Weekly Recap

I should probably do my recap on Sundays - but I think tomorrow is going to be a bit busy.

I'm thrilled - it's the first time in 2 years I've actually met my intentional movement goal.  I walked 5x this week.

And I ate my planned food.  And best of all -I'm feeling really good.

Here's next week's goal for intentional movement:

Goal for 6/4 - 6/10 - General goal - intentionally move in the mornings for at least 30 minutes 4-5x


Plan
Monday - Jari Love Strength Training
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Walk
Thursday - Jari Love Strength Training
Friday - walk
Saturday - walk


And for food - I'll be planning and prepping my food for the week - concentrating on different types of salads for my lunches.  I'm thinking quinoa and barley as additions.

A Salad A Day - June Eating Challenge

I have an addiction - it's called Pinterest.  I'm not ready to give it up as I think I'm getting so many great ideas and being introduced to blogs (or reintroduced in some cases)  that inspire me in my journey to live an inspired and healthy life.

In this morning's perusal, I saw this image of a fantastic salad and I followed the links straight to the Oh She glows blog which had this big hook!  A good hook  - a challenge to eat a salad a day for the month of June.

I joined the challenge and I can't wait to see all the great ideas for salads.  I know that as much as I like a good salad made with crisp lettuces, I get tired of them very quickly.  My goal for the challenge is to learn to think outside the box when it comes to salad.

Ten in Ten

Oh my - I've surprised myself and joined a challenge!  Not just any challenge, but one lead by one of my favorite weight management bloggers - Sandrelle.

The goal is to lose 10 lbs in 10 weeks.  Well, for me - that's the result I am to achieve after reaching these goals I've set for myself:

1. Regain my positive attitude about weight management
2. Learn to listen to my body and eat only when I'm hungry and stop eating the second I'm no longer hungry
3. Establish healthy and kind intentional movement practices (walking, pilates, yoga)
4. Feel stronger, healthier and more vibrant
5. Lose 10 lbs

My first step will be to focus on the second goal: Learn to listen to my body.  My goal is to eat between the two's  - an eating guideline advised by Brooke Castillo in If I'm So Smart, Why Can't I Lose Weight.

I know this goal will be difficult - I'm mostly OK with the first part - but stopping when I'm no longer hungry if there is food left is very very hard for me.  I need to learn to sit with the discomfort.  I know it will pass.

That's it for now.

Goals and Challenges - Redux

At beginning of March, I set a goal for myself to lose 4 lbs by March 29th. That is not a good goal because there are factors I can't control that may impact the number on the scale. Water retention is one. And right now my weight is up instead of down. Water retention.

Instead of focusing on the scale, I should have focused on behaviors that I can control that also impact the scale. Am I working out consistently and with enough intensity? Am I drinking at least 64 oz of water each day? Am I logging EVERY bite of food? Am I getting enough sleep? Taking time for me? These tried and true behaviors are what ensures my successful weight management and I got away from that and it set me up for feeling pretty badly about myself.

Today is Easter. A good day for a fresh start and returning to the basics. For now I need to concentrate on weekly goals & challenges. So - here are my goals and challenges for the upcoming week:

1. Add yoga to my workouts - at least one time this week
2. Walk at least 3 times this week. Not for the calorie burn, but for the fresh air.
3. Do the Jari Love Get Ripped strength training DVD three times this week.
4. Do 4 cardio sessions on the NordicTrack this week.
5. Keep my calories under 1550

That's it. This past week I intentionally scaled back on exercise because I needed to make some changes. I've got the changes planned and these goals will help me implement them. My sore muscles have been screaming at me to stretch more. Yoga will help me with that. My spirit has screamed at me to get fresh air - the walks will help me with that. My heart and muscles already thank me for the cardio and strength training so I want to keep that up. And I just plain feel better when I don't overeat and more than about 1600 calories for me is too much.

I'll check in with my progress next week.

Goals and Challenges

Sometimes it is difficult to stay motivated to keep losing weight to reach a goal or to maintain your weight. At least it is for me. Short Term Goals & Challenges are great ways to give your motivation the oft needed kick in the rear.

I've actually just set a short term goal & challenge for myself. To lose 4 lbs by the end of March.

OK, the 4lb goal isn't a smart goal. There are too many factors that could influence the scale reading. So I'll really be focusing on the actions needed to achieve that goal:

Calorie Restriction - average 1457 per day
Exercise - 6x per week: 3 days cardio of 30 minutes, 3 days 60 minutes weight training, 2 days cardio 48 minutes (HIIT), 1 day cardio 60 minutes. Average burn: 314 calories
Water: at least 64 o per day
Relaxation (Stress keeps the weight on for me): Every day - knit or read