I've been hesitating to write this post, since I feel some changes in my fitness setup brewing. I'm getting inspired by the beautiful, effective books I'm seeing from other Filofax dieters (on Facebook and on their blogs). But my current system is working well for me right now, so I'll start with where I am now.
My program is inspired by The Beck Diet Solution, so you'll read a lot about that book in this blog post. It uses Cognitive Behavioral therapy techniques to support healthy eating and exercise. In the book, Dr. Judith Beck recommends using a notebook and index cards to do the exercises in the book, keep a food journal, and apply the CBT motivational techniques. Portability is a big factor for me, so I use a Pocket Filofax instead!
Here's what I've got for the five tabs:
Advantages - Dr. Beck recommends making a list of all of the advantages of losing weight and being healthy, and reading it several times a day. I read mine every time before I eat. It sure has an effect on the food choices I make! I use pink paper, with one "advantage" on each. (In the book, index cards are used for this purpose.) An example might be: "I'll be able to wear the stylish clothes I like."
Eating Diary - I write down everything I eat, including any tastes or nibbles. I also record the quantity, or my closest estimate of it. I'm following the South Beach Diet, which means I don't have to keep a calorie record, so I'm not writing down calories right now. If I want to get an idea of how many calories are in my food, I use a website like MyFitnessPal. I use white paper in this section. Each page has my food on one side, and my daily checklist on the other.
Responses - Dr. Beck recommends using index cards to make what she calls Response Cards. This is a CBT technique. In layman's terms, you write on the cards things that motivate you or remind you of what you're trying to do. For example, if you frequently find yourself thinking, "I don't want to exercise," you might want to have a card to read at that moment of weakness: "I may not want to exercise right now, but I'll enjoy it once I get started. More importantly, the rewards of exercising are too good to miss out on!" I use blue paper in this section.
Rules - This one's self-explanatory. These are the habits you have (or want to develop!) to keep you on track. One of my rules is "I don't buy candy at the cash register." Another is, "I don't put sugar in coffee or tea." It's simply no longer an option! The book have any recommendations on where to write your rules; Response Cards would be fine. But I decided a separate section, on yellow paper, works for me.
Credit - A big part of Dr. Beck's philosophy is to give yourself credit when you do the right thing. When you're learning to give yourself credit (most of us aren't very good at it), it helps to write down the successes you need to give yourself credit for. I saved my favorite color paper for this section - lavender!
In addition to the tabs, I have a week-on-two-pages diary in the front. On each day, I record my weight and body fat percentage (my scale measures that, too), exercise (with intensity, time, and distance), and number of glasses of water I drink.
In future, I may move up to a Personal size organizer, to give myself more room for a notes section, motivational pictures, and puzzles or reading material for moments when I need a distraction.
Are you carrying this around everywhere you go as well as your planner?
ReplyDeleteWhat advantage did you find to having this separate to your planner rather than a section or series of sections in it? ( apart from an excuse to use another gorgeous filofax I mean!)
@Helen, I use it every day and carry it almost everywhere. Maybe not if I'm just leaving the house for a couple of hours. The Pocket size works well for 2 reasons: It's portable so I can carry it with me everywhere, and the pages are the same size as an index card, so I can use them like index cards, with one item on each page. I can pop them in and take them out easily depending on my needs, and I can really focus on one item at a time.
DeleteI made a separate book because I simply don't have enough room on the rings in my everyday Personal. If I used a Personal for the same purpose, I'd list more than one item on each page. I think a Personal would work just fine for this kind of program, though!
I love your ideas - thank you for posting this. I particularly liked your comment about cravings it seemed to strike a chord with me. Good luck with your weightloss!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteHave you joined the FB group I created yet Nan? Would love to see you there if youre not already!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/563279537055488/ (hope its ok to mention this here)
Love your post!! Great set up!!
Yes, I'm a member. It's an awesome group!
DeleteI really like the way you have this set up, thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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ReplyDeleteGreat post! You've inspired me to try something new. I've been thinking a lot about my setup recently and trying to tweak it. This gives me yet another idea. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! My favorite addition was The Rules. My 'rules' are rather loose...I'll bet if I wrote them out to read them I'd be most successful! ; ) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I'm inspired to try to incorporate some of these ideas. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you have this set up and the use of colored paper. Losing weight is such a struggle.(Why can't it be as easy to take off as it is to put on?!) I can see how this could be helpful in the maintenance phase too. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great book. I have it, too. Love your set-up.
ReplyDeleteJust what I needed to read right now for overcoming a bad habit I have. Your post nicely summarizes the most important things I need to know and do and how to make good use of one of my pocket Filofaxes. Thank you and best of luck.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Nan - very motivating. I've moved into an A5 for planning etc as I work from home most of the time. Can't decide whether to use a pocket or personal for this - I have both spare!
ReplyDeleteGood use of your filofax there. I like the idea of that book. May have to buy it!
ReplyDeleteLove this post Nan!
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