Introduction To Health Journaling

To Fail is Not Failing, But Learning There Must Be Another Way

I have made many attempts in the past with this theory, none of which worked. From Fat camp to mother interference, it always ended the same way. At first, I would just forget to jot down a day or two. Then, I'd forget to have it on me. And eventually, I just wouldn't care enough and thought it was unimportant anyway. Not one person I have know has done it and succeeded. Usually I hear great things in the beginning of the process, but there was the inevitable repugnance for the entire exercise in meticulous note taking. The discipline required was just too much effort, especially when no one else had to do it and mocked your efforts. 

There's this nutritionist back in New York who kept chiding me to keep a food diary. Constantly, she would tell me to write down the food I was eating, the times I ate, the quantities, and the calories of every little wisp of air that passed my lips to live on my hips. I can honestly say I like the lady doctor very much. In fact, when I'm States Side again, I am heading to her office with specific questions on portions and a good calories counter/pedometer she can recommend. However I cannot say that the constant counsel was helpful to me in the slightest. Keeping track of what I ate only made me more self conscious about eating anything at all. Obsessing over food is not the right path, especially for me - the over-thinker of eating of my generation!

The notion though, was spot on. It is useful, but the methods I have seen in the past have been a short term solution (they also never worked and most of my friends would go ape shit). I've engineered my own strain of the food diary disease, one that actually works for me.

For Those Of You Playing The Home Game . . .

What exactly is a food diary, Ashley?

Well, if you are not someone who has been fighting the flubber since childhood then you might need some answers. Having a food diary means that you log what you eat & when you eat it. No matter what it is or how small it was, you must be honest and put it in the book. However, most people that keep food diaries quit after a few days. Why? Because it is tedious and annoying, and people look at you funny. It took me years to finally just do it. The way I keep track now is completely different then how I was taught in the past. The method I wholeheartedly recommend is still a bit tedious, there is no escaping that. I write out exactly what I eat and drink, the time at which it is consumed, and the correct quantity (be it grams/oz, serving size, or number of slices). The distinction from all my previous attempts is that I document any and all activity as well. If I workout at the gym, I write every detail of the exercises and machines used. If I go for a walk, I write down the time and level of intensity. The lower the intensity, the longer the walk. By writing down both the ingestion and execution of calories, I can accurately keep track of my progress. I can see if I need to eat more of a certain items (vitamin, mineral, or food group), or if I need to increase my activity, or be more wary of my injuries. I can document rest days, and not so good choices of food days, and feel no guilt or shame about it. If I want faster results, I have to be more active not eat less. If I am injured or sick and cannot be as spry as I would like, then I have to be wary of how many calories I intake versus my output.

For example, if I cannot stand up cause my foot is swollen and I have to lay down and rest 80% of the day...Maybe I shouldn't eat Doritos and candy instead of actual foods. Or, for instance, if I have been to the gym for 10 solid days in a row and worked extremely hard, then having that slice of cake won't be the end of the world. 

 

To go from this ^. . . To This V

Also, let's call it something other than a food diary. Any more food obsessed and it would be a groupie! Hmm...How about Health Journal-ing instead, since you will be writing down fitness and cuisine together?

Health Journal Keeping 101 

Step 1 : Gathering Your Materials

You need to make a measuring blueprint to record your progress over the next (insert number of weeks or months). You can make one of excel, but I always like making it by hand. Gives you a feeling of accomplishment if you not only make it by hand, but plug in the changing numbers each month. For your health journal you will need the following items:

• A Journal or Book 
• Pencil and multicolored pens
• Skinny Markers ( I picked crayola, but you don't have to)
• A Soft Measuring Tape (comes in any sewing kit)
• A Digital / Polaroid Camera (To take a BEFORE and AFTER shot)
  

Step 2 : Set Up The Journal

Once you have everything you'll need to get started, it is time to build your book! Making the following pages in your health journal will keep you focused on you - not the food, not the diet, and not any other person's opinion.

• Page 1 - Progress Chart (Make a chart to measure yourself and weigh yourself monthly by)
• Page 2 - Key (colors=?, will each month be a different color?, workout intensity?)
• Page 3 - Medication Section (daily meds, multivitamins, sick meds/anti-biotic) *Might want to put that down on each day that you take them to keep track
• Somewhere Inside - Goal Sheet (write out a set of goals for yourself, be they fitness related or visual related)
• Somewhere Inside - Inspirational Quotes (thrown in anywhere in the book, to keep you from quitting)
• Last Page - Out Comes (Did you reach your goal? What did you learn during this process? What goals do you have now?)

Step 3 : Start with Honesty

The most important thing about keeping a health journal, is the keeping it. You have to be honest, you have to write out everything, or it will not help you in the slightest. Be accountable to those pages, not to someone else. Put the truth down in the book, every drink and every crumb! If you are not feeling well, write that down too. (If you are a girl, you might even start keeping track of that monthly annoyance - it not only affects your mood and makes you bloat, but it can affect your food choices. If you are a guy, you might want to keep track of your mood cycle - men have the same kind of monthly mood swings, just without the leech lunch rush.) By being honest within the confines of this book you will start to notice the following:

• Your Eating Pattern & Time Frame
• The Lack or Excess of Certain Foods or Vitamins in Your Diet
• A Connection Between Your Mood, Your Schedule, and The Foods You Choose

For those days I'm lazy!

If you want any benefit at all from this method, you MUST stick with it! You should have it on you at all times, ready to write everything down the minute it happens. Also keep some water on you! Anytime you go to write, take a sip! It'll keep you hydrated and you can make sure that you never just eat when you are bored! If you get bored, instead of reaching for the candy bag maybe go for a walk? No, seriously! We all might want to eat when there is nothing else to do but there is a whole world outside that kitchen! Get outside, get active, and soak up that sun before winter comes home! 
If you have no injuries to speak of, unlike your blogger over here, get your skinny ass up and shaking it off!!

 I hope you enjoy this new method of fitness secretary-ing and please feel free to pass it on it the method helps!

Bye For Now xxx