If you’ve followed this blog or my tweets for any length of time, then you know that I’m a running momma and dropped about 20-25 pounds earlier this year.
My health and fitness has always been important to me, but there was a brief period (okay, nearly five years) when I let myself go and wallowed in the misery of my “mom bod,” which was neither hot nor haute – trust me. My journey back into a healthy lifestyle began in 2007 when my dad challenged me to run a half-marathon, which I did in January 2008. I can’t thank him enough for being the catalyst that got my health back on track because it also impacted my wellness (of the mental kind) – thanks Dad.
By the time I ran my second half-marathon, I was logging more than 22 running miles a week…yet still dragging around 20+ pounds of excess weight, which obviously affected my performance.
I knew something had to change, so I made a change that resulted in me shedding more than 20 pounds between November 2008 and February 2009. Miraculous results!
Of course there are a number of factors that contributed to my rapid weight loss (none of them involved weird drugs, supplements, or starvation…don’t panic), but the primary change I made was this: I wrote things down – my fitness and health goals, when I worked out or ran, what I did, how I felt, what I ate and when…everything.
There is plenty of academic, scientific and professional evidence that describes why writing down goals works. Some studies report that people are 75-95% more likely to achieve written goals compared to those who do not. I didn’t do a major longitudinal study on these assertions, but you can take my layperson testimonial, “It worked for me!” 
Here’s what I learned by writing everything down: I ran a lot. I also ate A LOT. High fives to Weight Watchers for helping me get my eating back on track because I had a serious issue around portion control.
What I wish I had owned back then, that I’m totally in love with now is fitbook™ – a sleek, simple fitness and nutrition journal where you can track everything I was scribbling into uninspiring, spiral-bound notebooks.
Durable, portable exterior
Set your goals, make a plan
Easily track fitness activities & nutrition
fitbook™ was developed by Angela Manzanares, a woman passionate about helping people embrace a fit life. Her company’s mantra is simple and powerful: live life fit. What I love about the product is it’s portability, usability and savvy interior design. Plus, Angela recently released a new fitbook version: fitbook junior, which makes my heart sing as a mom who loves sharing my fitness and healthy habits with my children.
If you have a fitness or health goal, then fitbook is definitely a partner you’ll want to have alongside you for the journey.
Learn more about fitbook:
- Visit fitbook’s official Web site: www.getfitbook.com
- Become a fan of fitbook: FaceBook
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That looks great! I’ve been using sparkpeople.com but often find that writing it down is much quicker. My portions were WAY out of control since having my son and I am like you I have to write it all down. Also, I JUST started running, literally today. So wish me luck!
Conrgats on running Andrea! I track my runs on my iPhone, but also like writing things down in the fitbook, especially my goals and eating habits. It’s a great tool! Oh, and if you’re on Twitter and aren’t already doing so, follow the hashtag #momsrunning to meet up with other running mamas!
You are so right about the mantra: “write it down, make it happen.” And how neat that your dad challenged you to lose weight — I recently lost a measly 8 pounds in a bet with my dad. But I am going to follow your advice to lost the remaining 10. (Isn’t it odd that no matter how fit we get, we always want to lose that “last 10 pounds”?)
Great book! You are like so many people out there, and they could ALL benefit from this accountability tool. I am a dietitian and work with many runners. I am a runner too so what a great idea they have to start a runner-focused book. Hopefully that will come soon! Kudos to you