I Lost 25 Pounds in 2 Years with the Help of Journaling

Sure, diet and exercise are a key part of weight loss. After all, you need to burn more calories than you consume to drop weight. However, first you might need to conquer a very crucial mental aspect of weight loss. Sora Vernikoff of New York City lost 25 pounds 20 years ago and has managed to keep it off. According to the longtime educator, one tool was instrumental in her journey – journaling. Here is everything you need to know about her story.

Sora Had a Moment of Reckoning

Sora worked as a teacher, educating "the most challenging kids" in East New York and Brooklyn. "It took me several years to learn how to manage this type of class but I finally had systems in place and became very good at it. One day, while standing in front of a class of 35 fourth graders, I asked myself, 'How come Sora, these kids who walk, talk and do all those other things listen to you but you can't stop thinking about food and you can't eat and stop yourself?'" she tells Body Network.

She Had the Idea to Start Dieting

"Now I had tried dieting up until this point but all I'd do is lose my weight, reach my goal and then regain it. At that moment in time, I became fascinated by the concept that these really tough kids listened to me but that food which is an inanimate object (doesn't walk, talk or do all those other things) was something that I had absolutely no visual nor behavioral control over.  It was at that very moment in time that I had the idea to stop dieting and eat the food that I wanted," she said.

She Wanted to Understand Why She Thought About Food All the Time

There was one caveat. "I became obsessed with having to know why I thought about food all day and so I also included the challenge of journaling all of my eating experiences before, during and after I ate. I had to know. I just had to know why I thought about food all day.  And yes, I did find out!" she says.

She Lost 25 Pounds with the Help of Journaling

With her "very intense self-observational and journaling process" she lost 25 pounds. "It took me about two years to do so but I've kept the weight for more than 20 years," she says. "That's because as I was eating and journaling I was also working out the no-diet, weight-loss program that is published in my book East What You Want! Stop When You Want! A No-Diet, Weight-Loss Program. So it was really all trial and error until I saw what worked and what didn't."

She Was Willing to Risk It All

Sora was willing to "risk it all" because she knew that "dieting was a total waste of time for me and that there had to be another answer," she says, "which there really was. I don't like to do something more than once so I was determined to find my way without having to diet and yeah, I did."

She Eats What She Wants

Sora doesn't have a typical daily diet, "because I simply eat what I want when I want it and I'm not afraid that I won't be able to eat and stop myself," she says. That is the blessing that my eat and stop yourself, no-diet, weight-loss program has afforded me."

She Doesn't Look at Foods as "Good" or "Bad"

"I believe that all foods are equal.  Equal in the sense that what differentiates 'good' food from 'bad' food is really more a question of 'What can I eat and stop?' Or 'What can't I eat because I won't be able to stop myself?' Of course, if you have a medical condition, then it's extremely important to watch the types of food that you eat but again, if you're struggling with a weight problem, it all comes down to 'Do you have the choice to eat and stop yourself?' even if you're eating certain 'better for your health' foods. That is just the bottom line. Can you eat and stop?" she says.

She Is Conscious When It Comes to Food Thought

"The biggest achievement when it comes to my body is that my daily food thoughts support my weight and I don't walk around feeling deprived and fearful of walking into a donut shop and overeating," says Sora. "That my conscious number of daily food thoughts support my present weight loss with no angst."

It's All Because of Journaling

"My greatest achievement when it comes to my body, is that I own the number of conscious food thoughts that maintain my present body weight," Sora says. "Anyone that is interested in doing the same, should begin by journaling everything that they eat everyday and start asking themselves the question, 'How does this food in this amount, that I am presently chewing, serve me or not?' Mindfulness is key unless you use the two specific eat and stop yourself techniques in my no-diet, weight-loss program which will provide instant relief from the fear of overeating," she says.

Start By Accepting Yourself

"Even when I started this new type of non-dieting weight-loss journey decades ago I decided to accept myself at my larger size," Sora says. "I didn't want to fight it because I knew that I was on a journey and I wanted to still look nice. So I went out and bought all new clothes at my larger size and every time, I lost between 5 and 10 pounds I would fix my clothes or buy some new ones. I work on acceptance. I chose not to beat myself up about my weight."

She Is Her Own Fitspiration

"My fitness inspiration is me. I want to feel alive and limber every day and so stretching every morning is mandatory and so is walking every day which is not a tough thing to do living in New York City," says Sora.

Set Intentions for the Day

"The way that my day works best for me is to be as disciplined as possible based on the intentions that I set for that day which is Always written down the night before for the next day. I also put God first in my life and practice gratitude daily, since gratitude makes everything that you have enough," she explains.

Her Favorite Motivational Quotes

"I have no favorite motivational quote when it comes to fitness but I have three motivational quotes that serve me," says Sora. The first? "No process, no progress," she reveals. Next, "Inch by inch, anything is a cinch. Yard by yard life is hard." And finally, the third: "You don't see the harvest on the day that you plant the seeds."

Learn More in Her Book

"My book Eat What You Want! Stop When You Want! A No-Diet, Weight-Loss Program teaches you two special eat and stop yourself techniques that let you know when you're going to stop eating even before your first bite.  That is what has allowed me to keep my weight off all these years! Because I know when I will stop, even before I begin to eat," she says.

She Has Kept 25 Pounds Off for Over 20 Years

Sora's success story keeps on going. "I've kept my 25 pounds off for over 20 years so I'm very proud of myself and my body," she says. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.