Journaling

Do you journal? Personally I don't "write" a journal, but I do reflect everyday on things I do and how I feel day to day online.
Many times I'll go back and see how I handled challenging days (like when my mom passed) when days like that come along.
I know in Zoom, they have you do that which is probably why many get a better success rate than just dieting alone.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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Replies

  • herblovinmom
    herblovinmom Posts: 398 Member
    Hmm, I don’t journal per say either, but I love a planner, I fill it in with lots of goals and dreams and ideas or whatever’s going on that day or month and sometimes do some drawings along side my plans and notes of inspiration. I do this pretty regularly and I’d say it has helped me focus on my health goals. It’s also good to be able to look back and remember certain events.
    I like it👍
  • skinny809
    skinny809 Posts: 3 Member
    I journal. It keeps me on track.
  • hessiondesign4
    hessiondesign4 Posts: 18 Member
    I've fallen off the Journaling wagon a bit, but I have several. I like to write in them, it's fallen off to monthly or if something happens, but I'm trying to get back in a weekly habit. Sometimes it's the weather, sometimes it's about something I saw, or something I thought, so.etimes I sketch, sometimes it's a story, or a funny or an obituary, sometimes it's a clip from a newspaper or magazine or pressed leaf, it's a varied jumble but when they're full it's a little time capsule
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 906 Member
    I don't 'journal' in the sense of the word that people think of - but I often do find myself typing some stuff out (like in an email I never send or just even in the Google search bar, or a Word Document)....and then just --- delete it.

    Seems like typing it out, gets it out of my head and I can move on. Even though I don't see it again and no one else sees it. I've always laughed when I do it in an email (like I'll get an email from a co-worker and respond to it and write a bunch of stuff...the stuff I'd *like to say...but then delete it and write whatever my actual response is) -- like, "Oh, if I accidentally sent it that would be awful"..lol.
  • RenaTX
    RenaTX Posts: 345 Member
    I would like to journal but I wish I could find a community like LiveJournal . I do not like that Livejournal is now Russian owned as it kind of worries me about the safety and it use to be a pretty active community but no more.

    But other than the fact that I wish I could find something online which I don't need to setup like Wordpress I do keep a notebook to record health stats .
  • 4M_7M_M4H3R_4EVA
    4M_7M_M4H3R_4EVA Posts: 27 Member
    I don't journal per-sa, but now that I am back on here I have started to write notes every night, which reflects on things throughout the day that have impacted my eating/drinking, it is very useful for looking back to see how things are developing.

    I call it my Food & Mood Diary.
  • avatiach
    avatiach Posts: 295 Member
    I art journal sporadically — in the same vein as Ann (above). If you are interested in that you might check out the book Art Journal Kickstarter or Lynda Barry’s book Syllabus. I found both to be useful.
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,503 Member
    RenaTX wrote: »
    I would like to journal but I wish I could find a community like LiveJournal . I do not like that Livejournal is now Russian owned as it kind of worries me about the safety and it use to be a pretty active community but no more.

    But other than the fact that I wish I could find something online which I don't need to setup like Wordpress I do keep a notebook to record health stats .

    I am looking into Substack for writing and some aspects of community.
  • VictorSmashes
    VictorSmashes Posts: 173 Member
    I have a journal. It’s a sketchbook too. And a grocery list. And actually, it itself was a craft project. Its about 4x6 inches which I find less daunting for having no emotional stamina to keep a journal. It’s the closest thing to making it easier to reflect but it’s still far from perfect. As it is, I’m back on the wagon, super depressed and on 3 antidepressants…
    But at the end of the day, self-reflection is important for sure. Psychology says hand written is best for internalization. It might be true. If journaling online works for you, keep going at it! Something over nothing. :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,912 Member
    edited September 2023
    .

  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,307 Member
    That’s a cool idea. I write out notes to myself and have reminder texts … with journaling I can see how fleshing it out would be therapeutic.
  • northbounder4
    northbounder4 Posts: 38 Member
    Yes I like writing and drawing. I think writing about my goals helps focus my attention on it. It improves my mood when I detail what I've done, because when I look back at my week I can see I was productive and made progress in my hobbies and goals. It also helps me with conversation - like when people ask me what I did over the weekend.
  • pcm81811
    pcm81811 Posts: 2 Member
    I wish that I could find a great digital online free journal calendar
  • CrazyMermaid1
    CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 354 Member
    I use a paper journal every morning, and it’s mostly about weight management. I weigh myself and record it, reflect how I did on my eating plan the day before, challenges I will face that day (eating out, no time for exercise, special occasions etc) and my plan to stay healthy. It’s not for everyone but it’s been keeping me within my weight range for several years.
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 845 Member
    I've been using a physical, bullet journal-style one for weight loss this time around. It's an overlarge spiral-bound notebook with monthly dividers and very simple spreads. I'm slowly getting fancier (yesterday I added a colorful folded envelope that says 'Break in Case of Starvation' that has easy, 10-minute or less meals on the inside) and it gives me a lot of joy and little interactive elements to keep my brain happy. So far, I have a daily food diary, weigh-in log, reward page, a step counter/exercise calendar, NSV tracker, progress photos, and daily reflection pages. It's been such a huge motivator for me I've started using a separate journal for my writing and am thinking about making one for my art practice as well.

    The main reason I decided to make a journal was because the last time I lost a significant amount of weight, I quit after a severe bout of depression. It was very easy to just not open the app. No one in my life cared if I lost weight or not. Once I was ready to try again, I realized that I needed to change some of my inner stories if I was going to succeed and a big part of that was making myself really look at what I was doing and how I was feeling on a daily basis.

    So, I got the biggest, brightest notebook I could find and put it where I could see it. I make all my spreads a week ahead of time so, if I miss a day, it's very obvious and I won't let myself tear out pages to hide it. I also see that inactivity ripple across several spreads-- no logs means no step counts means no workout sticker means no weigh-in or measurements. If I have a hard day, I note it and talk about it. If I succeed, I have somewhere to celebrate. There's no judgment and it acts as a support system I create for myself.
  • MujerVieja72
    MujerVieja72 Posts: 12 Member
    I was sort of journaling, but nothing really deep.. Just jotting down exercise completed, vitamins taken, etc... just so i don't forget. This app/site is already an extremely useful took to me for keeping track of everything.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,912 Member
    edited March 26


    bump