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A Brilliant and Ridiculously Simple Way to Track Your Progress

When you’ve got fitness goals, it’s so important that you track your progress. But doing so can seem, well, UGH. That’s why we had to share this post from Sheryl Hammontree for You Can Do It Week. Sheryl is the owner of the Fit Pit and a graduate of the University of Kansas with a background in advertising and design. She spends her days coaching members at her gym to be their absolute best, designing awesome fitness apparel and pushing her own physical and mental limits. She’s completed two Ironman, summited Longs Peak and has been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon — and loves zoodles as much as we do. Read on for her brilliant advice on how to track your progress — it takes all the craziness, obsession and “ugh” out of it!

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Those who have known me for a long while know that I’ve been a proponent of occasionally writing down what you eat for a few days to keep yourself on top of your nutritional game. Personal accountability means being aware of your choices throughout the day. BUT … over the years I’ve learned that while this method is good for some, it’s not the best fit for everyone.

Some like to know the numbers. They journal their workouts and their WOD times and they want to make sure they are getting what their body needs.

But some just want to navigate their crazy life without the added pressure of notating their meals and snacks and would have greater success if they could “grade” their day as a whole rather than each item that passes their lips. Recently I read about a journaling method that makes good sense; it’s called R-K-O. Here is how it works …

Track Your Progress Using R-K-O

At the end of the day, you take a minute to reflect on the choices of the day. Did you eat your breakfast? Drink your water? Get in a workout? If you did all the “right” things, you write an “R” on your calendar. This means that you did a solid job working toward RESETTING your metabolism as you work toward change.

If at the end of the day you look back and note that you either missed your water, ate barbecue for lunch or skipped your workout … then you get a “K.” This means you are KEEPING things pretty much as they are. This is not a horrible thing and is sometimes unavoidable.

Then there are days when you give yourself an “O, ” which means OFF. You ate birthday cake at 10 a.m. for a co-worker’s birthday, went out for Mexican food over lunch, and happy hour kept you from your fitness. These days will happen and should be expected and enjoyed, but they should be tagged as being OFF your game.

At the end of the week/month you can look back and see if your efforts match your goal. At a quick glance, if you see mostly Rs, then you’re on the right path! Too many Os and you’re just not allowed to complain about not seeing changes.

This method should help with the potential insanity that ensues after an indulgence. We’ve all done it … a bad run or WOD can somehow be the result of a cupcake you ingested 48 hours prior. Eliminating the hyper-focus on each and every bite can help some stay on track and not beat themselves up. But more importantly, it’s an opportunity for complete honesty that provides a compelling snapshot of your effort. At a glance, you can see if your efforts match your goals.

Will you try this easy way to track your progress? —Sheryl

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Comments

3 Comments
  1. Jody Hickmott says:

    This is a great way to track. I was just debating this am if I should start tracking in MyFitnessPal again and I hate to do it because it will get me on track but if I’m not careful I get hung up on it. This simple method really fits where I’m at right now and my checking my workout calendar I can already see a pattern forming from just this month. I’m going to just finish out this month aiming to get at least 3-4 R’s a week with a week and then evaluate after that. Thanks so much for sharing this!

  2. Kiara says:

    This is such a simple way of recording progress. Personally, the thought of crunching numbers daily makes me just want to throw the towel in. I do not believe in diets but I believe in being aware of your body and the choices in which you make to nourish it.

    Cheers Sheryl – going to try this for a month to see how I go! My goal is 4 R’s per week and there has to be an O in there of course, I need my sanity!

    Also whilst I am here, I have began blogging as The Nourished Blonde. I would love it if you could check it out @ thenourishedblonde.com 🙂

    Kiara

  3. Nick says:

    Hi, please develop an app, I’ve been searching and searching, and wasting my time. All the Calorie Counters are absolutely worthless, then you have the weight trackers, which are fine, but who the heck really knows an accurate BMI? No one! And same goes with how many calories did you burn today? You cannot sit here and tell me you have an accurate count. I love this idea I just wish I could find an app that did something so basic, Weight with goals, and chart. Did you exercise today, goals and chart. How did you eat today, good, moderate, bad, with chart and goals. That’s it. Thanks your prolly not interested in creating an app, but I think it’a good idea.

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