Self-monitoring your eating and exercise habits are a key habit to help with consistent weight loss.  Research proves it is also an important strategy for maintaining weight loss.  We monitor many things in life our grades, bills, paychecks, sport scores but we often do not monitor aspects of our daily life that will keep us healthy.

Here are some areas you may consider monitoring:

1. Weight – Monitor your weight at least weekly.This will give you an opportunity to take corrective action.Of course, your weight can fluctuate daily but you are looking for trends, for example an increase after a vacation, holiday season or a particularly stressful time.
2. Food Intake – Sometimes we get off track with our required eating habits as life’s stresses ebb and flow.Using food records or food apps to monitor protein intake (at least 60 grams/day), calories, fluid intake (64+ oz/ day) will keep you on track.
3. Exercise – Exercise can often go out the window when we are busy.Our goal should be to get fitter and fitter.Self- monitoring exercise can help us to slowly increase the time and intensity of the exercise.