When going through a diet/exercise program tracking various data is important.
Like the old saying goes, “Knowledge is power.” You track things like your workouts, your diet, your water intake, your inches, and your weight… All of these allow both me and the client a wealth of information to draw from in deciding how to achieve our set goals.
Two often overlooked and very important variables to track are your moods and energy levels.
Your moods have an incredible impact on your ability to stick to a diet, and maintain an exercise routine. Your mood has an equally incredible impact on your energy levels. Think about it… Have you ever been really stressed, or sad, and been just busting with energy? Probably not. In turn, if you found a $100 bill on the street one morning, odds are you’re not going to be dragging yourself through the rest of that day.
A positive or negative mood could mean the difference between going to the gym or not.
At the end of a long stressful day many people find that working out is a great release, and a way to clear their mind so that they may enjoy the rest of the night without being bogged down by the day that is now over and behind them.
However…
Sometimes there are days that are just so bad that you can’t even fathom dragging yourself into the gym. There are nights you’re driving home from work, and just don’t have the energy after the rough day you had to cook that healthy meal you were supposed to, so you swing through a drive thru.
Your moods can either be the spit in your face, or the wind at your back. This is why it’s important to take note each day in your diet log as to what your mood was like, or your day at work, as well as your energy levels. You’ll find more often than not that your moods and energy levels will usually coincide with one another. The better your mood, the more energy… The worse your mood or higher stress levels, the less energy.
By tracking this information we can find trends in days that were harder either in training, diet, or both. This also gives you a unique insight into yourself, and your own world. If you notice a trend in stress, or unhappiness you would do well to take pause, examine what it is in your life causing it, and take action against it. Because diet/exercise aside, you deserve to be a happy person and enjoy each day of your life.
It’s all a matter of pushing through the tough days to gain momentum, and then maintain it. One thing my parents taught me was that the days you want to work out the least, or just want to skip it, are the days that matter the most. By doing anyway, by passing up on the drive thru, in SPITE of the crap life has thrown at you for the day is your way of spitting in the face of the negativity. It’s you showing life that you are in control of yourself, and will not let other people’s actions, or circumstances sway you from your personal goals at happiness.
If you can hang in there through the rough days you’ll get closer to your goal that much sooner, thus making you a happier person! You’re paying the price, and investing in your future happiness.
If you diet clean, and maintain a steady exercise regimen your mood will more often than not be a good one, and you’ll find you have more energy. This is why diet and exercise is more often than not, suggested for those battling depression.
So if this isn’t a habit you currently practice, I highly suggest it.
For those of my clients using the My Fitness Pal program, a good place to track these would be in your food notes. Then I’ll be able to see them.
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