As a teacher and personal trainer, one of the first things I teach to my clients is how (and why!) to journal as part of their personal transformation process - and hopefully, as a meaningful part of their lives.

Below, I outline why journaling is so imparative to the transformation process, and how to do it quickly and effectively if you've never kept a journal before.

Journaling – What’s the deal?


Journaling will be a hugely important part of your training process. In your journal, I’d like you to track four components – your daily food intake, and these 3 categories: mental, physical, and spiritual/emotional. You don’t have to write a lot – I’m not asking for brilliance! These notes are for you, and will be the documentation of your journey. They will be a tool you can use to see where you need refinement, and a testament to how far you’ve come over time. I will show you how to set up your journal pages to get the most out of them.
Below I talk in more detail about food tracking, the three areas of fitness, what they mean to me, and how we’re going to track them.


Food:
I will have you write down what you’re eating for the first week. This is NOT supposed to be stressful or upsetting! I don’t want you to fib, or leave anything out, or ignore a bite of anything. Nor do I want you to modify your choices just because you’re going to write them down. This is just a little snapshot of your current nutrition. All you need to do is eat normally, and write everything down. This will help us to evaluate, together, whether or not there’s anything that could be changed, or any habits you have around food that may need further examination. So, if you bite it – write it.


Mental:

I give this category the most weight, because I feel it is the MOST important (yup, more important than physical.) Bear with me!

What is “Mental Fitness”? To me mental fitness has to do with being able to be clear with yourself about who you are, what you want, and where you are – so that you may be clear with yourself about where you’re going, and whether or not you’re doing the best you can to get there. It’s about separating truth from nonsense - taking what we need, and doing away with what is damaging to us.
Mental fitness includes critical thinking, self-reflection, and a willingness to change things that are not serving us. Most of all, it is about seeing clearly and making positive choices.

So....why is that so hard?

First off, hear this now: NO BODY is perfect. AND! EVERY BODY is perfect.
   
(I swear I’m not crazy – I know that seems contradictory.) Here’s what I mean.
NO BODY is perfect: We live in a world that constantly churns out images of “the perfect” body. We internalize those images, and use them as the benchmark against which we measure our own worth, success, and beauty. It is very, very important to acknowledge that those images are not the truth. They are not the truth about us. They are not even the truth about the models in them! Not only are the subjects of those pictures usually women who started out on the “tall and slim” genetic team, but they work at looking that way as their career! If you spent 8 hours a day working out, primping, and having professionals dress, light, and make you up, you’d look like that in photos too.
On top of that, those images are modified, manipulated, and buffed into the image that we see before us. They are not designed to represent the broad spectrum of magnificence in humans. They are designed to breed longing and insecurity. They are designed to encourage us to feel insecure, so that we will buy things.
Modeling is part of advertising, and it isn't art. It isn't even journalism - it's sales.

Another thing to keep in mind: those women don’t usually look like that when they’re at the grocery store. If you were to ask them, they’d probably tell you they have cellulite, pimples, and fall asleep clutching the remains of a bowl of ice cream every now and again. They’re not perfect – they’re people. Looking perfect is their JOB.
This is probably not news – but it’s important information to acknowledge clearly before we start defining our own fitness goals.

Your goals must be part of the truth about you if they are to be achieved. If your goal is to be 5’10” and blonde with a waifish frame, that may not be possible if the truth about you is that you’re a curvy Jewish girl who stands 5’6” in 5” heels.
If your goal is to live on chicken broth and do 5 hours of cardio a day, you may not be able to achieve it if the truth about you is that you have a full time desk job, a healthy hearty appetite, and live a life that includes dinners out with friends and french fries and dessert.

This is not a flaw. It is not a sin. It is not a judgement. It’s about seeing your truth, and embracing it.

Along with this truth, comes the knowledge that your body, like EVERY body, is perfect. You are just as you should be. You have the same body now that you had when you were a child. You will have this same body when you are 70 years old. Your body is not broken up into bits and pieces of “Acceptable”-and-“Unacceptable”-ness. It is whole, it is entirely yours, and it is exactly as it should be. You have the ability to walk, and run, and weep, and laugh, and sing. The body that you have to work with is exactly the right body, and our first goal must be to love, accept, and acknowledge our bodies perfection right now, today. Not when we lose 10 pounds, not when we can bench press a car, not when we’re taller or blonder or have a better boy/girl friend – NOW.

