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Goals

Happy New Year 2019!

Happy New Year! Can you believe how fast 2018 just disappeared? I hope your holiday season was as lovely as mine was.

All of my posts over the last year have mostly centered around being pregnant or about having my baby. (!!!) It’s been an amazing and often intense time of life but I’m loving it. Even though little Henry is the center of our universe right now, there are so many other things I’d love to share and I’m really going to try to share all the good recipes and fun stuff I have going on in my head! I was sad to say goodbye to 2018 because it was an incredible year! But I know there is so much good waiting for us in 2019!

7 weeks old

2018 was a BIG year for me and our family! We started off the year with Brady transitioning into a new job and doing some house hunting. We saw Henry for the first time at the beginning of February and found out that he was a boy just a few weeks later. We put in an offer for our first home at the end of February and settled at the end of March when I was halfway through my pregnancy. We spend the next few months enjoying our last bit of time together as just the two of us while doing some home renovations. We welcomed our first baby boy in August and ever since we’ve been loving spending every day watching him grow and learn new things. It was a whirlwind of a year and there’s so much more that made 2018 a special year for us.

Lisa's wedding weekend

I had some nervous thoughts the other day about getting fit before my next pregnancy. I’m afraid that if I lose a bunch of weight now… how I’ll feel gaining it all back the next time I’m pregnant. I didn’t have negative feelings this last time because I knew how much I’d gone through to get pregnant with Henry and I was just so happy to see my growing child. I want to feel just as joyful about my growing baby/belly next time but I’m afraid I’d feel like I was losing all my hard work. I also don’t want this fear to keep me from doing anything about it! It’s just some thoughts I had.

I don’t have any specific resolutions that I want to make this year but there are some things I definitely want to be working towards. As per usual I am looking out for my health – I want to become fit and eat healthier. I’ve already made a start towards both of those. I’m focusing on meal planning every week – which is also FANTASTIC for sticking to a budget instead of meal planning while picking things up off the shelf – you always forget something and you almost always buy too much. And since the weather has been nice, it’s been a part of my daily routine to go for a walk with Henry. It’s starting to dip into the lower 30s now so I don’t think we can walk quite as long before his little nose turns into an icicle but I’ll keep trying to get out. At home I’m squeezing in little sets here and there of strength and resisitance training as well since I don’t just specifically want to lose weight but I want to be strong.

I started gaining weight and “got fat” when I went to college which was in 2010. I think it’d be great to be back down to a healthier weight before I reach 10 years of being overweight in 2020 so I’m working on it.

My sister and I have been talking about running a half marathon together so if I can convince my body to do it, we’d like to run the Chicago Half in the fall! When I say convince my body, I’m talking about post-surgery mom bod. Being pregnant takes a toll but having a c-section really messes with all the insides. Brady and I were trying on running shoes recently and even a quick jog around the store gave me some abdominal pain for a while after. That specific type of pain comes and goes but it’s very slowly improving. I’m hoping that with time and some conditioning, that it will be settled enough by the time I’m ready to start running. Right now I’m doing a lot of walking to help my body remember what it was like to move. If all goes well, I’m thinking as the nicer weather comes around (in March?) that I’ll be ready to start into the running which gives me about 6 months to build up to a half marathon. I’d really like to run the whole thing if I can because I know that I can cover the miles, but can I cover them while running the whole time? Anyways, there’s a big goal for the year.

6 weeks old
One of my first postpartum walks.

Otherwise some goals I have are for working on our home. We bought our house knowing that the entire house would need an update at some point. It’s a great home but it was over 50 years old and had never been renovated. We got a lot done before Henry was born but there’s still a lot we’d like to do. My goals are a simple redo of both bathrooms, a kitchen refresh (which is already started), finish decorating our main spaces, and to be completely unpacked, organized, and uncluttered (which means getting rid of a lot of the fluff)! That’s a lot to do, but a year is a long time right?!

Another thing I’d like to get around to hinges on the above projects. Once we’ve unpacked everything, our office room will be set up as my art space where I can finally start painting and creating again – a big de-stresser for me. I just watched Project Runway: Junior and I’ve been inspired to pull out the 2 (or 3?) sewing machines I inherited from my mom and make this the year that I finally learn how to sew. *Fingers Crossed*

In the end, I really just want this year to be a year of fun and memories. Henry is growing fast and I want to be sure that we’re taking all the opportunities we can to foster his growth but enjoy times as a family. I’m so looking forward to the warm weather when we can get out and go on picnics, go camping, family walks, hiking, etc. I predict a super fun year ahead!

