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Small Steps
A journey of a thousand miles begins with
a single step.
Lao-tzu
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|  | You may have heard the adage, "bite it, write it" as an encouragement to monitor what you eat and drink. Self-monitoring, or tracking, really does makes a difference in weight loss and in weight maintenance. It makes a difference in any behavior change you want to make.
Luckily for me, it turns out that the consistency of tracking is more important than the accuracy of the monitoring (see the Self-monitoring and Weight Management article below). This is good news for those who think that they have to be perfect. Just because you don't know the exact portion size, the calories, or the Points of an item or meal, track it anyway. It's the awareness and the consistency that will help you succeed.
How to track? Though all the scientific research that's been reported so far has looked at written monitoring, the general opinion is that it's the act of monitoring that is the key. So use whatever works for you.
- pen & paper (or colorful markers and stickers :)
- websites
- phone apps
- phone camera - take pictures of your food
- blog, email, tweets, posts on facebook, etc
- asking yourself if you're hungry or satisfied before and after you eat
When to track? As soon as possible. I've gotten into the habit of tracking what I eat only at the end of the day and I'm sure I've forgotten a few items along the way. So this next week, I'm going to change and start out tracking what I think I will be having that day. This way I can plan in treats & afternoon snacks and be more aware of those meals that may be bigger or higher calories. I can then review at the end of the day to assess what worked, what didn't and what I would do differently tomorrow.
How will you monitor your behavior change this week?
P. S. I realized when I was losing weight that monitoring my food was going to be a journey. I figured it would take me the same number of years to establish my new habit of awareness as I had lived my old habit of eating too much. So I figure when I'm 83 I won't have to track anymore, it'll be natural by then.
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| Self-monitoring and weight management by Laura Shay, PhD(c), C-ANP in the Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, Vol 12, Number 1, February 2008
Click here to see pictures and videos of my kittens
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Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.
James Thurber
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