OTHER Julie :-),
I need your email address so I can send you my form!
Both Julies,
In response to the water thing....that is a tough one for me too. I am doing some thinking on that, and am going to post something about it soon!
Devin
Sorry Devin! JulieDawnWilson@yahoo.com
Julie that is a good idea about chugging the water everytime you pee! It worked pretty good last night, I didn't do it today since I was gone ALL day and I didn't want to spend most of the day dragging everyone to the bathroom over and over again! I'll have to remember to do it again tomorrow!
I used to have a workout blog with some other friends and our motto was 'Drink Water, Go Pee'. I just thought it was funny and wanted to share...
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