My Fitness Journal
Good morning! Today I’m going to give you a full look into my fitness journal. I’m currently in my second month of using it so I’m sure I will be making more changes here and there, but overall I’m pretty happy with it. I actually got the idea from when I tried to take on bullet journaling. For those of you who haven’t heard of a bullet journal, think of it as a hand drawn planner/ habit tracker/ meal planner/ endless possibility journal. Even though it was and fun, it was too much for me to keep up with and draw out every week. But I really liked the tracking aspect of it, so I made my own version.
I made my fitness Journal to keep track of my fitness/ weight-loss/ keto journey. Now that my keto diet is pretty regular I may not track my macros next month. If I hit a stall then it would have been too soon, and I will start tracking again. I guess we’ll see! As of right now I take monthly progress pictures and measurements, so far I haven’t seen much of an inches difference, its been more of a weight difference. Definitely not complaining though! It feels really good to see the numbers go down. Especially after two years of trying with little to no progress. Keto was really a game changer for me.
My fitness routine is about the same as it has been for the last 2 years, with some slight adjust adjustments. The main adjustments have been to add more arm workouts. I’m hoping that soon I can get to the gym more regularly, but currently my efforts are at home. Not that I wouldn’t like to go to the gym its just not entirely possible for now. Being an army wife is not always great. There are many things about the army that are very nice but it’s definitely give and take. Anyway my wonderful husband did recently get me a recumbent bike and some free weights so that has been helping. Having a few options has been a really nice change. We also have a punching bag in the garage that I want to start using more.
So why do I keep a fitness journal? It helps to keep me motivated and it helps me hold myself accountable. It feels great to fill in more than one box per day in my workout tracker, and it also bums me out when I don’t. I think its also important to do the monthly check in to also keep me motivated to really make a difference so I can see progress. That’s what this is all about anyway right? Seeing results and gaining confidence in yourself. I’m quite proud of myself that I have moved beyond obsessing about the number I see on the scale. Yes I track it and I have a goal but I more so want to wear the clothes I want to wear. And be able to look at myself in the mirror and be like damn, yes that’s me. I don’t know if anyone else feels like this, but right now when I look at myself in the mirror I can’t help but thinking that’s just not how I’m meant to be.
In my workout tracker I have a column for the day and then I have column for each of my most done workouts: core, arms, legs, bike, and miscellaneous, for things like walks or an occasional run, of if I actually do use the punching bag. Then of course total minutes. Lately its definitely been a sad sight. I’ve been more focused on getting into a more productive cleaning routine. Which is important, but I can’t neglect my fitness goals. I also ended up taking a couple days off because I believe I pinched a nerve in my arm. And doing just about anything made it hurt, and feel super weird.
For my Keto tracker I track macro percentages; fat, protein and carbs, also my total calorie intake, as well as my calories burned. Calories burned I get from my FitBit. I do not believe that it is completely accurate but I like to think its close enough to help me keep an eye on my deficit. Most often I seem to intake around 1300 calories and I burn at least 2400 a day some days higher with only here and there being lower. Making my deficit 1000+ calories a day, definitely a good place to be. I also track my ketone levels to try and see if in ketosis. I use Ketostix which aren’t the most accurate but when you’re starting it can help some. They aren’t very accurate because they track the overflow of ketones in your system. Ketostix test your urine for ketone levels. So at first when your body is still training to become a fat burner ketones will show in the urine test. Once your body is fully fat burning adapted ketones wont really show up in your urine. I check twice a day and the amount I have will be gone by the end of my third month, after that I don’t think I will be getting more. The most accurate is blood testing. Much like a insulin blood test. For me its more listening to my body to know if I’m in ketosis. If I feel alert and my mind is clear, and I’m not really craving snacks then I’m usually in ketosis.
The last thing I have in my Fitness journal is a space for a daily log. The first month I used this almost everyday. This month I haven’t used it much. I do believe that I should log more in there. So that I can check in and see where I was when. That would be a good tracker of my journey, and a more raw account, not just bare numbers and facts. Because as I’ve said before I’m not doing this for the numbers it’s for how it makes me feel.
