Become a Good Self Monitor
“The mere fact of writing something down makes you more committed to it,” says sports psychologist Robert Weinberg, PhD.
Self-Monitoring
You may have heard the term ‘self-monitoring’, but what does it really mean? Self monitoring, in terms of health, fitness, and weight loss, very simply put means you are keeping track of your progress. Tracking your progress is a great way to improve your chances of success. One of the ways
Camp La Jolla has been assisting you in your self monitoring is the Food and Fitness Log that we have mailed and that is also on the Members Only page of the Camp La Jolla web site. Other forms of self-monitoring include on-line logs and diaries or spreadsheets. By filling out the log, you are able to better track your progress toward your goals.
Tips for Self-Monitoring
It is easier to stay motivated when monitoring progress on your controllable behaviors rather than by measuring the outcomes. By knowing that you are taking the daily steps toward your goal you will stay motivated each day rather than measuring just the outcome such as weight loss once a week.
Behaviors to measure daily:
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Type, duration, and intensity of exercise – what mode of exercise did you participate in? How long was the bout of exercise? How would you rate the intensity of the exercise?
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Meals and snacks – are you eating enough whole grains, fruits and vegetables?
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Moods as related to food and exercise – are you feeling more ‘up’ at a certain time of the day?
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Sleep patterns – The amount and quality of sleep can greatly affect energy level. When energy is low we tend to turn to food to increase energy and also cut out exercise because we are feeling too tired. Good sleep can have a very positive impact on weight loss.
These items can be monitored in a notebook, on a computer spread sheet, in an on-line journal, or on your Camp La Jolla Food and Fitness Log. For many people, looking at graphs or charts that clearly show improvements in fitness and eating patterns from day to day and week to week are much more motivational than numbers alone. But with all things, this is individual and whichever monitoring method works best for you is the best method!
Self-Correction
Over the course of a week or two you will start to see patterns emerging and you can then correct those weak areas. Maybe you see that your healthy eating habits go out the window on the weekends, or maybe those evening workouts are getting bumped aside by something more entertaining. Whatever your case may be, you have now identified the problem and can fix it. If weekend dining out is the problem maybe you’ll correct it by preparing healthy meals at home and if evening workouts are taking the back burner it is probably time to move the workouts to the morning.
As always, Camp La Jolla is here to help in any way possible. If you see a problematic pattern emerging and need help finding a solution please call us at (800) 825-TRIM.