The “other” weight loss food log.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one… if weight loss is your goal, one of the most important things you can possibly do is keep track of everything you eat each day.
Nothing new there, right?
The reason you’d do this is because, as you know by now, the key to a successful weight loss diet is eating the right number of calories (and getting those calories from good sources) and keeping some kind of log, list, or journal of what you eat every day is the only real way of doing this.
While I fully agree with everything above, I feel there is actually a completely different weight loss food log that should also be kept.
Like I’ve mentioned other times in this blog, most people fail to lose weight because of the mental aspect of weight loss. Knowing what to do and deciding to start doing it is easy. It’s the motivation, dedication, and will power to keep doing it, and doing it correctly, that causes most of the problems.
Keeping the type of food log I mentioned above and knowing exactly what you’re eating every day is really one of the keys for making the physical aspect of weight loss happen.
But, it does absolutely nothing for the mental aspect.
That’s why I’m proposing that everyone who’s ever had a diet setback due to a lack of will power or motivation should start keeping a SECOND log…
A log of everything you didn’t eat.
Everything you wanted to eat that day, but didn’t. Every bag of potato chips, every candy bar, every french fry, every cookie, every fast food hamburger, every can of soda, every food you wanted to eat but didn’t because you know you shouldn’t.
Each food in that log is one victory for your will power. Looking at a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly log of every piece of junk food you were mentally strong enough to keep out of your body would be nothing but motivating.
The next time your favorite junk food is just sitting there calling your name, instead of eating it, write it down. Write them all down. If you’re up to it, you can even take the time to figure out the nutritional information of it (calories, grams of fat, etc.) just to get an even better idea of the junk you just avoided eating.
As motivating as that would be, it will be even more motivating when you watch this log become smaller and smaller over time as your desire and interest in eating these types of foods gradually fade away.
Not to mention, the actual act of writing/typing the food down rather than eating it could act as enough of a distraction to make the desire to eat it just pass.
So, while adopting this idea won’t actually cause you to lose any weight, it will serve as a way of improving your will power and keeping you motivated. And, without that, you probably won’t be losing any weight anyway.
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January 12th, 2007 at 6:53 am
Now that’s really innovative!We all talk about food diaries but a what-i-didn’t-eat diary is a positive way to lose weight.
January 12th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Very interesting idea… I think I’ll give it a shot.
January 13th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
That’s a freaking GREAT idea. Good for me for not eating the office free donut breakfast and eating my kashi bar instead.
January 14th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
healthybpm, I agree. I’m surprised I’ve never seen/heard it anywhere before.
Vicky, cool. Let us know how it goes.
invah, exactly. Wouldn’t it be fun to look back at a list documenting every time you made a better food decision like that? And I guarantee over time there will be less and less foods added to that list.
January 22nd, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Why not just eat the food and count it in your daily calorie allowance?Is it so bad to eat chocolates,cakes,biscuits ,cheese pastries ect- as long as its 500 under ,then I will still lose weight wont I?
January 25th, 2007 at 4:49 am
Hi,
I have problem with my weight too… My goal is losing 20 pound . Losing 1,5 pound per week is what i’m trying. BUT i love eating “Sweet potato, potato & corn”.. I wanna ask a question that if i eat a lot Sweet potato, potato & corn but it’s not over my needed calories.. Will i gained weight? Does it effect on my diet plan?
Thank you so much
January 25th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Heather & Tracy, as long as you are about 500 calories below your body’s calorie maintenance level, you will very likely still lose about 1 pound per week. Of course, there are many other negatives to also consider when you decide to eat cakes and pastries.
Could you still lose weight with these foods in your diet? Yes. Does that make it good? Nope. These are the types of foods high in trans fat, saturated fat, sugar, and other things you really don’t want in your body. Not to mention, these are the types of foods that lead to failed diets for most of the people who think they can eat them in “moderation.”
And Tracy, sweet potatoes are actually one of the best sources of carbs.
February 3rd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
What a great idea of writing down what you want to eat instead of eating it. Another concept, when you want to eat something and feel it is not appropriate at that time just give yourself a big hug or ask someone else to give you that big hug. If you get a chance look at my website therecoverycoach.blogspot.com for the message I wrote about “Commitment.” Helen
March 6th, 2007 at 8:02 am
Oh my was that and idea and a half. What a GREAT idea! All the things I think about that I resist. When I go to a restaurant with my kids and see those beautiful pictures of juicy burgers with melted cheese and yummy toasted buns I yern for them. But then I choose Tilapia and steamed in season veggies that I know will remain in my teeth, because even if the kids did tell me about it I would be too busy obsessing about spending money on something I am enjoying much less then that burger, that would be like three dollars cheaper as well as
%100 yummier. I can celebrate these decissions by writing them down. Now that rocks. Side by side I can do it so I can see all those good choices I make from day to day. You are not a Jackass.
March 6th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Oh hey let me share a couple of things I kept in mind when I lost 60 lbs way back when. First: If God made it it’s good for you. I am not a naturalist or terribly religious however, this helped. When we get our hands on anything we ruin it.
The other thing was If you are what you eat and you want to be lean meat and muscle eat mostly lean meat and muscle. Of course you need fiber to clean all that stuff out of you so eat your veggies and fruit (whole ones) the darker the better. If you’re worried about carbs they are in a lot of those fruits and veggies. Check it out. Simple? Must be I thought of it.
May 9th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
My list just started with yesterday’s usual latte and an icecream I was unusually tempted to indulge in, both of which I didn’t. Observing the feeling resulting from allowing myself a little congratulations today on achieving this is definitely positive and uplifiting, not to mention motivating to try to do it again, etc. I’m going to build this as a new regular daily entry into my home-grown diet/exercise/etc log spreadsheet.
Thank you!
May 9th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I have only just discovered your website today – it’s awesome! Thank you so much!
I am now half-way through a 15kg (approx. 33 pound) weight loss goal and wish I had discovered your TLWD website at the beginning. Although I’m happy to discover and have confirmed that this has been at a reasonably healthy rate of 14 weeks so far.
Thank you also for being the kind and generous soul you are to make this information free to the universe (!) for all of us that didn’t know it before – what a great service to mankind. Sadhu.
You are awesome!
August 6th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Fantastic idea! I always think about just writing down what I did eat and that ends up being terribly depressing, so writing down what I give up is amazing inspiration to keep doing well! Thank you. I love all of your entries. You really know what you’re talking about.