One of the things that I recommend to people, after they are fairly accustomed to their new BTD way of life, is that they keep what I call an “A-ha!” diary. Although the BTD has food and exercise as two of its major component parts, it’s not a food and/or exercise diary. I recommend it for every blood type and regardless of the reason(s) that a person has decided to try this lifestyle. This journal is not necessarily meant to be written in every day or every week. There have been months that I will go without a single entry.

The reason for this journal is that sometimes, as you make your way through this life style, you will discover things about yourself and/or your own body that you didn’t know. Sometimes, you will read something that makes sense to you and you will keep on going about your life. Then, out the blue, you will have it “click” in your head. The head knowledge will have become heart knowledge. By heart knowledge I mean that it will have become more than just facts to you. It will have become truly understood. Another example is this: Sometimes you will notice something and you’re not sure why. Later, it will become crystal clear. These are all examples of “A-ha!” moments to record in your journal.

Many times, I have found that these moments of information come when I don’t have time to really sit down and think them through. If I force myself to pause long enough to record the important bits, it can make it easier to come back to later on when I have more time or inclination. It also frequently happens that I have a whole bunch of ‘em all right together and there are so many all at once (or nearly at once) that it helps me to sort them all out. Just the act of writing them out helps to solidify them in my mind so that I do not have to relearn them - perhaps refine, but not forget completely and need to relearn entirely.

If you try this, I think that when you look back over your entries at the end of a year's worth of time that you will be amazed. Not only by how much you learned that you didn’t even know you didn’t know, but also by how much you’ll realize you still don’t know. This is not to imply that anyone is stupid. It is just that there is so much to learn and very little to actually make us notice and appreciate our own progress.

If you would like to try this and have never kept a journal before and would like some idea of where to begin, here’s what mine is like. It’s 9”x 6” (22,86 cm x 15,24 cm), soft cover, and spiral bound. It has 100 pages. I keep it in my bedroom with a pen stuck in the wire that binds it so I always have something to write with.