Why & What Do I Track?

I've been keeping a journal of my workouts and meals for a few years now. I used to have one book for workouts and then something separate for my meals. Just recently I've figured out a way that works for me where I keep everything in one book. The picture to the side is from my actual journal. As you can see I keep track of what I eat, including the times. I keep track of my workouts, including where and who I trained with if it's out of what I normally do. I also keep track of my core4 to ensure I'm getting everything done to keep my life as balanced as possible. I also keep a copy of a tracking sheet for me to record my weekly weigh-ins, and anytime I hit a PR. I just recently started within the last couple months keeping track of everything in one book and I really like it. It is much easier to have just one place to reference and helps me stay on track. I get people asking me all the time why I write everything down, and besides that it keeps me on track, it also is a way for me to go back and see what I'm doing right and where I can improve. I found a great list of why keeping a food/workout journal is beneficial and many of the reasons I've mentioned, but here are the top 10 reasons:

• Keeps you accountable
• Shows your habits
• Makes your goals seem more real
• Helps you to see what works
• Helps you to see what doesn't work
• Shows you are serious about fitness
• Helps you keep track of your food
• Helps you keep track of workouts
• Helps you track your progress
• Helps you track your motivation

I think we tend to overthink (I personally used to) the tracking process and it always seems like it's so much work and not worth it, when in reality it's really pretty simple. It's a easy as just buying a notebook and writing down what you do and what you eat. So, I encourage you to set your goals, and then buy a notebook and start tracking your food and workouts and see how it really can be a great accountability tool.