MANILA, Philippines—Numerous studies on effective weight management show that journaling is one of the most important components of weight control and maintenance programs. Self-monitoring is the heart of lifestyle modification.

Identify how much realistic weight you want to lose in the next three or six months, or one year. Which other areas in your lifestyle do you want to improve on? It can either be controlling food intake, increasing physical activities, improving sleep or decreasing alcohol consumption.

You can use any type of monitoring tool for your day-to-day activities. Some weight loss clients I know would always bring a mini notebook, others write on their excel files while some store the details on their cell phones.

Physical improvements

Being aware of your body composition progress can increase your motivation to sustain your current program. For instance, if you know your weight loss is more on muscle loss, this would encourage you to do more weight training aside from cardio exercises to preserve or increase muscle mass responsible for decreasing body fat and increasing metabolism.

Record your weight once a week. But according to a study in Annals of Internal Medicine, participants find it more effective to weigh in on a frequent basis, more than once a week. Consider other factors for weight fluctuations like time of day, water retention, hormonal changes and increase in lean mass as a result of exercise.

Aside from weight, get a record of your fat percentage once a month or every two months so you know you are on the right track when it comes to weight loss. For men, aim not more than 24% body fat, and not more than 31% for women. Body fat analyzers are usually available at health clubs and drugstores.

Measure your waist at least once or twice a month to monitor your health status. Waistline measurement is known to have significance in one’s susceptibility to health risk factors like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, waist circumferences of greater than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women are strong indicators of abdominal obesity.

Food intake and physical activities

According to a recent study published this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, participants who list down their food intake lost twice as much weight in six months compared to those who did not keep a food journal.

Record a daily detailed food intake by including amount, quality (fried, boiled, sautéed, etc.), time and location of eating so you will be aware of triggers which cause you to overeat. For example, finishing a big bag of chips was triggered by late night eating with your kids while watching television.

Record your water intake to prevent you from consuming high-calorie beverages like sodas, iced teas and other flavored drinks. This also ensures you are well-dehydrated during the day.

If lessening alcohol consumption is one of your goals, write down the total amount of beer and hard drinks consumed every drinking session, and compare the total amount every week.

Record the total number of steps by using a pedometer to track down how active you are during the day. This accounts for significant weight loss or maintenance. You can do this on a daily or weekly basis. If you lack structured exercises, aim for more than 70,000 steps a week to lose weight.

For cardio exercises, write down the average heart rate, total duration and level and average speed done. For weight training, make sure you have a copy of your exercise programs to monitor your strength progress.

Sleep

Findings presented in the 2006 American Thoracic Society International Conference show that women who sleep five hours or less per night weigh more than those who get at least seven hours of sleep.

The weight gain was due to the slowing down of metabolism and increase in overeating and frequent cravings since the ghrelin (hormone responsible for feelings of hunger) levels increase and leptin (hormone which tells your brain when it’s time to stop eating) levels decrease.

Getting sufficient sleep of more than six hours per night is as important as controlling food intake and increasing physical activities in managing weight. Write down the amount of sleep that you get daily so you'll be aware on its effect to your weight, eating behavior and energy level during the day.

Identify factors which cause you to sleep late or wake up early and think of ways to manage it. Experts suggest limiting late night television viewing and other extra activities like playing computer games and late night parties.

Some individuals who incorporated physical activities to their daily routine reported better sleeping habits.

E-mail the author at mitchfelipe@gmail.com