Using my Bullet journal for weight loss: Tracking, Planning and 71+ Examples

Right, I was hesitant to write a post about weight loss – and especially nervous to write about it in my bullet journal! It was like a Bridget Jones diary of weight loss! I wasn’t really prepared to put my thoughts on paper in a weight loss diary. I was in DENIAL! I was also really scared about writing about it because of all the body-shaming stuff that happens. Yuck. So this is step one in a series of posts about weight loss fitness and other things you can pop into your bullet journal for weight loss!

You are already aware that beginning a Bullet Journal for weight loss is going to have a significant impact on your life and that this straightforward organisational method can be applied to every aspect of your life. The fact that keeping a journal is the most effective technique to achieve one’s objectives and realise one’s ambitions is the facet of keeping a journal that I enjoy the most.

I don’t know how you feel, but one of my ongoing goals (and one that is always included on my vision board) is to improve my health and fitness and, most of the time, shed a few pounds. What about you?

The good news is that there are a few hacks, tricks, and spreads that you can use in your Bullet Journal to assist you with achieving your health and weight loss objectives.

Grab 30 days of weight loss prompts!

Sign up now to get exclusive access to the ultimate Bullet Journal printable same that transforms your weight loss journey into an adventure!

Your download is on its way to your inbox right now!

If you want to see the full list of our themes in alphabetical order – check them out here!

Last year, this time, I did a short video about how I set up my weight loss tracker. I’d put on a couple of extra pounds and I had put together a plan on how I was going to get rid of those. This year, however, I have signed up with a personal trainer and I’m going once a week. And this time is a little bit different because now I’m holding myself accountable by going to the personal trainer.

I’m getting pretty serious about my goals. And it’s not as though I want to lose weight or I want to grow some muscle, essentially, I just want to become fitter. Because I’ve noticed that as I’m getting older, my fitness is declining and I’m finding I’m out of breath a lot more often. So this is my way to make sure that I’m refilling up my self care space, and making sure that I have that kind of fitness level that I’m expecting and I’m not finding right now.

So! Have you been wanting to use your bullet journal for weight loss? But are unsure how? In this video I will walk you through setting up a weight loss tracker, a dashboard to track your fitness, and wellness and also remind you to take time to practice self care and recovery!

By showing you how to set some really basic fitness and wellness goals we can start tracking how you are engaging with those goals! I also give you 11 different ideas on how to track wellness and fitness in your bullet journal, just in time for the new year! So take time to use your bullet journal for wellness and not just weightloss!

So in this video, I’m going to walk you through how I’ve set up my goals, what kind of fitness things we’re going to track in my bullet journal, the exercises and food related things that I’m also going to be tracking, also how I’m going to be keeping track of my wellness and mental health and all the things I’m doing around self-care as well. Because being a healthier me doesn’t just mean that I’m getting fit, it also means that I’m getting mentally fit as well. I am definitely not a trained personal trainer or a fitness guru. So I’m just sharing my experience and the journey that I’m on. That doesn’t mean that you need to follow it to the letter, it’s more important for you to find something that works for you and also for you to speak to a professional if that’s something that you need to do as well.

Starting the weight loss bullet journal journey!

So let’s go back a couple of decades. My mother. Bless. Was morbidly obese. I was blessed with skinny genes and she always commented on it and commented on my height and weight and gave me positive reinforcement.

This was great! But at the same time, I was alsp really conscious of the fact that one day, my metabolism might give up on me and my luck might run dry. 

Fast forward to February 2019 – I went to put on my jeans and surprise – they DID NOT FIT! At all. I almost put a hip out trying to juggle myself into them. Yuck. I looked in the mirror and it was clear. I had put on weight. But not having a scale in the bathroom at home meant that I had no idea how bad the situation was. On the “Jean-fitting scale” – it was bad. 

I found a scale later in the day and hopped on. FFS. FML. 20kg over my usual weight. I had been 76kg from 18 to (insert my old age now). Now I was heavier than some rugby players!

NO! I didn’t admit it to myself at first and now here I am – September – writing about my woeful story on weight loss. Or the start of of my weight loss journal.

Admitting I needed a weight loss diary was the hardest!

Now the reason I was nervous to even admit that I was in fact way to unhealthy to even talk about, was, the grief online personalities get for talking about weight and weight loss and all that other stuff. I get it. My mother was obese.

So I am sensitive to that, and loving myself the way I am, but the fact that I can’t run, or climb a flight of stairs without huffing is not healthy nor good.

Luckily I bullet journal – and this means I had the tools and ability to track meaningful change. So in about July, I started tracking my health over tracking weight loss to see how I was feeling and what foods triggered me to eat more. What I discovered was that – while I was still eating really well, a lot of plant based diet, I was doing little to zero exercise. Granted being a single mom doesn’t help you come up with good fitness time! 

