Journaling/Logs - how do you like to do it?

[Squeeealer]

I'm brand new to this site and I think what I've seen from the blog is that as long as you're on the Paleo diet there's no need to journal what you eat, but to journal your workouts. And something about taking measurements.

Do I have any of this right?

Where do you guys journal? Like good ol' fashioned pen and paper, or do you like to use a website like myfitnesspal, or is there some tool on this site, or what?

Thanks!

[bigm141414]

I keep an old fashioned pen and paper journal for my workouts/activities. Nice to be able to flip through them and see the progress. Measurements should also be tracked since they can tell you a better story than the scale.

[blindasutsutsu]

I'm brand new to this site and I think what I've seen from the blog is that as long as you're on the Paleo diet there's no need to journal what you eat, but to journal your workouts. And something about taking measurements.

Do I have any of this right?

Where do you guys journal? Like good ol' fashioned pen and paper, or do you like to use a website like myfitnesspal, or is there some tool on this site, or what?

Thanks!

For your diet its all a matter of your personal preference and goals. If you are trying to lose weight regardless of how you are eating I would recommend tracking calorie intake as you would like to be at a calorie deficit. I think a lot of people are surprised when the initially start tracking the content of their diet how much they actually intake whether its too much or too little. As far as workouts I think it helps tremendously to track your weight so when you hit that plateau you can go back and see where you started. Also it will help with your goals as you progress. (I like to give myself one overall goal and set minigoals on the way to it so I can have that small victory every once in a while.) Measurements are a great way to track your body changing because you see yourself everyday it is hard to see the change over the course of 6 months. I would also recommend taking starting pictures and then another photo say 4-6 weeks down the line in the same fashion.

I use the old pen and paper but i know a lot of people on here say great things about myfitnesspal. Any way hope I helped a little!! Welcome to the rebellion.

[aj_rock]

No diet can defeat the conservation of mass. Even for dieting styles that do not advocate counting calories/tracking, you are better off tracking for at LEAST a couple weeks so you can gauge your expectations/see what needs improvement.

I usually write down my goals for the current workout based on last workout, and then replace with whatever numbers actually happen.

MFP for food logs only. Its actual exercise burn estimation isn't very good.

[KentMcCann]

The problem with logging calories is there's a margin of error of around 10-20% on both sides. By that I mean that the calories listed for foods on websites and on packaging is only correct within that margin, and any estimation of your bmr is going to have about the same margin. Then, if you try to factor in calories burned, it becomes even less reliable.

In my opinion, the best way to approach food is to eat a consistent diet for a few weeks and see if your body is changing. Losing weight? You're in a deficit. Gaining? You're in a surplus. Once you have that baseline you can adjust accordingly. By sticking to whole, unprocessed foods, eating enough protein + veggies, and stopping eating a bit before you're full, you should be able to feel out a sweet spot for weight loss without logging everything you put in your mouth.

As for lifting, definitely keep track of your big compound lifts. You absolutely need to know what you were squatting/deadlifting/pressing the week before so you know you're making progress. Accessory lifts and smaller lifts you do are a bit less vital to track, as long as you're able to listen to your body during a workout and know what an adequate stimulus feels like.

And something about taking measurements.

If you wanted to take body circumference measurements every few weeks, that's one way to know if you're losing fat/gaining muscle. The other option would be fat calipers, but those are hard to use in general, never the less on yourself...

Hope that helped a bit

K

[LRB]

I keep different things in different places.

For example, I have a google doc (spreadsheet) on which I track my daily weight, bodyfat percentage, and a one-word description (e.g., "crossfit" "lifting" "rest") of that day's workout (if any).

I have an index-card file, where I catalog my lifts (each lift has a different card, and they're in alphabetical order); I add the date and a PR, or 1RM, or heavy 3, or whatever I establish whenever I establish a new benchmark point. Separately in the same file (under a different tab), I have the CrossFit movements - box jump, wall balls, pullups, push ups, etc - and I put the date and describe how I'm doing them (e.g. "box jump w/16" box" or "pullup with 1-inch assistance band" or whatever). For a while I was writing down every crossfit workout I did as well, and keeping those in a separate section, but that got to be too time-consuming. However, if I do any one of the benchmark workouts (the "girls," or the "heroes"), I write it down because there's a chance I'll be doing it again some day and it's good to see improvement (or lack thereof, and then figure out how to trouble-shoot it).

Finally, also in that index card file, I have a bunch of "travel workouts" that can be done without equipment (one WOD per card). Any time I do one of those, I note the date and my score on the card so I can see improvement. For example, inside of one month, I went from needing 15 minutes to do 100 burpees to being able to do them in 10 minutes.

I also take pictures periodically - and keep them in the place linked in my signature as well as on my phone.

I don't track measurements, mostly because it's a hassle to measure myself, and because the tension on the tape measure can make such an overall difference in the number that I don't really trust the results.

[TinkG6]

when I first started my fitness journey in January I started using MyFitnessPal app to start learning and seeing what I was actually eating. Then in about Feb I started a blog (blogspot - i hadn't discovered NF yet) that I recorded every day what I ate, what fitness I did, how I was feeling etc. I also logged in all my measurements and would post monthly progress photos. It really helped in the beginning to keep me accurate and motivated. I didn't want to cheat that day because I knew I'd have to record it to print (or electronic text, whatever). And then as time went on, it serves as complete motivation and happiness when I look back and see how far I've come. I don't record my daily movements anymore, but still keep up with the measurements and photos and milestones.

