Goals for January

Between all the social media accounts I follow and my private Whole30 support group, the internet is buzzing and I'm having a major case of FOMO.  I really wish I was doing the Whole30 with everyone... but then I eat a handful of cookies and I quickly forget about it.

Humor and gluttony aside, I figured going back to work and getting used to pumping was enough to deal with in January.  Adding the planning, cooking, and willpower demands of a Whole30 would have been too much to expect from myself.  I'm thinking maybe March.

But in the meantime, I need to start somewhere!  I do love using the new year as a fresh start so I'm making some small attainable goals for myself to get the ball rolling.

January Goals:

• Do yoga every day (five minutes minimum)
• Go to CrossFit six times
• Break up with flavored creamer and go back to black coffee
• Do not purchase any sweets/treats, soda, bread products
• No shopping (aside from groceries/necessities)

Another goal is to jump on here and share more often by keeping the posts quick and snappy!  And to share more baby pics.  Obviously.

Hello 2016!

Well January is here!  I can't believe it's 2016 and that it was 12 degrees, real feel -6 this morning.  We rang in the new year at the most gorgeous wedding, followed by an outrageous day at the Mummers parade!  It was the best New Year's celebration ever.

 

Apparently I made a few NY's resolutions for 2015, which I pretty much completely forgot about until now.  Let's see how I did:

• Commit to clean eating and don't let indulgences here and there take me completely off track!
• This was my number one goal of 2015 and I'm not sure how to evaluate myself.  I would say overall, I ate well throughout the year but there was definitely still other times when I just let myself eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted *cough* the past 2 weeks *cough*.  This is an ongoing goal that will really never be finished... let's call it a B-.
  
• CrossFit 3 times per week, push towards 4
• A-, overall I was pretty consistent with this goal +/- how my back was feeling.
• Add some running back into my routine, some slow jogging or sprints, whatever moves me, with no pressure on adding distance
• D, there was nothing routine about my running in 2015, but I did do a little bit.  I ran a 5K in March and another in November.  I also like to add small chunks of running into my dog walks.  I would still like to do more sprinting.
• Commit to yoga, additional stretching and mobility work, and foam rolling to prevent injury and speed up recovery
• C+, I could've done better, but I think finally taking the step to go see a physical therapist was one of the best things I did for myself in 2015.
• Keep up with my visits to the chiropractor and go before I am in pain
• B-, this goal is sort of tied to the last one.  I went to the chiropractor a lot throughout the year, but I sort of stopped going once I attended physical therapy.
• Read one book per month
• D-, I read a few books throughout the year, but no where near 12.  I knew this was a lofty goal when I made it.
• Pay off at least half of my remaining school loans
• C-, I did not put nearly as much money to my loans as I wanted to.  I did pay off a few of my loans, but this is definitely something I need to get more serious about in the new year.
• Give the blog a make over!
• F, whoops!
• Post more frequently
• B-, this evaluation definitely depends on what month you look at, but I posted 18 more times in 2015 than I did in 2014.

And now we're on to 2016... my goals are pretty much the same as last year to be honest.  I guess I do have a few new things in mind:

• Keep my back pain-free by doing lots of push aways, strengthening my hips, and being smart at the gym
• String together 5-10 pull ups
• Organize and clean my basement and sell/donate/trash as much stuff as possible
• Floss every day (ok realistically, how about 3x per week)
• Create a budget and actually follow it
• Finish my Italy recaps on the blog before our next big trip ;) 

Some other 2016 happenings:

100 miles in 100 days - I'm participating in a challenge my friend is hosting on FB.  The goal is to hit 100 miles within 100 days by walking, running, biking, rowing, or swimming.  You're required to workout at least 3 days per week and you can never miss a Monday.  I thought this was a great idea to keep me motivated to get out and do my mile with the dogs even when it's freezing out.  So far I'm at 12 miles in 5 days.

Another Whole30 - A bunch of my friends are all doing a January Whole30 and I'm have a serious case of fear of missing out.  I'm sad that I'm not riding the wave of motivation with them but I just couldn't commit to one right now.  I'm planning on starting my own either at the end of this month or in the beginning of February.  If you've ever considered doing one, start mentally preparing now...

How are you kicking off the new year?  Did you make any resolutions for 2016?

Tis the Season

...for New Years Resolutions!  I made a few back in 2012, but I've skipped it ever since... until now!  Although I've been doing pretty well hitting the gym 2-3 times per week, there's a different area of my life that needs some serious recommitment.

You already know what I'm going to say.

I've just been too busy to plan meals and cook... the holidays lead to lots of overindulging... blah blah blah.  The truth is recently I pretty much gave up on trying to eat healthy.  I went from always meal planning and making do with what was already in my fridge, to making Paleo choices like ordering sandwiches or burgers without the bun and choosing a salad on the side... to just not caring at all.  The further I got from my last Whole30 in July, the more my willpower disappeared.

