Hunger & Mood Journal for Weight Loss
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
We are all aware of food journaling, writing down every little & last morsel we eat including condiments, things we pick at during the day, that piece of candy on the run or even that sampler of food at the store. It is a love/hate relationship! We hate writing it down BUT it tells us so much more than we realize without it! For those that have done it, they know that this can be the key to getting past a plateau or sticking point. As I have said many times, most of us really do NOT know how much we are eating each day or even what the make up of those foods are in terms, of protein, fat, carbohydrates, sodium and more. Most studies show that those that journal have the most success at weight loss & weight maintenance.
Now, saying that, do you food mood journal? Are you saying to me: What the heck are you talking about"? What I am asking is do you think about how hungry you are before you eat & how you are feeling? Are you kind of hungry, just plain ole hungry or are you friggin starving? Oxygen magazine had a really good article on this in their Fat Loss issue. It discussed journaling how you feel prior to your meal & then after your meal. For example, before your meal, your hunger may be a 4-5 on a scale of 1-10. You feel hungry & kinda anxious. After the meal your feel about a 7 on a scale of fullness, you may feel like you ate too much & it may make you anxious. Oxygen came up with this Hunger Scale:
1: Not hungry at all
2-3: Starting to feel hungry but you can wait but will want to eat soon
4-5: Definitely hungry, hunger pangs & really want to eat!
6-7: VERY hungry & you may start to get a headache or become irritable
8-10: STARVING! Urges to eat are uncontrollable
They say you should be trying to eat in that 3-5 range. Going past this point may lead to bingeing or eating the wrong foods & feeling out of control. Crap, I do know about that!
Hey, I think we all can relate to that point of going past where we are so hungry that we want to eat anything in sight. Not a good place to be & yes, it can lead to eating way more than you should AND most likely foods that are not the best for you! We tend to eat whatever is there at the time.
Using a scale like this mood scale is a good way to get in touch with your eating. I have talked a lot about mindful eating & paying attention to how you feel before, during & after you eat to get better control of your eating habits. For some, maybe writing this down will be a more useful way to get control of these feelings & understand your body & hunger better. Don't forget you can use your notepad in your cell phone to makes notes on the run.
Another MOOD Journal is not only writing down your hunger scale BUT also making note of how you are feeling emotionally NOT related to hunger, like mad, depressed, stressed, po'd at the boss or friend or partner. We all know the emotional eating stuff BUT do you stop to think about it? Writing down exactly how you are feeling, what the situation is, what time of day & maybe who you are feeling that towards at the time you eat OR over eat OR binge OR splurge can be very telling & an important step in the weight loss process. I know most of you know this BUT are you doing the hard work of writing it down & confronting it?
We are all aware of food journaling, writing down every little & last morsel we eat including condiments, things we pick at during the day, that piece of candy on the run or even that sampler of food at the store. It is a love/hate relationship! We hate writing it down BUT it tells us so much more than we realize without it! For those that have done it, they know that this can be the key to getting past a plateau or sticking point. As I have said many times, most of us really do NOT know how much we are eating each day or even what the make up of those foods are in terms, of protein, fat, carbohydrates, sodium and more. Most studies show that those that journal have the most success at weight loss & weight maintenance.Now, saying that, do you food mood journal? Are you saying to me: What the heck are you talking about"? What I am asking is do you think about how hungry you are before you eat & how you are feeling? Are you kind of hungry, just plain ole hungry or are you friggin starving? Oxygen magazine had a really good article on this in their Fat Loss issue. It discussed journaling how you feel prior to your meal & then after your meal. For example, before your meal, your hunger may be a 4-5 on a scale of 1-10. You feel hungry & kinda anxious. After the meal your feel about a 7 on a scale of fullness, you may feel like you ate too much & it may make you anxious. Oxygen came up with this Hunger Scale:
1: Not hungry at all
2-3: Starting to feel hungry but you can wait but will want to eat soon
4-5: Definitely hungry, hunger pangs & really want to eat!
6-7: VERY hungry & you may start to get a headache or become irritable
8-10: STARVING! Urges to eat are uncontrollable
They say you should be trying to eat in that 3-5 range. Going past this point may lead to bingeing or eating the wrong foods & feeling out of control. Crap, I do know about that!
