Before I begin, I will state this, I do know there are apps and things that you can do for this. I find that for myself personally I cannot use an app due tot he fact that I find it very “mind numbing”. Think about how many times you click to your phone, And you check the time but you only are finding yourself checking back less than 30 seconds later because you forget what time it is? That’s how I feel about when I use weight loss apps. I feel like by punching in my calories or anything it makes me not realize the power that my food has or if I have a bad day I can simply forget it. I do however use a fitbit so I use their app for sometimes monitoring my exercise since the convenience is really easy, I also tend to use it for sometimes tracking my weight. But overall I don’t typically use an app. Oh, but I have used it also if I am stuck on calories and want to find something for a new thing that I have eaten!
As you may have already guessed, By not using anything in terms of apps for tracking my calories, Yes, I do write everything in a note book. I write it down because I feel like at the end of the day it really sinks in as to what I have eaten. Sometimes Ill even write throughout the day what I have eaten and keep count of calories as the day goes on, sometimes I will keep track in my notepad in my phone and write in the calories after a few days, sometimes I will write the calories I eat on post- it and put that on the day so I can write it in my physical book. It really depends on what I am feeling but ultimately I end up writing it in the book. My biggest flaw in doing this is that when I have a few bad days, instead of reflecting and and writing down my thoughts or feelings in the day, I feel like the book is not trash. Maybe it is because I feel like when I mess up the days the book is useless and I feel like every day should be tracked perfectly. I have recently started a new book, or at least outlining the days, and I made a promise to myself I would keep it. There is over 200 pages in there and I should not be going through and re-doing book after book. And before you even ask, Yes, I do re-use the books after rotating through but I do throw them away after so many pages is gone and I feel like it is a waste. I often forget that I used to do this when I lost 30 pounds before. I just need to get back into the habit again!
As you may or may not be surprised to hear, I also don’t keep track of those macros or micros or whatever else have you. if you are familiar with my previous blog posts you will see that I do not eat nearly enough healthy foods to even bother tracking that right now. I strictly limit my calories and eat whatever I want. Mind you if I eat a chocolate bar at 9am and find myself starving at 9pm I will normally reflect on this moment and think maybe I shouldn’t have wasted those calories earlier in the day or I wouldn’t be starving now. I try to aim to eat between 1200-1500. However I do have a max of 1750 for things, Like if I eat a serving of some type of nuts for example, they are normally higher in calories but they are good for you. So instead of overeating it I typically just count that in.
I also keep track of exercise and I think that goes without saying. I typically try to do 40 minutes on my elliptical a day. I don’t see this as too much and I think it is totally reasonable. Once I get a bit of a plateau I would like to also add in some 30 minutes workout DVD’s which will be easier for me to do once my son is older as I can put him in the playpen and I am sure he will want to do this along with me. However I do not want to start that now as I feel like I could be overwhelmed and give up. I also have some small hand weights a well that I would eventually add in however that wont be anytime soon though.
I keep track now, for when I smoke weed too. I find by doing this I am more conscious about over eating especially if that is the reason why. Obviously once we become pregnant again I wont need to but til then it is helpful. I set a goal of how much I would like to smoke during the month and try to stick to that. I know I need to stop smoking so much really. But seeing it as an overview helps to see that maybe I need to cut back or take a few days off.
And lastly, but certainly not least. I have a spot for mental health and self care. Sometimes I forget and by sometimes I mean quite often I forget that I need to take some care for myself. I need to take a moment to do something for myself which I always put second in my life. It is a lot easier for me to schedule in this time because if I didn’t otherwise I wouldn’t do it. Which is why in my streams I schedule art ones. Its kind of killing 2 birds with one stone by streaming a bit more and having a creative outlet as well. Even something as simple as having a bath and watching a show or doing absolutely nothing. It helps me keep some sort of normalcy especially where I don’t work and barely leave the house due to Covid being around as well too.
If I am missing anything that I should include, Let me know!
I am always looking for ways to make my diary for exercise and healthy living better but sometimes we get stuck in a rut and are unable to see new things.
What do you keep track of if you are in the process of losing weight too
-StaySeeJ
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What I have in my “Weight Loss and Mental Health” book
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Stacey J. Girard 