Successful Dieters Keep Diaries, Weigh Often

One of the things I hate worst about when I diet and am just trying to lose a few is weighing myself.   It seems like this rather ambiguous number on the scale can send me into a bad or great mood within seconds, and even if I’m feeling good about myself and fitting into my clothes like I feel I should, if that magic number, or a number within a few pounds of that magic number, doesn’t show itself on my scale, I start to feel bad about myself – even a little depressed. 

So, it’s no wonder that most of us don’t like to step on the scale, and I’m definitely no exception to the rule.  I’m a normal weight, but I do tend to fluctuate during periods of stress or what I call hormonal eating, so I can definitely gain a few pretty easily.  However, weighing yourself is supposed to be one of the keys to successfully dieting, or at least maintaining your ideal weight according to experts.  And it makes sense.  You will be less apt to wander off track if you are keeping tabs on yourself by using this very truthful instrument. 

A scale won’t smooth it over or lie to you about gaining a few pounds – it’s right there in black and white, so to speak, for you to gauge and understand, and modify your eating and exercise behavior accordingly.  Also, with the new digital scales, there is a laser like accuracy that cannot be ignored, so we know exactly what our weight is, unlike some of the spring loaded scales of the past, where we assume they may be five pounds off one way or another. 

Another thing that successful and long term weight losers is to keep food diaries.  This is a surefire way to keep track of what you’re eating, and to acknowledge when you have strayed off course during bad times, and make sure you get back on as soon as possible.  Hypnotherapy for weight loss may help get that internal track-keeping going too, since it keeps the conscious and subconscious aware of the constant goal of weight loss and ideal weight in the back of the mind. 

I always used to think diary keeping when dieting was useless, but I am amazed by how much I’ve heard this helps long term success in weight loss, because if it’s a habit like brushing your teeth, it makes the truth about diet hard to ignore.