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Last year, I heard my Dad talking about how most people don’t actually get rolling in the new year until after the first couple weeks. And this year… I believe it! After traveling to the west coast to visit family over the holidays, the laundry’s done, the cats are scritched, and I’m finally feeling at home in the New Year.
Now… If I could only stop writing 2007 on my checks…
So, as I start thinking about how I want to feel this year, I’m curious -
1. What are you doing to give your New Year a boost?
And even better -
2. What will you do to keep yourself on track, all year long?
I’m especially interested in #2. It takes something special to start something and stick to it - and I just might be looking to steal your ideas for my own life.
Hi Carlyn!!! Yup it is true about people waiting until the dust settles in 2008 before they start thinking of what they need to change. This year, I didn’t wait for the dust to settle. (I think I used Pledge Dust Repellant)
I gave my New Year a boost by having a “plan of attack” attitude. I was determined to go into the holidays already winning the battle of the bulge. I revamped my eating plan by joining Weight Watchers in the beginning of December. With that came a lot of “revamping” my attitude about the relationship of food and my existing lifestyle. I learned that “losing weight” doesn’t mean that I have to lock up all my ethnic treats I enjoy or all those goodies. It meant that I need to have control of portions and creativity of “lightening up” all my favorites. I managed to lose almost 10 pounds this month by portion control and lightening up my favorite dishes. Amazing! So to answer your first question, the trick was the mental change on how I was going to approach my diet, I could either be miserable and rule out everything “Bad” or I could take control and pay attention to my portions and STILL enjoy life.
Keeping myself on track this year will involve the “You bite it, you write it” mantra. I keep track of everything I eat, making sure I am getting my healthy guidelines in, and thanks to your Dad and MTM, exercise has already become a part of my lifestyle. My motivation is fueled by my results, I feel like I have lots of energy, my body is getting stronger, and I feel like emotionally I changed my perspective, this isn’t a diet, this is a lifestyle.
This year is going to be a little different for me.. Being a Wife, Mother, and a Nanna (Employee as well). I always put everyones needs before my own, I rarely say no. For the past week or so I’ve been watching my family, and I believe that I’ve SPOILED THEM ROTTEN! My plan is to stand firm regarding my schedule and my “ME” time. (Never answer right away, using the ole.. ‘I’ll have to check my schedule, and let you know as soon as I possibly can’. Softens the blow when you say ‘NO’)
This year my goal is to finish everything I start… If I pencil it in, thats what I’m going to do.
ZOOKIE!! Congrats on joining Weight Watchers!!! I love WW, The Flex Plan, and oh my goodness It really works. Plus its so not a diet.
For me, I just kept going on the natural progression of what I want to achieve. The goals I listed in my 100 days thread weren’t new, but I did wait to write them in the new year. I thought hard about how to state them, and if they were goals I really wanted, or just things that sounded good—for someone else. Things have been dumped, added, and made realistic. But I love the current goal list, and am definitely motivated to reach them. I cheated a bit and used the excitement of the new year to spring board me forward, all this energy in the air, no way I was letting that go by unused. And there are other times that the excitement will push me forward again.
I’m also looking for personal results (running distance, body fat %) and not on just what the scale says (darn thing lies anyway ). What I mean there is that I should weigh 100-110 for my height. Last time I weighed that I was in junior high and was tiny. In high school, I was still tiny and weighed 121-125. I’m not built light, and putting a number that “they” say I should be at for my personal happiness is a sure path for depression. That and it’s so much more fun to add miles than subtract pounds to tie my achievement to.
And I’m keeping a food/ exercise/ emotions journal. Writing things down seems to help me get a perspective on them, and then let them go. It’s almost like I’m releasing the past, and have a better understanding of myself in the process.
Don’t know if any of that helps. I do know you’ll find what works for you, and that it will be uniquely and beautifully yours.
I have some new goals that excite and motivate me, so why would I quit before I get there. The biggest change this year is my new focus on work. In the past is always seems like my professional life is great, I’m moving forward, and things are good, but my personal life is less than desirable (the politically correct version, in other words, it sucks). When my personal life is great, my career is on hold (at best). This year, why not have it all. I’m going to find the joy in my career. Wake up each morning and think that someone is actually paying me to have this much fun. At the same time I’m taking my relationship with my BF to the next level (engagement announcement by the end of the year maybe???) There are some other goals (kayak instructor certification) that are just for fun, but will also take a fairly serious commitment. Fortunately (or planned) my BF is also a kayaker and he is very supportive.
So to meet these goals, I need to feel good have lots of positive energy, and will of course need to stay in shape. It’s all part of the plan. Workouts are only a means to a much bigger end, and when they are built into your life, you can’t fail.
It’s the usual peeps in here with great ideas. Thanks as always! I’d like to say if I bite it, I write it, but I know that realistically that is not possibility for me.
So, to keep myself going, I’m getting back to writing in my blog, which is also getting me back into my photography: yay! I was really good about working out when I had somewhere to post it, because I loved writing it up. I lost touch with it and spent more time in other places and it fell by the wayside. But, if I connect the satisfaction I get out of blogging with my workout, it’s sure to be a success.
To get my year started off right, I started looking into what goals I wanted to accomplish this year, what my race plans will be, what “gifts” did I want to give myself? I decided on 2 races for sure, one is a lofty goal: a 1/2 marathon in December. This got me started with excitement right away. After all, I’ve got to ramp up 10 more miles in my running to be ready for the 1/2!
Well, I’ve taken the plunge and decided to compete in a triathlon or two. I love a challenge and this will keep me motivated to keep moving. The scale just doesn’t work. I’m and engineer, I can manipulate numbers and gravity So Training for triathlon=exercise=loosing weight.
