If you want to lose weight, get in shape, tone up, build a better body, and stay motivated and inspired, start keeping a fitness journal. Journaling will set your spirit free. Journaling will motivate you without ever telling you what to do. A journal is like a quiet witness to your challenges, your struggles, your victories and your accomplishments.

A journal is the perfect tool for starting and maintaining an effective training program. It’s important to record every thing you eat and drink and all the activities that you do. Be very specific in your comments. No one but you will be reading your journal so you don’t have to worry about divulging too much information.

Looking back at your journal will let you see the how far you have progressed. Reading past entries that describe other challenges and how you overcame them will inspire you to meet all challenges with that same courage and resolve. If you did it before, certainly you can do it again.

Record your meals down to everything that you eat. Include all snacks and beverages too. It has been proven time after time that people who keep a fitness journal have a higher chance of successful weight loss than those who do not. By successful weight loss, I mean weight that stays off, to keep you fit and lean for life.

Journaling allows you to quiet your mind by putting all your hopes and goals onto paper. The act of writing it down and re-reading it, revs up your brain to accept this new challenge. Daily writing in the journal fortifies your desires and gives you a new mindset every single day. Even if you take a day off from working out, don’t take a day off from your journal. It’s important to write down how you feel and what you eat, every day.

If you take a day off from dieting, you should write down everything that you eat and drink in your journal. Remember, no one but you will read your journal. Even if you feel like you really cheated on your diet, it is okay to write down everything that you ate that day. Some foods, especially those you might not be used to eating, can cause bloating and other problems. Writing down what you eat can help you determine which foods, if any, cause adverse reactions.

Take your journal to the gym or if you work out at home, keep it nearby so you can record your workout every day. After each workout session, grab your journal and jot down the following:
1. How much time you spent for your entire workout, from start to finish.
2. How you felt (energy and mood) when you started.
3. How you felt (energy, mood and muscle fatigue) when you finished.
4. What muscle groups you targeted with this workout.
5. What exercise machines you worked with and the intensity that you trained at.
6. Weight and equipment used.
7. Number of reps and sets performed.
8. The amount of time you spend resting between sets.

As you can see by the above list, your journal is a great way to record the constant and ever-changing challenges and accomplishments that you face in a fitness program. It is one of the most important tools to keep you inspired and motivated for a successful fitness training program.

When you want to super charge your diet, start a fitness journal. Journaling provides a positive avenue to project your goals and also helps you define a path for success. Journaling details your own private journey when you take an idea and turn it into something magnificent. This is what occurs when you decide to lose weight and get fit. First, you become inspired, next, you grasp the motivation to make it happen and then you set about a plan to achieve your goals. When you add journaling to these behaviors, you take an idea and set it into action.

The very act of journaling sends a positive signal to your brain and lets it know that changes are going to take place. Of course your brain is not fond of change. As a matter of fact it prefers the same old, same old. The brain loves a good habit. Habits are easy to follow, don’t expend much energy and just feel comfortable. But habits can make us fat and lazy and when you make up your mind to make positive, healthy changes like losing weight and getting in shape, you’ve got to rewire the brain to replace old nasty habits with healthy, positive ones.

When you want to lose weight and improve your fitness level, the best way to achieve this is to keep a fitness journal. It is a proven fact, that people who write down everything they eat and everything they drink along with all of their physical activities, have a much greater success at losing weight than those people who don’t.

I call it my secret weapon, but the truth is, the act of journaling goes back thousands of years. Writing down goals as a way of achievement has been a successful endeavor for many people, no matter how hard the challenge.

A fitness journal is like having an inspiring fitness buddy that you can take with you wherever you go. It is a great way to stay on top of your diet but it also helps to challenge your fitness level. If your workouts are getting boring, make new goals and research new exercises that will work different areas of your body.

A healthy diet and exercise should become part of your every day life. So should journaling. You can even write down your affirmation in your journal, stand in front of the mirror and repeat these positive statements. Take time to plan your goals for the day and make plans on achieving them. Keep your journal handy throughout the day and be sure to write down all the food that you eat, all the beverages that you drink (even the amount of water) and all the activities that you participate in. The journal will become your best ally and one that can help you succeed this time.

What does it mean to empower? It is the act of giving power. Therefore, when you empower the beauty in you, you give power to that beauty or in other words allow the beauty to come forth, to authorize its presence, if you will.

