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"The Weight Loss Secret Weapon"

By Jason Goggans

As a personal trainer it is my job to provide clients with all the tools they need to succeed at fitness and weight loss. One of the most important tools is nutrition. Stay with me this is not another article on nutrition. Proper nutrition is equally as important to success as the weight training and cardio. The problem is that nutrition tends to be the hardest part of a fitness program. We all love food! There is an answer, however. The key to nutrition success is staying on top of it at all times. The key is a NUTRITION JOURNAL. Most of us use schedule books, appointment calendars, or PDA's to keep track of meetings, appointments, when bills are due, off days, etc. We fail miserably when it comes to keeping track of our diets. We know how important nutrition is but somehow everything else becomes more important.

At Fitness Together we provide all of our clients with Accountability Journals (nutrition logs). When we speak with clients who use them properly, they are amazed how crucial the journal becomes to their success. Nutrition journals become a daily testimonial for all the good AND bad stuff you eat throughout the day. We can all be guilty of snacking be it out of boredom, happiness, sadness, etc. At the end of the day, however, we conveniently forget about the handfuls of cheese-itz, M&Ms, pistachios, or the one sugar laden soda we had. Guess what, those calories count too!!! All day snacking/cheating can add 500 to 1000 calories to your diet. That's an extra pound or two a week. This can totally negate any gains you have made at the gym. Three months later you are left wondering why you're not a size 4 yet. That is where the nutrition journal comes to the rescue. By logging all of those snacks it is easy to review EXACTLY what you ate, see your mistakes, and correct them before it is too late. It also makes you feel GUILTY. Guilt can be a very powerful tool-use it!!!

Logging your daily diet can also help with portion control. Every nutrition journal should include exact portion sizes. In our society we are inundated with meals that double, triple, even quadruple proper portion sizes (ever been to Maggiano?s?) Eating a meal that consists of grilled chicken, broccoli, and a sweet potato sounds great! However, what if it was two chicken breasts, an extra large sweet potato, and a half a plate of broccoli? Still sound great? What you have now is a large plate FULL of calorie dense food. Remember a portion size is the size of your balled up fist. That will provide you with the proper amount of protein, carbs, vitamins, and minerals. A nutrition journal will help you track this. We are all flooded with diet myths and misconceptions on TV. It is not uncommon that people truly think they are eating well because someone on TV said you were. By keeping a journal, we as trainers can look at it and correct any errors. Without the journal we have no idea what mistakes are being made.

Maintaining a nutrition journal can be a bit of a daunting task. However, I have many busy people in my studio who do a great job at it. It becomes a question of organization. The more organized you are in your life, the more likely you are to keep up a nutrition journal. If you are reading this article and saying to your self, ?I can't keep up with a journal or I don't have time for that?. Look around you, how organized is the rest of your life. If the answer is not at all, then that very well could be the problem. If you are organized but find it hard to maintain a journal, then maybe it is question of priorities. You have to make your health a top priority. Give yourself time to do so.

In closing, I am very proud of each of you who have made fitness a part of your life. My challenge to you now is get a nutrition journal (if you are a Fitness Together client you already have one) and USE IT! Use it everyday. Nobody?s perfect, and your diet won't be either. But we should always strive for perfection. If you fall a little short, so what. You are still way ahead of the game.

About the Author:

Jason Goggans is a certified personal trainer located in Alpharetta, GA. He ownes a Fitness Together personal training studio in Alpharetta, GA. His website is http://www.FTalpharetta.com