The Next Four Week Challenge

I mentioned on Monday that I would come back and recap the last four week’s goal challenge so here I am. And looking back over my paper goal sheet, I think I kicked some serious ass. I did struggle with a few daily goals here and there, which happens- especially on the weekends, but all in all I am really proud of what I accomplished and the result of these last four weeks in action, I will explain more about that in a bit. First up – the goal recap….

Daily Goals

8,000 Steps a Day- 26/28

Stick to Meal Plan- 27/28

Track- 22/28 (some days I tracked, but only partially so I did not count them)

25 Minutes a Day Activity- 27/28

There was only one day where I didn’t hit any of my daily goals and that was a day I stayed home sick from work. Other than that day I was active every day and stuck to my meal plan, I missed 8K just one other time but I did flake a bit (on the weekends) with my tracking. Like I said, I only counted the days I tracked everything.

Weekly Goals

Drinkend Only- 4/4

Run Three Times a Week- 3/4

Eat Out Four Times a Week (or less)- 3/4

Weigh-In Only Once a Week- 4/4

I was really impressed that I was able to limit my drinking to the weekend only. Not that I drink all the time/every day normally, because I don’t, but because we have had both social outings (where I was the only one not drinking) and stressful days (where I just wanted to drink a beer and lounge on the couch- but hit the gym instead) that made this one challenging at times. But I made it through. Same with the scale. This one wasn’t too hard but it was definitely a change from my daily scale routine. But it’s a change I am glad I have made. As far as my other two goals, well I came close to 4 out of 4 on each only once did I miss my three runs a week goal but I still got in two, so close. And then one weekend we had an impromptu road trip and I ended up eating out lunch and dinner Saturday, breakfast and lunch Sunday which is only four but then earlier in the week I ate out at a work party….

Monthly Goals

Two Active Adventures- 2/2

Two Bike Rides- 2/2

This month I was able to work in a few active adventures; exploring Fort Pickens, kayaking and a lighthouse tour (which is both adventurous in that I sometimes freak out from heights and active as it is a steep and windy climb up to the top) and it was awesome! I also made it a goal to get in some bike rides using this as a motivator to start riding again. One was a ten miler around my neighborhood and the other was with Erick out in Orange Beach, AL where we rented some cruisers and logged about 15 miles out on the trails. It was nice to be able to spend an afternoon out on the bike with my favorite person. This was our second ride together, and although we decided this back in February, it helped get our butts over to a bike shop to find a bike for Erick, which we did. Stay tuned for more bike adventures! 

As for my reward (a dress from Anthropologie)- yes, I think I earned it. I hit 120 out of the 132 goals  which is over 90%. I think my ‘A’ in goal achievement has earned me a new dress. We are heading to NOLA next weekend and I plan on swinging by the Anthro there before we head home.

 

 

As for the next four weeks…

Well, I sat last night mulling over a clean goal sheet trying to plan out my attack strategy.  I loved the goals I had last month but things are changing (half marathon training, more traveling, etc.) and I wanted to set goals that set me up for success by providing a way for me to live in balance these next four weeks.  You see, what I learned last months was that those goals were designed to both challenge me and keep me motivated. It was all about incorporating in the behaviors and habits that are healthy for me and at the same time through in some fun goals to keep it fresh and light-hearted. Balanced.

So, as I sat there last night strategizing about my new goals I turned to E for some help. He suggested a weight loss goal (don’t get up in arms- the man doesn’t think I need to lose weight) and to which my reply was this…’if I am meeting these goals I have set on this sheet, then I don’t really care if I lose weight’

For me; meal planning and tracking, being active and walking every day, training for a half marathon, not obsessing over a scale, limiting my alcohol consumption, reading books and riding bikes…that is my balance of happy and healthy. And if I lose weight doing it, that’s awesome. If I don’t, that’s cool too. Because these types of goals are more like a way for me to reinforce good habits and good habits are what I depend on to keep me living this amazing life.

