Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wellness Wednesday - Goals

I've promised that I would try to start putting my of MYSELF (versus the mommy in me) into this blog, but so far I haven't done well with at. So I'm going to try and start Make It Mondays, Wellness Wednesdays, and Frugal Fridays. You would be SHOCKED how much frugal living and healthy lifestyles have gone hand in hand for us. I've heard time and again how eating healthy is sooo expensive, but it really doesn't have to be people. And I'm also shocked how many people have asked me if I eat bread when I tell them how much weight I've lost. Yes, I do eat bread!! LOL.

So, this week I wanted to talk about setting goals. The first step to a healthier lifestyle is setting attainable goals and giving yourself a reward for them. Small changes make a difference, and lead to the big changes you are looking for. When I say GOALS, I do NOT NOT NOT mean "I want to lose 10 lbs". Yes, I suppose that is a goal, but I don't think that is the best goal. You can lose 10lbs without really doing a darn thing for your health. You could cut out carbs, you could just not eat, etc. etc. etc. Plus there are plenty of people out there who may weigh less, but that doesn't mean they are healthier.

Good goals include fitness goals (I will walk 10 miles this week), eating goals (no fast food, 7 servings of fruits and veggies, 8 cups of water), and BALANCE goals. Part of carving a healthy lifestyle out for yourself is finding the balance of all things.

My weekly goals include avoiding ice cream and fast food (two weaknesses for me), running 16+ miles a week, and doing at least 2 cross training workouts a week. Avoiding fast food does WONDERS for our spending, so there's that whole frugal and healthy go hand in hand thing :-) When you meet your goals, don't forget to REWARD yourself people! It doesn't have to be a costly reward. I usually treat myself to one new song download a week. Sometimes I give myself an hour with a good book and a glass of wine. Sometimes its a long bath or something fun I've been wanting to do. Or it CAN be a big reward. My friend Allison and I are running 1400+ miles to each other, then we are treating ourselves to a Mommy's Weekend.

Anyway, the entire point of setting goals is that drastic changes do not happen over night. If you focus on the little things, they start adding up. And there is no better day to start than TODAY :-)

1 comment:

JenFen said...

I love it and you are such an inspiration to me. I may have to steal your Wellness Wednesdays as I have been meaning and meaning to talk about my health and fitness on the blog.

And thanks for the reminder that it is not all about weight. I really would like to lose 10 pounds but I eat relatively healthy (with some planned cheats) and am running 3 times a week. Yes I can up my goals but I need to be doing it for the right reasons. If the weight comes off eventually, great. But if it doesn't, I can still be proud that I have bettered myself.

BTW - my weaknesses are ice cream and pizza.