Things You'll Need:
- Notebook & Pen/Pencil
- Spreadsheet on Excel
- Determination
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Step 1
Start by Setting Goals - Do you want to lose 5 pounds just to make your clothes feel better on you? Do you just want to start living a healthier life? No matter what your basic goal is, start your journal by setting some realistic goals and timelines. There is a link to an article on WebMD on setting realistic weight-loss goals at the bottom of this article. Write down these goals.
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Step 2
Choose Your Medium - There are several options in keeping a successful exercise and food journal. It all depends on what you are most comfortable with. Technically, it would probably be best to carry around a little notebook and pen with you so that you can write down everything you eat and do, but realistically, this will probably be pretty difficult to keep up with. Microsoft Word offers some great templates, but one in particular is a daily food log which lists all possible types of food for the day and includes extra space for comments and snacks (where you can easily include exercise). Some other methods are a regular notebook, spreadsheet, or any calendar or planner you use often.
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Step 3
To Lose Weight - The main reason to keep an exercise and food journal is to track your progress when losing weight, so we'll stick to this purpose for the remainder of the article. There are so many diets out there, it is impossible to assume what your particular method is. The cheapest, simplest way to lose weight and log your activities and food is by calculating calories (and possibly carbs). Set a schedule for yourself for the week, month, etc for exercising and the amount of calories, carbs or etc. you intend on eating for each day. Stick to your schedule and at the end of each day, log your activities (what kind of exercising) and the length of the workout. Go to a Calorie Calculator (suggested link at bottom of article) and calculate the calories you burned for every activity performed that day (including brushing your teeth)! Then go to another Calorie Calculator (suggested link at bottom of article) and calculate the amount of calories for every food you ate. The link provided even has calorie counts for foods from fast-food restaurants and other popular restaurant chains (i.e. TGI Friday's). This link also includes the count for carbohydrates and protein. Also, weigh yourself at the beginning of each week in order to track your progress!
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Step 4
Each week, go through your journal and see what activities and foods are working well, and especially what are not. Use this knowledge to set future goals. Keep in mind that the less you weigh, the less calories you burn, so do not get discouraged if you are surprised by the amount some exercising activities are burning. Also remember to set realistic and healthy goals. If you wish to lose weight, you will naturally limit your calories/carbs to less than what you are allowed when maintaining your current weight, but do not go overboard! The healthiest way to lose weight is to do it at a comfortable and natural rate and stick to your program!
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Step 5
If you are on your computer every day, and want a fast, easy way to keep track of your food, exercise, and progress, please go to the Health Tracker link at the bottom of this article. This is a free service that will keep all of your information together and has much more information available than any other method.
Comments
dlcass said
on 1/2/2009 Good ideas. I'm not very good at journaling so maybe some of your tips will help me.
momaloy said
on 12/6/2008 Good info here... now, if only I could find someone to follow me around to do this for me :)