I will also try to keep up a food log and cut back on soda and sugar. So far so good, but the real challenge will be when classes start next week. I’ve already got my menu for next week planned and all the food I’m going to bring with me.
I was actually catching up on the podcast yesterday while I was biking and what really hit me was the part about working out in the morning before life gets in the way. So I will be getting up early to make it the fitness center and pool on campus before class/work/studying. This way none of that gets in the way and I don’t have all day to talk myself out of it.
That’s how I’m going to stay on track this year (plus logging in here)!
Way to go Jenni! That’s exactly what I did last year and I lost 70lbs, so I would say that your formula is correct. Enjoy the journey and keep us posted on how it’s going. Have you decided on what triathlon you are going to do yet?
I’m another one who is going to do some races this year. One new thing I am doing to keep on track is weighing myself every morning. I have never done that on a regular basis and I think it will keep me on track.
What’s going to keep me moving all the way through the year? Remembering that on December 20, 2008 I will turn 50 years old!
No matter what I do, that date will arrive and (assuming I’m still alive) I will turn 50. So, I can celebrate that birthday more fit and more slim than I am now, or I can celebrate it weighing over 200 pounds and still kind of flabby. Guess which one I’ve chosen?
Way to go Jenni! That’s exactly what I did last year and I lost 70lbs, so I would say that your formula is correct. Enjoy the journey and keep us posted on how it’s going. Have you decided on what triathlon you are going to do yet?
Yeah, I’m going to one in Nashville on Memorial Day and then maybe one in Memphis in late August. Add that to a 5K in September I’d I’ll be good through my birthday. After that I’ll be running around trying to get everything ready for the wedding. And if all goes well with the tri season this year, I’ll start a winter training program for the next season after the wedding
Wow.. you guys sure gave me a lot of tips to snag!!
Jenni - I’m with you 100% on keeping with the early AM workouts. My Dad’s been doing it for quite a while now and well, we’ve all heard about his great results. So far so good this year for me, but I’m still fighting that I’m-not-a-morning-person feeling.
I’ve been thinking about it for a few days now (since I started this thread) and I think I’ve pinpointed my driving force. And the best part is, I didn’t even have to dig for it.
I just turned 23 last month, and for some reason that means “grown up” to me. Maybe because all my life I’ve been trained to think you go to college at 18, graduate at 22, so you must be a grown-up by 23. Well… I’ve still got some work to do on that growing up thing There are still a few more levels of personal responsibility I’d like to develop.
Even more - I’ve always had this image of who I will be when I’m 24 (my lucky number… used to seem SO far away!) It was an image of an all-encompassing confidence in myself and the way I choose to live my life - and this image started to build long before I knew my Dad had a knack for this stuff.
So… I guess it’s safe to say that this year I’ll be chasing a feeling. And although a scale and my clothing will verify my progress, I think I’m starting to stress the “How do I want to feel” component of my life much more lately. And to tell you the truth - I’m getting pretty excited.
Bree - I may steal your food/exercise/emotions diary as well
My Boost: Inspired by Tom from Carlsbad and his swim workouts, I am searching for a Master’s Swimming class to join.
What’s gonna keep me on track? Besides being accountable to myself, what I’ve done is finally “hard scheduling” my gym workouts. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday the gym is nearly my first stop (after I drop the boys at school). It’s in my planner, my staff is aware of it, even the teacher at my son’s pre-school has noticed that upon seeing me in my workout clothes “oh that’s right, Thursday is your work out day”. The rest of the days I do my treadmill and dumb bell work out at home.
Last year my goal was to get in better physical shape. This year it’s to loose the weight and keep the fitness level I now have or improve it.
I joined Weight Watchers
I have committed to dive trips in both February and March. I need to be at a certain fitness level for my own personal comfort. I actually quit for over three years because I was not there.
I have added a Zumba class to my regular workouts (Weight/LBS)
I’m moving and I’m lovin’ it.
This year I decided that I needed to take a new approach to resistance training. Last year, my goal of increasing muscle mass and adding more resistance training just didn’t happen. If I want to make a change in my results, I’m going to need to change my actions. So this year I’m working out with a trainer at least for the first 3 months and then I’ll evaluate where I am. I think this will make a big difference in my overall fitness level.
I’m going to continue with my once a week personal training sessions at the gym. Although my progress has been slow compared to Scott’s talk of 1.5 to 2 pounds per week (I’m more on the 1.5 per month schedule), those sessions have been key to my continuing to exercise regularly for almost two years now. January 25th will be the anniversary. The sessions are paid for and scheduled ahead of time, but more than that I want to try each week to match or exceed what I could do the week before and that means I have to continue to exercise in between. It also means that at least once per week I can’t avoid the exercises that I don’t like to do--and I just have to exercise, I don’t have to decide what to do. I like my trainer and I never know what the next challenge will be that he throws me.
I’m also going to enter as many of the fitness challenge events in our county as I can. Every few months they give me something different to focus on so that breaks the routine. February it’s a bench press. I’ll be out of town for April, but May is a 5k, June is a 100 M Race and a bar dip, August is a bike race and Sept. is an obstacle course and a chin up. I’ve done the 5K and the bar dip but everything else will be new for me.
). What I mean there is that I should weigh 100-110 for my height. Last time I weighed that I was in junior high and was tiny. In high school, I was still tiny and weighed 121-125. I’m not built light, and putting a number that “they” say I should be at for my personal happiness is a sure path for depression. That and it’s so much more fun to add miles than subtract pounds to tie my achievement to.
So Training for triathlon=exercise=loosing weight.
There are still a few more levels of personal responsibility I’d like to develop.
