No matter your fitness or health goals, keeping a food journal is a no brainer.

Around this time last year, I posted about tracking what goes in to your body. I shared the reasons why it was important and suggested the necessary steps. What I didn’t share with you was my own personal experience. I don’t do this continually, but I’m journaling daily right now.

Here’s the log from my Monday:

• 5:40am: 20 ounces water
• 5:50am: 2 ounces organic chicken (mixed white and dark), medium apple
• (5 x 5 workout)
• 7:30am: 5 eggs, 3.5 ounces Maitake mushrooms, large Japanese yam, 3 cups coffee
• 10:15am: 2 eggs, banana
• 12:45pm: Medium avocado, 3 cups spinach, one slice of cinnamon raisin Ezekial bread, 5 ounces wild albacore tuna (pole caught)
• 1:51pm: Medium apple
• 4:15pm: Large red organic bell pepper, 1/2 cup organic kidney beans, 3 organic celery stalks, 16 ounces of water
• 7:15pm: Two free range chicken legs
• 8:15pm: One roasted organic acorn squash prepared with sea salt, cinnamon and olive oil

I’m meticulously tracking for several reasons, but one of the most notable is I’ve hit a significant plateau in my weight training routine. I’m not getting stronger, and I attribute my lack of gains to either less than optimal rest or nutritional deficiencies. I believe that by understanding what my habits and regular practices are, I’ll be better equipped to adequately adjust. Just a few days of awareness is all it takes. From Liz Applegate, Ph.D:

I consider a food diary to be as important as a training log. But unlike a training log, you don’t have to record your food habits every day. Keeping a food diary for just a few days a couple of times a year is enough to keep you on track. Get your Palm Pilot or pencil and paper ready.

Palm Pilot? Relax, I pulled that quote from 2007. Food journals have been utilized for ages to study energy and the effects of food on our systems. We should be using them to analyze ourselves today as well. I’ll start.

Particularly on a day in which I trained hard, I need to pay attention to protein intake. I may have been a bit light today in this regard and will ensure that a higher percentage of my calories come from animal flesh on Wednesday when I face squats and dead lifts.

We don’t all have the same goals. Assuming you have any at all related to nutrition, learning more about yourself is an exercise without downside.

Strong mind,

Kap