Realistic Goals

For me, one important thing when exercising and eating right is to set realistic goals. I know that I will never have the body I had at 18. I may be able to slim down, tighten and tone, but my hips have spread a little since high school. My husband says they are making room for babies! haha  I have saddlebags on my outer thighs that I am working on, but my hips are still wider.

My main goal in all of this is to feel confident in the clothes I'm wearing. Before I started in April, I was so embarrassed of what I had let my body become that I was wearing sweatpants and high-waisted jeans to cover up my love handles and muffin top. My thighs had me so embarrassed that the thought of wearing shorts disgusted me! My goal is to get back the confidence I once had to wear the trendy clothes and not feel like I have to cover up what's trying to hang out! I have a few pair of shorts and pants that I want to fit back into for the summer.

If you're trying to make your fitness goals, here the guidelines to making S.M.A.R.T goals:

S - Specific:


•You must state your goal as specifically as possible.
•Try to put as much decision work into your goal now.
•Set the goal “lose 20 pounds” instead of “lose weight”.
•But you can do even better. Try “Lose 20 pounds by increasing my exercise to 4 times a week and reducing sugar and portion size”.
•Have your goal be like an instruction telling you what to do.

M - Measurable:

•You need to have a way to measure progress.
•Progress will feel good and measuring will keep you from cheating. The goal “lose 20 pounds” can be measured by a scale.
•Produce evidence for your progress. If your goal is to “reduce stress” create a stress measure for yourself like the number of times you get upset everyday.
•Keep a log and record each stressful reaction.

A - Attainable:

•Your goal should be meaningful to you. It should be set by you, not someone else.
•The goal should be inspiring enough that it motivates you to success. If you are not determined to meet your goal, obstacles will be very difficult to overcome.
•If your doctor says, “lose weight” and your wife says, “lose weight” but you are not inspired by this, find another goal that also improves your health while you try to find a way to become inspired about weight loss.

R - Realistic:

•Goals should be ambitious, but not impossible.
•Do not set yourself up for failure.
•Choose a goal that you are confident you can reach, but that will stretch yourself also.
•Break large goals into smaller goals.
•Create a plan to do all the steps you need.

T – Time Based :

•When will you finish your goal?
•You need to choose a time, the sooner the better.
•Saying “I will lose 20 pounds in 3 months” is good, but saying “I will lose an average of 2 pounds every week for 10 weeks” is better.

Write your goal:

Now really think about your goal. Finish the following sentence, write it down and put it somewhere you can see it.

I will [your goal here] by [how you will do the goal]. I will know I am making progress because [how you will measure the goal] [time goes here].

For example: I will lose 20 pounds by increasing my exercise to 4 times a week and cutting back on sugar and portion size. I will know I am making progress because I will lose 2 pounds a week for ten weeks.

Source



See a goal. Write it down. Make yourself accountable!

Bloggin'

Wow. I cannot believe how easy it is to keep a blog more up-to-date when I have something interesting to write about! haha   I've started blogging several entries at a time and scheduling them to post on a certain day. It's so helpful! I never imagined my personal blog would include so much about fitness and health.... Lifestyle change!



Today is day 32 of Insanity.... Did YOU do that math? I did! I'm more than 1/2 way done! WHOOOO! I cannot believe how much my body is changing! I'm watching (and feeling) my waistline shrink... seeing my clothes fitting better... gaining more stamina in activities... It really is awesome! I cannot wait to see what Month 2 has in store, but I'm quite scared at the same time. I did a sneak peek at a couple of the videos.... Bad mistake! I'm nervous!! It looks much tougher!    But I am DETERMINED to complete it!

This week I am in the "Recovery Week." This is supposed to be a week to let my muscles relax, but instead I'm hitting it hard in the walking/running category. (Counterproductive? Maybe??) Sunday, I jogged the furthest I've ever done in my life--- 2 full miles without a single break! Monday, I jogged another 2 miles, but then walked 9 miles....... NINE MILES! I couldn't believe it. I'm using the "MapMyRun" app on the iPod. It's so neat!! It shows speed, distance, route, etc.   

I'm learning that the feeling after a good walk/jog/workout is almost an addiciton. I now know what people were talking about it. It's such a good feeling and I never want it to end!

