Wellness Journal?

emmies_123
emmies_123 Posts: 513 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have been logging and exercising (low intensity home videos) for a little over a year now. I recently started a HIIT boot camp trial, focused on nutrition and improving fitness.

It was suggested to me that I start keeping a wellness journal. It would track weight daily for span of trial, how much water i drink, what and when I eat, and what exercise I do. I realize I could do all this on MFP already, but I do tend to enter and forget, whereas in journal format I can look back and see trends more readily. Wellness journal is also supposed to help us track at least two things we did good in a day, and no more than two things we could have improved on.

Side benefit given was that it is a good way of seeing the invisible progress if we track reps/breaks needed/weights used for each workout.

My question is: have any of you done this approach? Did it work out for you long term? I'm hoping to be able to get some self awareness out of it, more than I do with flat logging on MFP. But I'm also not a natural journal person.

Replies

  • IAmGainingHealth
    IAmGainingHealth Posts: 18 Member
    I after years found a journaling system that works for me.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    You could consider doing the MFP part in the app, printing each day, and putting it in a looseleaf with the other textual things you want to add on an adjacent page.

    I've tried to do unified things in the past, but have found I'm happier with dedicated apps that are tailored to providing good info about specific aspects, but that's just me. Now that apps are getting more integrated, it's migrating toward fewer places.

    I assume you know you can buy calendar-style journals exactly designed for what you're describing.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Honestly, I wouldn't have any interest in writing that much every day. It's fine if you do want to do that, but if you don't consider yourself a "journal person," then it seems like quite a time commitment for a task you sound like you wouldn't enjoy.

    I would recommend considering what specific goals you want to achieve, and commit to doing specific things that will help you achieve them. "Wellness" is very generic, and what it means to be "well" depends on your own needs and values. So, if you have weight-related goals, commit to logging all your food. If your goals relate to strength training, commit to documenting each lifting session. If you want to spend five minutes meditating each day, then get some stickers and put one on the calendar each day you meditate. Find things that have value to you and won't seem like a chore.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,142 Member
    I do something similar but only for workouts and update weekly. I saw a photo of a bullet journal and liked the idea, you can pull up examples on Pinterest. I'm awful at journaling but bought a pretty one on vacation and decided to do weekly goals. For example, I plan to do cardio daily for the week so I make 7 boxes and check off each day I do them, 3 weight lifting days, and so on. I put some motivational quotes at the bottom of the page. The example I saw had rewards for boxes checked. It's not actually tracking weight I do to keep track, just a system I can do each week, reevaluate, and make changes as I go that doesn't take long. I'm using a fitness app for some workouts so I'll write down the class name and instructor but that's the only documentation i make. Of course you can customize it to what you need and your personality.
  • holliesterr
    holliesterr Posts: 16 Member
    I log into MFP daily, but I think my brain also likes to see my trends on paper, in a weekly timed format. I have my wellness journal in a weekly timed planner and I supplement it with a blank booklet (tucked inside) where I can go into detail about the foods I ate, how I felt, etc. At first I thought it was maybe redundant to have a physical journal when I could do it all on this app, but i realized it works for me.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    edited February 2020
    Writing in a journal assisted me with losing over 80 pounds and I'm in year 7 of keeping it all off.

    I've been planning/keeping track of my meals, water intake, exercise, measurements/weight, any notes for the day and other personal info in a journal everyday for the past 8 years.

    It has helped me tremendously with staying on track and keeping me focused. It takes me minutes a day to maintain it.

    I go through one notebook every 6 months. I lost half of my weight doing this before I discovered MFP. I was successful and liked it so I continued.

    For me it's not only a habit, but there's something about writing things down that helps me stick to things in general.

    If you're not a journal/writing kind of person I wonder if you would be able to stick to it long-term. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. Good luck!

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