The Me I Want to Be - Week of September 22

[pbutterfly]

Since no one else volunteered, I'll go ahead and start this week.

Last week in our re-introductions, one of the questions was about goals and hurdles. When I looked at my calendar and realized that next week I turn the page to October, I thought, "Wow, this year's going by fast." What I need to think about this week is what my goals and hurdles are for the last 3 months of this year -- and maybe you all want to join me in making some plans and setting some goals.

My goals:
* To continue my workouts at at least my current level and frequency.
* To continue to watch what I eat and work on adding in some more no-sugar days (I succeeded in one last week, plan one for today, and would like to get up to 3-4 each week consistently).
* To attend all my WW meetings through the holidays (with allowances for the center being closed).
* To really re-focus on drinking my water throughout the day.

My hurdles:
* Well, the holidays! DH's birthday starts off October, then there's Halloween (which isn't too bad for me, usually), then the biggies and all the socializing.
* My schedule gets busier, so fitting workouts in takes more thought.
* My own mindset and old habits.

My plans to get past the hurdles:
* SCHEDULE! Sit down at the beginning of the week and schedule workouts. Schedule the no-sugar days.
* PLAN! Think ahead week by week as to the food challenges I'll likely face. Decide which events will include actual celebrations with food and which will include normal healthy eating. Then stick to it!
* RELAX! Set aside 10 minutes minumum each day for myself to clear my mind, check in with my feelings and thoughts, and be kind to myself. When I do that, I feel cared for and don't turn to food for comfort.

If I do all these things for the next three months, not only will I feel really good about myself on New Year's Eve, but I'll be healthier and likely smaller. In addition, I'll deserve a treat... the new, beautiful yoga mat I've had my eye on for the last few months! :)

How about you?
lynne

[Kayaksoup]

Hi lynne. This is a good thing to think about this week. I sometimes lose sight of my goals.

My goals:
Continue to exercise daily
Stick to my eating plan
Get back in the pool-I haven't been swimming for 6 months:o
Hurdles:
Allergies are so bad right now
I will be baking like a fiend at the holidays.
I will be working A LOT over the holiday
PLan:
Get myself a pool buddy and a new inhaler.
Give away all the baking I possibly can.
Set aside some relaxation time. Maybe give yoga a shot.
HAve a good day everyone
:D

[Peggy C.]

Lynne thanks for starting this weeks thread.:D

I think re-identifying goals is a good idea. At the beginning of the year Natasha started one re. physical goals. I wrote one on there and have not yet achieved it. I guess now is the time to start working on it.

I do have another goal. In January I turn 37. I'm not terrified by it or anything, but when DH= turned 37 I made a point of telling him he was now old.:p I based that he was no longer in his mid thirties therefore he was old. And now I'm going to have hell to pay.:D So even though I don't like setting time related goals, I'm going to this time. But it is going to be vague and non-commital. By January 26 (hey lynne isn't that your b-day too?) I want to be lighter ie I want the scale to have made some progress downwards. Yes I have ideas of what I'd like it to be, but even it it's only 5 lbs I'll know that I've achieved something.

My hurdles....easy I like to eat. Food tastes good. But I'm going to make it over those hurdles by planning my meals and sticking with strength training and increasing my aerobic activity. Sounds familiar doesn't it.:D

[Peggy C.]

Oh I forgot to celebrate, I lost 2 lbs this week.

And I'm going to call curves and the local Y as soon as I'm done typeing this period.:D

[rosie_one]

It's so interesting to read all of your goals, mine overlap alot. Here we go...


Hurdles:

1. Asthma, which I need to exercise to overcome as well as work with my Dr. in regards to medication.

2. Time management issues. Gotta get organized, gotta be on top of things.



Goals:

1. Post here! Keep up with this thread (you guys will keep me honest:) and I want to post what we'll eat on the menu for the week BB. Then shop for it. I'm horrible about the grocery, sometimes I go daily. I want to make the trip twice a week at most.

2. Eat well, especially over the holidays. I know there will be excess but I can compensate. Keep my baking to reasonable amounts.

3. Continue to lose weight. I'm down 40 lbs. from my post baby weight 3 years ago. I have that last stubborn 10 lbs. to go.

4. Keep the junk out of our house and provide yummy, healthy alternatives. Keep learning, and help my kids to learn, about good food choices.

