Are you keeping your resolutions for 2012?

The first week of January is almost over and I feel good about my resolutions. The first week of the year is usually easy since most people are motivated about their goals and resolutions. It's the weeks that follow that are tough.

I did well this week for the most part. I didn't eat any junk food, even though there is candy at work and snacks in my pantry. I brought healthy lunches to work everyday and didn't drink any soda. I kept up my exercise appointments. I signed up for two 5k races in March. This one is on St Patrick's Day and looks like so much fun! Kegs & Eggs 5k . The next one is a few weeks later. Special Kids Race . I made dinner for my daughter more this week than I usually do. So, I can say this week was a success.

Yes, it took more effort on my part. But it can be done. Even my cat, Tiger wanted to workout with me this week.

Keeping my resolutions/goals will get a little tougher over the weekend. I have to travel to Knoxville for work on Sunday. I find it difficult to eat healthy and exercise when I'm living out of a hotel. But I will definitely try!

How do you overcome challenges for keeping your fitness goals?

More goals for 2012....Happy New Year!

It's December 31, and I'm taking one more look at my goals for 2012. In my previous post, 2011 is Coming to a Close , I planned out my goals for the coming year. They are good ones....keep running, eat healthy, spend more time with family. After thinking more about this, I need to add a few to the list.

I want to start cooking healthy meals for my family. It is hard sometimes to do this, since I work full time and have other things going on as well. My teenage daughter informed me that she is tired of eating out of a can...which breaks my heart. She has eaten Chef Boyardee until she is sick of it. There has got to be a way that I can make sure she gets healthy meals at home. I have a crock pot that hasn't been used in a while. I'm going to take the time to plan meals and make this a priority! She is definitely worth it!

Whitney - she is such a doll!

My husband also deserves a good, home-cooked meal once in a while. Since we work different shifts, we don't get to have very many meals together. And on the weekends, we tend to eat out for than we cook at home. This is a goal that will not be easy, but I'm determined to be a better wife and mother by cooking meals for my family.

me and my hubby

I will continue going to church and spend more time in prayer. One of my goals last year was to start going back to church, even if my family doesn't go with me. Sometimes that is difficult. It is hard getting up early on Sunday morning when everyone else is sleeping. It is also hard walking in church alone. But I will continue, because I feel more at peace and happier when I do. Yes, I wish the family would go with me, but I have to respect them for their feelings and cannot make them. I also spend time watching Joyce Meyer Ministries and have purchased many of her inspirational products. If I'm having a rough day, listening to her sermons gives me hope. I believe prayer changes things....so I want to add this to my list of goals.

2011 was a fabulous year for me. I participated in several 5k races, many charity walks, and made a healthy lifestyle part of my routine. I received 2 job promotions. I have enjoyed many wonderful moments with my family and loved ones. I became a grandmother! I look forward to 2012 and hope to improve my life in many ways. I strive to always be the best I can be, whether it be in my job, family, or my fitness. I'm going to keep this attitude in the next year and keep on keeping on....

"One of the simplest things about all facts of life is that to get where you want to go, you must keep on keeping on"- Norman Vincent Peale

I'm wishing you love, peace and happiness in 2012!

2011 is coming to a close

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over. This time of year always has me thinking about goals for the next year. I'm proud of myself that for most of 2011, I stayed on track for my fitness and health goals. I've had a few setbacks, but overall I have continued to push myself to healthy living.

My goals for 2012 are similar to those for this year. I want to continue running and complete longer races than a 5k. I am thinking about a 10k or 15k. I've been searching my area for races and hope to sign up for one soon.

I also want to stick to my healthy eating plan for next year. I am working on eating as much unprocessed foods as possible and continue trying organic foods. I am trying to keep my cholesterol and blood pressure in the normal levels and will be mindful of these things.

Finally, I want to work on the family/work balance. Sometimes work consumes me and even though I enjoy my job, I hope to spend more time with my family.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Reflection on 2011

I've been blogging for about a year now. I hope I've been able to inspire others to get healthy. Here is a link to my first post last year. Loving Life - first blog post 2010.

