A year ago this month I started a Sunday morning log: one weight, one waist measurement, and a two-line note about how the week actually felt. That is the whole system. Fifty-two entries now, and when I average them by month the line looks almost dull, which I have decided to treat as a compliment.
Eleven of the twelve monthly averages came in below the one before; the remaining month sat within a few ounces of its neighbor. The note column turned out to be the useful half.
Early entries are about hunger and timing. Later ones are about sleep, protein at breakfast, and whether I took the after-dinner walk.
Somewhere near the eighth month the log stopped being a record of the prescription and started being a record of the week I had. I still reread the oldest pages when a slow stretch makes me restless.
For those of you who have kept a longer view, what helped you stop letting a single reading set the tone?