5. Keep plugging away at household organization. We moved in January and I'm tackling projects one bit at a time.

6. Last but not least, exercise. I have a wonderful gym available to me, plus I enjoy yoga and stability ball workouts. I just have to make time for it. My goal is twice a week to start. Hope to add more as I go along. You guys have been incredibly motivating on this one. THANK YOU!:D

[pbutterfly]

Kayak - A 'pool buddy' sounds like a great thing! I've made a 'water-aerobics friend' and she definately comments if it's been too long since she's seen me there! I just read a couple articles recently on a study about yoga and how it was neurologically proven to be more relaxing than a nap! :)

Peggy - Yes, that is my birthday, too! :) I also have a goal to be lighter by the 26th. (I'll be 33, so I guess I'm still "young"! :D ) We'll have to keep on each other on this one and motivate each other to succeed so we can celebrate together! Congratulations on the 2 pounds lost! What did you find out about Curves/the Y?

Rosie - You have some great goals there! I love that they're a wide range of things. The best thing is how specific some of them are - like only going to the grocery twice a week and getting in 2 workouts a week (to start). You can really check in on how you're doing in meeting goals when they're that specific. :)

lynne

[Peggy C.]

Ok lynne we'll be b-day buddies!:D Oh and you are definitely still young, technically I will be too. The way I look at it I wrote the rule so I'll just need to ammend it a little. Ah it's good to be the queen!;) There aren't any Curves very convenient to me and everyone is correct they don't have swimming pools. I have an appointment to go check out the Y that is closeset to my home. I'll let you know what happens.

[Jessica]

Just wanted to drop in and say a quick "hello." I've had some disruptions in schedule lately...lots of travel, visitors and now the high holidays. I feel like I am off track. My eating and exercising aren't terrible, but they are not where I would want them to be. I will post some goals later when I have a little more time.

Peggy--congrats on the loss.

Everyone's goals sound great and, as always, you all are inspiring me to get my act together.

[Kayaksoup]

I've discovered/identified another one of my hurdles; I eat great during the day, but after 10pm, I am on the snack prowl. So I would have to add another goal of getting rid of the late night munchies:o

I haven't found a 'pool' buddy yet, but I did find someone to go to yoga with:D

[greysangel]

hi everybody!

Whew! Just call me hurricane Jane! :D My little head has been busy and like you Jessica, my eating is not exactly where I want it to be. Little hershey kisses here and there are not going to kill me, but they aren't getting me closer to my goals either.

*Goals

1)To actively look into martial arts study so that when I come back from vacation, I can start up!
2)To be what I say I am meaning when it comes time to do the t.v. thing and be interviewed, I want body and mind to be 100% what I believe in. Not the me who anxiously pops a Krackle in her mouth, but the one who eats 5-6 squares and works out hard and feels energized! Wee ha!

*Hurdles
1)Hard to stop the busy head. It's not worrying so much but just running things over and over in my mind at different angles etc.. :D
2)Gets busier so it's harder to eat clean with going out


*Plans
1)Dont try to stop the busy head with food. Write it out (like I did yesterday with the dress!), go for a walk at lunch, leave my pocket money at home!
2)Eat intuitively. No freaking about missing a meal or going out unexpectedly. Make the best choice possible and move on. Plan ahead the meals I can. Have the fridge and a drawer at work semi stocked with good choices ie cottage cheese, oats, power bars for emergency. Make ahead things like my healthy pancakes that can go in the freezer, protein cookies etc..

JeAnne

[rosie_one]

Originally posted by greysangel
Make the best choice possible and move on.

Oh Yes! You hit the nail on the head JeAnne. Exactly!


I loved your wedding dress thread, btw. Didn't have anything to add, but it was SUCH fun to read. Gotta love the girly stuff. And I loved the options you had selected too. Any of those will look dreamy.

(PB and Peggy... I'm 33 too. Gee whiz.)

Thanks to everyone for the "cheerleading". I appreciate it.

[JanetJ]

Hi all! Great topic this week as always.

*Goals:
-to continue on this awesome exercise groove. I'm feeling so strong and happy with myself. I don't want to let go of this feeling.
-continue making good choices - or the best choice possible - in the face of tough situations, especially with the holidays.

