tired of journaling her workouts in a blank book, fitness figure competitor, angela manzanares, developed fitbook:  a 12 week exercise and nutrition technique to keep you goal focused and on track. at only 5.5 inches you can tote the fitbook on the gym floor to record specific exercises, sets and reps, and cardio time.

nutritionally, fitbook also keeps track of your food and water intake; including whether or not you’ve met your daily food group requirements and multi-vitamin supplementation.

i’m not going to lie. i was a bit hesitant when my fitbook showed up in the mail. sleek, compact, shiny, clean. and empty. waiting for me to fill it with my week’s physical and eating adventures.

now, let’s face it. i teach fitness six days a week. the exercise portion of fitbook i wasn’t hesitant to confront and record. i’m lucky. it’s my job to get cardio, strength and flexibility in everyday. sometimes ad nauseum. i think the exercise portion of fitbook is rad!!! in addition to the specifics of the what and how, it lets you rate your workout:  “killer”, “good”, “so-so”, “blah”, “oops-i missed it”. i love how it lets you get personal and a little human. we’ve all had those days when we show up, and that’s really all we’ve really done (blah). and then there are those days when you want to bottle up that post exercise high and drink it all day long (killer).

as far as the food log and fitbook……………..(shifting from one foot, and then to the other, not looking you in the eye) let’s just say my diet definitely doesn’t earn me a “W-2” come the end of the year. i can, in good conscience, say, in the last 6 months, there hasn’t been a cheese plate i’ve turned down.

i’m fortunate right now with this current class load that i burn a lot of calories during the day. it’s not that i eat junk. i stay away from processed and convenient foods. but i never deny myself something delicious if i really am hungry for it. so it was with much trepidation that i recorded my daily food intake in my new fitbook. grrrrr.

to be honest i was happily surprised. my favorite part turned out to be the food log. it has a nutrient tracker that allowed me to slash off the # of servings of fruit, vegetables, grains, protein, dairy, water, fats, sugars, and multi-vitamins. next to my daily count is the recommended daily count. it was good for me to see, on the black and white page, my 12 servings of dairy and 0 servings grains at the end of the day. damn you greek yogurt!!!! i noticed i became much more cognizant of my food “choices” once i had to be responsible for facing them with pen and paper.

another great component about fitbook is how goal focused it is. it’s organized into weeks. i know from my own experience and from my clients’ that it’s best to set fitness and eating aspirations in small increments. change is less daunting in baby steps. fitbook gives you the opportunity to have a 12-week game plan. at the beginning you can record your weight, body fat percentage, jean size (smile), set goals for workouts, nutrition, or other motivations. it’s no nonsense and simple. i highly recommend it even if you already maintain a healthy lifestyle and just want to stay on track. fitbook is available on getfitbook.com for only $19.95. they also offer a fitbook junior.

so with that being said…..we have another giveaway, giveaway!!!!

one lucky reader is getting a fitbook!!! simply leave me a comment and you are entered to win a free fitbook. follow me on twitter, and you’ll get another entry, friend coreplay on facebook and that’s 3 entries?!?!?

i’ll pick a winner monday morning (2/15/10) at 9am.

good luck!!