Fitness Journal?

[cantlogin]

I have been reading books about exercise and nutrition lately and while there are differences in emphasis of various factors the general message is consistent. The implementation of some sort of log, journal or diary to track diet and exercise is one of the tools often mentioned. Since I have decided to try keeping records for myself I googled the subject for some ideas instead of trying to invent something new. There are quite a few templates available as well as numerous online services. I’m a little overwhelmed by the variety. Is there anyone here that uses one of these online journals? Are there any opinions about which ones work best or are most useful?

 

[Sarah in SC]

I have used Traineo in the past, as well as FitDay. I like the quick and easy way you can log activity on Traineo, but the food journal at Fitday is good if you want to check your nutrition profile, though it is tedious to enter meals.
I primarily use a little Corinne Netzer Calorie Counter's Diary book on my kitchen counter for easy meal entry, and I make a note in the comment section on how much exercise I've done that day. I find it easier to have my food reference right where I prepare meals.

 

[Gotadimple]

You may want to check your health insurance company's member web site. A lot of them are providing these kind of tools online.

-- Rita

 

[toofrugalformycat]

USDA - CNPP - MyPyramid Tracker
I used this successfully for weight reduction. It's a pain at first to figure out how to enter what you eat, but once you find the particular food you can store it in a list and pick from the list.
You can also enter physical activity (same problem and solution) and then tell if you're out of balance because it calculates (really just estimates) calories in and out.
I could only stand to do it for a couple months but that was enough to get me going, and then if I start gaining weight and didn't know why, I'd start it up again for a week or two. I haven't had to do that lately, though. It's a real education on how many calories are in what.
Two drawbacks. One, it tells you to eat lots of grains (the official gubmint food pyramid) but you can ignore that. Two, for me it told me I could eat more calories than I really can. For DH, it was the opposite. But within a week that's all sorted.
Best of all, the price is right. It's free.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm using a simple spreadsheet. I award myself "points" for certain things, and I see how many points I get a week. It's still a work in progress, but the point system rewards consistency more than anything.

I find just the simple spreadsheet works well for me with one column for each activity. One row per day. Columns also for weight (which I only take once a week or so) and comments plus points for the day if any earned. I don't bother with a food journal.

I set this up about 8 weeks ago to try to ensure at least a base level of activity. This fulltime RVing can wreak havoc on regular exercise, so I decided to get more formal about it, hence the log and point system.

Audrey