Recordkeeping: The Key to the Weight Control Kingdom

According to a recent article in the Women’s World magazine, the
failure to keep a food diary is “the mistake that keeps 63% of
dieters fat.” The article cited a study conducted by the
National Weight Control Registry that involved 3,000
participants who had lost an average of sixty-six pounds and
kept if off for more than five years. Keeping a food journal,
according to the Registry’s findings, is a strategy utilized by
the majority of the participants.

So, here is the million-dollar question: If keeping a food
diary is so effective — and so simple — why aren’t more people
keeping one? Because we are bombarded with ads for weight loss
products and programs that promise quick and easy results.
Unfortunately, most of us believe we can lose overnight the
weight it took us months or years to gain. Our unrealistic
expectations lead to discouragement, which in turn causes us to
lose patience and abandon the simple and effective habits that
can bring lasting results if we allow enough time.

If we stay the course, we can reach our weight loss goals.

If we’re patient and give those effective healthy habits time
to do their job, one day our weight problem will no longer be
the first thing we think about when we wake up or the last thing
we think about when we go to bed. You have the key to the
kingdom. Keep turning the lock, and one day — perhaps when you
least expect it — the door will open!

But what do we do in the meantime, while we are waiting to get
into that kingdom where our weight is finally what we want it to
be? When you start to feel anxious about the outcome of your
efforts or begin to question whether writing down what you eat
and how much you exercise can make a difference, pause and
remind yourself of two simple truths: Good things come to those
who wait and anything worth having is worth waiting for.

1. Prev:10 Smart Tips to Guaranteed Weight Loss
2. Next:Did I Really Eat That?: How to Quickly Recover From a Binge