Here's the deal, setting a New Year's resolution is not a bad thing. It's basically setting a goal. Now....how you maintain your effort to reach your goal is the important part.
If you set out to, let's say...lose 100lbs, that's a pretty daunting goal. And, at times when you (general you) are not seeing the scale move consistently, people tend to give up. Why? Because they become discouraged because all they can think of is...."I only lost 5lbs and 100 seems so hard and far away".
Well no wonder people give up when they think this way! I would be discouraged too!
But what if that same person decided they were going to track their weight loss in 3-5lb increments? Then a 5lb weight loss would be considered a success!
By the way.......let's not get too caught up with the scale anyway. Body composition is MUCH more important. I urge everyone to get their body fat percentage tested. That way you can know exactly where you stand.......and what you're 'losing'.
5lbs of fat vs 5lbs of muscle
Fat takes up WAY more space in your body!
Now back to business.....
Here's what I'm saying; it's not a new or novel concept to break your goals down into mini goals. That's how large goals are accomplished.
I challenge you to make some goals for 2014. They can be absolutely anything provided they are something that make YOU a better YOU.....to YOU. Not what other people want you to be, not what other people think you should be, but what you want you to be.
I'll share some of mine with you:
1. The last time I wore a 2 piece swimsuit was in 2007. BEFORE I got pregnant with SE. We lived in Virginia Beach and we were at the beach every weekend. Now I'm not saying I had the most banging body before I had my kids, but I could at least wear a 2 piece without being self conscious.
But here's the goal (and I feel if I tell the world....I will have to be accountable and I'm less likely to quit)........
I WILL wear a 2 piece this summer!!!! And I WILL wear it IN PUBLIC (not just in my friend's backyard pool) at Schlitterbahn where Kristi and I, plus 2 other people we haven't identified yet, will ride the world's tallest waterslide.
Here's the link to check it out! Verruckt. Kinda sounds like 'You're f****d' which scares me a bit.
Now, for that goal to become a reality for ME, there are many things that need to fall in place. I need a real, sticking, lifestyle change. I know many people like me that go through phases of eating well, eating clean, then binging and then back to eating well. I'd like to add some consistency to my life. Now look, it's America and donuts are good dammit. And I'm not going to even say I won't have a donut now and then, or a slice of pizza. That is unrealistic and telling myself I absolutely CANNOT have something WILL make me crave it and I will eventually give in. My goal will be an 80/20 split of clean/paleo and the junk. That's what will work for me, not necessarily what will work for you.
The working out part is NOT an issue for me. I love to workout. That feeling you get when you're lifting to failure....it's addictive to me. Not being able to lift my arms to wash my hair in the shower after a good workout.....wow. I need that in my life. So that's not the issue at all. It's the food. So that's what I'm primarily focusing on.
Individuals have to find out what works for them.
Goal #2: I will get my NSCA-CSCS certification by spring and run some conditioning/agility camps this summer for youth athletes.
Goal #3: I will get my house organized. And we will be getting rid of A LOT of stuff. We're not having any more kids.....why do I still have an exersaucer? Crib bedding? Baby toys? Yeah....that stuff has got to go. I think Hillcrest is going to be getting a lot of stuff.....SOON.
Goal #4: This one will be challenging.......by June I'd like to be able to bench 135lbs. Just because I want to put the 45lbs on. LOL. That's a FAR cry from my college max of.....95lbs. I'm repping with that now, so I've made some progress.
So that's it. Those goals are out there. For everyone to see. If you are setting goals, really sit down and think about them. Are they attainable? Realistic? Can you break them down into smaller goals to lead to the big one? How will you reward yourself for reaching your smaller goals and the large one?
Who knows about your goals? Who are you going to be accountable to?
My rewards will be small for small increments of my large goal: a new headband, new songs for my workouts, new workout clothes and the large one....a nice new bikini!! And maybe some Beats headphones!
