Living Out Of Debt

One way to establish your weight loss programme is to keep a food diary. Start a full week before you plan to commence dieting. Enter every single piece of food and every drink you have into the diary. A log of seven days consumption will tell you a lot about your eating habits, and how you can make positive changes.

Obviously, if there are several take-aways and other high fat foods, cutting those out would be a start. But if that’s not the case, and what you’re eating looks OK, then just reduce the amount. Either way, use your food diary as the basis for the changes you wish to make.

Make notes about how you intend the following seven days to pan out. This should include food, drink and exercise. If some foods are to be forbidden or limited, write that down. And follow on with the food that you will be eating plentiful supplies of.

As far as alcohol is concerned, keep it to a minimum. Write down when it’s not allowed, and when and how much it is allowed. Cans of soft drinks containing sugar are out. Next comes physical exercise, and whether it’s a walk in the park, or visits to the gym – write it down.

Accurately weigh yourself the morning your regime starts. Each week, repeat the process, modifying your plan according to the results you’re achieving. Make a note of your weight in your diary once a week.

With a plan like this, you’re in complete control. It’s a good idea to add useful comments each day to illustrate what’s helpful and what’s not. Mark down which days you completed your proposed exercises. Monitoring your weight and health is so much more manageable with a personal record.

It won’t happen overnight though. Changes may be hard to detect in the early stages, but clothes will start to become less tight, and your energy level will increase after a few short weeks. Remember patience is a virtue! Don’t think about what you’re missing out on; think about what you’re going to gain as a result of your weight loss.

Don’t beat yourself up if you get off-track – it can be easily reversed with a bit of focus. Maybe you need to modify your plan a little. Additional physical activity can help you catch up. Are there any fitness classes you could attend in the evening?

Recognise your successes. Dieting is much more motivating when you quantify your results and reward yourself for your efforts. Clothes shopping isn’t appropriate ’til you’ve reached your target weight. However, there’s nothing wrong with a theatre trip to celebrate a milestone.

(C) Scott Edwards. Browse WeightLossDietWar.com for logical ideas on weight diets and fast weight loss diets.