Sometimes we need to see things in black and white. This way we can’t deny the truth, whether it is the amount of exercise we are getting or the types of foods that we are eating.
If you really want to be successful in developing and maintaining a fit lifestyle, I strongly suggest putting together a fitness journal. You can make this as simple or as fancy as you like. You can use a spiral notebook, your computer, a binder, whatever works best for you.
Before you put together a fitness journal however, we need to think about the key areas of a fit lifestyle. That’s because fitness goes beyond just food and exercise, your overall health is important.
So these are things we should be keeping in mind in developing a fitness journal: meals, exercise, sleep, mood, and lifestyle behaviors.
Meals include not only breakfast, lunch and dinner but your snacks and the amount of water you drink. It also takes into consideration other liquids you consume (coffee, soda, etc.).
Exercise is pretty self-explanatory. By keeping track of your exercise, you will get a clearer picture of what changes may need to be made.
Getting enough sleep is vital to overall health. If you are running ragged everyday because you haven’t been sleeping well, you are less likely to have the energy to exercise. It also depletes your motivation to eat well.
Your mood is crucial to a fit lifestyle. When you are constantly stressed, battling anger or other negative moods such as this, it really is detrimental to your health.
Lifestyle behaviors are those things that impact our fitness level and health and yet we have control over. Smoking, excessive amounts of television and other types of behavior really do make a difference in our overall total health.
So in my next blog we are going to start off our fitness journal with meals. Until then, decide what type of journal you are going to use. This is the time to start putting it together.
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