Where did I start my fitness and wellness journey?

Now, the first thing we’re going to do, is we’re going to set a goals page. I’m going to be working from the back of my notebook to the front of my notebook. And I want to set up at least a couple of goals pages so that I know what it is that I am working towards. So, I’m going to use some stickers to make it as easy as possible for myself, and I’m going to choose some really bright pastelly colors to make it look really cute as well.

The other thing I’m going to do to make this look a little bit more fun, is I’m going to add a couple more stickers. Easy. Now lets put this into our monthly calendar. All right we’re going to set up a calendar first. I’m going to put out 12 weeks, maybe even 16 weeks, just so that I have a little bit of extra time upfront. Then what I’m going to do is, once I’ve got my calendar drawn into my journal, I’m going to go through and I’m going to pop in the days that I’m seeing the personal trainer, which is gym days, and then they’re giving me a workout for home, so I’m going to pop those in as well. I’m also going to state which days are holidays and which days are rest days, just to make it easy for myself as well.

Using a new notebook or bullet journal for weight loss journaling

Having a separate bullet journal for weight loss and tracking my fitness was also something I wanted to do, so that I could laser focus in on the stuff that kept me motivated and what didn’t! I also wanted to keep a diary of my weight loss journey and how it affected my mood and energy levels. I found this weight loss diary extremely confronting because I have never had an issue with weight before until now. 

Something that made it really easy for me to track workouts and to track the weight loss, was through using simple planner stickers. As a result these helped me to easily track workouts and fitness goals in my bullet journal! You can see how I used stickers to track these fitness goals in the video below!

I also wanted to add some prompts about weight loss journaling Ideas, so in the bullet journal for weight loss template I created – I added in some clever prompts to get you thinking a little more out of the box!

As I got through this weight loss journey in my journal, I am sure I will share more lessons! I will definitely be doing a future post on calories and food – we have a couple of great posts about meal planning, but this is more for budgeting reasons and not for fitness reasons, but it could also work for that. So another post I will be doing is one on meal planning for fitness and weight loss in your journal. 

Q: How can I start Fitness Journaling

If planning is something you enjoy doing, whether you choose to believe it or not, it comes in useful when you are trying to better your lifestyle and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

When it comes to your health and beauty, setting fitness objectives and holding yourself accountable for achieving them can generate incredible benefits. Why not use these bullet journal for weight loss templates as a way to inspire yourself and ensure that you reach your ideal weight and body composition?

Well start today. Personally I am a Monday start person. Therefore things usually stick when I start them on a Monday, so make it a start date that works for you. Being fit isn’t just about being at your goal weight. As a result, for me, it is definitely not just about weight loss, it’s about how I feel physically. How puffed am I, after walking up stairs? How far can I cycle with my son? It’s the small things.

Q: What sort of weight loss journals can I use to track my weight loss journey?

There is nothing more beneficial than beginning your journey to lose weight by writing down your present weight as well as your other measurements. Keeping a record of these can assist you in maintaining your drive and determination.

There are going to be times when you’ll feel as though you haven’t made any headway at all, and that’s OK. Because of this, having a template for your bullet journal for weight loss will be really helpful.

Look at how far you’ve come and how much progress you’ve made!

There are so many amazing weight loss journals on the market at the moment, many of them focus on well being and not just focusing on fitness journaling or weight loss.

One that I personally love, is the happy planner inserts, you can get a 6 month extension pack which can help guide your workouts and focus over 6 months. A couple of others probably include plum paper, and Erin Condren!

I’m also including days that I’m going to go for big walks, and days we’re going to go tramping or hiking. Again, comment below with the way that you track your health and wellness. I’d be fascinated to know. And I hope that we can all learn from each other and really create a warm community to discuss it. We’re onto the final stage of the setup. And what we’re going to do here, is we’re going to set up a tracker for December.

This is going to include mood, energy levels, sleep. This is also going to include the things that I’m supposed to be doing. So, eating breakfast, which I’m terrible at, as well as some of the other mental health things that I’m finding really important, and making sure that we’re tracking all of those so that we can have really a good overview of whether or not I am practicing the self-care that I’m setting myself those goals for.

bullet journal for weight loss
bullet journal for weight loss

Q: How can I track my workouts in my bullet journal?

It depends what part of the workout or fitness regime you are wanting to track in your bullet journal. You may want to track minutes you exercise, or if you have a fitbit or wearable you can use the data from that in your fitness tracking. Usually, if using an app, you can also track your calorie burn and other really clever things from the data you might get from the workout apps.

