Keep an Exercise Log to Record Your Daily Activity

Gut Health For Dummies

If you have decided to use diet and exercise to shed weight, try creating an exercise chart to put up on your fridge or tape to the bathroom mirror. An exercise log can help you see results and keep you on track toward your weight loss goal.

Make a grid on a piece of paper with space to record the date along the side and 10-minute time slots along the top, as shown here. As you complete your exercise sessions, make an X in the box that corresponds to the amount of time that you exercised.

Here's a Sample of What Your Walking Log Might Look Like
Date	10	20	30	40	60	Total
Sunday	XX	XX				60
Monday				X		40
Tuesday		X		X		60
Wednesday	XX		X			50
Thursday	X	XX	X			80
Friday					X	60
Saturday	XX	X	X			70

Focus first on increasing the length of time that you exercise and then shift your efforts to increasing the intensity. For example, after you’re comfortable with walking, you can add a variety of activities to total your 60 minutes — for example, jogging, hiking, or working out with weights.

After you reach your goal of 60 minutes of daily exercise, begin jotting down the kind of exercise that you do in the column that corresponds to the amount of time you’re active. (Your goal, even after you’ve moved past the walking-only stage, is still 60 minutes a day.)

Here's a Sample Exercise Log
Day	10	20	30	40	50	60	Total
Sunday	jog	swim	walk				60
Monday	walk		walk				40
Tuesday			jog	walk			70
Wednesday			cycle		walk		80
Thursday	walk		jog			hike	100
Friday						walk	60
Saturday			walk			cycle	90

About This Article

About the book author:

Jane Kirby, RD is a registered dietitian and member of the American Dietetic Association. She is the food and nutrition editor of Real Simple magazine and owner of The Vermont Cooking School, Inc^TMin Charlotte, Vermont. Jane is the former editor of Eating Well magazine and the food and nuitrition editor for Glamour. She served on the dietetics staff of the Massachusettes General Hospital in Boston, where she completed graduate work in nutrition. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Marymount College.

The American Dietetic Association is the world’s largest group of nutrition and health professionals. The ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health, and well-being.