There you have it! My fitness journal. A work in progress to be sure but a helpful tool for my journey. Do any of you keep any type of fitness journal? How do you track your progress? Don’t forget to follow my blog so you don’t miss the never ending battle of me and the craziness of life! Check back in Friday I’ll be sharing my DIY Hair mask! Lots of mess fun to be had there. Have a great day!
I made my fitness Journal to keep track of my fitness/ weight-loss/ keto journey. Now that my keto diet is pretty regular I may not track my macros next month. If I hit a stall then it would have been too soon, and I will start tracking again. I guess we’ll see! As of right now I take monthly progress pictures and measurements, so far I haven’t seen much of an inches difference, its been more of a weight difference. Definitely not complaining though! It feels really good to see the numbers go down. Especially after two years of trying with little to no progress. Keto was really a game changer for me.
My fitness routine is about the same as it has been for the last 2 years, with some slight adjust adjustments. The main adjustments have been to add more arm workouts. I’m hoping that soon I can get to the gym more regularly, but currently my efforts are at home. Not that I wouldn’t like to go to the gym its just not entirely possible for now. Being an army wife is not always great. There are many things about the army that are very nice but it’s definitely give and take. Anyway my wonderful husband did recently get me a recumbent bike and some free weights so that has been helping. Having a few options has been a really nice change. We also have a punching bag in the garage that I want to start using more.
So why do I keep a fitness journal? It helps to keep me motivated and it helps me hold myself accountable. It feels great to fill in more than one box per day in my workout tracker, and it also bums me out when I don’t. I think its also important to do the monthly check in to also keep me motivated to really make a difference so I can see progress. That’s what this is all about anyway right? Seeing results and gaining confidence in yourself. I’m quite proud of myself that I have moved beyond obsessing about the number I see on the scale. Yes I track it and I have a goal but I more so want to wear the clothes I want to wear. And be able to look at myself in the mirror and be like damn, yes that’s me. I don’t know if anyone else feels like this, but right now when I look at myself in the mirror I can’t help but thinking that’s just not how I’m meant to be.
In my workout tracker I have a column for the day and then I have column for each of my most done workouts: core, arms, legs, bike, and miscellaneous, for things like walks or an occasional run, of if I actually do use the punching bag. Then of course total minutes. Lately its definitely been a sad sight. I’ve been more focused on getting into a more productive cleaning routine. Which is important, but I can’t neglect my fitness goals. I also ended up taking a couple days off because I believe I pinched a nerve in my arm. And doing just about anything made it hurt, and feel super weird.
For my Keto tracker I track macro percentages; fat, protein and carbs, also my total calorie intake, as well as my calories burned. Calories burned I get from my FitBit. I do not believe that it is completely accurate but I like to think its close enough to help me keep an eye on my deficit. Most often I seem to intake around 1300 calories and I burn at least 2400 a day some days higher with only here and there being lower. Making my deficit 1000+ calories a day, definitely a good place to be. I also track my ketone levels to try and see if in ketosis. I use Ketostix which aren’t the most accurate but when you’re starting it can help some. They aren’t very accurate because they track the overflow of ketones in your system. Ketostix test your urine for ketone levels. So at first when your body is still training to become a fat burner ketones will show in the urine test. Once your body is fully fat burning adapted ketones wont really show up in your urine. I check twice a day and the amount I have will be gone by the end of my third month, after that I don’t think I will be getting more. The most accurate is blood testing. Much like a insulin blood test. For me its more listening to my body to know if I’m in ketosis. If I feel alert and my mind is clear, and I’m not really craving snacks then I’m usually in ketosis.
The last thing I have in my Fitness journal is a space for a daily log. The first month I used this almost everyday. This month I haven’t used it much. I do believe that I should log more in there. So that I can check in and see where I was when. That would be a good tracker of my journey, and a more raw account, not just bare numbers and facts. Because as I’ve said before I’m not doing this for the numbers it’s for how it makes me feel.
There you have it! My fitness journal. A work in progress to be sure but a helpful tool for my journey. Do any of you keep any type of fitness journal? How do you track your progress? Don’t forget to follow my blog so you don’t miss the never ending battle of me and the craziness of life! Check back in Friday I’ll be sharing my DIY Hair mask! Lots of mess fun to be had there. Have a great day!
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