Half of those nine miles was with my friend, Amber. We were walking around a local park and got caught in a down pour when we were about 1.5 miles from our cars. We found shelter under a big tree and waited it out.... we were still quite wet, though!

The other half was with my cousin, Megan. I was in town eating dinner with a friend (and her girls) when I got a text from her asking if I wanted to walk. I couldn't turn down exercise with someone. That's the key for me! We walked more around town and got in some good conversation, like normal! : ) It felt so good to see 11 miles completed in one day! My body was sore the next day, but that just means that I worked hard! (I did take Tuesday and Wednesday off from walking/running.)


What I am finding to be most helpful is having accountability partners. Not only do I have a calendar helping me to stay on track with Insanity (and a husband that is so proud of me for every day that I complete), but I also have 3 women that I walk with and 1 that I jog with. It helps me stay motivated and interested (I HATE walking by myself)....and it's a great social time. It's like free therapy sometimes!

If you're having a hard time staying engaged in a workout, ask a friend to join you! Push each other!

Reading labels

Reading food labels can make a difference while grocery shopping. If you've been following my lifestyle change, you know that one of my biggest struggles is chocolate milk (or any sweet snack) before bed. I've been trying to wean myself off of the late night snack, and making some adjustments along the way. One of the biggest things that I did to help was change the chocolate I was using. I had previously been buying the original chocolate syrup.... 100 calories per serving. That doesn't sound too bad, until you compare it to the sugar free!  

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup: 100 calories in 2 Tbsp.
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup Lite: 45 calroies in 2 Tbsp
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup Sugar Free: 15 calories in 2 Tbsp.

85 calories each night    x   5 nights a week (average)    x   4 weeks a month   =  1700 calories I'm saving a month by changing the chocolate syrup that I use. This put things in more of a perspective:

What to know about reading labels:

Always check the serving size first. You may be surprised at how big or small it is. Sometimes the calorie content sounds great until you realize how few chips/cookies/slices/etc you get.

You want low fats, cholesterol and sodium, but high fiber and vitamins.

Check this out from the American Heart Association. It breaks down all of the "labels" that foods can put on their foods make you purchase it. Sugar Free doesn't mean it doesn't contain sugar... It means that each serving has less than .5 grams of sugar. It explains fat, cholesterol, fiber, and sodium. It's worth reading.

Here are some guidelines that they provide:

•“Free” means a food has the least possible amount of the specified nutrient.
•“Very Low” and “Low” means the food has a little more than foods labeled “Free.”
•“Reduced” or “Less” mean the food has 25 percent less of a specific nutrient than the regular version of the food.

Reading labels makes shopping trips last longer,

but it is worth it! Read the labels a few times and then you will know what you want/need from then on. Happy reading!

Motivation

On Pinterest, I saw an idea a while back for putting $1 in a jar for each workout that you complete.... This is working so well for me!  I keep the jar right next to where I workout and I even keep a few dollars next to it. (When I break a bigger bill, I stock up on the ones so that I don't have to drop in an IOU.) I look forward to completing my workout and dropping my dollar into the jar. I know roughly how much is in there, but not exactly.

I add $1 for each workout I do, not for each day that I do it. If I fit two into one day (a run and Insanity), I pay myself $2. I hope to buy myself some new workout clothes with the money when it gets to about $100. Now that I'm active, I know what kind of gear I want, but just need the money to get it.

Maybe this is an idea for an incentive that will work for you! It sure works for me. I've never enjoyed putting money in a jar so much before! 

If you're looking for motivation, rewarding yourself with fatty or sugary foods after a good workout is not a good choice.

I've had to fight this same thing with my husband. He craves Blizzards from DQ and is always wanting to go get one. He often says, "You worked hard today. You deserve a Blizzard."

I really have to fight the urge to agree!

What's your motivation? What's your reward?

Grandpa....

"A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart."

 

Today would be my grandpa's 90th birthday if he was still with us....He's been gone almost 11 years, but I think of him every day and miss him like crazy.

In the past two years or so, I've noticed that I'm getting a cluster of silver hair at the edge of the left side of my head, right where my hair parts. I can't help but think of my grandpa when one of those silver hairs catches the light as I'm getting ready in the morning. He had the most beautiful silvery white hair and was complimented on it often.

I miss him every day and wish Cameron could have met him. I cannot wait to have a son one day and name him after one of the best men that I've ever known.