Achieving your goals or desires for health and fitness often requires changing your thinking, and one of the best aids is keeping a journal of your daily nutrition, physical fitness, and accompanying thoughts. Your physical person is more than just what you eat; it’s also the result of what you choose to put into your workouts. And it’s heavily influenced by how you feel, which is directly related to what you think about yourself. They all must work together if you want to be healthy and fit.

Although it takes a sincere commitment to journal your daily life, the habit pays huge dividends. For instance, keeping track of what you eat can be an eye-opener. You’re far less likely to eat unhealthy foods, such as cookies or candy, when you know they will be listed in the daily record of caloric intake. Journaling can help you see patterns or habits – bad and good – that you wouldn’t have recognized otherwise.

It feels good to eat right, exercise regularly, and think positive thoughts. Seeing improvements on your record of the reps and types of exercises alongside a list of good food choices and positive thoughts is a real motivator. When they work together, results are maximized.

So if you know that exercise and healthy food choices make you feel wonderful, why don’t you automatically choose wisely? Journaling may help uncover the answer. For instance, if you lack sleep, you may notice that you tend to eat easy types of food that are more carbohydrate-related or that you drink highly caffeinated products. Your body may be on a cycle of quick fixes for lack of energy followed by energy crashes. Switching to natural, healthy foods will give your body the true energy it needs as well as make you feel good.

By journaling the foods you’re eating, the physical exercise you engage in, and your daily thoughts, you can see what makes you tick and how you can adjust your habits to become the most balanced individual you can be. A balanced life leads to a happier one!

WENDIE PETT is a mother and fitness expert, the author of Every Woman's Guide to Personal Power and co-author of The Miracle Seven. She trains people individually and conducts seminars to corporate groups to help teach others how to maximize their wellness through the balance of mind, body, and spirit. For more information on Wendie visit www.wendiepett.com.