Shaming, berating, pleading with, and hating your body will not bring lasting successful change. (If it did, you would probably have gotten there already!)
As we all know from other examples in our lives, if we are made to do things by coercion, aggression, threatening, or cruelty, we may get it done - but we will rebel, sabotage, and flee as soon as possible.
If we are given the opportunity to do things with love, support, openness, and encouragement, we will try, we will perform, and we will thrive. Most of us know this instinctually, and treat others accordingly – but when it comes to how we talk to ourselves, it’s like all of this knowledge flies out the window!

Now, you may be one of the rare people who has escaped this all together. You may not have the habit of talking to yourself negatively, or beating yourself up for not being “perfect”. But for most of us, the hardest part of changing our bodies, bar none, is changing how we talk to, talk about, and think of ourselves.  Many efforts at change are thwarted because this very critical component is neglected.

You cannot change your body without changing your mind.
The first thing we need to cut back on is rarely calories, but negative internal feedback.
Fat? Lazy? Weak? Gross? Wrinkly? Heavy? What are the words you use to torture yourself? Are those helping, or hurting? It’s time to find out.

One of the things we will do with our journal will be to track our critical internal dialogue, and replace damaging statements with affirmations and encouragement. What negative things do you say to yourself? When you catch them – write them down! What was going on when you thought it? How does it feel to see it on paper? Would you ever say this out loud to a friend? Is this thing objectively true? How can you replace this statement?
This process alone is guaranteed to produce results – people will start saying you look different, even if this is the only thing that’s changed.
This is change number one, and it is the most important change we can possibly make.

Physical:
What is “Physical Fitness”? To me, Physical Fitness is having enough energy to get through the day with energy left over for play and emergencies. It is being able to see a physical task, and accomplish it – or at least find a passable way to accomplish it.  That’s it! It’s not washboard abs, it’s not being able to get your legs behind your head. It’s being able to live in your body in a way that allows you to get things done functionally, easily, and well.
Depending on your goal, we will need to address one or more components of physical fitness. I will be working with you to design and carry out a plan to meet your goals.

What is it about your body, or what your body can do, that you would like to change?
Would you like to have more energy at dance practice? Compete in a triathalon? Be able to drag your deer out of the woods when your four wheeler breaks down? Work on your body proportions? Develop a leaner waist or firmer muscles? Lessen the chance of injury while playing your favorite sport?

Before we start heading anywhere – we need to know where we are going. Right at the outset, it is important to define clear, attainable goals. After we make an honest evaluation of where we’re starting from, we will be able to make a plan to reach our destination. You will need to make changes in your lifestyle that specifically impact your goal. I am here to help and support you – but these are YOUR goals! Only you can make the necessary changes and reach your goal. It is my goal to provide you with the support, accountability, and fitness information you need. However, I’m only with you a short time per week. This will be a daily process – a lifestyle change. You are working on making a full-person transformation. I can give you the tools – but becoming NEW AND IMPROVED is up to you.

One of the components you will keep in your journal will track your physical activities, and the progress you make in performing these activities. What did you do today? How did you feel before? During? After? Did you notice anything different about your workout today? Write it down! This will help you keep track of where you’ve been and see where you are headed.




Spiritual/Emotional:
What is “Spiritual/Emotional” Fitness? I think of spiritual fitness as a bank or a vault; a reserve of quiet and calm that I can call on during crazy, stressful moments. I pay into this vault every time I remember to get a full nights sleep, take deep breaths, take a bath, read a book, sit in the sunshine, bake, or take a moment to sit in complete quiet and enjoy a cup of tea. This is stillness I can call upon when things are hectic, stressful, and rushed (and when are they not!?).
In my life I have found that if I do not pay into this bank, I’m running my life at a deficit, and stressful moments hit me hard. I have no reserves to call on for comfort, so I must turn to something else that may not be constructive. (Some people use booze, or shopping, or chocolate. You get the idea.) You must cultivate your own reserves of calm, so that when life gets stressful – as it inevitably will – you’ll have something safe to reach into, and something constructive to look forward to.

