Goals for 2011

As I look forward to yet another year of my journey, I've been thinking about what I want to do. In 2010, my only real challenges were to cook one new recipe per week and be meatless on Mondays. In 2010, I made over 60 different recipes for the first time and Mondays were completely vegetarian (as were Thursdays for a couple months). I also ran my first 5K (a last minute challenge), went over 2 months without using exercise videos, and completed all 7 stages of New Rules of Lifting for Women.

So now what? I want to get stronger in 2011. I'm going to keep my lifting simple. I want to get faster in 2011. I'm going to run at least one (unofficial) 5K per month, and the First Flight 5K in April. In November, I intend to run the Outer Banks 8K. I want to ride my bike more often, play tennis with my husband, and maybe hit the beach for some swimming.

In terms of nutrition, I want to cut back on the processed foods. I want to become a better cook, and try more recipes. I don't know that I'm going to keep a blog entry linking to everything I try. I tend to forget to do the links. There are hundreds of recipes I want to try, though.

Maybe my biggest goal for 2011 is to be more directly involved with support and motivation for others who are struggling with weight loss, health, and fitness. It's one thing to do my daily blogs and throw out random advice on message boards, but I need to spend more time actively encouraging people (online and in real life) - when they ask for it, of course.

And just to look at the trend for the last 4 years:

On January 1, 2007, I weighed 191 pounds.
On January 1, 2008, I weighed 150 pounds.
On January 1, 2009, I weighed 154.5 pounds.
On January 3, 2010, I weighed 134.5 pounds.

I really hope I'm down from last year's start weight tomorrow!

Goals

As promised, I've come up with a set of goals to help keep me focused. I have the exercise down, and I know what I'm supposed to eat. I don't always eat it, but I know the nutrition portion of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle well. I'll work backwards from the list Tom Venuto gives.

Goal of beating personal best - I'm guessing this one pertains to exercise, specifically weight lifting. Or, I suppose it could apply to any form of cardio where something can be concretely measured. My cardio usually isn't that specific. Anyway, here my goal is to progress in some manner, either reps or weight, every other week for all of the exercises I do. I'm not sure how to assess cardio and beat my personal best. I'm not quite sure what time-frame to give myself for progressing with HIIT. I wish I had a treadmill. Maybe that should be one of my longer term goals.

Ultimate long term goal - Obviously, my goal is to be fit and healthy. I would like to be under 120 lbs and be able to actually run a 5k. And of course - maybe even most importantly, continue exercising and eating right. Part of "eating right" means I have to stop going from one extreme to another - no binges, no starving myself. I want to have control over my emotion, and stop allowing them to control my eating. I want to have a firm grasp of portion control so I can indulge in "forbidden" foods on occasion.

12 month goal - A year from now, I'd like to wear a bikini. I have the one I bought in 2003 when I first got skinny. I was flabby skinny then, so my next bikini will be 2 sizes smaller than the one I have now.

3 month goal - This brings me to the end of July. By this time, I will have been to New York to pick up my step-daughter and will be heading back to take her home. This means two weeks in a place I'm not very good at controlling my eating. So my goal here is to get through it without gaining weight. Also, since I can't bring my equipment on my trips, I will have an alternate plan that I will follow while I am away.

Weekly goals - The most important one is to support others in their fitness journeys. I belong to several online groups with weight loss challenges ongoing. I need to be more supportive and encouraging of their efforts.

Daily goals - These are pretty basic. I will eat every 3-4 hours. I will exercise every day (except Sunday). If I feel like I'm craving something I shouldn't have, I will get on the elliptical for 10 minutes, or find some other healthy distraction.

So, that's all I have for now. I'll revisit my goals every day, and I'll post in my weekly blogs how I've done. Meh.

Goal Setting as per Tom Venuto

I've decided to re-read BFFM and pay close attention to the chapter on goal setting. Tom Venuto says to set the following goals, and say why you have chosen each goal:

1. Your ultimate long-term goal
2. 12 month goal
3. Three month goals
4. Weekly goals (Weekly body composition test and weigh-in)
5. Daily goals (habits to develop, things to do every day repeatedly)
6. The goal of beating your personal best.

I think I am going to work on this over the next two days and post my goals at the end of my weekly blog. I've had a fantastic week so far, and I think this will keep my momentum up.

