Documenting your weight loss journey is about more than creating a record of your progress to a healthier lifestyle. It can be an empowering way to boost your motivation and offer insights about your own unique process.
Here are some different ways you can document your weight loss journey and tips to get you started:
Take Progress Pictures
A picture is worth a thousand words—and in some cases, it can also be worth a thousand readings on the scale. Comparing your weight loss progress across two or more photos taken over time is a classic way to track your goals without stepping on the scale. For those with scale anxiety, progress pictures are a perfect alternative.
Taking progress pictures can help you observe how your body changes shape and how your clothes fit differently during weight loss. For people who strength train, the number on the scale may not change as dramatically since you’re adding muscle while losing fat. But when you take progress pictures, you'll immediately be able to see how all your hard work at the gym adds up!
Try to take your pictures with the same camera, around the same time of day, and in the same outfit. Take a photo from the front, back, and side. Many people do their progress photos wearing form-fitting athletic clothing or underwear—but the choice is yours.
Remember, there’s no pressure to post your progress photos. However, if you are interested in sharing your story, #weightloss social media communities are the place to do it!
Share on Social Media
Speaking of social media—it’s either the ultimate safe space or a pitfall for the haters, right?
If you’ve been inspired by others sharing their progress on social media, you may want to consider sharing your journey. You can connect with the same community you were following or start your own small group on your favorite social media platform. If you’re taking a specific weight-loss medication or following a specific diet, try searching for those communities and posting your progress on those groups or with the group hashtag.
Before you start, consider your goals for sharing. Is it to inspire others? Find a support network? Hold yourself accountable? Knowing your "why" will help you tailor your content and avoid feeling pressured to overshare.
It’s also important that you protect your boundaries online. Firstly, putting personal information or pictures on the World Wide Web always has some level of risk. Probably the worst part of social media is that public content means public commentary. Don’t let any potentially mean comments keep you from sharing your story on social if that’s what you want—you can (and should) always block them.
Keep a Journal
Whether you prefer an organized bullet journal or a more casual notes app user, using a written journal is a great way to keep yourself accountable. Use it to keep track of what you’re eating and how you’re moving your body—and, most importantly, how you do these things over time.
Weight loss isn't one-size-fits-all, and it’s not always linear. Documenting your journey in a journal can help you identify patterns in your workout routines, food habits, and even how you think about food. If you’re someone who struggles with emotional eating and cravings, keeping track of these feelings and thoughts can help you make sense of them today—so you can work to overcome them tomorrow.
If you find that you’re mostly keeping track of numbers—whether those are the calories you’re consuming or the latest reading on the scale—consider shifting the focus of your journal to non-scale victories. Save the weigh-ins for the doctor’s office and spend your journaling time reflecting on the positive improvements you’ve seen on your journey so far.
Remember, documenting your weight loss is supposed to empower you, not reduce your journey to a few numbers. So grab your camera, start that journal, and open that app—welcome to the beginning of your story, one documented victory at a time!
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