How to Keep an Effective Health Journal
Journaling is an important strategy in aligning your goals with achievable results.
Many of us have difficulties with knowing what to do with journaling. We often see patients struggle to keep effective diet and exercise journals. Efficiency and ease of use are key. Let’s dive into keeping a reliable and strategic journal to help you turn short-term ideas into long-term results.
One of the most powerful ways to take control of your health is to keep a journal. It is a powerful method to create appropriate habits and keep ourselves accountable while developing a plan to make our goals a reality. When you consistently record the aspects of your daily life, such as nutrition, diet, exercise, and general health, you can gain valuable insights into your habits and make informed decisions
1. K.I.S.S.
A simple acronym that helps in many situations. It stands for “Keep It Simple Stupid” or “Keep It Simple Silly,” depending on your upbringing. By keeping your journal simplified, you will easily be able to identify areas of interest, be able to reference back to prior goals or shortcomings and be able to make educated decisions influencing change. For instance, you may want to title a portion of your journal EXERCISE, then write a simple bullet point list of what you did that day. For better organization, draw or type out a table to fill in. You may even want to color code where you made improvements, where you plateaued, or where you failed to meet your goal for that day. Then, when it comes time to exercise again, you can easily reference your progress and make necessary adjustments. This can be done for every portion of your journal. If you write too much or have too much going on, it will be much more difficult to review what you meant or how you felt at certain times. Some people use stickers, emojis, or symbols to represent how they feel or what changes they’d like to make. Make it your own, but KEEP IT SIMPLE!
2. S.M.A.R.T.
A health journal should focus on goals. Goals should be written out in the SMART format. This acronym refers to Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. If we have lofty goals, that is fine, but creating an easy-to-follow format with obtainable small goals in the interim can make a world of difference. We have to be willing to train ourselves to keep ourselves accountable. We should be making weekly or daily progress toward our long-term goals. You may want to lose 60 pounds, but thinking too far in advance may derail your progress. Make that a top goal, but focus on losing 1% of your body weight this week, making the right decisions in nutrition and exercise. Then, reevaluate before the next week and set a new goal. When these add up over time, we create healthy habits that are more concrete for us and can make the larger goals even easier to reach. If you make goals too far in advance, you are not taking advantage of the “timely” portion of the SMART tool and will feel you are always failing. Again, small successes lead to BIG results!
3. Choosing the Right Format
Select a format that suits your preferences. Personally, I love using paper, but the convenience of a cell phone or computer can make it even easier for you. Several apps can help you track your weight, dietary intake, and even mental state at given times. The key is to find a method that you will consistently use. Feel free to get into spreadsheet programs or note-taking applications. Whatever the type, make sure it is convenient, easy-to-use, consistent, and personal.
4. Ideas for Journaling
Nutrition: Keeping a record of nutrition can help you form good habits and identify areas or patterns. It is helpful to record the types and quantities of food you consume throughout the day. There are many applications available on your smart phone that can assist with this and give you a read-out of approximate caloric intake. Find an application that also allows you to scan barcodes on packages for a more precise reading. Many restaurants also offer caloric sheets for their foods, meaning, you can ask for this when dining and keep track this way as well. Calorie counting, while not fun, is a good way to help ensure you are either reducing caloric intake enough or eating enough for your body’s individual needs. Not sure how many calories you need? There are a variety of simple calculators online to help with this. Just search for “how many calories a day do I need to ________ (lose, maintain, gain weight)?” Not sure where to start exactly? An easy way to start a simple nutrition journal is to keep track of your daily water intake and basic foods. This will at least create a pattern that you can refer to and will help you practice making simple goals for yourself.
Diet: In addition to tracking nutrition, focus on specific dietary goals. If you follow a specific diet plan (e.g., Mediterranean, Keto, vegetarian, Atkin’s, Weight Watchers, etc.), document how well you are keeping the rules and any modifications you may need. Creating a diet is more than just counting calories and eating less. Rather, it is creating a specific plan of foods that provide proper nutrients and energy for a healthy human. Think about your diet as what you should be eating to be healthy and what you enjoy eating that is healthy. It is your badge of wellness so make it personal and enjoyable without sacrificing your overall well-being. Subscribing to the most popular diets (not fads) can create a lot of change. When you take it seriously, you set yourself up for a lifetime of feeling better. Remember, there is not a “one-fits-all” diet as many of us either have aversions or restrictions in some form.
Exercise: Regular physical activity is essential for overall health. Recommendations vary, but most experts suggest at least 30 minutes to 1 hour of moderate to high-intensity exercise daily. Record the specific activities you engage in, such as jogging, weightlifting, yoga, or cycling. Then, note the time spent on each exercise and the level of intensity to track progress. If you think about progressive loading, as you keep exercising your body will grow accustomed to what you have been performing, continue to try to progress your time, weights lifted, etc, so that you can track your progress. Then, review this every so often and see how much you grow and progress over time. Without keeping track, you will never know and you will likely not improve as much as if you did note it and review. Include rest days to ensure a balanced and sustainable fitness routine. These should be weekly in your routine. Too much exercise can be just as detrimental as not enough, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you feel tired or sore. Rest days are just as important as workouts. Just don’t get lazy!
General: Beyond nutrition and exercise, capture broader aspects of your well-being by including sections such as sleep, stress, mood, energy, and overall mental well-being. There are various apps for this, but handwritten journals can make this even more personal. By recording how you feel on the pages where you are keeping track of your diet and exercise, you can see how these things affect you even more. Many are surprised about how bad they can feel after binge eating or how great they can feel after a good workout. Seeing these patterns in your mental state, sleep, and overall mental health can offer valuable insight into building a strategy to maximize feeling better. With a journal, you have a new tool/weapon in the fight against illness and anguish!
Remember, creating and maintaining an effective health journal is a proactive and precious approach to managing your overall well-being and will help to develop consistent habits. By learning how this works for you and making it a part of your daily routine, you will be able to empower yourself to make informed decisions that contribute to a healthier, more balanced life. Regularly review your journal to identify trends, set achievable goals, and celebrate your progress on the journey to optimal health. I promise, you will feel better and live happier.
Dr. Nicholas Daley is a physiatrist (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician) with many years of experience in strength training and the development of exercise and nutrition programs for athletes. He has been a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). His current focus is providing care and wellness options for both athletes and non-athletes alike.
