Write it out

You've probably heard it a million times, but one of the keys to successful weight-loss is self-awareness. Instead of mindless eating and thinking that you just worked out, "like, yesterday, or was it Sunday...," really examine your habits and figure out your patterns.

I recommend to all my clients that they keep a "health diary." My version of a health diary is a little bit different than the traditional food diary, where you write down what you eat and the calorie counts for each. In a health diary, I've found it's easier to stick to better eating and exercise habits if you have a plan in place. Before your week starts, write down a week's worth of meals and snacks. Consult your schedule for the week and make sure you are planning your meals to accommodate that schedule. (If you know you'll be traveling all day on Thursday, plan meals and foods that will be conducive to travel.) In addition to meal-planning, write down appointments (yes, appointments) for exercise and what you'll be doing during each session.

As you write down your plans, fold your paper in half length-wise (the hot-dog way) and keep your plans on one side of the paper running down the paper instead of across. The reason for this is that next to it, you can write down what you actually ate. This will help you review your week with your plan and your actual eating habits side by side. (If you like to keep your information electronic, use columns to split the "plan" and "actual" columns.)

Keep track of your actual food consumption as you go along if you can. This will not only make sure you don't forget to write down that afternoon snack, but it will also help you see how your day is shaping up. If you feel like you've overindulged at lunch, you know that dinner should be a little lighter.

Lastly I recommend, mostly to my female clients, that they keep track of their emotions throughout the week. If you have some trouble with emotional eating, whether it is when you are bored, lonely, sad, stressed, etc.; writing down how you were feeling when you ate an enormous piece of cake, will help you target what triggers an unhealthy overindulgence or binge. You can make a third column for this, or just write it just next to the "actual" food entry.

This truthful look into your eating habits, exercise habits and a look at how you deal with your emotions, can really help you put your healthy intentions to action. I've seen tremendous success with people when they've really embraced self-awareness. As we review their "health diary" we can see patterns and can address areas of weakness.

Once you are aware of whether or not your emotions are sabotaging your healthy eating, you can decide whether or not to continue the "emotion" column. Pre-planning is key though. You'll eat much better if you have it written down and know you have the groceries to support your plan. It will also help with the age-old question, "What's for dinner tonight?"