keeping weight records

This week I decided to weight daily and keep my results in an excel program. I also keep some comments when appropriate next to the weight. I don't know how long I'll keep this up but I'm finding it very motivating right now.

I'm not one to get hung up by the numbers and it doesn't bother me if they go up a few days, especially if I've eaten something salty or over-indulged. While I hate those nasty stalls I will be able to look back at the big picture to remind myself of the weight that I have lost to keep me on track.

Someone posted here recently with a link to her blog. I was very impressed seeing her records of her weight loss - this was my inspiration and I'm glad she posted. Sorry, I can't remember her name.

Skylar

As hard as it is to make the time to journal, I know from history that it helps me lose/maintain  weight.  i have likened Not Journaling to writing checks on an account that you don't know the balance on hand!

Journaling has also reminded me about redemption:  if I am out of balance a few days - I can still fix that. Before journaling, if i "blew" a day, I felt so down and out and "why try" atttidue crept in lots more often.

The online log I use gives weekly or monthly reports:  average daily cals, sat fats - the things I am interested in seeing. I know that the overall input is what matters; our bodies are very forgiving and science does not even know why, at times, a calorie is not really a calorie. It is not that simple.

We have no way to measure how well - or how poorly - our individual bodies use the fuel we eat.  I'm here to tell you all that my body could walk 500 miles on 100 calories; it is super efficient, if you will, on caloric conservation. According to fitday, I burn faaar more cals than I need; I even under-report how much i move. Clearly the scale is in disagreement!

I journal in fitday.com and have records (in spurts) since 2006. I like the overall picture of my behavior and actual intake.

I stand by this:  if any of you have never journaled real portions of food - it is very valuable.

ETA:  If you do this, PLEASE, think of it as a science experiment, not a way to punish yourself. Trust me, even when I fearlessly post the worst day of choices, there is a valuable lesson on next time - and again - we can lower those averages another day when we feel more strong in our program. Redemption!

I've used fitday.com from time to time, and it does help me keep on track better with my food choices and amounts.  I've been journaling (do it once a week for the whole week's menus in advance, then make my shopping list from that) since around 2001, when I was on LA Weight Loss.  Before that, I went to WW in 1995, and tried to journal every day, but hated it, because instead of writing down what I ate before I ate it, I wrote it down afterwards, and hated doing it, since doing it that way showed how much I took in without planning first, which was often too much.  I ended up losing 13 pounds in one year, which finally led to me quitting WW and trying something else.

Since I journal only once a week now, along with recipe and menu planning and the shopping list, I don't feel it's such a burden now.  In fact, it helps me not have to wrack my brain each day, trying to figure out what to serve & eat on the spot.  I just turn to the days menu page, and it's all laid out for me.  I would never go through a week (except for being on traveling vacations) without journaling.  Since I don't know in advance what a restaurant will offer while traveling, I can't decide in advance what to eat, except to try to order healthy foods from the menu they have.

Denise Phares/kitties4

Hi Neecee - yes a science experiment. I've wasted too much of my life punishing myself - the last few years I learned not to do this. I guess this comes with age?

I'm not sure yet that I want to get into all the record keeping of what I eat at this time. I think that when I stop losing weight then maybe I'll start these kinds of records. I checked out fitday a long time ago. I certainly can understand the benefits you must find from doing this - both to keep account but also to actually see what you are doing - the good, bad and ugly, in otherwords the reality.

Skylar

      Dear Neecee:

I am writing, to tell you I looked into this fitday.com, that you mentioned in your post on journaling. Thank-you. I like the food journaling, but have you done the activity tab? The only thing I do not like about it is, in the activity journal they do not do pedometer steps. They do not count steps, they count feet, miles, yards etc. I do not know how many stair steps to a mile, but other then that, I like this site very must. Since I have been playing with it, to see how it works and what you can and can't do with it (well, at lest playing a little, a lot  was true.) I noticed that, I am not doing as much, as I thought I was doing. I've almost, all my life have, had that problem, Me thinking what I was doing, was more then what was really being done. I have never(at this point)understood why I do that. Anyway, back to the journaling. Thank-You for the lead.

Twilight

This is going to sound like I am a totally obsessive person but I have weight records going back 29 years since I joined the Army.  Of course, the Army kept those records for the first 20 years.  I went from 132 at induction to 162 when I retired.  I was never overweight in the Army.  After retirement, I kept my weight recorded in a little 3 x 5 inch spiral notebook.  Here are some highlights (or lowlights as I now recall!):
I gained 30 pounds the first two years after I retired - about a pouind a month:

10/15/2001:  193
1/1/2003:       230  my highest weight
7/23/2003:     195  my lowest before WLS
4/11/2006:      208  Thyroid surgery date
5/01/2006:      215  Weigh-in for WLS - it had to be 35BMI for the surgery
7/17/2006       207  WLS date
1/1/2007:        157  Basically lost 50 pounds with WLS
11/25/2007    142  Following Lower Body Lift
10/20/2008    139  Lowest weight since 1989
6/13/2009      146  Weight up a bit because of pending knee surgery this month

I do it because it keeps me in check.  Even when my weight was badly out of control, I still did it.  I believe to this day that if I had quit tracking my weight, I would have gotten a whole lot heavier.  For me,  I have to have these Come to Jesus moments with the scale.  I need lots of help.  I need my friends here, my friends in my support group, my girlfriends, my family, my doctor, my priest and my lord.   It's a group effort to keep my weight under control.

Good luck - keep it up.  Donna

Donna, I am impressed and amazed at your record keeping. I appreciate you posting your highlights LOL. It is reassuring to see someone else having a similar journey weight wise.

I hope that the kneww surgery goes well so you can get back to pain free activity.

Skylar

I like graphs....very visual person.  I currently have a graph of my weekly weights since 4/07.  There sure are lots of ups and downs on that one!  Gives me a much clearer picture of what's going on. 

I also tend to journal when I start a new WOE....very good about keeping daily menus and weights and thoughts and feelings etc.  I also use Daily Plate (when I'm on a plan).  Guess I should probably try it some time when I'm off plan!  I probably don't want to know.

I also have a spiral notebook that I will jot down the date and weight since 9/03.  I find it interesting to look back and see what weight I was at different times.

Obsessed with keeping track.....too bad I'm not more successfully in control of those numbers!!

Hi Sherrie!  i must point out that for you as well as me, the real "problem" is that we don't need too much food. I mean, without tracking, I can assure anyone that i am eating waaay less than I did even 5 years ago, but does that scale give me any love? nooooo

Just hang in here with me!

Neecee,  I really tuned in when you said  you are eating way less food than you were five years ago.  I'll assume that you weighed a lot more five years ago.....

The point is, when we weigh more, we burn more calories just moving around and doing normal activities.  So, in theory, we can eat more and maintain our weight all other things being equal.  Speaking for myself, I sure ate a whole lot more when I was heavy than I do now and I had no problem maintaining my weight when I weighed 215 but I sure have a problem now at 145.  Just think about it - try to carry 70 extra pounds up a flight of stairs and see how hard that is. . . . .   I can't even begin to imagine the difference in someone who lost 200 or more pounds.  At my lowest weight, I had lost 91 and that was an unbelievable difference in normal activities.