Motivational Monday

This morning Motivational Monday seemed to need a starting over theme. I missed basically all my January goals - some by one book, others by 32 miles.

I realized that with the start of February that I could start over again. I can set up new goals, continue with last months, and just change my attitude about it.

I'm not saying I'm happy with how January went. But, it's over. I'm not going to dwell on it. It's in the past and February is a whole new month. I can attain the goals I set up. They aren't crazy goals, they aren't insane goals - they are attainable.

It's never too late to try again. February will be a good month!

Do you have monthly goals? Are you starting over or continuing on your journey?

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Motivational Monday

Good morning! Happy Monday to ya! How was your weekend? Mine was better than expected, thanks for asking. :)

Today's quote {to me} fits January perfectly. It is all about the now, something many of us totally miss in our beating ourselves up over the past and hoping for a better future.

Last year may not have gone as planned. I know mine didn't! But, it's over. The year is past and we can safely leave it there. We are no longer tied to it. I'm not writing 2014 on things anymore, so I don't have to think about what went wrong every time I see the year.

2016 is a whole year away. Sure, I'm making plans for things in 2016 - my 15th wedding anniversary is in 2016. I'm deciding now how I'm going to pay for our trip back to Jamaica to celebrate, but I'm planning what I'm going to do now for next year. Something I have to do in the here and now.

So, here's to 2015! Here's to deciding what we want, figuring out how we're going to get it, going after it, and enjoying the hell out of it once accomplished! It's a whole new year. A whole new attitude. A whole new realm of possibilities all waiting for us to find them. Let's focus on today and forget about our failures of yesterday and daydreaming about our tomorrows.

What goals are you striving for in 2015? Have you started planning them out?


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A need for speed

A few weeks ago I joined the 21st century and got my first smart phone. I have been having lots of fun with it - there are more cat pictures been taken than any person has a right to have taken!

I have picked up a few free apps as well - solitaire, Facebook, Twitter, Yachty, the DD app. I also picked up Run Double - the Couch to 5k program.

RunDouble talks you through your workout, helping you to achieve your fitness goals, track, and share your results with friends. Start with C25K or Couch to 5K, and get running 5K in just 9 weeks, then progress to 10K and even a half marathon.

I know I've run 5ks, 8ks, 5 mile, 10ks, and half marathons, but I also know I want speed. My last two half marathons were slow. The last one I actually had a blast at (minus out the last mile where my fingers hurt.so.much.), but the one before that was miserable. I have had one really good half marathon (2012) and I want that to be the rule rather than the exception.

So, last night I started the C25k program through RunDouble. It starts with 5 minute warm up, 30 sec run/180 sec walk x 8, then a 5 minute cool down. I have to admit, that 30 second run felt sooooo short! But, I ran all 8 of them at 5.3 on the treadmill, which is faster than I've run on the treadmill all year. That's gotta be a good sign, right?

Over the next 9 weeks, I'm going to go back to basics and complete the C25k program. I'll admit, when I started running, I couldn't even think about doing the C25k program because I was so out of shape. This time around I know I can do the program, it's just how fast can I get myself to do it!

What do you do to build speed? Have you ever gone back to basics to improve your running?

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First stumbling block

I have been on my 40 pound challenge for all of three days (Thursday was day three). And it took exactly three days to have a bad day. And I mean BAD. I was good at breakfast and lunch. On my way home from work, I realized I was getting hungry. I've been having a small snack (carrots & humus, Cliff Bar, etc.) between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. all week and by 5:30 p.m., I was hungry!

When I got home, hubby's car was gone. Hmmmm...Checked phone, text saying he went to the gym. Ugh. Came in the house and ate. And ate. And ate. Here's what I had:

Mini Reeces Peanut Butter Cups

Nuts

Toffee

Then hubby came home and we ate dinner. Yup. I ate dinner after all that. We had lite hot dogs on lite rolls, with pretzels. I should have made a healthy dinner. I had one in mind. We grabbed frozen fish at the grocery store with a tomato sauce that I thought I could do up, with spaghetti squash and veggies. But, after eating all the above, eh. Oh, did I mention the two cups of Corn Pops? Yea...

