Anyone using a bullet journal to track their progress?

[biginjapan 628]

I had a sleeve done three years ago and will be going in for a revision to bypass in March. I really want to do more to keep myself on track, and thought about having a dedicated bullet journal just for this - goals, trackers, etc. Of course, I already use apps to track food and macros, Water, step count, etc, but they are in different places and, having just started bullet journaling for another part of my life, I’ve realized how much I miss actually writing things down and having more space to write about high points and low points, as well as a place to keep photos, etc of my journey. I’ve done some research online but most bullet journals just have a one page spread for the month tracking exercise or water or whatever, there are very few ideas out there about setting up a journal for those of us going through bariatric surgery (pre- and post-op diets, liquid/purée/soft food stages, etc). Just curious if anyone out there has set up a journal for themselves and are willing to share the kind of spreads they made. I’m currently sketching out a few ideas and will share as soon as I can make them somewhat decent.

[Hop_Scotch 853]

I know what a journal is, but not specifically a bullet journal so I did some googling, Interesting concept.

For anyone who doesn't know what a bullet journal is this may help https://www.tinyrayofsunshine.com/blog/bullet-journal-guide

[biginjapan 628]

@Hop_Scotch Yes - actually that's the original concept, although a lot of people have taken that idea and run with it, some so far as to creating whole works of art with it. Here are some examples that I was thinking of:

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19957500/bullet-journal/

https://myinnercreative.com/using-my-bullet-journal-for-weight-loss-tracking-planning-and-71-examples/

I like these spreads from Etsy, but I'd rather make my own:

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/475115332/bariatric-surgery-weekly-food-exercise

[adkmalik 40]

14 hours ago, biginjapan said:

I had a sleeve done three years ago and will be going in for a revision to bypass in March. I really want to do more to keep myself on track, and thought about having a dedicated bullet journal just for this - goals, trackers, etc. Of course, I already use apps to track food and macros, Water, step count, etc, but they are in different places and, having just started bullet journaling for another part of my life, I’ve realized how much I miss actually writing things down and having more space to write about high points and low points, as well as a place to keep photos, etc of my journey. I’ve done some research online but most bullet journals just have a one page spread for the month tracking exercise or Water or whatever, there are very few ideas out there about setting up a journal for those of us going through bariatric surgery (pre- and post-op diets, liquid/purée/soft food stages, etc). Just curious if anyone out there has set up a journal for themselves and are willing to share the kind of spreads they made. I’m currently sketching out a few ideas and will share as soon as I can make them somewhat decent.

I love bullet journaling! I am not using one for this, but I probably will start now that you mentioned it. I do use a medicine/vitamin tracker that is pretty darn impressive (bullet journal style) but I keep it on a clipboard with my Vitamins.

I also received a very nice journal for Xmas from a friend. I changed the cover, added some washi tape & added my days before surgery, surgery day & post-op days. Each day I track (also use Baritastic App), I have the date, days post-op, doc notes, quotes, funny observations, recipe ideas, or products that I've heard about. I look forward to seeing what you do with yours.

I agree, as much as I love the apps, there is something wonderful about paper & pen!

[biginjapan 628]

19 minutes ago, adkmalik said:

I love bullet journaling! I am not using one for this, but I probably will start now that you mentioned it. I do use a medicine/vitamin tracker that is pretty darn impressive (bullet journal style) but I keep it on a clipboard with my Vitamins.

I also received a very nice journal for Xmas from a friend. I changed the cover, added some washi tape & added my days before surgery, surgery day & post-op days. Each day I track (also use Baritastic App), I have the date, days post-op, doc notes, quotes, funny observations, recipe ideas, or products that I've heard about. I look forward to seeing what you do with yours.

I agree, as much as I love the apps, there is something wonderful about paper & pen!

I'm so happy to hear that! I was a little dismayed to find no reference to bullet journaling after a search on this site, when it seems like it would be a great way to track everything, have goals, etc. and have everything all in one place. I also use(d) Baritastic (and others) but I see the bujo as a way of supplementing the apps, rather than replacing them. It'll be a lot easier for me to gather the raw data from the apps (especially the macros) than to have to figure that out all myself.

So far what I've been trying to do is have a weekly spread for everything - meals, Water, supplements, macros, exercise and a few other goals (like no eating after 8 p.m.). It doesn't leave a lot of room for anything else, but I think I've gotten a spread that I like since I want to minimise the number of pages I need to make (!) and will have to actually use. Last night I spent some time making an outline of how many pages I'll need for what, and so far I've got 20 pages (goals, quotes, photos, year at a glance, progress tracker, NSV page, etc.) before I even get to the first weekly tracker!