High Maintenance Mom

During breast feeding I kept track of everything I ate along with the kids' feeding schedules, naps, and diaper changes. It might sound a "little" neurotic but the kids' logs were useful when I was so sleep deprived I didn't know what was going on, plus it made it easier to identify patterns. Sleeping five hours in a night is a good pattern in the beginning. Now I'm back to being interested in my own patterns and I'd like to have an answer to my doctor's question from last week about how much I exercise other than, "not as much as I would like"...

One would think that I would be able to remember things like exercise but without writing it down, I just can't track it and all the household shopping lists (we're almost out of cheese sticks and toilet paper but I've already been to three different grocery stores this past weekend so I'm waiting until I need two more items before I go again). And that's where SELF's new "Reach Your Goal" program can help. In addition to accessing their workouts as MP3s, there is also an online journal for keeping track of your workouts - and food, if you want.

After entering personal information like weight and waist size (I guessed), you can access the workouts. In the exercise journal, you can choose from a variety of workouts and record the time spent. In the food journal, you note the food you ate, the time, your mood, and how hungry you were. I like that I can scan my day to see that I was tired at just about every meal today. There is also space for calories but I really can't be bothered with that part.

You can always sign up and view or download the workouts with no intention of using the journals. I've found the journals to be useful in the past but I wonder if I will make the time to use them or if thinking I am going to use them so I don't snack on the kids' food as I clean up will be enough.