Gaining weight is a weird mental game for me.  The more I gain, the more I'm just like YOLO.  I've already gained a few pounds, I might as well eat five slices of pizza for lunch (true story).  It's a really bad outlook.  And here's a big surprise... none of my clothes fit me very well right now.

Fortunately, I know what I need to do!  I don't think it can be any more obvious that avoiding sugar, grains, dairy, and booze agrees with me.  It is still SO crazy to me that my body went through this big of a transformation over 25 days.

Starting January 5th, I am doing another Whole30!  I'm actually debating doing a Whole60.  I know how to successfully fuel my body to achieve the results I am looking for.  However, maintaining my diet between Whole30s has proven to be an issue for me.  I'm not sure why I can't seem to make it stick, I know I feel so much better when I make good food choices!  I think it's a combination of convenience and just plain indulgence.  Eating healthy meals every single day requires work and preparation!  And there are certain foods that I will never get over (I'm looking at you pizza)!  But I need to get it through my head that I can enjoy those things in moderation without ruining everything I've worked so hard for.

So that is my number one goal for 2015:  Commit to clean eating and don't let indulgences here and there take me completely off track!

Other New Year's Resolutions:

• CrossFit 3 times per week, push towards 4
• Add some running back into my routine, some slow jogging or sprints, whatever moves me, with no pressure on adding distance
• Commit to yoga, additional stretching and mobility work, and foam rolling to prevent injury and speed up recovery
• Keep up with my visits to the chiropractor and go before I am in pain
• Read one book per month (this sounds small, but it's a huge goal for me)
• Pay off at least half of my remaining school loans
• Give the blog a make over!
• Post more frequently.  I have so many posts that are currently lost in draft land, I need to catch up!

And btw I hope you had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, good food, and lots of fun!


Are you making any changes in the New Year?  Is anybody interested in joining me for a life changing Whole30?!


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2012 Resolutions–How did I do?

Almost a year ago, I did what a lot of people do… I vowed to make 2012 a good one and made some New Years Resolutions!  I looked at these a few times throughout the year to stay on track.  Overall, I did pretty well, there were some I could’ve definitely done better at (cough.breaking up with the snooze button.cough), but there’s always next year!

Fitness

• Run 6 races throughout the year
• A+ success!  I ran the Shock Run 5K in March, the Broad Street Run and the ODDyssey Half Marathon in May, the Moyer 5K in July, the Burn off the Bird 5K in November, and the Victory for Voices 10K in December!
• Run a half marathon!
  • This one is a A+ too, I still can’t believe I did it and I learned so much!
• Workout at least three times a week
  • I’ve been pretty consistent between running, my yoga Groupon, and random living room workouts, but I’m not really sure I hit three times a week every week.  We’ll give this one a B.

Eating

• Eat less meat
  • At the time my goal was to learn to make more vegetarian entrees and change up some meaty meals using some portabellos or homemade veggie patties.  My views on meat have sort of changed since I made this goal.  I am now eating plenty of meat without regret, but I buy organic, local, and grass-fed when I can.  I need to make this more of a priority in the new year.  Let’s call this one N/A.
• Eat more whole foods, less processed junk
  • B+, I have definitely been working on this over the whole year, but for the past few months I’ve really noticed the difference from cutting down on bread, pasta, bagels, etc.
• Eat more veggies and fruit
• A-, I think I’ve been pretty successful in keeping our fridge stocked and trying out new varieties like spaghetti squash and recently arugula!
• Eat less cheese
• Ummmm, still working on this one – C.

Life

• Stop snoozing my alarm, get up the first time it goes off
• D, I can’t say this has been a success.  I’ve done better at getting up sooner, but I’m still a fan of the snooze button.
• Be more productive at work
  • B-, this could still use more work but I’ve definitely been pushing myself.
• Take another grad class
  • F, I failed at this one!  Between running, cheerleading, and all those weddings, I didn’t really have the urge to squeeze in a class.  I did apply to sit for my professional engineering exam in the spring, so that was a positive.
• Create a budget and save money
  • B-, I didn’t create a budget, but I did set up an automatic transfer to move some money to my savings.  I’ve also been saving some money in an additional account and I’ve been paying extra to my school loans.  I feel like I could still use more structure, but overall not too shabby!
• Give the blog a more permanent makeover
  • A, I did this a while ago, but now I’m thinking I want to do another blog makeover in the new year!

Did you make any resolutions in 2012?  How did you do?

Holy crap, I'm training for a half marathon!

