You see the signs wherever you go. A large map will show you where everything is, with a big shiny star somewhere that says "You Are Here". You've decided that you want to lose weight... so you know where you want to be. But in order to get there, you need to know where you are now. And more importantly then where you are, is the question... "How did you get here?" Weight gain doesn't magically happen. For as much as people are keen to blame genetics these days, weight gain is more because of behavior than anything else. Sure, people can be more or less predisposed to being overweight... but if you've decided that your current weight is all because of genes, then what makes you think you can lose it?

Before you start trying to lose weight, its important to take a good measure of where things stand today. Most people do this by standing on a scale and writing down how much they weigh. That's not enough. You need to examine your lifestyle. What and how much are you eating? Do you exercise? How often? These are things that you will need to change in order to lose weight. And I actually do mean change. You don't want to end up looking at this same map in 2, 5 or 10 years, seeing that "You Are Here" is still where you were.

Different people will choose to do this in different ways. I never wrote down any of my observations in a journal... which as I look back on it, seems strange given that I'm a blogger. Granted, I wasn't blogging at the time, but I must have been predisposed to it even then. To be honest though, I'm not sure writing down your observations is necessary, or even a good idea. I know plenty of people journal their weight loss, and I can certainly see the benefit in it. But I can also see the downside to it.

Journaling weight loss can help crystallize progress in your mind, and act as a long term reminder of what you've done, which will encourage you in the long term. Once you've been doing this for a few months, it can often times be easy to forget what you did in the beginning, and how far you've come. However, weight loss is filled with times when you will plateau, or even gain some weight. Having to journal these things can be very hard to do. For some, having to write them down will act as a motivation to not let it happen again (even though it will, and that's OK). For others though, having to confront a perceived short term weakness, in a very real and personal way by writing it down, will do more harm than good. Some people will tend to concentrate on those failings, and not be able to get away from them. Many times I think its best not to journal them because then its easier for you to get past them, and concentrate on getting back to what works again.

I'm not going to lie to you... taking stock of what you are, and owning up to the choices that you make every day isn't always easy... but its damned important. You are here... but you don't want to be any more. Remember, you can learn just as much from your mistakes as your successes. So take a look around, and figure out what here looks like, so you will know what not to do any more.