Hey, I think we all can relate to that point of going past where we are so hungry that we want to eat anything in sight. Not a good place to be & yes, it can lead to eating way more than you should AND most likely foods that are not the best for you! We tend to eat whatever is there at the time.
Using a scale like this mood scale is a good way to get in touch with your eating. I have talked a lot about mindful eating & paying attention to how you feel before, during & after you eat to get better control of your eating habits. For some, maybe writing this down will be a more useful way to get control of these feelings & understand your body & hunger better. Don't forget you can use your notepad in your cell phone to makes notes on the run.
Another MOOD Journal is not only writing down your hunger scale BUT also making note of how you are feeling emotionally NOT related to hunger, like mad, depressed, stressed, po'd at the boss or friend or partner. We all know the emotional eating stuff BUT do you stop to think about it? Writing down exactly how you are feeling, what the situation is, what time of day & maybe who you are feeling that towards at the time you eat OR over eat OR binge OR splurge can be very telling & an important step in the weight loss process. I know most of you know this BUT are you doing the hard work of writing it down & confronting it?
Give both the hunger & actual emotional mood journaling a try to see if it helps you. What can it hurt? Yes, maybe your feelings OR the actual confronting those feelings may be hard for you BUT getting past all that is a key to unlocking your success not only at weight loss but other areas in your life.
Have any of you used a mood journal? Did it help you? What are your experiences with journaling?
Just a reminder that if you think you can't do something, read my post tomorrow. A very inspiring story!
Have any of you used a mood journal? Did it help you? What are your experiences with journaling?
Just a reminder that if you think you can't do something, read my post tomorrow. A very inspiring story!
Posted by truth2beingfit at 1/26/2010 12:01 AM 
Categories: Challenges, Motivation/Support, Tips, Weight Loss
Tags: Weight Loss moods food journaling eating hunger control Tips
Categories: Challenges, Motivation/Support, Tips, Weight Loss
Tags: Weight Loss moods food journaling eating hunger control Tips
I think my blog is my mood journal! Since starting this journey I actually find that I tend to eat about half the time at the 2-3 level and half the time at tht 4-5 level. It definitely makes a difference in how much control I beleive I have over my food choices if I avoid those feelings of intense hunger.
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266, sounds like it works for you! I know you are doing great!
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It seems like I go from the 2-3 range straight to the 8-10 range. aka, being greedy. ((sigh))
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Josie, you are too funny, Ms. Greedy!
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I am a big advocate of journaling. It's funny how it's really helped me connect with my body. Carbs? They make me lethargic. Protein? Makes me feel powerful. Water? Pure.
I love it! Great post!
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Joanna, good to hear other people's experiences! Man, I love my carbs but I do have to watch it.... I love my protein too!
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Jody, this is a great point! Even though I have realized this before, I have never thought of it like this. To just stop and ask yourself how hungry you really are - what a tool! Basic? Yes. Effective? Of course!
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Steve, glad you liked this. Definitely works for me!
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I took a six week class using Julia
Cameron's book, "The Vein of Gold," as a guide. One of the exercises was to journal a page every day. It was a wonderful class, and I recommend it without reservation to anyone who wants to expand their self awareness.
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Dr. J, sounds like a great class! I seem to need some of that self awareness!
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I think my blog is kind of like my journal because I think about the foods I ate, how they made me feel, and all of that. I think it's great.. and its kind of a stress reliever to write things down!
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April, anything that is a stress reliever is a good thing!
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Never thought about using "moods" to help my food journaling, very interesting!
and BTW! I got my Stevia package today
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Amanda, the moods are very telling about when & what we eat!
So glad you got the stevia. I told you they have great customer service!
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Amanda, moods are very telling about when & what foods we eat.
Enjoy that Stevia!
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Love the idea of the Food and Mood!! It will really emphasize the affect on your mood!! Thanks for the insight!
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GHJen, Thx for stopping by!
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I don't keep a mood journal exactly, because I don't usually link my weight to emotions. If I'm feeling a particular emotion or sensation profoundly, I'll make a note of it on my calendar. So far, I haven't noticed any trends or excesses, but I like having the info there, just in case.
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Cammy, what a great idea. Thx for sharing!
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I don't anymore - but when I was in the weight loss mode I did keep an emotions journal which helped me pinpoint when I was eating without hunger being part of the equation.
It was very helpful!
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Diane, it obviously helped you! It is interesting how emotions separate from hinger tell us so much!
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