Ummmm, who am I?  Seriously.  I thought a 5K was the farthest distance I would ever be capable of running.  I thought double digit miles were for crazy people that were obsessed with running.  I never thought a half marathon would be in my future!

But apparently all these healthy living blogs have sucked me in!  I started thinking about a half marathon a few weeks ago and I googled "my first half marathon recap."  Suddenly I was reading all these posts from people that started out barely being able to run a mile, but they trained and worked their way up to the half.  I read about how rewarding the race was to them, how it changes so many of their lives.  I felt so inspired.

Next I started googling training plans and races in the area.  I was really starting to think, hey I might do this.  Add in even more inspiring race recaps and finding the ODDyssey Half Marathon in Philly.  I started telling people I was thinking about it.  I posted on my facebook that I was debating signing up and I got an overwhelming amount of support!

I want to change my life. I want to push my body and challenge myself. I want to commit to fitness and clean eating.  So today, January 3rd, I officially signed up for my first half marathon!!!!!

The ODDyssey Half appealed to me for many reasons.  It's May 26th so I have a full 5 months to prepare.  Most training plans are around 12 weeks, but expect you to start with running 3 miles multiple times a week.  Because I have an extra 2 months, I have plenty of time to work up to the mileage needed to start a training plan.  I also think the weather in May should be ideal for running (aside from some possible rain).  The race also includes a costume contest, optional fun obstacles, live music along the course, and a pint of beer at the end with a glass I get to keep!

After googling some half marathon training plans, I decided to create my own based on a few different plans and my upcoming schedule.  It's kind of hard to see pasted here as a picture, but it starts out nice and slow and builds up each week.  My biggest fear is to get injured and not be able to train, so I'm going to build my mileage slowly, spend some time cross training, and I know I can afford to skip some runs if I need to rest.  I also added in some races I'm planning on running and some scheduled rest days (for example, I already know I'm not going to do a long run the day after St. Patty's so I put that in the schedule).  My first week of training is this week, starting with 1 mile today!

I guess I was a little overconfident, because I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and lifted my arms before my run and then I decided since it was only a mile I was going to try and run it super fast.  Well I ran it in 9:44 and 1 mile kicked my butt.  I had a wicked side stitch halfway through and decided that a huge chicken parm sandwich a half an hour before my workout is probably NOT the best way to fuel.

I have so much to learn!  I'm still pretty intimated by a lot of things.  Am I running in the right sneakers?  Do I want to purchase a Garmin?  How will I fuel during long runs?  But I know I will figure things out as I go and I have so many resources at my finger tips!  The blog world has given me so much inspiration and I can't wait to share my journey!

Seriously, have I lost my mind?  Do you like racing?  Have you ever done a half marathon?  Do you have any tips?

2012 New Year's Resolutions

Here we are, January 2nd.  This whole week, the blog world has been buzzing with everyone's New Years Resolutions. Honestly I can't even remember if I made any resolutions last year.  I'm looking forward to documenting them in ye old blog this year, so I can easily look back to see what my goals are and track my progress along the way.

Fitness

• Run 6 races throughout the year
• I've been eyeing up some races in the Spring.  I think training for specific events will be more motivating than just saying I should probably go workout.
• Run a half marathon!
• I've run 5K distances before, but I really want to challenge myself!  I believe this goal is obtainable but I will really have to commit to my training plan.  I'm looking at the ODDyssey Half Marathon in Philly on May 26th.  More about this in another post!
• Workout at least three times a week
• This will be easy during my half training, but I will have to work at it for the rest of the year.

Eating

• Eat less meat
• I want to learn to make more vegetarian entrees and change up some meaty meals using some portabellos or homemade veggie patties.
• Eat more whole foods, less processed junk
• I will get rid of processed junk foods and prep fruit and veggies for easy snacks.
• Eat more veggies and fruit
• I will continue to try new varieties and find new ways to incorporate them into my meals
• Eat less cheese
• I'm addicted to cheese!  I need to cut back!  I will try things I normally eat cheese on without, and try to use less in my cooking.

Life

• Stop snoozing my alarm, get up the first time it goes off
• I am the worst at this.  Sometimes I snooze for an entire hour when I either could've got up and done something, or I could've actually gotten a good hour of sleep.
• Be more productive at work
• I need to keep my focus at my new job and show them why they hired me.
• Take another grad class
• I've taken three so far and my new company pays for one a year, so I might as well fit one in.
• Create a budget and save money
• I need to map out all of my expenses and figure out how much money I can save a month while still paying my bills and school loans.
• Give the blog a more permanent makeover
• The blog has been changing with the seasons and I really need to upgrade the layout to something more professional and classic.

Well there they are.  I'm super pumped for 2012, yay for a fresh start!

What are your New Year's Resolutions?