The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies (29 page)

Place your goals where you can review them daily.
The particular spot doesn't really matter so long as you're guaranteed to see the goals each day. Seeing your goals each day helps keep you motivated so that you stay in forward motion even when life gets hectic.

Tell some supportive friends and family about your goals.
Make sure these individuals want to help you succeed and provide a good support system for you.

Focusing Your Choices with a
Food Journal

Some people find they need help holding themselves accountable to their goals. If you're among them, I suggest you start a
food journal
— a daily record of everything you eat and drink, how active you are, how you're feeling about your food intake, and any emotions or challenges you experience regarding eating.

A food journal can be extremely helpful in making long-term changes to your eating habits. Case in point: A study published in 2008 in the
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
showed that those who kept a record of their food and beverage intake had roughly double the weight loss of those who hadn't kept any records.

Often people think they're making healthy choices, but their lives get so busy that they don't realize when they're engaging in mindless eating. Using a food journal decreases unconscious eating, which is often the culprit in eating the wrong foods too often or too much food altogether. A food journal also serve as a source of encouragement as you follow your progress and track your activity. Keeping one as you begin a low-glycemic lifestyle can show you what's working well, what parts of the diet are more challenging for you, and whether you tend to lean toward your old comfort foods when you're stressed or busy.

You can start using a food journal immediately by buying a small notebook, jotting notes in your planner or smartphone, or creating a chart on your computer. The form your food journal takes (handwritten or electronic) all depends on your own personal style and what works best for you. For instance, I keep a daily Post-It on my computer screen to remind me to keep track of my food intake.

Following are some sample topics to record in your food journal:

Date

Time

Food item consumed

Amount consumed (cups, tablespoons, and so on)

Emotions/challenges/sugar cravings

Physical activity (cardio, strength training, and stretching)

Note:
You may find that these topics morph as you discover what works for you and what you find beneficial to note as you become more used to a low-glycemic lifestyle. For example, if you're a detail-oriented person, you may also enjoy counting calories or grams of fiber. If you're more emotionally driven, you may find a few lines at the bottom of the page for daily reflection/analysis. Figure 6-1 shows a sample template for a food journal. Use it as a reference, but take the time to experiment and figure out what format works best for you.

What to Expect When Starting You
r Journey

Knowing what you're in for can you help you avoid some common weight-loss pitfalls and empower you to keep moving forward. Because I want you to succeed in and enjoy your new low-glycemic lifestyle, I use the following sections to share what you can expect as you embark on your journey.

A shift in priorities

Prioritizing may seem like a no-brainer, but it can be one of the biggest saboteurs you encounter when starting a low-glycemic diet. Making any new change requires a little focus in the beginning before it eventually becomes autopilot. However, life always manages to get busy, and focus often becomes the first casualty. After all, many people have a natural order of things in their lives — children, work, school, social life, the list goes on and on. If you ever stop to look at your life, you may find that diet and exercise often take a back seat to all the rest.