And for the past two weeks, I have pushed myself out of comfort zone when it comes to workouts, and my eating has been 80% clean. But I still feel as though I am getting it wrong more than I get it right.
So I decided to sit down and write some concrete goals to help me take this journey further.
1. To weight 135 pounds by my 30th birthday. Currently I weight 143 pounds, that calculates to an 8 pounds loss over 8 weeks. This is entirely doable. I am going to approach my weight loss by both modifying my workouts and cleaning up my eating.
- Workouts: I am going to follow the FANTASTIC workout plan created for me by Annette at Fitness Perks. I will also be doing 2 additional cardio workouts per week (See Goal #2).
- Nutrition: Eat "clean" 95% of the time.
- I define clean as lean protein, healthy fats, whole grains, and limited sugar and processed foods.
- Avoid eating out and limited processed foods: To achieve this, I am going to pack a small insulated lunch bag daily, which will contain breakfast, lunch, and a few snacks. I will spread these meals out so that I am eating something every 2 to 3 hours.
- Avoid mindless eating: In the past few days, I have come to realize that I want to snack around 3 p.m. but I am not hungry. The urge to snack is just a response to stress related to my work. While I have no problem snacking when I am truly hungry, these instances are just empty and unnecessary calories. Going forward, if this occurs, I will drink a glass of water and take a 5 minute walk around our campus. I think this will help reduce my stress and allow me to refocus so that I can finish the rest of my day.
- Training: In addition to follow Annette's workout plan, I will be devoting two days a week to training for my next 5K. The first run of the week will be a tempo run - where I add in faster intervals during a regular run. The second run of the week will be an endurance run - where the focus will be on running a full 5K.
- Gratitude List: Per Annette's suggest, I will write 5 things I am thankful for each morning and each evening. I will compile my top 5 each week and share them in a post on "Thankful Thursdays".
- Me Time: I am taking twenty minutes every day to read something other than work related items or blogs. I have a stack of magazines and a dozen books on my Nook that I am eager to read.
- Weekly Date Nights with Hubby: One night a week where we do something together without our daughter.
- Play Dates with My Daughter: Carve out at least 30 minutes every day to play a game, watch a DVD, or do whatever my daughter wants to do. This should be interesting as I am trusting my time to a 2 year old. :-)
I did not intend for this post to be so verbose. But now that I have typed it all out, I feel better. I have a plan and a clear path to my goals. What are your goals? What does the "healthiest life" mean to you?
Good for you!! Annette makes the BEST workouts!! I'm sure you'll make your goal - stick with you minigoals... You can do it! :) :)
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