Write it down!

Whatever it is--write it down! Your goals, your workouts, your food intake (aka--food diary), cardio... You will be surprised what you will find when you write things down. For instance...you might just find that you have been eating way more calories than you thought. When you write it down--ALL of it. Those handful of nuts, a couple of Hershey's kisses here and there... You really don't realize what you are putting in your body until you write it down. And don't forget what you drink too. We drink a lot of calories that we don't even think about--tea, energy drinks, soft drinks, beer, wine, sports drinks. All of that adds up.


Your workouts. If you don't write it down, you don't know how you are progressing. You "think" you remember but you don't. You can keep up with the exercises, the weights, the reps and even make notes on how you feel on that particular day. I make notes about my wrist, elbow or whatever else is bothering me on that day. I also keep up with my cardio on my planner. I used to write down what type of cardio (walk, bike, elliptical) and the time. Now--I just circle the day when I do my cardio. Then I have a little contest with myself and note how many days this month I have done cardio. Just another little motivational tool I use myself.

The best way of documenting your progress is taking pictures. People say they don't want to have pics of them at their worst but...you will definitely be able to see the fruit of your labor if you take some pics. You should try to take them at the same place with the same outfit (bathing suit, shorts/shirt, etc.). If you keep them and date them, you can see the progress much better than just looking at yourself in the mirror. A picture gives you a different view. Looking at yourself in the mirror isn't really an objective view. Pictures really tell the story--good, bad and ugly.

So, now you have some new things to think about while charting your progress to a healthier you. I hope you will start doing some of these things and use them to make adjustments and progress toward your goal of a longer, healthier life.

Change your body, change your life!