*Hurdles:
-my schedule..always lunches out, events after work, etc... Some weeks are a nightmare to plan
-having to get up at 430am to work out. I worry I'll get burned out and with the weather getting colder/darker I'll want to stay in bed more than I already do.

*Plans:
-keep variety in my workouts - even if I have to amass a huge collection of exercise dvd's - to stave off boredom.
-plan as much as possible and keep healthy snacks in my desk and car.

I lost 2.2 this week and am 1 lb away from getting that 75 lb magnet. Strange how the magnet holds so much power. :)

Janet

[pbutterfly]

Janet - That's GREAT progress!! The magnets are powerful motivators, aren't they? Seems silly sometimes, but whatever works. I love having them on my fridge - they help a lot on the hard days/weeks.

Jessica - Happy Holidays! Combined with the new fall 'busy-ness', I totally understand why this would be a hard/quiet week for you.

Peggy - I hope you like your Y as much as I like mine. :)

Kayak - Yay on the yoga-buddy! When I have the post-10-pm munchies, I try a cup of 1 point cocoa... or I just go to bed (though that's not an option for everyone, depending on what you have to do for the coming day!)

JeAnne - Martial arts study sounds really cool! It's one of the elements in Nia (that dance-based class that I've been taking), and it's something I wish I knew more about. The discipline and precise-ness of it appeals to me. I love what you said, too, about make the best choice and move on. No beating ourselves up! :)

I was down 1.6 at WI today. Yay! :) That more than gets rid of the 1.2 unexplained gain from last week.

Onward...
lynne

[Peggy C.]

Pretty quiet thread this week. I'll volunteer for next week. I don't have anything in mind right now, but hopefully I'll come up with something pertinent.:D

[pbutterfly]

Thanks, Peggy!

If everyone else around here is like me, this has been a busy week. Actually, the whole month has been busy. I'm looking forward to turning the calendar over to October, just because there's less 'stuff' written in and it looks more relaxing! :)

By the way, whoever it was who motivated me to buy stickers to chart workouts a couple of weeks ago - THANK YOU!! :) It's fun to see those on my calendar, I really feel a sense of accomplishment when I can see at a glance the consistency. I also find that I want to make this week as colorful (and sticker-laden) as the ones before so as not to 'ruin the pattern'. lol :)

lynne

[greysangel]

It is busy! Busy at work, busy at night...just plain crazy!

As luck has it, I brought a Robert Palmer CD into work today so I'll be having a little quiet reflection for him. I think I made DH sad, but I guess it was better hearing it from me :(

What's everyone got planned for the weekend? I have a back and bi's work out plus some cardio and we're going out to my friend's house to scope out the beach where we are tying the knot! :D

JeAnne

[Kayaksoup]

I have a tempting weekend ahead of me. I went on my baking spree yesterday, but that's okay because I usually just try one and then give the rest away or freeze them. And today we have a BBQ in the afternoon. This will be tough. Lots of food, lots of wine/beer and good friends. I might have to surrender myself to it tonight and just climb back on the wagon tomorrow:o I find it so much easier to stick to my eating plan when I am at work. When i'm at home, I get the munchies all day:confused: :rolleyes: Anyway, have a good weekend all, see you next week:)
Linda

[Peggy C.]

Lynne I might have been me, but not my original idea. I agree it is motivating me also! I just need to find a good place to hang it.

If the weather isn't crappy I'll take the dog for a walk on Sat. and/or Sunday morning. I've noticed DH= is having a hard time moving in the am, I think it is because of the gout but he says he's just stiff. So I think I'm going to try and get him to do some stretching and floor work with me this weekend so that maybe his ankle will loosen up.

Linda have fun today...and behave tomorrow!;)

[JanetJ]

DF comes home tomorrow!! He's been gone a week and I'm ready to talk to someone besides the dogs. :) No big plans other than that. Running errands and doing some much needed housework. Should be able to get in some good workouts both days.

Speaking of workouts, my company participated in the United Way Day of Caring today and I've spent the last few hours cleaning a women's shelter in downtown Seattle. I'm so tired...wonder how many activity points that is? More than being tired though, I'm so glad I went. Makes me thankful for all that I have been blessed with and has reminded me the importance of helping others. It was really a lot of fun.