Excess weight is associated with a wide range of health risks, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. It is estimated that 1 in 3 adults suffers from obesity at the moment, with the numbers being on the rise. Weight management is essential, requiring lifestyle changes, especially with regard to one’s diet and level of physical activity.
Using CareClinic’s health app as a weight loss journal
CareClinic is a health app which has been developed to help you manage every aspect related to your weight. It can be used, among other things, as a weight loss journal. If you are interested in losing weight and returning to a healthy figure, one of the most important things you can do is make a plan. Record the diet and additional lifestyle changes into the application, tracking your progress.
The application allows you to monitor the daily intake of calories, so that you stay within the desired limits. You can also use it to be more attentive to portion sizes, as well as record the macronutrients content of each meal (protein, carbohydrates and fat).
Within the health app, you can enter additional information about your health, including your BMI, waist circumference and height. You can provide details on your daily water intake, in order to avoid dehydration (this can lead you to eating more than necessary) (R).
If you have a customized weight loss plan, you can enter it into the application and mention with clarity which foods you are allowed to eat, as well as which are forbidden. This will help you stick to your diet, as well as to identify triggers for overeating.
Pre-existent conditions influence the weight loss process
There are a lot of people who suffer from obesity and have additional health problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. In planning your weight loss approach, you have to take these into consideration. For example, if you are suffering from diabetes, you have to pay close attention to the foods you are eating and the influence these have on your blood sugar level.
The weight loss log of CareClinic can be used to identify a connection between your diet and current health problems. Did you know that food can influence blood pressure levels? If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, your diet should contain more fresh fruits and vegetables, and less unhealthy foods (especially those that have been excessively refined or processed). The diary will help you see how healthy you are really eating.
Monthly reports allow you to identify weight fluctuations
We all go through periods where our weight fluctuates but, often times, we are unaware of such changes. Upon registering your weight on a regular basis, you will be able to see a monthly report and see where it fluctuated. More importantly, you can use these reports to track weight loss and identify potential factors that helped.
From another perspective, these reports – often presented with charts and diagrams – can help you identify weight loss plateaus. These occur with many diets and they can lead to confusion, as one will believe that the respective diet no longer works. Upon noticing a weight loss plateau, all you have to do is adjust your calorie intake and you will continue to lose weight.
Setting a goal weight and tracking your progress
Losing weight can be an incredibly difficult process but you have to persevere and the outcome with be positive. With health apps such as CareClinic, you can set a goal weight and track your progress, celebrating each milestone. You can even estimate how long it will take you to reach your goal (desired weight). Moreover, the application will help you stick to your diet and eat healthier.
The application makes it easy to count and monitor calories; the one thing to make sure is that you are entering all of your meals, along with their nutritional content. CareClinic makes it simple to verify whether your diet is a success or not; by referring to the body weight diary, you will be able to see whether you are on the right track or not.
Monitor your level of physical activity
In order to lose weight, you will have to go from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one. As CareClinic is the ideal weight loss tracker, it can be used to keep track of your physical activity level. You can enter details about your workouts, as well as about any sports you practice on a regular basis (swimming, running, jogging).
Reminders for weight checks, appointments, medication
The health app allows you to set up reminders for a wide range of purposes. For instance, if you have decided to weigh yourself on a regular basis (once a week), you can arrange for the application to notify you of this goal. In this way, you will keep track of your weight fluctuations and make the necessary adjustments to your diet.
The reminders can also be used for doctor appointments, or to remember to take your medication. If you take a treatment for hypertension or thyroid disorder, missing one dose can have serious consequences. With CareClinic, you set up the reminder and, thus, adhere to the treatment. The snooze feature will keep pestering you in case of a missed dose, so you really are completely covered.
Weight-loss related matters
It is possible to use the CareClinic health app to create journal entries about your weight loss journey. From a practical perspective, you can use this journal to gather healthy recipes and track your water intake. You can rely on it to organize your grocery list and monitor your weight measurements.
Everyone knows that losing weight can lead to emotional distress, with anxiety and depression appearing on the horizon. If you are prone to emotional eating, things will be even more difficult. The good news is that you can use the application journal to put your feelings and thoughts on paper. You might even be able to see that you have been using food for emotional release (R).
In the journal, you can write about the potential solutions for emotional eating – these can include new hobbies, reading a book/watching a movie, talking to a friend or any other coping strategy. You can also write about therapies that are useful for your weight loss journey, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. What matters is that you are using CareClinic to document your journey and find the strength to make the necessary lifestyle changes.
Keeping a food diary can help with the weight loss process
Research has confirmed that people who keep daily records of their food intake are more likely to lose weight than those who don’t have such habits. It seems that when people sit down and write the foods they consume, they also feel encouraged to make changes to their diet and reduce the overall intake of calories.
With health apps, such as CareClinic, you can organize a completely new diet, one that is rich in fruits and vegetables, as well as monitor your physical activity. This, in turn, will help you lose weight and reduce the risk of chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
The food diary will help you reflect on the quality, quantity and frequency of your meals. You will become more aware of your habits and change them in accordance with your weight loss goals. Moreover, the app can be used for weight management, allowing you to monitor the food and drink intake over a prolonged period of time (R).
Keeping a daily weight loss diary
When one maintains a daily weight loss journal, that person will find it easier to reduce the overall food intake and make changes whereas the portion sizes are concerned. The journal can be used to eliminate calorie-rich foods from the diet, as well as cut back on fats and sugar. You can opt for healthy changes, such as consuming more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water and eating at regular intervals.
The weight loss diary, such as the one made available through the CareClinic health app, can make you more aware about your current eating behaviors and the changes that should be considered. Self-monitoring of one’s weight, dietary habits and level of physical activity has been confirmed as a positive aspect.
The persistent logging of one’s dietary habits, as well as the tracking of the overall food intake, can make one get a clear understanding of his/her behaviors and situations that can lead to undesired weight gain. When you will see that you have become accustomed to having a late night snack or eating fast-food for lunch, you won’t have to think twice about changing such habits (R).
Tracking your dietary behavior can ensure the necessary weight management on a long-term basis. Upon reducing your weight, you will improve risk factors, such as the level of cholesterol, glycemic index and blood pressure. Thus, you will protect yourself against chronic conditions and improve your health overall.
How to record your food-related information
You should record everything you ate, including main meals and snacks. An accurate food journal is the one in which you are honest; for example, if you went grocery shopping and had a few food samples in the store, you should mention these as well.
Excess weight is often caused by our inability to estimate the overall food intake with accuracy. CareClinic’s health app brings us closer to reality so that we finally have a true idea of how much food we are consuming. We can use it to record nutrient data (label/Internet for fresh food), portion size (ranging from small to super-sized) and the percentage of macronutrients, salt, sugar, fiber, etc.
An important thing is to record the information after each meal and not at the end of the day, as we might have difficulties remembering everything we have eaten. It is important to also record the meal times and their duration, so as to see if we are eating too fast or too often. Based on this information, we can decide if frequent eating is the reason for the weight gain and change to a regular eating schedule, with balanced meals.
Another important aspect refers to the hunger level. Be honest and record how hungry you are before each meal. You might have the surprise that often you eat just because you feel stressed or depressed, with actual hunger not being present. This is often related to unhealthy cravings and you need to replace emotional eating with healthier alternatives, such as talking about how you feel.
To get started with a weight loss diary, you can sign up here to get started.
Learn more about using CareClinic as a weight loss diary by watching our short video:
