How to Monitor and Regulate Weight Loss

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If you are ready to lower your health risks by losing weight, self-monitoring skills can provide a straightforward approach to effectively manage your mindset and motivation for shedding pounds safely and efficiently. Routine self-monitoring can help you remember what you have eaten that day, so you can actually see where you can make improvements. Plus, weighing yourself regularly to be more successful in keeping it off in the long run.

It is crucial that you self-regulate the behavioral and environmental factors that conspire against you and often influence your decisions to engage in too little physical activity while teasing you to eat too much of the wrong foods. Making a commitment to increased physical activity and understanding how to make better food choices are critical components of a comprehensive strategy for permanent weight loss. Long-term weight control depends on good self-regulation.

Reasons You Need to Track Your Journey

Studies published by the National Institute of Health found that a high frequency and high consistency of dietary self-monitoring of energy intake and expenditure improves long-term success. Listed below are four benefits of tracking your food, weight and daily exercise:

1) Triggers Mindful Behaviors – Mindfulness is commonly defined as the awareness that arises when paying attention to the present moment with an openness to disengage from distractors and be open to cognitive monitoring.

2) Better Understanding of Your Habits – Self-monitoring is a practice where you systematically observe and record the results of lifestyle interventions to continually gain a better understanding of your habits.

3) Reduces Chances of Weight Regain – Studies have shown that continuing to frequently self-monitor dietary and exercise interventions for the long-term had a positive impact on good weight control during weight maintenance.

4) Helps You Reach Your Goals – Higher frequency of self-monitoring is associated with reaching goals for weight change in individuals who self-monitor consistently but had little impact on weight change for those who did not self-monitor.

Any Form of Self-Monitoring Is Better Than None

Studies suggest that utilizing the latest technology can provide today’s dieters with helpful tools. When used with proven weight loss strategies, it can improve self-monitoring skills for better outcomes than traditional techniques. Adult participants in a recent weight loss study had better long-term adherence to weight management behaviors after making lifestyle interventions when they also received human support in addition to the latest self-monitoring tools and technologies. Over the long haul, any form of self-monitoring of dietary intake and daily physical activity can be combined with routine weigh-ins to help men or women lose weight more effectively.

For anyone who struggle with weight control, Metabolic Research Center focuses on personalizing lifestyle interventions and provides tons of human support to ensure you are following strategies that meet your specific needs.