Keeping track of weight, inches and everything I eat is a big part of what led to my losing weight. Once I started writing down everything I ate and seeing in writing just how many calories I was consuming in just five minutes was pretty eye opening. Instead of snacking on 5 oreos I would only eat 3, and surprisingly I didn't notice any real difference and didn't miss those extra two Oreo's. Statistics show dieters who keep track of what they eat and weight gain/loss lose twice as much weight as those who do not write things down in a food journal.The next thing I found helpful in my weight loss was meal planning. I found this to be VERY helpful because if I did not plan my meals ahead of time then I would find myself starving at the last minute and not have the energy, patience, or time to cook something that was a good, whole food, balanced meal with much lower calories than fast food or processed freezer food. Not only is this terrible for your mind, body and overall health but it significantly leads to obesity. Planning your meals for a week at a time is a good start. Write down breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day, then make a grocery list of everything you will need to buy at the store. This is also very helpful for busy people. I know I'm the type of person who would decide at the last minute what to make for dinner and I would always be missing just one or two small ingredients. Once I was able to get in the hang of actually making a meal schedule plan, evenings at my home went so much smoother and less hectic, which in turn left me with much less uneeded stress. Stress produces a hormone in the body called cortisole. Cortisole is responsible for giving us those flaby thighs and cottage cheese looking dimples that we call cellulite. Stress is also responsible for causing cravings especially for those "comfort foods" that are full of unwanted, empty calories.
Cooking in bulk can save time and money. Buy something like chicken breasts that are a great source of lean protein. Cook them all up on Sunday night, before the busy work week starts. Throughout the week you will have a supply of lean protein chicken, which is very filling but low in calories. Protein also helps to build lean muscle mass and people who have more muscle are able to burn calories at a faster pace than a person who has much more fat on their body than muscle. This is because lean muscle is proven to burn four times more calories than fat! There is a never ending list of things you can do with chicken, so make that number one on your grocery list! Don't forget to plan healthy snacks too! Having low calorie, high nutrient snacks are so important because you don't want to let your blood sugar get too low, leading to cravings. Instead always have healthy treat on hand such as nuts, granola or yogurt.
I hope that reading this post about the different ways to organize, track and plan your weight loss dieting efforts has given some insight into why these things are in fact so important. I know that for myself this was one of the main habits that led me to losing and keeping my weight off. All I will say is, what do you have to lose? At least try what I'm suggessting and then if it truly doesn't work for you after giving it a real effort then move on to the next thing, but chances are that you will find this to be a large part of your journey and something that will stick with you, maybe without you even realizing it!
