One reason a weight loss program is so hard to follow is they are made for the masses. We know that the two pillars of weight loss are diet and exercise. Yet, both the food we enjoy and the exercise we thrive in are as unique as our fingerprints. Consider the diet, the foods we eat and enjoy vary widely across different cultures and even geographic boundaries. Or perhaps you struggle to build muscle because you don’t find weightlifting enjoyable.
Once I stopped searching for the perfect weight loss program and created a toolbox to assist my goals, the weight started coming off. Journaling is the perfect tool for self-monitoring and accountability. It has been shown to increase motivation and adherence to weight loss programs
in many studies. So grab a notebook and follow these 5 journaling prompts to help you on your weight loss journey. TLDR: If you wanna skip the novel below, download your free weight loss journal here to get started.
Start Making Excuses
Let’s start with the elephant in the room. When it comes to weight and health overall we usually start with the end in mind. “I want to lose 20 pounds, I want to exercise, etc.” But we need to start with tomorrow in mind. The next 24 hours and 24 days. When you set your goals you are in the high from the daydream, you are fueled and pumped. But the reality is you will encounter many obstacles to achieve your vision.
The main obstacle will be yourself and your excuses
Motivating “future you” past these excuses will be key in maintaining your momentum and fighting perfectionism.
Hack Your Mind Out of Excuse Mode
Start with the component you struggle with the most. For this example let’s use exercise. Start with a blank piece of paper and make two columns, an excuse column and a response column. Then fill in every single excuse you have made when it comes to exercising. Here are some of the most common excuses for not exercising::
- I’m tired
- Don’t have time
- Don’t want to wash my hair
- Don’t want to go to the gym
- Don’t know what to wear
- It’s too late
- I’m on my period
- I’m sore
Then respond to the future you that will understandably make excuses with a response. That response will be made when you are in the mindset of the current, goal-driven and ambitious you. For example, if one of your excuses is “I don’t want to go to the gym” your response would be a link to a YouTube workout that is ready to go. For “I’m on my period” my response is even more detailed. Because I know I get painful cramps on the second day of my period my response is twofold:
“If its day 2, make some tea and rest. Any other day do this 10 minute stretch or a walk”
We basically want to anticipate and work with the different moods and obstacles you will face instead of fighting them. You know yourself better than anyone else, rather than feeling bad about making excuses make a response plan. By intentionally giving ourselves alternatives and “free passes” we can eliminate all-or-nothing thinking and ensure we don’t give up all together.
You are Your Best Fitness Tracker
Exercise is always a key part of any weight loss program. While there are many apps on the market to exercise with, the best app for weight loss will be an old school notebook. The type of movement we enjoy varies between individuals and even changes as we grow. We may like CrossFit one day and Yoga the next. But the only exercise worth doing is the one you can stay consistent with. Tracking your movement patterns will reveal what is the best movement for you and your body today.
Track the movement you do (and don’t do) every week so you can understand what patterns you naturally follow. Each row represents a week and each column the day of the week. Here is an example of your starting layout.
Next create a key depending on the type of exercise you do and log your workouts accordingly. It should look something like this:
After a few weeks (I recommend 13 weeks) you can review this data and understand your patterns. Look at what types of workouts you can do consistently, what days you always miss (hello Mondays). But also what workouts do you keep coming back to? Essentially, we are creating an exercise routine that works with our natural tendencies rather than against them.
Your Weight Loss Program “Allowed Foods”
How many times do we look at a diet plan and know we only eat only 1 of the 5 meals provided? Our taste buds are extremely unique. Yet we try to follow weight loss programs that list every meal and ingredient we can or cannot eat. Instead spend some time searching for low calorie, high protein meals and compile meals you will actually eat and have time to cook. Pro tip, try using this ChatGPT prompt:
“I need help developing meals for weight loss and muscle growth. Give me 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners that are X calories or less and have at least X grams of protein. The meals must meet the macros of 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat. Include portion sizes. Include any spices. I enjoy eating A,B,C. Please exclude D,E,F ingredients.”
Then organize them into the meal types, shoot for 3 meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The key here is to make sure these are meals you actually enjoy preparing and most importantly, eating. Include the portions and any special flavorings.
Now you have a custom cheat sheet as part of your weight loss program so when you run out of ideas on what to eat they are immediately ready to go and you know you will love.
Having a pre-planned menu of options that go hand in hand with your taste and shopping patterns will save you time and eliminate poor diet choices.
A Grocery Dashboard is Your Ultimate Weight Loss Program
Grocery shopping is tedious on a regular day, add the mental load of weight loss and it is a recipe for disaster. Create a grocery dashboard to help you shop intentionally and buy food you will actually eat. It also helps to manage your inventory so you always know what to purchase.
Start by scouring your pantry in the same sections the grocery store is organized. Then write in pen the ingredients you actually like or have fully consumed in the past. Start with an empty checkbox which you will check in pencil every time you purchase and finish an item. Whenever you toss an empty container grab your pencil and erase the checkmark, this way every time you go grocery shopping your shopping list will already be filled for you.
If you throw something out because you couldn’t finish it, cross it out to ensure you do not buy it again. Of course as you try new foods and your palate evolves leave room to add ingredients into your repertoire. This helps you create an evolving personalized dashboard that isn’t forced, and saves you time and money while ensuring you can follow any weight loss program.
Tracking Progress for Weight Loss
Understanding your progress can only occur when you understand your journey. Your journey includes ups and downs. Using journaling methods as part of your weight loss program ensures you are continuously checking in with yourself leading to increase motivation and accountability. Whether you are tracking weight, body fat, or measurements focusing on TRENDS over numbers will keep you motivated and aware. Here is a simple tracker for your weight loss journey:
Macronutrient Tracker
For many of us we are not consuming the proper amount of nutrients for optimal weight loss. We hear a lot about protein and the correlation between protein intake and weight loss. Personally I have found that tracking my fiber intake has been the key to staying full and fighting hunger. The beauty of this journal prompt is it is flexible to track any quantitative metric you want like protein, calories, fiber, etc.
It is helpful to have a cheat sheet next to your tracker of the 10 most common foods you eat, the portions, and their respective macro count for quick reference. Then throughout the day simply increase your bar graph to hit your goal.
Empower Yourself With a Journal
Having a personalized approach to accomplishing your weight loss goals is a proven way to achieve them. Using these prompts and trackers you can build your own tailored weight loss program that is virtually free. A simple notebook and pen with the power of these journal prompts and dashboards can be the tool you are missing.
If you need help getting started, I’ve compiled these prompts into this free download. Happy Journaling!