Goals, Life, Weight loss

My 4 Steps to a Healthier Life

About a month ago, I had my first surgical procedure and while there’s nothing I could have done to avoid that outcome, it’s still made me seriously consider how I need to improve my health. Improving my overall health has been a goal for a long time, but the last three months have given me extra motivation. This summer took a huge toll on my emotional and physical health so I’ve been brainstorming ideas to rebuild my overall health and I’ve created my own 4 steps to a healthier life.

When you’re trying to overhaul how you live your life, everything can feel overwhelming. To make everything more manageable without losing motivation, I’ve condensed my goals into 4 areas I would like to improve on for overall health.

 

My 4 Steps to a Healthier Life

  1. Minimize harmful chemicals in personal care and home cleaning.
  2. Eat Healthy Portions of Wholesome Home Cooked Food.
  3. Improve Physical Fitness.
  4. Declutter and Organize.

 

Minimize harmful chemicals in personal care and home cleaning.

Reducing harmful chemicals in my home has been on my mind for a long time and I have already begun making adjustments.  I’m very concerned with the amount of chemicals I’m putting on my body and using to clean my home with on a daily basis. The problem is that even “natural products” are full of unhealthy chemicals so it won’t be a quick transition and I know that it will probably take more time to accomplish than anything else on this list.

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Back Pain, Exercise, Goals, Weight loss

April Goals 2017

March has come and gone and another birthday month is in the books. It’s kind of crazy how fast this year has been flying by because I feel like I only just wrote my goals for the whole year and we’re already 1/4 through it! It’s time to move on and share my April goals, but first, a quick March health and fitness recap:

  • Eat vegetable centered meals for lunches and dinners
  • Start weight training
  • Strengthening my back and core
  • Posture awareness
  • Keep track of my steps and water intake for this month: Iโ€™d really like to try and be getting my 10,000 daily steps in at least 5 days a week. Iโ€™m obviously in favor of 7, but if I can get 5/7 each week this month, Iโ€™m going to be pretty happy.
  • Run

April Goals

I’d say that for most of my goals, they were moderately accomplished and I’m improving in each category. Considering that I was sick for most of the month of March, I’m really happy with what got done.  

I’ve only started running in the last week because I felt like I really needed to just be walking. Even now, I’m taking up running slowly because of some issues with my knees. You can see a general workout recap below.

March Workout Recap - April Goals

The biggest accomplishment for the month was getting in my daily 10,000 steps! I really had to work for this one because if I wasn’t being proactive or dedicated to the goal, I would have come way under on most days. The crazy thing is, I’ve started to notice changes in my body due to the step taking and I wasn’t expecting much of it to happen at all. Over the last month I’ve realized that –

  • I’m getting more workouts and walks in. I’m not spending days just sitting around and I’m making less excuses
  • My back still has the same triggers but overall I’m in a better place
  • I don’t think I’ve really lost much weight, but I feel that my body is toning and looking a little slimmer.

Sure, some of this could be because I’ve also been working out as well, but I will definitely attribute most of my success this month to taking my 10,000 steps. It’s like having this goal as a central goal is keeping everything else in line.

I didn’t start until March 2nd so for the purpose of making better calculations, March is going to be 30 days long ๐Ÿ˜‰

  • 22/30 days with 10,000+ steps
  • 296,129 steps total
  • Average of 9,871 steps per day
  • Most steps in a day: 16,187 steps

March Steps and April Goals

Part of the step counting motivation has been to prepare for our Disney World trip next month. We’re going to be in the parks for 5 days and if you’ve ever been, you know that there’s usually a ton of walking. The last 2 times I’ve gone, I’ve ended up in a wheelchair for part/most of the trip. I’d really like to be able to handle all the walking and not have too much pain so I’m trying to prep myself to be ready.

