Saturday, January 1, 2011

A New Year, A New Me

I am not making any big resolutions other than to continue on my journey to better health (update at end). I don't really like making resolutions, but I like making goals. Let's not talk about last years goals though..... Anyway, this year, I am setting goals and having them written for people to see will surely help....right?!?!?!
Goals for 2011:
1) Continue on healthier living:
*Eating recommended fruits/veggies
*Exercise 6 days a week
*Try new activity--still trying to decide what though
2) Develop more patience. Not sure how to measure this one, yet it is much needed. I really need to stop yelling and remember that my boys are only 5 and 2. This is tough because I have HIGH expectations of them, so I need to learn to relax that a bit. Any tips for me? I really need help here, so bring em on!!
3) Run the Ukrops 10K in 62 min
4) Run the Cville Womens' 4 Miler in 36 min
5) Change my spending habits
*Eat out no more than 2 times a week (I have been absolutely horrible with this and was
looking at finances today. BAD BAD BAD Mommy......) This is a necessary change!
*Stick to budget for gift giving
* Put money aside for Sept. beach trip

I don't think any of these are out of my reach. I will struggle at times, but see how I have refrained from saying "Stop....." because as much as I would like to stop certain things, I can't so I am just vowing to change. Definitely doable!

Now, onto my update on my healthier living...It started in October so I am 3 months into this and am doing really well for the most part. The holidays brought on a bit of challenge, but compared to years past, I did soooo much better. I won't say I kept to my 1 treat a day, but I held back considerably--having 2 cookies instead of...well, lots more (too embarrassed to even say what it used to be). I still have only had 1 beer and no more than 1 soda a day a few times a week. I have only had 1 glass of sweet tea and I am not snacking after dinner. Exercise wise, I am doing really well. I had 2 fantabulous weeks at a gym (a friend gave me a pass) and took tons of classes that really helped. Unfortunately, it made me realize how much I miss being a member of a gym, but alas, being a SAHM--that's one luxury that went bye bye. The most important thing though is that I have found a new tool. I was really wondering how much I have been eating--wanting to see just how horrible I eat. I was directed to My Fitness Pal and this has been a godsend for me. I can track exercise and food intake and really analyze what I have been doing. This is a necessity for me so I am extremely glad that I have found it. It really makes me 2nd guess what I am choosing since I keep a food diary now. Hopefully this will make goal number 1 much easier. Oh and did I mention it's totally free?!?!?! Oh yeah, did I also mention that weight wise, I am weighing less than I have in 7 years and I fit into a dress that is a smaller size ;) Talk about incentive to keep it up!


2 comments:

  1. I can really relate to the part about having high expectations with kids. I was like this as a teacher, and now I am at times with my son and the kids I look after. I think it's good to have high expectations, to a point. Sometimes, I find, with myself, I keep raising these expectations. When children don't meet them, I may struggle more to have them meet them. Then I end up feeling guilty because I can just 'feel' that it's not working, and I know I'm expecting too much. Upon reflecting on this over the past few months though, I don't think we need to feel guilty - our great expectations come from good intentions. Really, we just end up frustrating ourselves. Now, I am WAY better at realizing when I am becoming frustrated. I am now more likely to take a deep breath and let it go. I'm far from perfect in this area, but I think we just need to constantly remind ourselves that they have no idea what OUR agenda is. They are just being. I don't agree with being lax with kids at all. I would still consider myself to have high expectations. But for those times when it's 'just not working', and I'm getting frustrated, it feels so good just to breathe, and realize that it really isn't that important that the child learn this or that today. And I don't need to feel that I'm a failure if they don't learn this or that today! Hope this convoluted message helps in some small way! It just really resonated for me.

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  2. Thanks! It's always good to know how others deal with similar struggles!

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