This is the hard part – you have to relax. You’ve already made a big first step: You’ve decided that you want to change. That’s huge, and should be applauded. But change is taxing! It takes time, and energy, and effort. The best way to see change through is by pacing yourself, and giving yourself room to recognize and acknowledge unexpected changes that may materialize along the way. Change is, to be totally cliché about it, a marathon, not a dash. If you’re going to be in the marathon, you might as well take the time to notice the scenery along the way.

Sleep! Getting enough sleep is hugely critical to changing your lifestyle. You’re going to be doing more physical activity, possibly changing your eating, and in general asking a lot of new things of yourself. Your body needs sleep at the end of the day to integrate all of this new information, to rest and rejuvenate, and to prepare you for the next day. Your body is a machine, and sleep is an important part of its maintenance routine. When we don’t get enough sleep we’re overtaxing our machine – and eventually we break down in the form of stress, depression, anxiety, or getting sick. Give your machine a break. Get 8 hours, every night.

Meditate. I don’t necessarily mean you have to sit in lotus position for an hour! Meditation is simply reflection and contemplation – taking a quiet moment for yourself. You need this every day. Much like sleep, meditation is a chance for your brain to collate and sort all the information it’s given during the day. Your meditation can be taking a bubble bath, playing with your pet, painting, laying with your eyes closed, sitting in the sun on a park bench, listening to music – hell, I’ve even locked my self in a public bathroom to get 5 minutes of quiet time!
If you have the time, make something special out of it: light a candle, wrap yourself in a blanket, smell something delicious, anything that affords you some peace, calm, and comfort. But whatever it is, it needs to be a minimum of five minutes, it needs to bring you a bit of calm, and it needs to be every day.

One of the things you will track in your journal is how many hours of sleep you got, and what you did to take a quiet moment for yourself. How did you feel before? During? After? 



Below is a sample journal page.

Tuesday 4/15:

Food:
Breakfast – Coffee w/ half & half, salad with lettuce, zucchini, carrot, and ginger dressing. 2 thick squares of grilled Tofu.
Lunch – Brown Rice Roll w/ Margarine & Hummus
Dinner – grilled veggies (carrots, zucchini, squash, & green beans), 1c veggie Lasagna w/ spinach
Dessert – 1/2 mini chocolate brownie from Whole Foods. (So rich! 1 bite was all I could handle)

Mental:
I noticed that I’ve been feeling really motivated the past few days! I’m not really saying anything nasty to myself, and I think I’m doing really well. Someone else said something nasty about a picture of me on the internet, and I managed not to take it personally – I didn’t let it bring me down, I didn’t dwell, I just deleted the comment, and talked to a friend who I knew would say just the right (hysterical) thing. Go me!

Physical:
Took dance class. It was VERY hard to motivate myself to dance today. I was feeling lazy and tired and wanted to just work on my computer. I tried to make a lot of excuses, but none of them sounded convincing. Class was challenging and fun, it’s one of my favorite classes. Afterward I was sweaty, tired, and smiling. I was glad I danced, and my sore back and shoulders (from sitting on my computer for most of the afternoon) were feeling relaxed. Yet another reminder that CLASS HELPS!

Spiritual/Emotional:
I took a bubblebath with Chai Ginger bubbles. YUM. I didn’t read in the bath or make myself do anything, I just gave myself permission to be quiet and warm for a little while. It’s always hard for the first few minutes, it’s like my brain rebels against the thought of relaxing. I definitely felt better afterward, and ended up being a lot calmer than I may have otherwise been in the meeting I had afterward.

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Here's the long and short of it:

No matter how much, or how little, you choose to journal, I hope that you can incorporate this practice into your fitness regimen. You cant judge any book by it's cover - even your own. The deepest gems of fitness wisdom, the most useful keys for what will produce lasting change for your life - is not likely to be found on the internet, in a friend's words, or even from a trusted teacher. It's likely to be found in YOU. We spend so much time hunting around for the answers outside ourselves - grasping blindly at anything that crosses our path. When these solutions fail to provide lasting results, we berrate ourselves, we blame ourselves for not being able to make it work. Lasting change, however, is never brought in from the outside. It comes from within.
Deep down, most likely, you know just what you need, who you are, and how to change. Journaling is the process that helps to bring that knowledge into the foreground, so that you can see it, read it, and then marvel at how clever you are! Go you!