Starting Fresh!

Well, the last two weeks haven't gone exactly as I would have liked.  It was a time of over-eating and under-moving.  LOL!  In that time, I gained 4.4 pounds.  Bah!  Not thrilled about that, but it happens.  I know why it happened and I am on my way to stopping it from getting worse.

I have another exercise calendar set and ready to go!

   

Why is there a week that seems really light on the workouts?  It's not because it's the week after Christmas and I'm giving up.  Hubby and I are celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary (wow!) and will be enjoying a little alone time.  I have some workouts listed, but I'm not pushing myself that week.

You will also notice that come December 6 weekday running starts up again.  Yup, half marathon training kicks in again.  Crazy how quickly that came up!  I'm going to follow a different plan by Jeff Galloway this time around, one aimed on improving time rather than just finishing the race.  So, there's more speed work involved this time around.  Even though I PRed at Philly, I still want to finish Shamrock faster than that.  I'll never be a sub-2 hour half marathoner, but a sub-3 hour would be nice.  :-)

Along with all this exercise, my goal is to get back to my healthy eating.  It's fun to get off track now and again, but I find it hard to get back at it.  Hence the issues I had last week.  LOL!  Plus I'm hoping with all this exercise I'll want to eat healthy to reap the full benefits. Even with the holidays, it is possible to keep up those workouts and eat reasonably.  Parties aren't every day.  Pick and chose what is important to you.  And that's my goal this holiday season.  Continue with the workouts and be picky about my splurges.  What is truly something I can't do without this year?  Then and only then can I indulge.  Because then it will be worth the splurge and there will be no regrets.

And the other shoe dropped

Gah!  I suppose I should be grateful.  I didn't weigh in last week because I was afraid of the number.  I had a feeling it would be a HUGE gain and had no desire to see that.  So, I skipped.  I had high hopes that I might have lost whatever I gained last week this week.  Apparently not.  I am really no closer to loosing that 10 pounds today than I was when I started this project.  Frustrating.

Operation 20 Goal (February 25th): 20 pounds
Operation 20 Half-Goal (December 31st): 10 pounds
Today's Result: +1.2 pounds.

Operation 20 To-Go: 19.6 pounds
Operation 20 Half-Goal to Go: .4 pounds


This is awful.  Seriously awful.  What the heck is going on?  Why can't I get my butt in gear?  I have such high hopes and ideas and then THIS.  This flat out screwing up.  It's upsetting.  I feel like I should be able to do this.  That I can do this.  And yet...


So, I need to wrap my mind around WHY I'm not doing what I'm supposed to.  Why I'm not eating healthier.  Why I'm not exercising more.  Why I'm not making better choices.  I need to figure that out.  Because really, without knowing the WHY, how can I expect change?  How can I expect to hit those goals?  And if I DO hit those goals, how am I to maintain it? 


I follow a fabulous blog called Leading the Weigh, where Heather, the blog founder, listed her exercise goals for the month of December.  I was really impressed by her ambitions for the month, since we all know this month is SO crazy that exercise and healthy eating can get thrown out the window among all the office parties, family parties, tree lightings, etc.  So, I'm going to follow her lead and put together a list of exercise goals for the month.  I may not always hit my targets, but it's better to have something to strive for than to just say I did something, that should count, right?

Dec. 4-10
* Run 3 days this week for a total of 7.5 miles (2.5 miles each)
* Do 1 day of 3 mile walking DVD
* Do 2 days of Wii workout
* 1 day of rest


Dec. 11-17
* Run 3 days this week for a total of 10.5 miles (3.5 miles each)
* Participate in the Jingle Bell 5k on 12/11
* Do 1 day of 3 mile walking DVD
* Do 2 days of Wii workout
* 1 day of rest


Dec. 18-24
* Run 3 days this week for a total of 13.5 miles (4.5 miles each)
* Do 2 days of 3 mile walking DVD
* Do 1 day of Wii workout
* 1 day of rest


Dec, 25-31
* Run 3 days this week for a total of 16.5 miles (5.5 miles each)
* Do 2 days of 3 mile walking DVD
* Do 1 day of Wii workout
* 1 day of rest


Ok, that's my plan.  It will get tweaked as the month goes on.  BUT, I think having a plan of attack is better than nothing.  I am expecting a training program for the Disney Princess Half Marathon, so I anticipate things changing with the above plan, but I feel better knowing there's something in place now.  Having it written down and being accountable for it.  Here's hoping next week is a fabulous week!