Tag Archives | commitment

Countdown to Christmas Challenge Update

By on November 11, 2010 in challenge, consistency/commitment, R2P3, working out

It’s that time again, friends.  (Can I just tell you how happy I am that it’s Thursday??  Which (a) I am taking off work (don’t get too jealous, I’m running errands, in meetings, and doing other grown-up stuff all day) and (b) is the day before Friday?!?)  (Also, please ignore the overuse of parentheses.)

It’s that time again, to recap my week for the Countdown to Christmas challenge hosted by Scale Warfare and Bella!

Countdown to Christmas Challenge

You may remember the rules:

1. Choose a specific, realistic goal that you can achieve by December 31st.
2. Post weekly updates (you choose the day) about your progress.
3. Add the challenge button to your blog post/sidebar.
4. Decide on a gift (reward) that you’ll give yourself when you meet your goal.

The first week of the challenge, I set my goal, which as a refresher is:

  • My goal: commit to and follow-through on four structured workouts/week from now until the end of the year.  I have some travel time coming up, along with the normal scheduling challenges that we all face during the holidays!  So my goal is to make at least four structured workouts (and by structured, I mean “official” and not just a walk – trainer, weight lifting, running, gym, something) a priority in my schedule no matter what.
  • I will post updates about my progress on the challenge on Thursdays each week.

Without further ado, here’s my report for the week:

  • I successfully got in four workouts this week;
  • I had some struggles, though, including skipping a workout Tuesday when my plans changed at the last minute;
  • I am on track to get in four workouts easily this coming week.

I’m also on Phase 3 (maintenance, no starches & sugars) of my Protocol, and I am learning a lot about my “new” smaller body.  More to come on that in tomorrow’s post!

How are you doing with your challenge goals?  Have you set any goals to help you stay between the beacons from now until New Years?

Comments { 1 }

Refocusing on the Goal

By on March 29, 2010 in Uncategorized

Many of you already know that I have been struggling mightily wimpily to keep my eating in check lately.  I know that, for me, getting my eating right is the single most important piece of this puzzle.  Without doing that, I know that I cannot lose weight, be healthy, and maintain a healthy weight for life.

As we have all experienced, to one degree or another, there are ebbs and flows, highs and lows with the eating thing.  Some days it feels EASY.  I wish I always felt easy, but it doesn’t.  There are days when it feels like it’s not within my power to choose to eat healthily.  I know that’s not true – it’s always my choice what to eat.  It’s just that some days, it feels like a monumental task.

One of the things that I’ve learned over the last few years since I started this latest of many attempts successful journey to healthiness is that I constantly have to retool my program and refocus my attention on what I want and why I’m doing what I’m doing.  Not eating the cookie that I want is really annoying sometimes.  But not eating that cookie feels a lot easier when I am conscious of the reason why I’m not eating it.  Or why I’m only eating one instead of 18.

I need to refocus now on the reasons I am making these choices.  I know I’m not alone in that there have been times when I wondered if I was just “destined” to be overweight.  Why not just quit fighting and just enjoy my life as it is?  Why work so hard for a goal that, sometimes, seems unattainable when I could just take the “easier” path and settle for good enough instead of great?

Here are a few of the reasons why:

  • I will look and feel better.
  • I will sleep better.
  • I will feel sexy, healthy, and STRONG.
  • My sex life will be better.
  • I want to reclaim my inner athlete!
  • I’ll set a good example for my niece and nephews, and my future children.
  • Because I can.
  • I will be SO proud of myself.
  • I’ll be able to buy cuter, cheaper clothes and shop in regular stores.
  • Hiking, skiing, salsa dancing – they’ll all be easier!
  • I want to grow old – REALLY old.  And I want to do it gracefully, with a minimum of pain and “slowdown.”
  • I deserve to be strong, healthy, and fit, and I am worthy of the time, effort, and expense that goal will require.

I’ve said before that I don’t care how long this journey takes me.  I need to revise that statement.  I don’t care if it takes me 12 months or 3 years.  I do care that it not take me forever!  In the spirit of not over-thinking (as I usually do) and just doing, I’m making some commitments for this week.   They are:

1. Get in my planned workouts.
2. Calendar workouts right after I post this.
3. Calendar time to do meal planning and build grocery list tonight.
4. Calendar time to grocery shop and cook at least one meal tomorrow.
5. Cook another meal Wednesday evening.
6. Plan my food in advance each day this week.
7. Track my food every day this week.
8. Stay under 2,000 calories every day this week.

I have lots to do, so I’ll get to it!

What goals can you set for yourself this week to move towards your goals?  Do you need to refocus on the reasons why you’re doing this?

Comments { 8 }

My 10K Training Program

By on March 20, 2010 in Uncategorized

Earlier this week I posted about my concerns regarding signing up for a 10K with a time limit.  Y’all commented with lots of encouragement and some prodding to JUST DO IT.

So I will.

I am going to sign up for the Iron Girl 10K around Greenlake in Seattle, WA.  Anyone want to join me?

I’ve put together a tentative training schedule and I’d love your comments on it.  Here it is:

I know it’s awfully small, but if you click on it it’ll enlarge and you can see what I’ve come up with.

Here are my foundations for this program:

  • Non-negotiable rest day every week.
  • Strength training twice/week.
  • 3 runs/week.
  • Keeping my Zumba class, which I love!
  • Longer runs on Sundays, which works well because the event is on a Sunday.
  • Not going crazy (mentally or with regard to my training!).

I haven’t thought about my diet (and I use that work to describe what I’m eating, NOT as in “diet” like I’m on a diet…hangup much??) yet, but I’m pretty sure that where I’m at now is just fine.  I usually come in around 2,000 calories/day, with a good balance of protein, carbs, and fiber.

