One tool that really helped keep me on track: My Weight Loss Journal

One tool I decided to add to my weight loss journey was a journal to keep track of my fitness and nutrition, plus write about how I felt. It was amazing to see over time the accomplishments I was enduring with my work outs. Flipping through the pages and seeing my number in weight go down and how strong I was getting made me want to do more as well as kept me on track. It really added a lot of excitement and hope to my journey.

It also helped me see variations with my diet and exercise. For instance, if one day I felt like my work out was terrible because I was so tired, I could look back on another day that I felt strong and try to figure out what was the problem. Maybe I had not ate enough carbs for that day or did not get enough sleep. Another thing I liked to see was how strong I was getting. In January I could only run 2 miles without stopping and now in April I was up to 5. It is very rewarding to see yourself change. Documenting my journey was one of my favorite parts of losing weight. Besides wring this amazing blog, of course!

What I wanted to do today is offer you an outline to make your own journal. I created a Word document, printed multiple copies of it, hole punched the copies, bought a 3-ring binder, and put the copies in the binder to create my journal. I am going to paste a simple text outline below that you can copy and paste into a Word document to modify and make your own. Or you can email me at liz@liztaylortraining.com and I will reply back with a Word attachment that has the journal in rich text. And by that I mean I have formulated the spacing, fonts, placement, and alignment.

*******************************************************

Date:___________________________
Weight (if applicable day):__________
Difference from last week:_________

*NUTRITION*:

*Meal 1 –
Time:____:____

Food:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Total Calories:______g
Total Fat:_____g
Total Carbs:_____g
Total Sugar:_____g

*Meal 2 –
Time:____:____

Food:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Total Calories:______g
Total Fat:_____g
Total Carbs:_____g
Total Sodium:_____g

*Meal 3 –
Time:____:____

Food:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Total Calories:______g
Total Fat:_____g
Total Carbs:_____g
Total Sodium:_____g

*Meal 4 –
Time:__:__

Food:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Total Calories:______g
Total Fat:_____g
Total Carbs:_____g
Total Sodium:_____g

*Meal 5 –
Time:____:____

Food:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Total Calories:______g
Total Fat:_____g
Total Carbs:_____g
Total Sodium:_____g

*Meal 6 –
Time:____:____

Food:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Total Calories:______g
Total Fat:_____g
Total Carbs:_____g
Total Sodium:_____g

TOTALS FOR THE DAY:
Calories:___________
Fat:_______g
Carbs:______g
Sodium:______g

*FITNESS*:

Cardio 1:_______________________________________________________
Total Time:________
Total Calories Burned:_________

Weights:
1.) Muscle Group and Exercise:_____________________________________
Sets and Reps:_________________

2.) Muscle Group and Exercise:_____________________________________
Sets and Reps:_________________

3.) Muscle Group and Exercise:_____________________________________
Sets and Reps:_________________

4.) Muscle Group and Exercise:_____________________________________
Sets and Reps:_________________

5.) Muscle Group and Exercise:_____________________________________
Sets and Reps:_________________

Cardio 2:_______________________________________________________
Total Time:________
Total Calories Burned:_________

Total Calories Burned for WorkOut:____________
Total Time Spent on WorkOut:________________

*PERSONAL*:

What did I accomplish today?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

What challenges did I endure today?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What will I do to make tomorrow better?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*******************************************************

Remember to make your Weight Loss Journal your own.
-I recommend only weighing yourself once a week. On days I did not weigh, I put "N/A" on the line.
-Same goes for if you do not lift weights, eat 6 meals, or do cardio.
-Not every single field has to be filled out everyday.