Seven Weeks on Weight Watchers - The Joys of Journaling

In Weight Watchers speak, journaling is how you track what you eat and how many "points" the food you eat adds up to.  Journaling can also be used to keep notes about what was going on with you on a particular day or weekend or week.  This information can be helpful, particularly if you're an emotional eater.  You might be able to write about what you were doing or thinking or feeling on a day when you overdid the pointage.

I have been an avid journaler since I started Weight Watchers.  This week, not so good.  I kept putting off my journaling and adding the points up in my head until I sat down and finally started inputting everything into the Weight Watchers eTools online system (which I LOVE by the way).  Guess what I discovered.  That day I thought I did just fine, I actually went over my points by more than TEN points!  That would probably explain why I only lost .2 of a pound this week.  Not losing much this week was a bit of a disappointment, but not a shock because I knew that I had just had a week where I "fell off the wagon" here and there.  I truly believe that I would have been much more on track had I stuck with my journaling like normal.  Even my husband asked if I had stopped doing inputting my points into the computer!  That was when I knew I better get my butt in gear and get my food entered.  It was a bit of a shock to see how poorly I did when I wasn't paying attention.  Or maybe I wasn't journaling because I knew what it would look like!?! Hm.  That would be another topic I expect.

Regardless of the how and the why, I think that journaling is a really valuable tool when on a weight loss plan.  Even if you aren't using the Weight Watchers plan, tracking your food and nutritional information can only provide you with valuable knowledge about what you're putting in your body.  It keeps you informed of what you're eating and why.  Personally, I am not an emotional eater, but I could see how including what else is going on in your life could be some valuable information as well.  I mostly just add a few notes here and there when I'm particularly happy with my food choices or if I need a kick in the pants.  I also like to track other things, too, like my fiber intake - it was a big surprise to find out how little fiber most of us eat and I try to make sure I get what I need to.

Do you journal to track what your eating and the nutritional value?  Have you had any "breakthroughs" while using the journaling process?