Friday, June 2, 2017

How I am using my fitness planner


I've been using the Fitness Mini Happy Planner from Michael's for a couple months now. I thought it was time to show you how it's working for me.

First,  I love it! It has really helped keep me focused on my diet and exercise. I keep it open on my table so all day long I can log my food and water, and keep the days exercise plan in mind. The more I see it, the better chance it will get done.

Second,  there are a few things I want to keep track of that aren't in the book. Like my fit bit stats, my daily carbs, fat and protein, if I take my vitamins and daily weight. It has a place for monthly weight, but I weigh every day. There are a couple other things I've added, let's take a look....

The monthly view:
This one is for June. (You may have to zoom in for details.) This is where I'm keeping my workout plan. I fill it in at the beginning of the month. On the left sidebar, I write my goals for the month. This page also has some notes I wrote about my heart rate zone. Each day I will come back to this page and note how far I walked, if I reach my step goal (steps get a sticker!) And how many minutes I exercised or if I did my body flex or yoga. Here's a sample from May's calendar :

The weekly view:
This is the page where I really add a lot. On the left side at the top I write my goals for the week. Basically the monthly goals broken down into smaller goals. Across the top each day I write in my weight. I've added vitamins to the breakfast section because that's when I usually take them. I just mark them with a checkmark if I take them or an x if I skip them.

Then going down the left side, close to the dinner section,  I made some notes about how many grams of carbs, fat and protein I need each day as well as the percentage of calories each area needs to be. I added a section in the dinner area to record these numbers.

In the calorie section I record both the calories I eat and the calories I burn. Of course, in the breakfast,  lunch, dinner and snack sections I write in what I eat.

At the bottom left is my daily goals for my fit bit and my water. This week's goals are: steps 6000, miles 3, minutes 30, floors 1, hours with 250+steps 10, exercise 5 days a week, sleep 8 hours a night. And I'm aiming for at least 36 oz of water a day.

Since I'm tracking exercise on the monthly view,  I'm using the exercise section to track these fit bit goals.

Last,  but not least, the end of month review:
I've divided the top section into weeks. This is my weekly "fit bit progress report" that you see every Tuesday. At the end of the month I will answer the questions at the bottom and use this information to set next months goals.

To sum it up, I love this planner  (maybe I mentioned that already? LOL). I think I've added the things I was missing in a pretty nice and easy way. I am, however, considering buying the larger version. Both for more space to write and because in July I will be going to a larger planner and it would be nice for them to match. I haven't made a final decision on that yet, we will see.

Are you using any kind of fitness planner? Maybe just a journal? I'd love to hear what and how you are tracking your fitness journey.

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