A new year, a new you, right? It’s said that goals written down are the ones that are reached most faithfully. I know it’s easy to say “I’ll lose 20 lbs” and get lost in the clouds of such a general goal. My specific goal for Jan 2009 and beyond? Getting to the gym 5 days a week. I’m still rehabbing the broken foot so I’m not doing serious running at all, just trying to stretch the ankle and hip and get back into the exercise habit.
Saturday: treadmill, just under half an hour. Lame, but the gym was incredibly crowded.
Monday (MLK day): treadmill, just over half an hour. A bit faster on ye olde treadmill!
Tuesday was a bust — no sleep yet again, and the kids barely napped. I’ve got to fix this. At least I didn’t eat a bunch of sugary carbs to help my fatigue. And I went to an inauguration playdate!
Today (Wed) I have no childcare since my sitter is sick, so I’ll either hit the gym tonight when my husband gets home or drop the kids off at the gym daycare for a bit later this afternoon. (Last time I went, they fed Toot’s bottle to someone else, though. It’s a nice clean daycare and the kids are only there for an hour, so I’m not sure why I don’t use this more frequently. I get a bit nervous about it.)
Plans for Thursday, Friday and Saturday: I’ll probably only make it to the gym on Fri/Sat since Thursday is such a busy day (morning and evening Bible studies, no sitter, etc).
I know — it doesn’t sound very exciting but I’m hoping to walk further each day and start ramping things up weekly. Does it count that instead of a brownie for an afternoon snack, I ate a pear and a babybel cheese? (My other goal is to substitute hot chocolate for the brownies I’ve been eating all week. I make it from scratch, so it’s much better than the little packets.)
Writing down my goals and holding myself accountable works for me! Let me know your exercise goals in the comments!
This has worked for me with weekly meal planning, so doing it for exercise sounds like a good idea too. Thanks!
Those goals sound great. Keep it up! I love going to the gym, I feel so much better afterwards.
Blessings,
Kim
I’ve really been committed to walking with the kids in the stroller, but my rule is only if it’s over 50 degrees, which has proved a problem this week. My alternative is to walk when my husband gets home on my own, but that’s proved difficult by him having to work late the past couple of weeks. I’m pretty discouraged. Your blog is encouraging me though and I’m contemplating trading off some babysitting for some exercise time with someone. Too bad I don’t live close to you, Melissa! I just heard a woman on TV say that she’s committed to thinking positively about herself and I thought that was a great thought. So, maybe that’s my goal for this week.
OMG! I would love to know how you make hot chocolate from scratch. Yes, I do use those little packets.
You know… I think I need to write down on a piece of paper… Goal- To write down my goals. Actually this New Years I typed out my goals on my blog, and I started a new blog to help me keep track. We will see if it works! This month I have broken my resolution of keeping track of grocery spending, but that is because of moving. Moving is very stressful so it is hard for me to keep track of anything right now.
Jean — I think the key is to have a form of “backdoor” exercise that you can pull out when things don’t go as planned, especially during times of bad weather. I have a Pilates DVD that is so good that even 10 or 15 minutes with it is meaningful — I mean I can actually feel the good it does my back and it’s actually pretty calming, too! I need to dig out my resistance bands (those stretchy cord thingies that can act like weights)…. for times when I’m on the phone or (ahem) on the computer!
Too bad you don’t live near me, since our goals are very similar. Actually I’m going walking soon starting at 5:45am with a couple of neighbors. We all have littles, so it’s the only time we can get out the door and exercise. On days when they don’t go, I’ll be already dressed so I can scoot to the gym.
Oh, and Jennifer, I made my cocoa last night to drink while watching Lost. Here’s my recipe, which may not be very sweet, but you can always add sugar to taste:
1 large mug of milk, heated in microwave
1 heaping tsp of best-quality cocoa (I like the super dark Valhrona I get at Whole Foods)
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt — important as it really deepens the chocolate flavor
dash of vanilla
I whisk it all together and usually throw it back in the microwave to heat up a bit more. The only fat is the fat in your milk. This is where the cocoa quality comes in — the better your chocolate, the less you miss the milkfat, especially if you use skim milk)! Last night I threw in a couple of big ole marshmallows and didn’t add any other sugar. But I tend to like chocolate that is pretty dark and not too sweet, so your mileage may vary….
I haven’t tried Pilates…maybe I’ll check one out from the library. Doing a DVD is a good idea though…thanks for the help!
I’ve been trying to get back into some assemblance of an exercise routine. It is hard! Thanks for coming by and the info on the cocoa. I’m going to have to check it out next time I’m in Whole Foods.