I can't help it, I'm obsessed with all things paper... notebooks, planners, Project Life Cards, sticky notes... you name it, I have it. My office looks like a combination scrapbook room and office supply store.

Now I've added an Erin Condren notebook to my collection. It has a plastic laminated cover like the Erin Condren Planners, but it's filled with blank notebook paper on the inside. It's super cute and perfect to keep you and I on track to meet our health goals.

4 ways to use an Erin Condren notebook (or any ol' notebook for that matter) to organize your health & fitness journey:

1 - Keep a journal.

Journal your thoughts, your struggles and your non-scale victories. Journaling has really helped me on my fitness journey. It's amazing how much you learn about yourself when you simply spill your thoughts on paper.

Benefits of journaling:

Your stress level will plummet when you express your doubts, fears and frustrations on paper.
You can clarify ideas and problem solve.
You can look back over your journal entries to see what things have worked (re: your food and/or exercise) and what hasn't worked.
You can celebrate successes such as weight loss, increased activity, or non-scale victories such as fitting into a smaller size pair of jeans.

2 - Track your workouts.

I have used chunky school notebooks to write down my daily workouts years. I don't know why it never occurred to me to use a pretty notebook! You can keep it simple (as I do) and just jot down the date, workout and duration.

Tips for tracking your workouts in a notebook:

Note the date, what workout you did, and the duration.
Jot down your energy level.
Did you fuel before or during your exercise?
Distance you walk or ran.
Route you took on your walk, run or bike ride.
Who you exercised with.
Any physical symptoms like aching knees or sore back?
If you are feeling creative, add sweaty selfies and stickers.
Tuck a folded workout calendar or training schedule inside your notebook to stay super organized.

Need more ideas? Here are some other ways I've used a workout log.

3 - Healthy Recipes.

There are two ways to organize healthy recipes with an Erin Condren (or any) notebook.

DIY Cookbook

Create a custom cookbook by writing your favorite recipes right in the notebook. Or, print the recipes and paste them into the book. Decorate with colorful stickers just for fun.

Recipe Index

Or, you can use the Erin Condren notebook as an index for your favorite healthy recipes. Create pages for different types of meals (seafood, poultry, grains, desserts, snacks) and then write down WHERE you favorite recipes are located. For example:

Turkey Chili - 21 Day Fix Extreme nutrition guide.
Chicken & Cauliflower Fried Rice - Plan to Eat.
Quest Bar Cookies & Cream Coconut Bark - WeighToMaintain.com. (You can find that recipe right here if you want to take a peek.)
Julie's Best Ever Baked Asparagus - Desperation Dinner cookbook, page 316.

4 - Set goals and remember your "why."

Your WHY

I call this a "My Motivation" page because it's really important to set goals, and also to understand your reasons behind setting them.

When you are trying to lose weight or keep it off, setting goals is critically important. Lots has been written on the topic of goal-setting, but one of the biggest struggles I have found is how to remember what my goals are!

This sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But often I will set some amazing goal, write a detailed plan to achieve it and then…. nothing. I can’t act on my goal if I don’t see it daily. Keeping your goal in plain sight is a component that is missing from many goal-setting plans. So use your Erin Condren (or other) notebook to record your goals, and then review them daily.

Let your creativity shine.

Don't be afraid to use colorful pens, washi tape and stickers to deck out your pages.

What about you? Do you use a notebook to record any part of your health and fitness journey? I'd love for you to share in the comments below.

If you're loving this Erin Condren notebook you can get $10 off your first purchase
Check out fitness stickers in my Etsy Shop.

4 Ways to Organize Your Health & Fitness Journey with an Erin Condren Notebook