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.