The five elements of getfitpod- Di: Diet, Ex: Exercise, Kn: Knowledge, Mu: Music.Ju: Journaling

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Journaling is a powerful tool to help motivate and encourage you as you go along on your Year to Get Fit.

Writing and keeping a journal is invaluable in helping and motivating you to achieve your fitness and health goals. If you have always thought of writing in a journal as being a pass time from your teenage or younger years, you may need to change your thinking.  Most of us tend to give up writing in a journal  as we get older. We convince ourselves that we have much more essential things to do. Not true!

When I developed the five elements of the Get Fit Pod, I purposely made journaling an equal element, along with diet, exercise, knowledge and music.

Just spending five to ten minutes a day, with pen and paper, or typing into a computer can spectacularly improve your health and keep you motivated in your fitness efforts. My first journaling efforts began over 30 years ago when I started running.  Every day I would write down my mileage distance on my daily calendar.  Later I began to add running times, the weather for that day, and how I was feeling. This permanent record kept me going.  On some days I did my running only because I wanted to be able to add to the documentation. I didn't like blank days on my calendar without fitness notations. I enjoyed running on really bad weather days because I could write about it in my journal. Being able to write about your exercise efforts sometimes becomes the actual motivation for doing it.

Recording your daily fitness and health activities gives you a lasting record of what you have done, while at the same time stirring you to keep going and do more. As with other good habits, like eating right and exercising, journaling needs to be done regularly, especially in the beginning. Set a regular time to do it each day; with your morning coffee or the last thing at night, whatever works for you. And by all means, forget about good handwriting, typos, spelling, grammar, neatness and punctuation. As long as YOU can read and understand it - that's all that matters.

Journaling has so many benefits for keeping you on track for better fitness.

Start your journaling process today.  If you have not yet written down your pre-flight measurements and goals, do it now.  Then, everyday write down your fitness activities, how you felt before and how you felt after.  Check your weight, once a week and write it in your journal.  Write down, everyday whatever thoughts you are having about your health and fitness efforts as well as your life in general.

Journaling is fun and a very helpful tool on your Year to Get Fit.