Inspiring Weight Loss Journal Ideas to Keep You Motivated
Are you looking for ways to stay motivated while trying to lose weight?
If so, consider keeping a weight loss journal. It can be a great way to track your progress and see the results of your hard work.
Moreover, tracking information daily, weekly, and monthly can help you identify behavioral patterns and set realistic goals.
What Is a Weight Loss Journal?
A weight loss journal is a prompted journal that targets weight loss. This tool will help you gain a clear picture of your eating, exercise, sleep, and emotional habits.
Once you record your habits, you’ll be able to recognize room for improvement.
It is a great reminder of your accomplishments too!
Why Is It Helpful?
Science has proven that people who keep a detailed food log lose more weight than their non-tracking counterparts. It is amazing how our behavior can change when we are aware of it and actively engage in the process.
When you write down your thoughts, feelings, and actions, you become more mindful of them and can take positive steps toward lasting change.
Moreover, writing down your progress can help you stay on track and motivated. Having a visual reference of your journey can also be an excellent source of inspiration when the going gets tough.
Weight Loss Journal Ideas
Here are some ideas to get you started on your weight loss journey:
Goal Setting
First thing’s first. Write down your ultimate weight loss goal and any short-term goals that can help you reach it. Knowing what you want to achieve will give you clarity and focus.
The key to attaining your goals is making them SMART. A SMART goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Examples:
- I will go on a 30-minute walk Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays
- I will reduce the soda I drink to one 12-ounce can per day
- I will avoid eating fast food for the next four weeks
Motivation
Write Your Why
Your why is a powerful motivator. Keeping your why in mind can help you stay motivated and focused on your goals.
Try to answer questions such as: Why do I want to lose weight? What impact will losing weight have on my life?
For example, “I want to lose weight so that I can be healthier and have more energy to participate in activities with my family.”
Make it very meaningful to you.
Track Daily
Tracking daily habits is a great way to become more conscious and accountable for your actions.
Food Log
Keeping a food log can help you become aware of how much and what type of food you eat.
Make it more impactful by recording your feelings before and after eating.
Exercise
Physical activity is a great way to expedite your weight loss journey.
This can range from a daily walk to strength training, but the bottom line is tracking will keep you on top of these goals.
Water Consumption
Drinking enough water can help you lose weight by improving metabolism, decreasing appetite, and facilitating more productive exercise.
Sleep
Many women underestimate the importance of a good night’s sleep and overestimate how much shut-eye they actually get.
Restful sleep is absolutely crucial to weight loss and overall quality of life. Therefore, track and monitor your sleep habits to ensure you get the recommended 7-9 hours.
Track your Emotions
Emotions can have a big impact on eating. For example, seeking emotional comfort in food can be a reaction to stress for some people. A weight loss journal can be a good way to determine when emotional eating occurs and why.
Recording how you feel mentally can help create healthier habits for when you experience anxiety, low mood, sadness, stress, or low self-esteem.
Journaling is also a great way to relieve stress since it allows time for private reflection.
Affirmations
Writing in your weight loss journal is also a great opportunity for positive self-talk.
Affirmations are short, positive phrases that can change negative thoughts and behavior patterns when repeated regularly. They can be said out loud, to yourself, and recorded in your weight loss journal.
Here’s how to write affirmations for weight loss:
- Be specific: Identify the mindset or habit that you’d like to change
- Keep it realistic: Be sure that the affirmation is credible and achievable. Turn negatives into positives: “I’m not dedicated enough to lose weight” becomes “I am ready and able to lose weight”
- Write your affirmation in the present tense: “I am well-prepared.”
- Make sure the affirmation is meaningful: Say it with feeling.
Non-Scale Victories
Non-scale victories (NSV) are a great way to celebrate and reward yourself for taking consistent action.
Common NSVs can include feeling more energized, increased muscle tone, fitting into your old clothes, noticing improved posture, or experiencing decreased pain in joints or muscles.
Weekly Tracking
In addition to tracking your daily habits, setting weekly goals can help you stay on track. This can include completing a healthy meal plan or increasing the number of steps taken each day.
By setting clear goals and tracking your progress, you give yourself something tangible to strive for, giving you motivation and momentum.
Weight
Stepping on the scale each week and recording the results in your weight loss journal can be one way of tracking progress.
It is important to note that it is normal for body weight to fluctuate daily. Dehydration, meals, illness, traveling, and hormone levels can all influence weight. Short-term changes on the scale do not indicate any actual changes to body composition. It can be more helpful to look at weight trends over a longer period of time.
There can also be a lot of emotion tied to the number on the scale. If you find stepping on the scale causes additional stress, anxiety, or low self-esteem, there are alternative ways to track your weight loss.
Meal Plan
Writing down your meal plan on paper can help with organization, accountability, and planning.
The best way to start meal prepping is to identify how many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners you will eat at home. This will help determine how many recipes you need to choose.
Monthly Tracking
Measurements
Taking measurements of your chest, waist, hips, thighs, and arms can be a helpful way to track progress and weight loss.
For best results, use a flexible measuring tape specifically designed for tracking body measurements. Record these measurements each month in your journal to measure changes in size over time.
Progress Photos
Taking progress photos to add to your weight loss journal can be a great way to visualize your weight loss.
You likely won’t notice much difference by taking photos weekly. Taking photos once a month is less time-consuming, and you will be more likely to see progressive change.
Evaluating Goals
At the end of the month, evaluate whether you have reached your SMART goals, and set new goals for the upcoming month.
If you cannot meet some of your goals, set new goals that you will be more likely to achieve. For example, if your goal was to walk for 30 minutes four times per week, but you were only able to set aside time to walk twice per week, your new SMART goal should be to walk for 30 minutes three times per week.
The Bottom Line
Weight loss can feel like an uphill battle. Tracking your activity is a great way to take control of your weight loss journey.
A weight loss journal is an introspective tool that can assist you in achieving your goals and optimizing your health by training you to be more mindful of your actions.
Dr. Su-Nui Escobar, a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist in Miami, FL, is dedicated to empowering women in perimenopause and menopause to live healthier, more satisfying lives.
With a doctorate in clinical nutrition from the University of North Florida, she has expertise in menopause and weight loss, including the unique challenges faced by those on weight loss medications.
Su-Nui’s passion for her field is evident in her previous role as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson.
