Many people in the United States struggle with long-term weight loss. In fact, only about one in every six Americans who are overweight or obese are able to lose weight and maintain that loss.
And unfortunately, there are many psychological consequences of being overweight or obese, such as low self-esteem, anxiety, and more serious disorders like depression and eating disorders.
While weight loss is difficult, it’s not impossible. By creating a weight loss calendar you can track your weight loss and get your life on track.
Why should you keep a calendar? Read on to learn 10 reasons you need a weight loss calendar.
What is a Weight Loss Calendar?
A weight loss calendar is a means of tracking your daily calories and exercise. In it, you write down many pounds you want to lose, and then write down the number of calories you’ll have to burn per day to hit that goal.This lets you set goals, track them, and then measure the results.
10 Reasons You Need a Calendar
Now that you know what a weight loss calendar is, you probably want to know why you should get one. Here are 10 reasons you need a calendar.
1. It Helps You Keep Track of What You Eat
Often times, people don’t really pay attention to the food they eat on a daily basis. A weight loss calendar encourages you to pay attention everything you eat, from your breakfast to any snacks you may mindlessly eat throughout the workday. It also reminds you to track things you may not think have calories like beverages.
2. It Helps You Better Understand Your Eating Patterns
A calendar not only reminds you of what you’re eating, it clues you in on your general eating habits. By creating one, you can figure out what times you tend to overeat, and determine what causes that. Maybe you undereat in the morning and afternoon but binge eat in the evening, or maybe you eat well during the week and then pig out on the weekends.
By better understanding your eating patterns, you can address any issues that may contribute to poor eating habits like stress or boredom.
3. It Helps You With Portion Control
Many people overeat because they aren’t aware of what a proper portion size is. It doesn’t help that restaurants and food manufacturers are creating bigger and bigger serving sizes for their food.
A weight loss calendar helps you craft proper portions for your meals, and educates you on how much you should be eating at a given time. By creating one, you can avoid accidental eating and cut back on unnecessary calories.
4. It Educates You on What’s In the Food You’re Eating
Weight loss isn’t just about eating fewer calories, it’s about consuming less toxic and unhealthy things. When you make this calendar, you’re forced to actually inspect the food labels of the things you’re eating and educate yourself on what’s inside of it.
Did you know that the average American eats nearly triple the recommended amount of sugar per day? By educating yourself on what you’re eating you can cut back on things like sugar, which contribute significantly to weight gain.
5. It Helps You Learn What You’re Not Eating Enough of
More than 80% of Americans do not eat the daily recommended amount of fruit and vegetables. By keeping a weight loss calendar, you can determine how often you eat fruit and vegetables and then actively brainstorm ways to incorporate them into your diet more.
6. It Helps You Plan Meals in Advance
This calendar doesn’t only help you shed weight, but it also saves you time in the long run. By knowing how many calories you can eat on a given day, you can prep your meals so they don’t go over that number. Instead of spending extra money on grabbing lunch or takeout, you can spend a day meal prepping and save yourself money and extra calories.
7. It Helps You Understand Your Current Workout Routine
This calendar dictates what you should eat and how hard you need to workout to achieve your weight loss goal. By using it, you can figure out if your current routine is enough to achieve that goal. Maybe you’ll discover that the activity you thought burns a lot of calories really doesn’t.
Or maybe you’ll learn you need to go to the gym a few more days in the week to hit your overall calorie target. Either way, this calendar is great for assessing whether or not your workout routine is working for you.
8. It Helps You Plan Better Workout Routines
Weight loss calendars keep you accountable for putting in hard work at the gym. If you know you have to burn 500 calories a day to lose weight, you can plan a routine that will help you reach your goal.
When you hop on a treadmill, Stairmaster, or elliptical, you’ll know how long and hard you’ll have to work to burn your desired amount of calories. And when you fail to hit that number, you’ll know you’re undercutting your own weight loss goals.
9. It Helps You Track Your Progress
What’s great about this calendar is that you can flip back throughout the week or month and measure the impact of your eating and exercise habits. It’ll help you determine what went wrong during the weeks where you didn’t lose weight, and reinforce proper eating and exercise habits for the weeks you did.
10. It Keeps You Accountable
With a weight loss calendar, there are no excuses. You have all the tools you need to achieve the weight loss you want. And when you eat poorly or cheat on your exercise plan, you’ll be the only one to blame.
Final Thoughts
Weight loss isn’t easy. There’s a reason why a lot of people fail to keep weight off. But with a weight loss calendar, you can have a fighting chance at keeping off that stubborn weight.
If you use this calendar and commit to a healthy eating and exercise routine, you’ll see real results before you know it.
Have you started a weight loss program? What are your thoughts on these kinds of calendars? Let us know in the comments!