Week 4 & Stats

Though I had planned on measuring at the end of Week 4, I was really unmotivated to do so and almost pushed it to the end of Week 6. At the last minute, I changed my mind. For the most part, there are losses.

Weight - 8 pounds
Neck - 0 inches
Chest - 1.75 inches
Rib Circumference - I actually gained an inch here, so I must have messed up my first measurement somehow.
Waist - 0.5 inches
Belly - 0.25 inces
Hips - 2 inches
Thighs - 0.5 inches (R), 1 inch (L)
Calves - gained 0.25 (R), 0 inches (L)
Biceps (flexed) - 0 inches(R), 0.5 inches (L)
Triceps (gotta measure those batwings!!) - 0.5 inches (R&L)
Forearm - 0.25 inches (R), 0.5 inches (L)
Wrists - 0 inches (R), 0.25 inches (L)

I'm not sure how I feel about my progress. On the one hand, I'm disappointed that it's not more. On the other hand, I know that 1-2 pounds per week is what is considered healthy loss. So, I'm right there in the healthy loss category. I think some of my frustration goes back to when I was (improperly) low carbing and I'd have bigger losses each week. I was a scale-a-holic, weighing in daily, severely restricting calories if I showed any gains. I don't do that anymore, and I should be proud of my progress thus far.

I didn't do it last week (or the week before, I think) but I meant to review my goals at the end of each week.

1. Strive for consistency, not perfection! So far, I've definitely not been perfect! I think I have been fairly consistent. There were a few days when I couldn't eat on schedule, and a couple where I ate things that aren't quite BFL friendly, but no apparent harm came of it.

2. Make BFL a part of my life. Body For Life is certainly providing a foundation for whatever is next. Whether I'll do another challenge remains to be seen. I am positive, at this point, that I won't start my second challenge until January 2008. During the 5 or 6 weeks between this challenge and the new year, I'm going to try a different approach. If I don't like it, I will go back to BFL.

3. Weigh no more than once a week. Er, yeah. Week 3 was bad for this. I was on the scale every day. However, during Week 4, I only weighed on my weigh in day. I like it that way.

4. Learn to like oatmeal. I have not started this yet. I will.

5. Make exciting meals. It's not boring, usually. I ordered Eating For Life and I'm dying for it to get here.

Free day was very free. I didn't gorge on anything, but I did have things I haven't had in a while. I didn't track or measure anything, and it felt good. I ate when I was hungry and that was it.

Strive for consistency, not perfection!

This is the 10th of BFL's Nutrition Tips and it is really something I needed to see as I prepare for my first challenge. I am about 15 pounds above my "low" of the year, and it would be easy for me to say that one of my goals for this challenge is to lose those 15 pounds. I don't really know how realistic that is. Sure, it's 12 weeks and I could technically and safely lose up to 24 pounds in that time period. What I'd really like to do, though, is set myself up for a lifetime of proper nutrition and exercise.

There's a PDF file on the BFL site that asks challengers to write down five goals for the 12 weeks. I think I will do that here, with focus on developing a mindset for the future.

1. Strive for consistency, not perfection! Again, I think this tip is so vital. I'm not going to say that I will follow the plan perfectly for all 12 weeks. Instead, I will acknowledge that this challenge, since it is my first, is a learning experience, and I can make mistakes along the way. As long as I learn from them and improve, I've met this goal.

2. Make BFL a part of my life. I'd love to do a second challenge when this one is finished. Then another, and another, until it becomes natural. Being a stay at home parent makes this easier, in terms of preparation and finding the time to exercise, so I'd like to develop a pattern that will allow me to continue this way of life after I return to work.

3. Weigh no more than once a week. I have a horrible scale addiction. I will not be a slave to the scale this time around. As an indicator, I will use the tape measure and, more importantly, how I feel.

4. Learn to like oatmeal. From everything I've read, oatmeal is a staple for many BFLers. I have never cared for the stuff. I'd like to find some that I can choke down by the end of the challenge, so I can have another alternative for morning meals.

5. Make exciting meals. It's easier just to eat plain ground turkey or chicken, with a boring side of carbs and veggies, but really, who wants to eat like that forever? I intend to try out some recipes from the BLF site (and others, of course) and discover new spices and combinations. Anything I really like, I'll be sure to post here!

So there you have it - 5 goals for the next 12 weeks, and none of them say I'll lose "x amount of weight" by the end. Good for me!