Beginning Exercise? Use a Journal

Great idea. I use a Google Sheets document to track my running. It's linked to the sidebar of my blog, Random Thoughts While Running. Both the blog and the Running Log sheet are primarily for my benefit but are also my accountability to a larger community.

You're so right, Chris. I find this to be true with tracking food intake as well. It's a recommendation I've been making to clients for a long time but one that is, for reasons unknown to me, rarely undertaken. A journal is a roadmap; it paints a clear picture as to how you got, or didn't get, a desired result. It takes maybe 2 or 3 minutes daily but could potentially yield greater results over the course of a month than anything else. It doesn't even have to be incredibly detailed, just accurate and completely honest. A dishonest food/exercise journal is worthless.

Keeping track of diet and exercise in a journal is an excellent idea. I've kept my workout routines in a notebook for a while - this is not only a great time-saver in helping me to stay on task at the gym, but they are also a list of accomplishment. After you've been training for a while, leafing back to when you started out really demonstrates how much stronger you have grown!
I've also started tracking my calories recently, mainly after being shocked by how fast calories add up. I wager to say that most of us think we are eating a lot fewer calories than we actually do. I did!

I remember when I first took up running, I meticulously recorded everything... but in my case it contributed to and ever-increasing obsession to do more which was more like a type of exercise bulimia than anything else.... so while it has it's merits, it also has it's downfall.

A journal is a good idea, for beginners and old-timers alike. I'm starting up an exercise and calorie journal again. After not doing it for a while, I've started slacking. It's time to get motivated again!

An exercise journal is a fantastic tool to follow your progress and also to help you make changes along the way. Your body is a smart tool & "gets used to the same ole thing". It is important not only to change up your routine to keep the body guessing but it will also assist in your weight loss goals or muscle gains if that is what you are working towards.

Also, recoding food is so important too! Not only does it give you a very clear picture of what you are eating for those that don't want to face the truth, but recording when you are eating, what you are eating, how you are feeling etc. provides very clear & eye opening reasons into why you may not be losing weight if that is your goal. Often, just reading the emotions behind why we ate what we did at a certain moment in time can lead to huge changes in how you approach food.

Journals can work for newbies & old timers both!

An exercise journal is a great way to start off a new exercise plan. Using the power of small and writing details down such as how much exercise was performed, how you felt, and what you plan to do next can make all the difference in your success. Often it's the smallest of details that make or break a new program.

Google "Mixed Role Productions" for the perfect spiral (lays flat) journal/calendar. I've been using this one for years. Great for parents because it's an August-to-July calendar (they also have a January-December). They're pretty cheap, printed on 100% post-consumer paper and come in lots of pretty colors. Most stationary stores carry them too...just a thought!

I started keeping a food journal (diary) It has been extreamly helpful. I lost 30 lbs in 3 months and my wife has lost 22 lbs in 1 1/2 months. The best one we found was at www.apowerfultool.com website. It was $24.95 US and well worth it. It includes everything in a great format. It's not as hard as you think, and it has a food guide in it that has the information on most foods. I will let you know when i get to my goal of 165 lbs. That is 40 lbs away.