I realize I'm an emotional eater, and I've had a weight problem for many years. I'm ready to do something about it, but I don't have the finances to seek counseling. What can I do to help myself?

Let's talk about two of the most powerful self-help tools around: pen and paper.

Research studies show that those who are most likely to succeed at losing weight and keeping it off utilize a technique called self-monitoring. What's self-monitoring? Simply put, it's keeping track of yourself. It means tuning into your thoughts, feelings, goals and strategies. It involves charting your progress and rewarding your successes. It's also a way to engage in healthy self-expression, which is a key ingredient to changing a long-standing emotional relationship with food.

There are many specific ways to self-monitor. One of the oldest (and most frightening!) is to keep a record of daily caloric intake. Almost all traditional dieting strategies involve some form of this technique, so most of us are sick of doing it. Although burdensome, it is a way to become accountable to ourselves, and if we stick with it, it can be a potent method of staying on track with weight loss goals. However, most emotional eaters need to broaden the age-old food log and turn it into a "food and feelings" log, because it's not only important to tally how much you eat, but also why you eat it. Identifying the feelings and issues that trigger and accompany overeating is a crucial step toward developing healthy eating patterns.

Another powerful mode of self-monitoring is to keep a daily journal. Writing is therapeutic! Studies have shown that those who write about their feelings tend to improve not only their emotional health, but their physical health as well. In fact, one study showed that arthritis sufferers who wrote about traumatic life experiences showed a decrease in joint pain! A journal can be a private place to express your innermost thoughts and feelings, a place to get some perspective on what you're dealing with and a place to identify issues that might be in your way. Journaling is also an effective way to keep track of your changing inner self, as progress usually takes place in bits and pieces of insight that accumulate over time. Your journal can be a way to look back at where you were so you can appreciate how far you've come.

If you decide to keep a journal, you're doing yourself a big favor. How should you do it? It's an entirely personal decision. Let it be your own creation. If you want to use a fancy bound book of blank sheets, fine. If you want to use the computer, also fine. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, though; the important thing is that you allow yourself freedom to express your uncensored thoughts and feelings. Remember, any form of self-monitoring will help you win your war with weight.