I believe that every woman is a beautiful being. Created perfectly, complete with flaws unique only to her. By empowering the beauty within us, we embrace our unique beauty, we celebrate our power, and we allow ourselves to become significant.

For some women, it is easy for them to make changes in their lives. For others, it is not so simple. Years of negative self-talk, low self esteem or always placing others needs above their own, can put these women at risk for achieving less than their potential.

That’s one reason that keeping the journal for 90 days is the key to success with this program. Because it has been proven time after time that those people, who keep a journal of what they eat, drink and how much they exercise, have a far greater chance at success than those who don’t.

Personally, I have found that women who continued my program and faithfully maintained their fitness journal for at least 90 days showed the best results. It takes at least 30 days to make or break a habit. When a behavior is repeated for 90 days as with my program, the habit becomes a lifestyle.

For some, getting motivated to begin a diet and fitness program requires inspiration. Losing motivation is usually the culprit that causes their efforts to fail. Different reasons are to blame for a loss of motivation, but usually it happens when a woman feels that her efforts are not producing any results.

Daily devotion to your journal writing can provide a support system when you need a boost of encouragement. Reading your previous posts and comparing them to your level of attainment today, will help you realize just how much your hard work has paid off.

Begin each day of writing with personal affirmations and gratitude. When you start your day with a gracious spirit, you set the stage for your own show. Allow the journal to be your own personal success story and take advantage of this time to make yourself the star.

You know you were meant for something special in this life. An achiever, a believer, you are the one who makes sure things get done. Take pride in your accomplishments, treat yourself to a healthy diet and fitness plan, and not only will your body improve but every part of your life will reap benefits.

Empower your beauty by investing as little as 30 minutes of exercise each day. A bit of strength training, corresponded by fun activities can whip your fitness regimen in shape to give you the body that you deserve. Don’t put it off another minute; get started doing something that’s personally for you.

Start by writing down your goals before you begin your program. Record everything from your current size to the size you want to be. Make the decision to eat foods that you like but that have sound nutritional value. I’ve made it easy by including some sample meals in the Diet Category in the Members Only Area.

Be sure to participate in strength training exercises at least 3 times a week, for 30 minutes or more each time. Mix your strength training up, by working on different areas of your body, as outlined in later chapters. The other 3 days of the week––just go out and have fun for at least 30 minutes at a time. Now that shouldn’t be hard, should it?

What about that one other day of the week? I want you to take that day off and get some rest. Yes, rest that beautiful body; rest your body and mind for complete rejuvenation.

You’ll begin to see positive results in nearly every aspect of your life. You’re already taking the first step. By joining Fitness4Her, you have separated yourself from the “wish I could” type to the “Yes I will” dynamic person that you are.

Maybe you’ve tried all sorts of diet and exercise programs, only to quit after a short while. It’s time to forgive yourself and begin today by making a change.

This time you will succeed. Why? Because my plan is based on simple proven principles that are easy to apply no matter what your age or level of fitness. All you need is 30 minutes a day!

You were created to empower your beauty. Always reaching for the next level, you have a destiny that you must fulfill. You know it; I know it, how many other people already know this about you? And for those who don’t––you’ll be able show them what you’ve got.

After 90 days of following my program, you will feel like a new person. Slimmer, sexier, prettier and more confident, those will be the way your friends will describe you. Your physical and mental health will improve, your skin will become more radiant and you’ll notice changes in the way you carry yourself and the way others perceive you.

Once you master the first 90 days, you will be home free. Exercise and healthy eating will become your new lifestyle. Won’t you take the first step today? Let this be day 1 of your 90-day-challenge to Empower Beauty.

No one can do it for you — you must have the desire, the will and the drive.

Just 90 days … that’s all it takes … to empower the beauty in you!

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Does she work out regularly? Does she cheat on her diet? Is she really keeping all of her notes in that journal that she carries? Only her fitness journal knows for sure. If she’s been keeping it up, it should bare witness to her entire fitness plan and more.

The Diet Fibber
I knew a girl who always bragged about the incredibly low amount of calories that she consumed every day. I knew I had seen her snack on candy quite regularly and I wondered why she felt it necessary to fabricate the facts as they pertained to what she was eating. There are lots of people who aren’t completely truthful when it comes to what they eat or drink. It’s just peculiar that they choose to make up stories about strict calorie counting or over the top exercise routines or aerobic activities. I mean really, who cares?