I’m also saying out loud (okay, stop, you know what I mean!) that in order for any of this to work, I need to make 8 hours sleep/night a priority.  I really struggle with that, as I do with morning workouts.  I think the two might maybe possibly be related.  Call me Captain Obvious.

At the same time, Prior Fat Girl Jen is having a 10+3 Action Plan that she invited her readers to join.  Because it fits well with what I want to do right now, I agreed and commited to the following for the next 3 months:

1. 5+ workouts/week
2. 5+ days of PLANNING and tracking my food.
3. 3+ morning workouts/week.

So, y’all have to do your thing.  You know, hold me accountable.  Cheer me on when I’m doing well.  Bug me if I’m not posting.  Kick me in the asterisk when I’m not doing so hot.  You know the drill.  And I promise I’ll do the same for you, too.

What do y’all think?  I welcome all comments, of course, but specifically would love to hear your thoughts on my training schedule!

Happy Saturday!  This post brought to you by the burst of motivation I experienced Friday afternoon while procrastinating at work thinking about how much I’m going to want to be outdoors in the sunshine on Saturday when it’s 67 degrees in Seattle!

Comments { 22 }

Conquering Fear

By on March 17, 2010 in Uncategorized

Last week I posted about how terrified I was to join a softball team, and I made a public commitment to do it anyways and update y’all here.  A few days later, I shared here about how LAME it was that, once I mustered the courage to actually sign up, the team was closed to individual sign-ups and I was out of luck.

I asked y’all to give me suggestions for things I could do to face a fear of mine, and you came through with flying colors!  Some of the suggestions included:

  • Roller Derby
  • Pole Dancing
  • Yoga
  • Belly Dancing

All wonderful ideas, but none of these are experiences I’m afraid of.  Well, other than the fear of breaking something!  lol

A friend who knows me well suggested elsewhere that I consider signing up for a 10K, which is a longer race than I’ve ever completed before.  I don’t know if I’m exactly afraid of this idea, but I am intimidated by the amount of work I’d have to do to get ready and I am also a teensy tiny bit scared of failure.  Okay, let me rephrase that – I’m petrified of failing in public.

The event I’m considering is this Iron Girl 10K around Greenlake in September.  My only hesitation is they have a 90 minute time limit, which means that I’ll have to run the 6.2 miles with an average pace of 14.5 minutes.  That’s a speed of 4.13 MPH, which is not a problem for me when I run shorter distances (anything up to/under 3 miles).

In order to complete a 10K at that pace, I would have to do some serious training between now and then.  So I’m asking for your help.  Do you know of any great training programs out there I can look into?  Free or cheap is the criteria.  I don’t need to start from the couch, but I do need to ease into increasing my speed and distance over time.  I feel a little wimpy being scared of this distance at that speed since September is SIX FREAKING MONTHS AWAY.  So maybe I should just bite the bullet and do it?

Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Feedback?

Comments { 13 }

Mid-Week Update

By on February 17, 2010 in Uncategorized

Hello, friends.  How is your week going so far?  It’s Wednesday – you’ve still got half the week to make it a good one if you’re struggling, like I am!

I wanted to report back on my goals from yesterday.  They were:

  1. Force myself to get an awesome workout in today, whether I feel like it or not. This helps me be tired at night, which makes it easier to go to bed early. Nope, didn’t make this one. I did burn a ton of calories just by having a lot to do yesterday, but no workout.
  2. Eat my super healthy planned food for the day, quit eating at 8:30 tonight.  Sort of!  I stuck to my plan for dinner, mostly, but overdid it on the dessert my brother & his gf brought to share.  I didn’t go terribly overboard on my calories, but after a tough weekend with food, the rest of this week will be all about damage control.
  3. Kick my brother and almost-sister-in-law out at 10pm tonight (they’re coming over for dinner).  Yeah, this SO did not happen!  We got sucked in to watching a GREAT comedy show and they didn’t leave until 11pm.  Then I lounged around with my hubby until midnight.  The good news is that I didn’t have to wake up until 7:15 this morning, so I got a decent amount of sleep and feel much more rested today.
  4. Leave the dishes in the sink, brush my teeth, and get in bed right after they leave.  See above.
  5. Lights out at 10:30 p.m., alarm set for 6:30 a.m  Nope.

Clearly, I have some work to do this week!  The good news?  I’m not freaked out and worried this will turn into days, weeks, or months of struggle.  I know I can make good healthy choices every day.  I just need to reaffirm my commitment to doing that and set myself up to make good choices.  Here’s how I’m going to do that:

  1. My workouts for the rest of the week, however meager, are planned.
  2. My meals for today are planned, tracked, and with me.
  3. My gym bag is in the car for my Thursday and Friday workouts.
  4. I am setting aside two hours on Saturday to read my Beck book, make some new advantages/response cards, write a few blog posts, and generally re-immerse myself in why I’m doing this.  I’ll also use that time to pick a few recipes to cook Sunday and make my grocery list.
  5. I am setting a goal for myself to get 8 hours of sleep each night this week.  Tonight I have to work late, so I won’t be home until 9pm at the earliest.  I’m going to text my hubby and ask him to remind me that I want to go to bed early tonight when I walk in the door.  I never have a problem going to bed early on the nights I do Zumba!  (That’s tomorrow.)  And this weekend the sleep thing shouldn’t be an issue.

It’s a little amazing to me that I can come here and tell you all that I’m struggling.  That I ate too much dessert last night.  That I haven’t gotten a formal workout in since last Thursday.  That my weight is up from last week.  But that I’m okay, I’m not panicking, I’m not beating myself up.  I think I’m learning to be nicer to myself since y’all are so nice to me.  And that’s a revelation.  So thanks!

Comments { 6 }