Thursday, November 3, 2011

Personal Goals

Or, Growing Up and Buckling Down.

People tend to get mad at me when I start talking about needing to get in shape.  After all, even at my heaviest (135-140 lbs in 2009) I was still petite.  But the truth is, I am woefully out of shape.  Yes, I know, most people call me "skinny".  I'm a small person, and I'm supposed to be small.  I'm 5'3", I have a very small frame, and my ideal body weight is around 115 lbs. 


But I'm not just talking about weight.  I'm talking about being healthy.   I haven't gotten any regular exercise since high school, when I was on the dance team.  Back then I was very definitely in shape.  Now?  Not so much.  I eat way too many sweets and I've done no more than flirt with exercise for the past 4 or 5 years.  Taking a single flight of stairs quickly is enough to leave me out of breath, I'm always tired, and I'm squishy everywhere.
  
I'm closer to 30 than to 20, I have children for whom I need to set a good example, and it's past time for me to start exercising some will power.  So I've set some goals for myself.  


Goal # 1:  Eat smarter.  I've cut myself back to only a single serving of sweets per day (I stumbled over Halloween), and I've gone back to snacking on fruits and veggies.  I've also become aware of my portion sizes, and stopped eating after I'm full just because it's good.

Goal #2: Exercise daily, to improve my cardiovascular health and tone my body.  I started the 30 Day Shred  two weeks ago, and I've only missed one day.  It's only 20 minutes a day-- totally do-able! I've already seen a huge improvement in my endurance and flexibility, and now, instead of feeling like I'm about to die at the end of a work out, I feel alive and energized!  All totaled, I'm down to 118 lbs, and I've lost 1" each from my waist and my hips.  I'm feeling so much better!  I'm needing less sleep, I feel more confident, and--bonus!--my headaches are less severe. 

I am not focusing on losing weight or inches; I'm using those measurements to help quantify my progress.  Being trim will come naturally from meeting those 2 main goals.  I'd be lying, though, if I told you that I'm not excited about being able to wear my tight jeans comfortably, or about wearing my little black dress with confidence to the command Christmas party, or the appreciative "damn, baby!" that I got when my husband smacked my bottom the other day.  No, I'm focusing on being healthy--but all those other things are keeping me motivated.

6 comments:

  1. I personally think that's fantastic! I tried starting to do that before I got pregnant. I went to the YMCA a few days a week and did an hour or more on the elliptical and took an abs class, and Zumba once a week. Wasn't much, but was a good start, but then I got pregnant and had all the bad nausea so that was pretty much the end of that, for now at least. But keep up the good work!!! Keep focused!

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  2. I wrote a whole long comment but blogger went crazy so i don't know if it went through or not! :(

    Basically I was saying I need to change my routine of studying, eating junk food, drinking red bull, eating more junk food, and repeat. I wish I could remove the studying manically part too but I'm afraid that would have bad consequences so I will have to content myself with just removing the junk food! That flat abs 'waste basket' photo really makes me think... we need to respect our bodies more!

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  3. I think mad is really jealous ;-) keep it up girlfriend! You rock!

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  4. Thanks ladies! Jenny, it got me thinking too! I was definitely putting a lot of trash in mine, and I'm feeling better now that I'm not. :)

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  5. I am with you I am small and I am very active we bike ride and kayak but I still am not as'in shape' as I would like to be and it has nothing at all to do with weight-- in fact I could really gain some in muscle!

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  6. Really, really good for you. Keep it up. I am not treating my body very well at this time and for someone my age, this is really bad. I keep remembering how strong I used to be but it's not getting me off the couch and though I don't eat tons I still like my sugars..... this is not keeping weight off. Moo.

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