Jump Into January with SMART Goals!

So here we go again... a New Year is upon us and many of us scramble around trying to imagine our lives in perfect order and everything is in cosmic alignment. Hate to burst your bubble, but no one's life is ever going to be perfect... let's settle for great! :)

I don't like New Year resolutions - I think they're a set-up for failure because they're often so broad there is no way (or a very slim margin that) they can be accomplished. And the failure of living up to our good intentions often is downright depressing which - for some - can lead to a downward spiral.  Who needs THAT?! I certainly don't and doubt you do either.

So let's do this for the New Year:  Let's set Smart GOALS! 

A Smart Goal is a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Restricted Goal.  If I were to set a goal of being able to run a full marathon on April 19th (Boston Marathon Day), that wouldn't work because it is Specific and Measurable but it is NOT Attainable or Realistic for me... being that I don't currently run at all!   What would be a Smart Goal is to run a 5k by April 19th and to set my sights on that attainable, realistic and time related goal.

I rejoined the YMCA on Monday evening.  It felt darn good to walk in that door again, plunk down my hard earned cash and have a goal in mind and be doing something about achieving that.  When I went home, I finally took the time to scan through my "On Demand" section of my cable stations and found that Gaiam TV is free for me with my subscription and has a huge array of yoga, aerobic, pilates, kick boxing (by Jillian Michaels!), and more classes/routines. I'll be using those as well.

My goals for January are:

1. Get to the YMCA every Saturday, Monday, Wednesday.
2. Work out at home every Thursday, Sunday.
3. Walk 2 miles daily (I have my dog, Ruari, to walk, anyway, so this is fairly easy for me to check off).
4. Eat no more than 1200-1300 calories daily and lean toward whole foods wherever possible.

Join me in January to get a jump on great goals for 2015 and join #hlgJumpInJan challenge on Twitter!  Remember that is really important and effective to WRITE OUT your goals on paper.  It helps, believe me! 

Happy New Year and happy, healthy 2015, friends!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!

HealthyLoserGal / Jan 

Setting SMART Weight Loss Goals

FROM 2 YEARS AGO, BUT SO PERTINENT FOR NOW!

So my vacation is over and I had a great time visiting my sister in Florida.  We hadn't seen one another in a year and a half so it was long overdue.  I'm proud to say I stayed completely on plan - even counted calories on St. Patrick's Day for Guinness (I don't like it but feel obligated to drink it on St. Patrick's Day as I am, afterall, of Irish descent!) and corn beef & cabbage & bangers & mash.  I made wise, thought-out choices of airport food and even made certain I was online on Tuesday night for my Vtrim class.  And I'm soooo glad I made time for the class as it was all about one of my favorite things in the world this past year:  Making Goals!

Not just any goals...

Sure, my goal a year ago was to lose 100 lbs. but - in all honesty - that wasn't a very realistic goal as I had no idea how I was going to do it nor was I a contestant on The Biggest Loser! *grin*  Losing 60 pounds in a year was much more attainable for me but I would have been happy with 50 pounds,  honestly, as in June I was stagnant at 35!  It was only then that I started breaking down my goal(s) into 5 pounds lost at a time... THEN it began to work! Then I was making smart goals!

Now, with the help of the Vtrim classes and exercising at the YMCA, I'm learning what is a SMART goal for me now.  This week coming up, for instance, I committed to myself and my fellow classmates that I would have the following goal:

I will walk (specific) for a mile (measurable & achievable) on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday (time limited) and then try something new for exercise that I haven't done before for 30 mins on Thursday (realistic). 

Now, for many of you, that goal may seem easy-peasy, huh?  But - for me - it is achievable and just enough out of my comfort zone to make it a true goal.  I'm not setting myself up for failure.  I've already walked the Saturday and Sunday portion of the goal and know I can get to the YMCA at lunch hour on Tuesday.  The Thursday part I'm not sure of what I'll do... but I'm going to do it!  

I learned in the online class that we need to ask ourselves "what hurdles do I need to overcome to lose weight?” and then use the smart guidelines to set 1-2 goals a week to help get over those weight loss hurdles. It makes such sense when it is pared down into smaller, achievable goals and I, personally, like writing the goals on my calendar and checking them off when they're completed!!

Between Friday and today, I have walked six miles.  SIX MILES!  That is a record for me over a weekend except when I did the five mile walk back in the fall, but that was with a few stops along the way.  This was really power waking (well... a 17-20 minute mile is power walking for this gal!) and I walked with a determined gait!  I built my first ever play list for my iPod and hit the pavement and LOVED IT!  And I felt incredible... empowered... thankful... full of LIFE! :)

This morning I got up (sore as sore can be because of my second meeting with my trainer yesterday- this week we did not continue assessing!!) and got on the scale and I am at the lowest weight I have been in about 8 years!  I pushed the scale around the bathroom floor... and every place I stepped on it, I was at the same weight.  It wasn't a fluke... I'm DOING this! :)

BRING IT ON WORLD, YEAR TWO OF MY JOURNEY HAS JUST STARTED & I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER!

More tomorrow night on my first real encounter with personal training!  Parker (my trainer at the YMCA) said "remember this day, Jan, because in a month you will look back and see how very far you've come".