Goals for August 13^th through September 9^th

Daily

Track (only full days count)

10,000 Steps a Day (now that I am in full on HM training, I expect most days for this to be easy. It’s the rest days that get me)

30 Minutes of Movement/Activity

Follow Meal Plan (set on Sunday)

Weekly

Weigh-In Once

Four Runs (basically this means follow HM training plan)

Drinkend Only

No Eating Out During Work Week

Monthly

8 Bike Rides

Read Two Books

My Reward….well, I just noticed I left this part blank. I have been toying with the idea of getting the Garmin Vivofit BUT I may end up needing to replace my GPS watch so I am going to wait and see on this one. More than likely it will be something from Garmin though.

What about you? What are some healthy habits you keep in your routine? 

 

From a year ago(via the TimeHop app) - channel your inner Tim!!! 

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxox

September Recap and October Goals..

September has come and gone.

Already!

I know, right? Can you believe it is October 1^st? I certainly can’t.

Today Paul and I were discussing Christmas savings and shopping.

Unreal!

Anywho, I had set some goals for September so I thought I should put together a recap of the results as well as set some goals for October. I am sure you are all curious how this past month went for me (I could tell you were waiting with bated breath for the results J ) and let me just tell you – I killed it. September was a month full of tracking (every single day!), activity, and lots of really great adventures. This past month, everything just kind of fell into place and it was awesome. Yeah, of course there were some rough spots and not every day was easy but I felt more in control and on track than I have in a while and that was a really good thing.

My September goals were as follows:

·         Get down to (or at least work towards) 165 lbs.

·         Average 10,000 steps a day/ 300,000 steps for the month

·         Feel comfortable in my size 6 work pants

·         Create a weekly workout/activity plan and stick to it

·         Try out one new recipe a week

On September 1^st, I weighed 171.0 pounds. Today (and yesterday too) I weighed 162.2 pounds. Yeah, I thought 165 lbs. was pretty much a stretch goal so I was beyond floored when I spent the last two weeks of September under 165. Even better than the number itself was getting back to a weight where I feel comfortable in my skin and in my clothes. Big yay there!

My fitbit stats for the month were 436,678 steps (approximately 192 miles, in case you were curious) and an average of 14,556 steps a day. I am super excited that I exceeded this goal by almost 50%. This daily/monthly step goal keeps me moving and I love it. I feel so much better when I can get in more walking throughout the day.

Not only did I lose pounds this month I lost inches as well. 1.5” off my waist (31” to 29.5”), 1” off my hips (41” to 40”) and 1” off my thighs (24” to 23”) so yes- my work pants fit great. Actually, they are back to being too big. Last week I even wore size 6 jeans (which have been too tight on my thighs) and was pretty floored by how much my body changed over the month.

Each Sunday I created a workout/activity plan for the week. For the most part, I stuck to it. Yeah, I moved things around and there were a few times where I opted to be social instead of being active but for the most part I stuck to the plan. I would say 85% of the time. And you know what, that’s good enough for me.

I definitely did a good job with the new recipe goal. I tried out all sorts of new recipes; chickpea sloppy joes, quinoa chili, quinoa and steel cut oats, quinoa and black bean burgers (yeah, I eat a lot of quinoa…lol) and baked tempeh to name a few. This month was filled with good eats.

So for October I am going to try and keep with the same theme for goals:

·         Get down to (or at least actively work towards) 158 pounds. No real reason for this number other than it is about a 1 pound loss per week which seems like a reasonable goal.

·         Track every day! I think I am an old pro when it comes to meal plans so this month I am focusing on tracking every day- the good, the bad and the ugly :)

·         Hit 10,000 steps a day, every day and total 200 miles for the month!

·         Don’t drink more than twice a week. I love craft beer and couldn’t imagine a life without it but beer is just empty calories so I would like to try and limit my drinking to twice a week which for the most part I do. BUT I am going to NOLA next week…that will be my test :)

·         Yoga/Pilates Barre/Boot Camp – 15 classes in total. These are my three favorite things right now so my goal is to get in 15 classes throughout the month. Especially the Barre classes. I have been out of practice for the past month and on Saturday I went back in for a class. It was nice. Felt like home.

What do you think? These seem like realistic goals, right? Do you have any goals for October?