And I've never shared the link with anyone so it is completely and honestly me, without any fear of someone reading something unflattering. One day soon I hope to share it as a tool for others to be able look at and possibly be inspired, but one day at a time.

[cline]

I use evernote with different notebooks for food, workouts, goals, etc. It's searchable and tag-able. I also store photos there, web articles, etc.

Someone turned me on to e-journaling and someone else turned me on to evernote. I've been very happy with both.

As to what I log:

Food - food in for each meal - type of food and if there were any qualifiers (e.g. friend's wedding = why I ate that slice of cake or because I really wanted it = why I ate that donut) allows me to watch trends, identify issues, etc. I also track supplements. I don't count calories or macros any longer but I did for the first 6 months on primal/paleo so I could make sure I was doing what I needed and wanted. For that I used fitday.

Workouts - I log every day's workout to track progress, rest days, issues, problems, feelings about my workout, etc. I note things I want to work on.

Goals - both long and short term - workouts, life, etc.

Articles, etc. = building a library of reference materials, motivational things, and so on.

[guest439437484421]

I'm currently just tracking my lifts that i'm doing in the stronglifts workout and what weight i was before my lifts. Mehdi provides a pretty useful spreadsheet and iphone app to keep track of these.

[cracked_belle]

MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, and Fitocracy.

[The Tin Man]

I use Fitocracy and pen and notebook (notebook for lifting workouts only).

I don't track (or take) any physical measurements.

[161803398874989]

As far as I'm concerned, if you workout you MUST keep a log.

It's the only thing that can reliably be a source of motivation.

[shortstuff]

If I track food, I use myfitness pal, I was using calrioe king, but found myfitness pal to be better just because it's a app on my phone, and I can add or remove things right away and not when I'm on a computer.

As for workouts, I started off not having a log, than I started to log my 1.5 mile times using a pen and paper, than I started a "battle log" here on nerdfitness, and log everything (1.5 mile times, if I do speed work, strength training, anything else I do) there.

If you have a look at some of the battle logs, you can see what sort of stuff people log

[Erick the Red]

I use myfitnesspal to track food (and I ignore the recommendations since I have my own goals for carb/fats/protein intake). The phone app is why -- convenience. I understand that there is some error there -- but my diet is irregular, and I was on a terrible slope before I started tracking what I eat.

I use pen and paper plans for both running and strength exercises -- I have a terrible time trying to program "on the fly", so going into any workout with a definite plan is essential for me to progress.

[Amazon Grimm]

I use a google doc sheet to track my lifts

[dajve]

I keep different things in different places.

For example, I have a google doc (spreadsheet) on which I track my daily weight, bodyfat percentage, and a one-word description (e.g., "crossfit" "lifting" "rest") of that day's workout (if any).

I have an index-card file, where I catalog my lifts (each lift has a different card, and they're in alphabetical order); I add the date and a PR, or 1RM, or heavy 3, or whatever I establish whenever I establish a new benchmark point. Separately in the same file (under a different tab), I have the CrossFit movements - box jump, wall balls, pullups, push ups, etc - and I put the date and describe how I'm doing them (e.g. "box jump w/16" box" or "pullup with 1-inch assistance band" or whatever). For a while I was writing down every crossfit workout I did as well, and keeping those in a separate section, but that got to be too time-consuming. However, if I do any one of the benchmark workouts (the "girls," or the "heroes"), I write it down because there's a chance I'll be doing it again some day and it's good to see improvement (or lack thereof, and then figure out how to trouble-shoot it).

Finally, also in that index card file, I have a bunch of "travel workouts" that can be done without equipment (one WOD per card). Any time I do one of those, I note the date and my score on the card so I can see improvement. For example, inside of one month, I went from needing 15 minutes to do 100 burpees to being able to do them in 10 minutes.

I also take pictures periodically - and keep them in the place linked in my signature as well as on my phone.

I don't track measurements, mostly because it's a hassle to measure myself, and because the tension on the tape measure can make such an overall difference in the number that I don't really trust the results.

Oh, I like that index card file idea - think I'll be trying that out in the future!

At the moment I have a memo pad which I carry around at all times and log either workouts (including chances to knock out a few reps of push-ups, burpees etc at work) or food intake. I then transfer this information to either a Google doc spreadsheet (for training, with all pertinent details of reps, sets, weight, time etc) or Calorie Count (for food); I also log activity on Calorie Count to give me an idea of my remaining calories for the day. As was mentioned before, there is a margin for error on these things, but I've been using it long enough to know how to interpret it for my aims. I also log my weight, body fat and water percentage (taken at the same time each day) on CC - again, there is margin for error using body composition scales, but at least it's always the same error, so I can track progression even if it's not accurate. Finally, I track all my runs and walks (of significance) on RunKeeper, usually using the app (GPS), but occasionally just with a stopwatch (if the GPS borks, or I can't be doing with strapping my waistpack on and carrying my phone with me).

And people call me obsessive...!