You Can Never Get Out of Journaling

This lesson we discuss a lot on PNP...don't we? Even I had to kick my own rear this past week. Working out is NEVER a problem for me. I love it and will do it until the cows come home. Journaling my workouts is also easy. Every day I can't wait to type in my data on my spreadsheets and then I look forward to tracking my progress. I use those records the next time I workout to either increase my weight by a little, change an exercise I didn't like, or beat my reps by one or two.

What I HATE doing is tracking my food. I just don't like it. I would love to say it's too time consuming or that I eat "so good" I don't have to worry about it but it's NOT TRUE. How we look and how the weight comes off has everything to do with how much we stick to plan and then adjust when the results aren't matching up. Without journaling the food you have no idea what to change.

Most of my girls are good about keeping a journal. This month we are focused and on task to not only journal the "plans" but we are doing a weekly HONESTY thread. We discuss what really went in our mouths and didn't seem to make the journal. You see, this is where you make some progress; being dead straight with what you are doing.

First, you gotta be willing to own up to the things you are doing. It's easy to sit back and PROCLAIM nothing works for me! I work out hard, eat what you tell me, etc., and I don't see results. The first thing I say...

"Send me the last two to three weeks of daily food journals and exercise logs and let me see what's going on. If you don't have them, then track for two to three weeks honestly and then let's see what changes need to be made. We don't know if you need more or less food, more or less protein, more or less carbs, or to change your meal timing if you aren't tracking."

You know what almost always happens?

1. They track honestly for two to three weeks, feel pressured to stick to plan because I'm going to be looking at it, and start losing weight.
2. They track honestly and see that they are giving about 80% effort all the way around by missing a workout here and there and eating off their plan every three to four days. The info stares them in the face and shows what we "remember" is not always what "happened."
3. They don't track, lay low, and spend another month doing the same old stuff and making zero progress. What feels hard and dedicated can't be proved, improved upon, or fixed because they don't want to take the final step in accountability. Then they reach out again frustrated but with no information backing it up. :)

So, I took a harsh look at myself this past week. Since going to Phat Camp in mid-January I have upped the workouts, made loads of better choices, and slimmed down a tad. I said a TAD. Boo me! I have been planning my meals and half-you-know-what following the plan. This week I decided to get back to Sparkpeople and track my calories and what I am realistically eating. I also designed a menu with flexibility (my girls can find it in my journal in the forums).

The thing is that I don't eat bad. I eat very healthy but I eat an extra snack or two here and there, eat what I'm craving versus what I need, and then don't get optimal results. If I am willing to bust it in the gym why not bust in the journal and food? So, that's what I will do this week. You can follow along on Sparkpeople if you wish. My webpage is PHITNPHAT and I turned on my diary for public viewing.

How's that for accountability? Feel free to ask questions if you want about what I'm eating but ask it here!