I make better choices when I’m journaling daily.
My clients who journal create more success than my clients who don’t.
If you’d rather listen to this blog than read it, please click here to listen on Anchor.
When I say journaling, I’m not talking about calorie or macro counting. Here are a couple podcasts I’ve done on calorie and macro counting for those of you who have questions about that.
Episode 62 – 4 Reasons Calorie Counting Doesn’t Work
Episode 329 – The Case Against Counting Calories
When I talk about journaling I’m talking about a couple basic things:
- What you eat, how much & when (without measuring or counting)
- How it makes you feel
I teach my clients to monitor sleep, mood, energy, hunger, satiety, etc. All of this can be done in 5-10 minutes a day and it’s an insanely powerful tool.
Ultimately, you don’t need to understand diets in general. You need to understand your own body.
Most of us have a lot of work to do in that arena.
I’ve shared here why it’s my #1 fat loss recommendation.
Today I want to briefly share with you 3 reasons you should start journaling today.
- It helps you pay more attention
One of the primary reasons people fail to change their behavior & improve their food choices is because they aren’t paying attention. They go through the day being reactive versus proactive and only touch base with what they’re doing & why every once in a while. Journaling helps you pay attention. The mere act of paying attention to if you’re hungry, how hungry you are and what/how much you’re eating can improve your choices. - It keeps you honest
Sometimes we evaluate our food choices based on “the big picture” and overlook the bites off our kids plate, pieces of chocolate throughout the day or pattern of eating when we aren’t hungry. Almost without exception, when my clients review their own journal, they can identify where they are holding themselves back. Your journal prevents you from ever feeling like you don’t know why you aren’t getting results. You’ll easily be able to see what foods satisfy you and which ones don’t – this is a massive stepping stone towards success. (How many of us continue to eat protein bars even though they don’t keep hunger at bay?) - It keeps you focused
By journaling daily & making it a habit, you are repeatedly reminding yourself of what you want most and why. In the Fat Loss Fast Track journal, you answer 3 questions each day:
~ What do I want most?
~ Why do I want it?
~ What am I able & willing to do today to move in that direction?
Life is busy & demanding. Without a habit like journaling to anchor us to our goals, we naturally drift in and out of motivation, slowing our progress and failing to create consistency.
Don’t overcomplicate it. Get a blank notebook and begin to write down what you eat, how much & when. Make note of if and when you’re hungry. Make note if you have really high energy or really low energy.
It can be boiled down to this: pay attention. Pay more attention to yourself, your body, your food choices and how your body responds to them.
Today’s workout was awesome. It was a tough one but I love the format – push hard, recover, push again.
“Frank the Tank”
AMRAP 5:
50 Wall Ball Buy-In
12 Deadlifts (135/95)
12 Lateral Barbell Burpees
Rest 5:00AMRAP 5:
35 Wall Ball Buy-In
9 Deadlifts (155/105)
9 Lateral Barbell Burpees
Rest 5:00AMRAP 5:
20 Wall Ball Buy-In
6 Deadlifts (185/135)
6 Lateral Barbell Burpees
On the food front:
Today was a bit crazy – I was up at 4am to work for a few hours before my workout then I had 12 client calls, a podcast and a family wake that was 90 minutes away. Busy busy!
After my workout I popped by Whole Foods to get some cooked bacon from the bacon bar for my cabbage salad bowl. I had a couple pieces of it during the drive because it would be a bit before I had a break for breakfast.
Around 11am I had my cabbage salad bowl with cabbage, bacon, 1 egg, some avocado & Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo.
Later in the afternoon while driving to wake I had a bowl of carrots and 2 hard boiled eggs.
I stopped by Chipotle Mexican Grill on the way home & got a salad with chicken, pico & guacamole. I drank a bunch of coffee and sparkling water along the day.
Sorry for the abbreviated post today! Gotta keep movin’!