To have permanent fat loss, you need to see progress. I want to show you how to measure your physical activity and your progress. Keeping a daily log of your physical activity is key to your progress and establishing a lifestyle that includes permanent fat loss. As a weight loss coach, this is a very important step. How do you start this record keeping process? Thirty years ago I created a physical activity log on a piece of college lined notebook paper. Each line is numbered for that day of the month. Here is my entry for this Monday. 2 1/2 miles with John and dogs on the trail. In addition to being a record or log of activities, it becomes a diary of people, places and events. I can go back in my training log to June 1994 and there is an entry that says, run – walk 3 hours – Yosemite National Park to the top of Half Dome with Brian, Larry, Jeff, Stacey and John. Another entry says, family hike on the Colorado Trail.

You can use your physical activity log to keep track of your weight, your inches, how much you are lifting at the gym, your bike rides, runs, hikes, skiing, swimming, and fitness classes. Record your time, distances, effort, location, and your partners. If you spend 2 hours chopping wood, leave it alone. But it wouldn’t include time spent riding the tractor or lawn mower or watching a Broncos game.

The goal is for you to have a record of your physical activity, so you can see the progress and know that your physical activity is working so that you have a healthy and strong body. But when you interrupt your regular exercise routine, your activity log will hold you accountable with a record of your inactivity. The hope is that you will be motivated to start exercising again. When you have weeks and months of regular exercise, you can take pride in your consistent commitment. Having a consistent commitment will help you reach your fitness goals. Also keep track of your body weight and inches so you can track your progress. This will give you the confidence that what you are doing is working. If you are not losing weight or inches, you need to make changes to your exercise and nutritional plan. You want to develop lifelong habits that lead you to a healthy lifestyle. Your physical activity log will show your commitment to health for life. What you do today determines what you can do 5, 10, and 20 years from now. Today’s fitness prepares you for the rest of your life. Our ability to serve God and others is strengthened when we are healthy.

Well, it’s time to start. Today you can begin to establish a healthy lifestyle that leads to permanent fat loss. Make this statement: For today, I will begin my health and fitness record.

Get a binder and a piece of college lined binder paper first. Then number from 1 to 31 for the month of October. When you exercise today, write what you did on the October 14 line. Weigh yourself, take some measurements, and write it down as a starting point. You may want to run or walk a mile and take the time. Again, that will give you a starting point to measure your improvement. Every time you enter for October, you move towards health and fitness. For those of you who are using Osolean, write down when you use the product. Remember that Osolean works when you take it twice a day and when you reduce your daily calorie intake by 500 calories. Having a regular or daily exercise routine will maximize the effectiveness of Osolean. The hope is that having a monthly health and fitness record will give you motivation and responsibility to change your health forever. My training record has been my responsible partner for 30 years. Tell others about your success with record keeping and permanent fat loss.