If there has been one thing I have learned in the last four years since starting my weight loss and fitness journey it is this: you have to set GOALS for your own success. And you have to WRITE THEM DOWN! If you don't write them down in a journal or make a dream board, you may as well be wishing. And we can all wish, but wishing doesn't make the pounds come off or your BMI go down. Just sayin'...
So as I'm beginning the New Year, I'm not out wining and dining today, I'm home blogging and journaling because I KNOW that if I just think about the goals I want, nothing will happen. I have to have them there before me - confronting and challenging me - every single day.
So here comes the January Jump In (#hlgJumpIn) actions that I am taking. It falls into four easy criteria that you can modify however you want to best fit your health level if you'd like to join the challenge for this month:
- Hydrate. I plan to drink 1/2 my body weight every day in water. If you don't like plain water, you can drink unsweetened tea or water with lemon or lime. Whatever will get you to stay hydrated without carbonation or sugar works.
- Plan and track. Planning my food has always been difficult for me for whatever reason. To alleviate "falling off the planning wagon" I make the first month's food fairly similar. I eat a lot of chicken and salmon, salad greens and veggies (both raw and cooked into meals), fruit, low fat yogurt and simple grains. I try to stay away from cheese and cut down on mayo, sauces. And then as soon as I have eaten something, I track it. There are so many great apps available as well as websites that allow you to track (and plan) your foods but I usually use an old favorite, FitDay.com. Free and easy to use and has a vast food list for nutrition and calorie counting. My calorie allotment daily is between 1250 to 1400 calories.
- Move, move, move. I will be walking a total of 15-20 miles a week. This works for me but you can move in any way you know will work for you and that you can stick with. In the dead of winter you're not going to find me walking outside except with my lab on those "doggie necessary" walks. : ) But, I walk on the treadmill at the YMCA or Cambridge Athletic Club and have Walk Away the Pound DVDs to walk to in the privacy of my own home. I will be firming up my sagging arms with the help of a kettle bell and stand alone weights. I use a balance wheel, a stability ball and Lisa Johnson's Pilates' DVD in my own home, too. There really is no excuse to not get some activity in daily with the online and at home sources we have available to us!
- Be accountable to others. Tell everyone you know that you're changing your lifestyle and taking time for yourself. And I do mean everyone! Friends, co-workers, social media buddies. If your friends give you a hard time about getting healthy, you might ask yourself how good of friends they are to not support you in your goals. And if you just had the thought "what if I tell my friends and then fail", all I can tell you is GET THAT THOUGHT OUT OF YOUR HEAD. You need to remain positive and upbeat no matter how hard it may feel. You're telling everyone so they'll support you and - if necessary - you can prove it to them and to YOU that you are going to SUCCEED! There is no other game plan here except to plan on succeeding.