So, in the past I would let this go on for a week or maybe two. Or in the case of last year, about 8 months. But, I am working on a new me. I do not want this pattern to continue, so I vow to make tomorrow better. I will eat healthy. It's Friday and I work all day, so I generally don't hit the gym so nothing new there, but I can eat better tomorrow than I did today (it would actually be really hard not to). I can start again. I can make today a one-off rather than a month-off. 

I'm not perfect. I stumble way more than I walk straight. And for the first time I want to fully acknowledge this. Here's to a healthy Friday!

Do you have a day where you just eat crap? How long does it take you to get back on track?

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I'm over it

Yea, I'm over it. February that is. I've been thinking about it and I'm pretty sure I just want this month to end. It has not been a good month at all.

I've gotten off track with my food.

I've gotten off track with exercise.

My Pooka's back legs became paralyzed (but are doing much better!)

I saw someone's dog run over in the street.

My boss spoke with me twice about work related issues (left a document on the copier and I talk too much to patrons in the search room).

My trainer favors my husband.

Those are the biggies. I know I should counteract those with some positives to show that February really wasn't all that bad. I've got very little...

Going to celebrate my friend's birthday in Milwaukee this weekend.

Pooka's legs are healing. He's walking and climbing again, even if jumping is taking a bit longer to come back.

Spent the weekend with my cousin (19).

So, I'm all for February coming to an end. Mentally it has not been a good month. I need to wipe the slate clean and move forward. Yea...yea...I know. There is still a week to go in February. I'm hoping that by writing this now, that I can make the rest of the month better. Maybe just getting it out of my system will be what I need to turn the rest of the month around and end strong. Let's hope!

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Motivational Monday

I'm not giving up. I'm just starting over.

This is me. I've been at this for years. I started trying to lose weight when I was probably 12? Maybe 11. I've never reached my goal and it's been over 20 years. There were a few years that I didn't care all that much; I gained about 35 pounds during that time. 

I believe this is an important thing to remember. I may not be perfect. I may not have it all figured out, but I'm not giving up. I keep going. I keep trying new things to find what works. I may have a bad day, but I try to turn things around the next day. 

I will reach that goal. I will hit my goal weight. I will work on what makes me happy; what helps me be a better person. I'm not there yet, but I'm not giving up!

What about you? Are you starting over this Monday? Are you debating between giving up and starting over?

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 My New Year's resolutions aren't all going as well I had hoped. I had a list of things I wanted to work on. It was a list of higher ideals for myself, not specific goals. I have those specific goals too, but I wanted to concentrate more on attitudes and beliefs. I hoped these would make the specific goals take care of themselves.

Since New Year's I have done exactly what I didn't want to do this year. I've focused on those specific goals and pushed aside the attitudes I wanted to adopt. So, I need to remember the goals are to make myself better overall. I can do that by concentrating on the following:

Happy

Confident

Fit

Follow through

Forgiveness

Adventurous

Courageous

Dedication

Perseverance

Worthy

I need to be confident I can be happy and fit. I need to follow through on my ideas and forgive myself when I stumble. I have to look at life as an adventure and be courageous in tacking it. I have to be dedicated and persevere in my goals of feeling worthy of my life. I have a good life and I am very lucky in my friends and family. I have to remember that.

So I'm starting today. I am going to ask myself, "Will this make me happy?" If the answer is no, well you know. If I can get into the habit of asking and answering that question honestly, I know I can have a successful year!

 

After months of ignoring the scale, I decided to face it head on.  Ugh.  It isn't as bad as I anticipated, but gaining 10 pounds is not pleasant. It also explains the pants/jeans not fitting as well as they did.

So, what does this mean?  It means I know where I am. 23 pounds over my goal weight.  It means I have 3.5 months to move the scale in the downward direction to hopefully reach goal or close to it by December 31st.

I'm back to logging what I eat.  I need to get better at that and working out, but it's a work in progress.  I have that pesky half marathon coming up in October.  Then I have two months of being able to pick races for fun.  Hopefully this helps motivate me to get my butt in gear!