Keeping Realistic Expectations When Using a Food Diary

Aug 13
07:59

2012

Ryan Newhouse

Ryan Newhouse

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Sensible goals will help you on your weight loss journey.

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One of the great things about a mobile food tracker is the ability to set goals for yourself. You can set goals for the amount of weight you want to lose,Keeping Realistic Expectations When Using a Food Diary Articles the number of calories that you want to eat in a day, how many calories you want to burn through exercise, and even the nutrient makeup of the foods that you consume. Having goals is a great way to plan for success in weight loss and these are valuable tools. However, when setting your goals it’s important to remember to keep them realistic and achievable.

When it’s time to set goals in your online food diary, take a minute to think about where you are now and where you want to be in the future. If you are currently eating an unhealthy diet, it’s not realistic to go immediately to a diet devoid of any of the foods that you are used to. It is however, realistic to slowly introduce healthier foods until you have reached the point where you are only eating nutritious foods. By not expecting perfection from yourself immediately, you can allow your body and your mind to get used to what is essentially a radical change in your lifestyle.

Another thing to think about is the goals themselves. While you may want to lose 50 pounds, such a lofty goal can be a long time in coming, even if you do everything right. Instead of making one big goal for weight loss, try setting a series of smaller goals. If you have a health condition, use the other tools available in your online journal, like the diabetes tracker to make sure that the changes in your eating habits are not affecting your condition. By setting a realistic and achievable small goal like 5 pounds per month, you can successfully achieve your larger goal of a total weight loss of 50 pounds.

Finally, when using your online food journal, try to keep in mind that there will be times when you fail to meet your goal. Instead of giving up, keep going with it. People who are committed to their goals will achieve them, even if it takes a little longer than you might like. Weight loss can be thought of as a lifelong journey, there will be ups and downs, but eventually, you can change your lifestyle and habits to not only achieve your goals, but maintain the loss once you’ve gotten there.