A secret weapon in your health and fitness journey

In this episode, I reveal a secret weapon for health and fitness.

The secret weapon I’m talking about is keeping a journal or a log. It allows you to collect information about the things you do in life and gives you the opportunity to look back and understand where you were.

One of the things you need to do once you’ve started writing a journal is to express gratitude every day. This simple act puts you in a frame of mind that great things will happen. Start your day right by documenting how good your life is. If you’re having a bad day, pull out that journal to relieve yourself of stress.

Log workouts to keep track of your progress. Log the weights you used before or how far you’ve walked in 30 minutes. Logging gives you a mindset of completion and allows you to see what you’ve accomplished which helps with your persistence. You also achieve patience because you can see you’re getting better as you progress. Occasionally, I log my food, particularly if I notice I’m stalled a little bit.

Log how many hours of sleep you get. If you notice that you didn’t sleep well on the other nights, you can go back to see what was going on.

The data you get from logs is a powerful thing. Don’t shy away from keeping information that will help you become a better you. Logging lets you track your goals. Write your ultimate goal on the first page and mini goals on the next pages. Track how well you’re doing as you progress.

LeAnn gets a personal trainer

In this episode, we meet LeAnn and discuss her journey to health and fitness with a personal trainer.

LeAnn spent most of her adult life being obese. Her weight gain started with her first child.  Over time, the weight issue compounded and by the time she was 48, she was diagnosed with diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. She took medication for all of these.

She was offered an eight-week program held in the backyard of her daughter’s friend. This Bootcamp program was interval training twice a week in the evenings. She did sprints, jumping jacks, and other body weight exercises.

According to LeAnn, when you start with fitness training, you only need your body weight. She said, “You don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot by doing too much.”  She saw improvement during the program. She felt better and she slept better. She often felt like quitting during the workouts, but she felt so good afterward she continued.

LeAnn also had a 12-week fit challenge with her coworkers. It included gym workouts, education, and eating healthy food. A financial reward was given to the person who won the challenge, which really motivated her.

She continues to work with a trainer and has lost a total of 91 pounds. She goes to the gym for 45 minutes to an hour. She eats 6 small meals a day.

LeAnn also advises people to measure their progress when doing workouts with a personal trainer and eating healthy. Get the important body measurements by using the Health Measures That Matter PDF.

When to fire your personal trainer

Music: Ben Sound Royalty Free Music