Don’t Let Food Choices Sabotage Your Efforts

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Traditional methods of monitoring used paper diaries to record what was consumed each day but more recently electronic-based tracking is being used for people to self-monitor weight loss with regular self-weighing and the recording of daily physical activities. Researchers recently used numerous methods for comparing study participant’s weight loss results (from paper diaries to tracking with electronics) but found no significant difference in between the two groups.

Technology is an important tool for facilitating the weight loss process, as it allows you to monitor your progress in real time, adjust your goals, and stay motivated to better manage your weight for the long term. In order to achieve long-term success with any menu plan, it is important to be aware of all the available options for self-monitoring. To maximize benefits, you should also monitor and document your daily exercise type and duration.

Self-Evaluation Offers Many Benefits

In the past, self-monitoring was incorrectly thought of as a punishment and often overlooked as a critical component for success when making lifestyle changes for dietary intake and physical activity. Listed below are four benefits of tracking your food, weight and daily exercise:

1) Learn More About Your Body – Weighing yourself is an important and simple self-monitoring behavior that allows you to learn more about your body. It serves as real time reminder of your eating and exercise habits.

2) Builds Healthy Habits – Self-monitoring is a useful way to keep you on track with better food intake and increased physical activities. As you continue to build healthy habits, you can quickly manage the things that may have been holding you back.

3) Tracks Body Mass Index – Monitoring what you are doing requires deliberate attention being paid to the changes in your body mass index in response to lifestyle interventions for dietary intake and increases in physical activity.

4) Easier to Focus on What Works – Self-monitoring is a key to implementing behavioral modifications like dietary changes and better exercise habits. Moreover, there are a multitude of ways to self-monitor from pen and paper to smartphone apps.

Continue to Self-Monitor to Ensure Long-Term Success

Studies suggest that self-awareness is a critical component in self-regulation of one’s lifestyle interventions and other weight control strategies. When science is applied to shedding unwanted pounds, it typically involves an increase in energy expenditure, decrease in energy intake, and the use of tracking strategies such as self-monitoring and self-regulation of key lifestyle interventions. In short, you must pay deliberate attention to your own actions for making better food and exercise choices. Even though you may have reached your weight loss goals, current recommendations are for you to continue self-monitoring of lifestyle interventions throughout the maintenance period to ensure success.

Here at Metabolic Research Center, we have been educating clients about the dangers of following diet plans that severely restrict food diversity. Visit the MRC location nearest you to learn more about self-monitoring effective lifestyle interventions.