There is no logical reason to lie about the food you eat or the activity that you do. If you are wise enough to keep a fitness journal then I sincerely hope that you keep your entries accurate and truthful. Lying to your journal only hurts you and makes it impossible to determine what works best for you.

The Truth About Journals
Fitness4Her is all about successful weight loss and fitness for life. It incorporates a sensible and balanced diet that you can stick to, an exercise plan that is fun and easy to follow and the recommendation of a journal to show your results. I urge you to keep track of everything you eat and drink and all the activity that you do for at least the first 90 days. That’s the secret to making it work. Stick to the program for 90 days and you’ll wonder why it took you so long to get started.

Some people start out keeping a journal but after a while they forget to bring it with them, don’t have time in the evening to write in it and before long, too many days have passed by. It does take discipline to maintain a journal, but it also takes discipline to stick to an exercise plan and a healthy diet.

The thing is…the journal can be the difference between a diet that works and one that doesn’t. You know this is true. You know that if you take the time to write down what you eat and then have to look at those words written there, it will make a big impact on the way that you eat. The same is true for the exercise, when you log in how far you walk and compare them to other days that you have walked, you’ll find yourself aiming for the longer distance. You’ll set the bar for yourself. But if you don’t keep records, it will be impossible to remember your distance over several days.

Achieve Goals with a Journal
Keeping the journal just makes everything so much easier. Although it will take getting used to, once you make a habit of writing in your journal, you’ll see the incredible difference.

You see, successful people go about achieving their goals in much the same way. Many of them use journals too. That’s because writing something on paper engages the brain to accept the idea and treat it as a command.

In earlier posts I talked about how the brain works to process information and to make and break habits. How it was influenced by the constant messages that your body sends to it. Therefore it is easy to control the way that you think and the urges and cravings that you have. It starts with affirmations and is cemented by the presence of the journal.

I can’t stress enough to you, how important I believe the journal is to ensuring a successful weight loss program. It is a wonderful tool that will offer insight into your eating habits including when and why you eat, in addition to what you eat.

When you begin keeping account of what you eat, be sure to include every drink that you consume. Lots of calories are in soft drinks and other processed drinks. You’ll need to monitor the number of teaspoons or sugar packets that you add to otherwise unsweetened drinks like tea. If you leave out this important information, you could sabotage your fitness program.

Accuracy and Accountability
A journal can only be as good as the information that you write in it. Be as accurate as possible, because the journal will be a valuable tool to help you now and well into the future. You’ll want to keep it close to you, so you can write down how you feel before each meal; what time of day you started feeling hungry; and how you felt after your meal.

I suggest eating five small meals instead of eating three larger meals. Food is easier to digest this way and the constant meals keep sugar levels from dropping, which can make you munchy for some junk food. You shouldn’t feel famished with this frequent five-meal plan.

That’s why I urge you to keep the journal close by. If you adapt to the five-meal per day plan, you’ll be writing in your journal more frequently. Keeping it in a convenient place so you can easily refer to it will make it much easier. Remember, it’s important that each snack be accounted for, just like your regular meals.

Journal Your Fitness Fun
We’ve talked a lot about writing everything you eat and drink, making sure to include all of your snacks too. But the other part of the equation to a successful weight loss program is the fitness and boy is my program fun! It consists of 30 minutes of exercise each day. Now, you can exercise longer if you like, some people like to go for 45 minutes to an hour, but you must engage in activity six out of the seven days of the week.

Three days of the week will be for resistance training and the journal will be a great place to record your reps and sets and to determine when you are ready to take the exercise to the next level. Every other day instead of resistance training, you get to play for 30 minutes a day. These play days are reserved for aerobic activities and I encourage you to mix them up for variety and vitality.

Your journal will make it easy to anticipate your aerobic fun day and your resistance-training day. Recording the intensity of the exercises, and how they affected you (exhausted, sore, painful, easy) will help train your body and your mind to make physical fitness a permanent part of your life for a healthier you.

So when you leave them wondering, “does she or doesn’t she,” the proof will lie in the journal.

Visit my Women’s Fitness Blog on top of this page for more on Journaling your way to success!