Here are my April Goals:

  • Again I’m going with trying to get in at least 10,000 steps in for every day in April. I didn’t get a full 7-day streak in last month so I’m attempting to get a really long one this month – maybe even 30 days! ๐Ÿ˜‰
  • Running 3 times a week.
  • Getting in a proper stretch after each run and workout — I really need to start doing this because I keep forgetting and I’m paying for it. I need to do more yoga.
  • Strength training. I have horrible muscular endurance and I’d like to do at least 3 20+ minutes sessions a week with some random throughout the day exercises thrown in to help build up strength
  • Mindful eating. I’ve been realizing more and more how much of my life is focused on food. I love to eat good food and sometimes I just love to eat which leads to overeating. I’d really like to focus on eating slower, enjoying my food, and not stuffing myself.

 

Do you count steps?

In terms of overall health, is there any one thing you can point to that keeps you on track to accomplish your goals?

What are your April Goals?

 

linking with Amanda for this post

Exercise, Goals, Weight loss

Motivation Monday #4

I can’t believe it’s Monday again… especially since last week was a week where all the days blended together and it was hard to keep track of which day was which. I spent the whole week subbing in a first grade classroom where all the kids were sick. I had kids cough right in my face while I was working with them and it wasn’t long before I felt myself fighting against the bug. It finally caught up to me on Friday and by the evening I really wasn’t feeling well. Kind of rough because we were spending the weekend up in Lancaster, PA. It started with my throat and I was extremely fatigued and dizzy whenever I was sitting or standing on Saturday. Sunday had some residual throat discomfort and minor nose stuffiness but it’s been a pretty light cold so far in comparison to what I’m usually hit with. I’m really hoping that this is the extent of it all.

If you need some ideas on how to fight symptoms of a cold, here’s an article with some suggestions – many of which I use whenever I’m feeling yuck.

Because last week was a rough week for my health, I struggled to have any energy to put into working out, but I pushed through a couple anyways including really focusing on getting steps in.

  • Monday – 15 minute bodyweight exercises, 10K steps
  • Tuesday – 5.4 mi bike, 35 minutes of Zumba, 12.5K steps
  • Wednesday – 10K steps
  • Thursday – 3 mi bike, 2.4 mi run/walk, 11.7K steps
  • Friday: 7.5K steps (sick)
  • Saturday: 3.3K steps (sick)
  • Sunday: 35 minutes Zumba, 10K steps

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Exercise, Goals

Motivation Monday #3

Happy Monday! Did you have a good weekend?

This week I’m trying to implement a system to help get me started on my weight training goal. I have a lot of insecurities going into this because it’s never been anything I’ve tried to work on before but I really want to try because I think it’s an important part of a healthy weight loss journey. My aim for this week is to get in 1 gym weight training session with Brady and then do 4 home/body weight quick sessions. As I get used to having a routine, I want to be getting to the gym twice a week for a good session.

For now my home sessions are going to focus on various combinations of these 15 exercises:

  1. Push ups
  2. Triceps dips
  3. Bicycle crunches
  4. Plank 
  5. Plank with hip dips
  6. Side plank
  7. Sit ups
  8. Lunges
  9. Squats
  10. Bridge
  11. Donkey/firehydrant kicks
  12. Clamshells
  13. Side steps with resistance band 
  14. Opposite arm/leg lifts
  15. Side step ups

I ran twice last week and did one 55 minute Zumba session…

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Back Pain, Exercise, Goals

February Recap | March Goals 2017

Hello birth-month! March is finally here and we get to spend the whole month celebrating me! If only. But my birthday is in just a few weeks on St. Patrick’s day and my sister is getting home from college that day so I have a lot to look forward to.

The time has come to check out what I accomplished in the month of February and see if I met any of my goals…

February Goals

  • Keep a food/health diary: fail. This didn’t happen at all except for a couple days where I logged in to My Fitness Pal to log a soup I had just created.
  • Do yoga every day: Another fail. This is actually pretty depressing because I wanted to do this a lot but I think I accomplished 3/28 days. Ouch.
  • Run 3 days a week: Another nope. I was totally wiped of all energy at the beginning of the month that I had a hard time doing anything and all I wanted to do was sleep.  It got to the point where I was like, I need to get out and do what I can do even if it’s not much. Just getting out the door is going to get the streak rolling. So I walked. A week of walking turned into a week of workouts which turned into an even better week of workouts. I feel like I’m going into March with positive momentum and I’m looking forward to seeing my board for March fill up.

February exercises

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