Goals

Now is the time for all people to set some goals. Well, it was time last week, but now it’s time to make those goals more specific. That is something I learned on SparkPeople. It is easy to make vague goals, but hard to keep them. It really helps to have firm, obtainable goals in mind. Let me repeat that : obtainable goals.

It’s all very well to say I want to lose some weight, or I want to eat better, or I want to get in shape. However, these types of loose, vague goals will get you frustrated quicker than spit. Equally unrealistic are goals like : I’m going to watch what I eat and lose 150 pounds in 3 months. I’m going to work out every day and be Mr. Universe by June.

The more reasonable way is saying ‘I am going to lose 50 pounds in six months’, or ‘I am going to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables every day,’ or ‘I’m going to take a Core Conditioning class and lose 2 inches from my waist.’

The best advice I can give you about losing weight is that you need to change your life. You have to. Richard Simmons said it YEARS ago : “Never say diet!” and he was right! Yes, what you eat is your diet. However, just by saying, “I need to go ON a diet,” you will then find a million reasons why you can’t. Your negative self-talk will tell you that you can’t do it. You will ‘cheat,’ you will crash and burn.  Instead, look at it like a bigger, broader, holistic challenge.

But to start? To start, do one, little thing. Just one. Really.  The first thing I did was to start drinking more water. That was hard for me. If I haven’t eaten yet, water seems to just float on my stomach acid. Blech! I went from drinking a few glasses of water a week to five glasses a day. Woo hoo!

The next thing I did was to quit drinking soda. I love soda. I love cola. Love, love, love it! Mmmmm, nothing like the sweet bite and sizzle of a cold RC Cola on a hot day, but I have a hard time drinking soda occasionally. If it’s around, it’s going down! I stopped buying it, stopped drinking it when I went out, stopped drinking it period. That helped me drink more water, and soon I was up to at least eight glasses a day!

Small steps. Obtainable goals.

Trust me on this one! Once you start hitting the small goals, the big ones will follow.

I think I got off subject a bit there! My goals are no longer for losing weight, but I have found it is important to have goals for other aspects of your life as well. So here is what I am aiming for this year:

1.   I plan on eating at least 5 helpings of fruit and vegetables a day. (I can do 4 no problem, but sometimes that 5^th is tricky)

2.   I plan on planning out my work lunches over the weekend so I’m not stumbling around in the mornings or, worse, buying food here at work.

3.   I plan on doing abdominal exercises three times a week in an effort to drop 2” from my waist, and I'm aiming to have this by the time Pitchers & Catchers report on 12 February!

4.   I plan on writing on this blog five days a week.

5.   I plan on making recipes and figuring out how to posting them to this blog weekly.

6.   I will continue to write down what I am grateful for every day.

7.   I will work on finding balance in my mind, body, and soul.

What plans or goals do you have?