New Year, New Fat Journal!

September 19, 2011 marks the start of my attempt at making a healthy lifestyle change. I think I was some what successful. I am still plugging away at the weight loss aspect, while I am still not perfect, and I like to cook/bake an indulgence every now and then, I feel my overall goal to live healthier in general seems to have been successful. (There is always room for improvement of course, but I am better then I was a year ago!). Over the last year, I have created a few tools that I find have helped me with the weight loss portion: I keep a food journal by using a calorie counting spreadsheet I created. (Numbers nerd right here!) I also created a “Motivational Journal”, my a.k.a. “Fat Journal”.

I like scouring the internet for studies and healthy living articles; articles that have safe, educated advice. I don’t trust anything that seems remotely like a fad diet, or encourages starving myself or cut out a whole food group all together. My number one resource I still refer to is the Canadian Food Guide government website. Educated, registered dieticians whom I feel I can trust to give me ACCURATE and SAFE information. (Let’s be clear, I do NOT follow fad diets created by reality stars. Once upon a time, someone thought they were being helpful by giving me Bethenney Frankels diet book, which to me is complete garbage, I promptly gave the book BACK.) I will follow advice from real, educated, legit, personal trainers; again, only if they have healthy, common sense.

I will print the articles, or inspiring stories or helpful advice and paste them into my journal, this way I can read them any time I am away from the computer. I also use my fat journal to write down my goals and to plug any other additional, valuable information/advice I have picked up along the way. Any motivational quotes or sayings that I like or find inspiring, I copy and write in the fat journal. I also use the journal to record my progress and write down the occasional entry if I am feeling really good and proud of myself, like the day I fit into a pair of jeans I bought three years prior that never really fit. This way I can read it when I am down on myself for polishing off a big bag of chips. (Thank goodness, this has become fewer and farther between!)

As today marks a year of healthy-ish living, I am starting a new journal, my old one is almost full with the exception of a few sheets.  This is a shot of my old journal (it’s been well used) and my new journal.