I’m going to put the two fitness plans that my personal trainer has given me. I’m going to put those on the spread and I’m going to have a full week at a time versus a full all of December, full all of January, et cetera. And she’s given me two home plans to focus on. So, I’m going to write down the first one, as well as how many reps or seconds I need to do the activity for. And then we’re going to track that over the four weeks, and just make sure that we are keeping track of those and letting her know if I’m able to do them at home as well.

Create graphs to track your activity levels throughout the day, including the number of steps you’ve taken, the amount of water you’ve consumed, and the number of hours you’ve spent sleeping. Also, make sure that you are keeping track of your meals, as this will assist you in determining the total number of calories that you consume on a daily basis.

Tracking your water intake in your bullet journal

Your metabolism will speed up as a result of drinking water, your body will be cleansed of waste, and you will feel less hungry as a result of drinking water. Therefore, you should definitely consume extra water. Something I remind myself of on a daily basis to carry out.

Tracking Calories and food intake

Keeping track of the calories you consume and being aware of how many calories your body needs on a daily basis is incredibly crucial if you want to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way. This simple concept for your bullet journal for weight loss can assist you in ensuring that you consume an adequate quantity of protein, fats, as well as vegetables.

Tracking weight and measurements

If you are wanting to lose weight, one incredibly crucial step that you should take is to write down your weight along with the dates.

Obviously, weight isn’t the only factor to consider; measurements are important as well. I would advise you to keep an eye on both of them.

Sometimes, especially if you are exercising regularly, you might not see much of a difference on the scales, but you might observe significant shifts in your measurements. This is especially the case when comparing before and after pictures.

Measure your progress towards your goals by keeping a journal of your findings. For instance, one’s weight, the percentage of their body that is fat, or their bodily dimensions. Make it a habit to take these measurements and record them in your bullet journal on a regular basis. Record them at the beginning of your journey to lose weight, and then make it a habit to record them every time you take these measurements. This way, you’ll be able to monitor your progress and see how you’re doing!

Tracking your workouts

Exercise is usually recommended alongside a healthy diet in order to achieve the greatest outcomes. If you are able to keep your eating under control, you can still lose weight even if you don’t exercise. However, physical activity is beneficial for you because it can improve your mood, it is healthy for your muscles and bones, it can make you feel more energised, and it can help prevent certain diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Including a workout tracker in your bullet journal might serve as a motivational tool to get you to work out more frequently. When another box in a bullet journal tracker is completed, there is a satisfying sense of achievement that comes along with it.

A fitness tracker for your workout journal or bullet journal can be readily customised to accommodate your specific objectives and next actions. Be sure to keep a record of all of those significant figures and particulars so that you can keep track of your advancement towards your objective.

When you go into the gym with a specific objective in mind, you are much more likely to have a accomplished workout. This is primarily due to the fact that you are aware of what you want to accomplish on that particular day. As a result, you have the ability to challenge yourself to ensure that you complete all of the workouts.

Step Tracker in your BuJo

Keeping track of the number of steps you take is one of the simplest methods to get moving. Including a step tracker in your notebook will make it much simpler for you to keep tabs on your progress. Installing a step counter software on your phone or purchasing a Fitbit or a watch that connects to apps is the best way to keep track of the number of steps you take on a daily basis.

Q: How can I start a weight loss journal?

Simple! Just start one! You don’t need much from what I have gathered and tracking things that are not relevant might just make you unmotivated to keep a weight loss journal.

Furthermore, all you need is a pen and paper right. And some things you might want to keep a record of your weight loss journey!

Likewise, if you do not want to set up a whole new weight loss journal or fitness tracker, you could just include it as a page or layout in your current bullet journal. It could very well be a page or layout at the front or the back of your monthly bullet journal set up.

Have a goal in mind

Similar to all of your other goals. After you have established that particular and attainable  fitness goal. Dissect and analyse it.

I always make sure to break down my goals into manageable steps and measurable objectives that I can check off as I make progress towards achieving them. It helps keep me motivated and gives me a sense of accomplishment whenever I am able to cross off something related to my objective, no matter how minor.

Make sure that you write down all of the steps that need to be taken in your calendar or journal. With specific dates and the time by which you wish to complete them.

It is really crucial to get absolutely clear on your goal before I show you some of the finest health spreads for bullet journals, so let me first show you how to get clear on your aim.

Learn more about goal setting in our goal-setting blog post!

Actionable steps

Think carefully about what is possible for you… and also about the things that provide you pleasure. Being practical and focusing on what brings you pleasure are two essential components to successfully achieving your objectives. You won’t be able to maintain your commitment to something if you don’t find it enjoyable.

For instance, if you need to move around more in order to achieve your objective, consider what enjoyable activities you may engage in which will also help you achieve your objective. 

My overall health and fitness is something I want to do better at, and so I’ve broken this objective down into more manageable chunks.

Meal Planning

Your first step should be to create a schedule for your meals.

It is an excellent method that can assist you in making good decisions regarding what to eat and remove the temptation to make a hasty purchase at the supermarket at the last minute.

Having your meals planned out in advance also frees up more time. You can put this time towards other activities that will help you reach your objectives, such as a speedy workout at home.

If you are serious about shedding some pounds, then you need to pay close attention to the foods that you consume. If you continue to eat sweets like doughnuts and cake on a regular basis, no amount of time spent in the gym will help you shed those extra pounds. Or continuously stuffing yourself with mouthwatering takeout cuisine.

Meal planning can be an effective tool for weight loss when used in conjunction with a bullet journal since it enables you to exert greater influence over the foods that you consume. And moreover when you consume it.

Take some time to sit down and create a spread in your bullet journal that will allow you to record all of the meals that you intend to consume throughout the upcoming week. You are also able to add more fancy fitness stuff like calorie counts and macros with this.

Shopping Lists and planning out your ingredients

You need to go grocery shopping now that you have your meal plan in place so that you can purchase the necessary items to prepare the dishes! (unless you are filthy rich and you have someone who do your shopping and cooking for you, or unless you are going to eat out all the time!)

Have you ever been to the grocery store when you were feeling peckish but unable to make up your mind about what you wanted to eat for dinner? Do you find that you wind up purchasing anything and everything? And then, when you come home, you realise that you haven’t purchased anything that could be used to prepare a nutritious supper, but you have stocked up on chips instead.

Food Tracking, Meal Tracking and Meal Logs

Are you still having problems sticking to the food plan that you created? Keeping a food diary or a meal record in your bullet journal is another another approach to ensure that you are accountable to just yourself. Just keep a record of everything that you consume. The very process of doing so can cause you to reconsider whether or not you really want to consume that chocolate bar.

Q: How do I stay motivated on my weightloss journey with my bullet journal

Maintain your drive and make it a goal to cross off as many days and complete as many squares on the calendar as you can. Reduce the amount of sugar you consume, maintain your sense of organisation, and remain productive in your academic work.

In addition to this, make sure to keep a log of the exercises you perform on a daily basis so that you can achieve a healthy level of physical activity. Have some fun with it, and remember to keep your “no sugar” philosophy in mind while you do so!

Weekly Check-ins for maintaining weight loss motivation

It might be a lot of fun to keep a log of your workouts, but having weekly check-ins is what will really put you on the path to success. Make sure to keep a record of your weight and body measurements each week so that you can accurately assess your progress.

Monthly Challenges to promote motivation

Even while participating in monthly challenges can be a lot of fun, being consistent is perhaps the most important thing for maintaining physical fitness and good health. Since this is the case, why not plan out the entire season in advance and then dive right in?

You don’t have to go completely insane with that. Your life will have more harmony if you commit to being physically active three to four times per week in some form or another.

So here is my video on how to make and keep a weight loss journal! 

Finally we get to the good part! Have you been wondering how to make your own weight loss journal tracker in your  bullet journal? The way I set up my bullet journal for weight loss was as follows:

  1. How was I going to achieve my core weight loss goals and track them through to completion?
  2. What were simple things I could do to maintain my weight loss journey?
  3. Are there any specific sorts of exercises, work outs and fitness should I be tracking in my journal?
  4. What is the best way to create a bullet journal weight loss spread?

Getting Real! Setting up and maintaining a weight loss bullet journal with fitness trackers and layouts

71+ Featured weight loss bullet journal layout ideas:

I can find a ton of amazing bullet journal weight loss ideas that can really help get you motivated to get back into shape!

So here are just a few bullet journal weight loss and fitness layouts, that I thought you might like to see. Take inspiration from them. Do not use them as competition. 

Take control of your weight loss journey. Start today with these amazing featured fitness, work out and weight loss bullet journal layouts!

We have taken the guesswork out of creating new fitness spreads in your bullet journal or happy planner by dividing the styles up into

  1. Weight Loss and exercise dashboards
  2. Quotes and Fitness Goal layouts
  3. Weight Loss trackers
  4. Exercise and workout trackers
  5. Step Trackers

Weight loss and exercise dashboards for your bullet journal

Quotes and Fitness Goal Trackers

Weight loss Trackers in your Bullet Journal

Exercise and workout trackers for your bullet journal

Step Trackers in your bullet journal

Weight Loss bullet journal tracker

Similar Posts