A year ago I could not run a mile. I could not walk a 5k without pain. Now its November 2011 and I see how far I've come. I have done 4 walks for charities and 4 5k's this year so far. My longest event was 9 miles and the shortest was 1 mile. I'm also proud to say that my 5k pace is 6 minutes faster than my first one. I've also been involved in other fitness activities such as Zumba for Cystic Fibrosis and Tae Bo. This is my motivation to keep going. In 2012, I am hoping to do a longer race than a 5k. Thanks to my family and friends for support and encouragement when I'm feeling frustration. I'm proud of myself for not giving up even when I have felt like it.

Running changes everything. I enjoy looking back at my running pictures over the year. This keeps me motivated and encouraged for 2012. I look forward to setting new goals for myself and living life to the fullest.

October is here!

It's hard to believe another month has passed. October will be a busy month for me. I am doing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Oct 29. This is one of my favorite events of the year. I am walking in memory of my mother-in-law, Nancy Sue Done. This makes year number 3 for me. This year I am running instead of walking. Hopefully I can beat my last 5k time of :49:24.

Komen for the Cure 2010

I am also preparing to travel this month with my job. I may have to go to Knoxville to work for several weeks. That should be interesting. At least my kids are almost grown so I don't have to worry about them. And I have several people available to check in on my teenager.

Goals for the month of October:

• Keep training for 5k runs - go to the gym 3 times per week. No slacking off!
• Eat healthy
• Keep stress down and activity up
• Spend quality time with my family

 Those are pretty simple goals and  I'm sure I can be successful with them!

Class Reunion - Part 2

On Saturday, I met with my fellow classmates for a picnic in the park. We rented a pavilion, and we brought food to share. We had barbeque, fried chicken, potato salad, fixins, desserts and plenty of fruit tea. We met around 3:00 in the afternoon to eat, drink, talk and visit with each other and their families. It was very hot outside. I think I started sweating as soon as I arrived. It's a good thing I didn't spend a lot of time on my hair and makeup. But the pictures didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, since I was so sweaty!

Class of '86 group picture

My friend, Todd and my mom - she had to crash the party!

It was a fun day. We are such a very small group and most of us have kept in touch over the past 25 years. We are still good friends. I guess that is the good thing about going to a small christian school. The friendships we made have lasted through the years. We can sit down together every 10 years or so and pick up where we left off. We did talk about doing a reunion soon to include other classes as well. This would be good since we are such a small class. I brought my senior yearbook along and we enjoyed looking back at the outlandish fashion we wore. It was funny!

Now that the reunion is over, its time to think about the upcoming week and plan my schedule. I have been so preoccupied with the reunion planning, that I didn't complete as many workouts last week that I would have liked. I also didn't get to workout this weekend.  But tomorrow is a new day. My goals for the upcoming week are to workout at least 4 times, to eat a balanced, healthy diet, and to save time to spend relaxing alone. That's a very do-able plan.

Have a great week!

Goals for 2011 - Let's evaluate my progress

Its June 30, which means 2011 is halfway over. Today seems like a good day to look back at my goals for the year to see how I'm doing. I posted my Goals for 2011 on December 29, 2010. If you missed that post, I'll summarize and comment on my progress. Let's see where I stand...

Finish a 5k by running more than walking - I have 3 races planned in the fall so far and I am training for those now. I began with the Couch 2 5k training and now I'm using an Active.com trainer. I just joined a gym so I can train easier and hopefully get some help & advice. So even though I haven't completed this goal, I am taking the steps to do this.

 
Control my sugar addiction- This is a constant battle for me. I'm still addicted to sweets but I try to limit these to special occasions and smaller portions. I find that PMS causes me more trouble than any other time. When a craving for chocolate overwhelms me, I am able to control myself by eating a small cookie or brownie, instead of an entire box.

Attend church regularly - I have been attending church regularly since January. It's amazing what you can accomplish when God is in your life. "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Healthy eating plan - I am able to keep this goal during the workweek more than on the weekends. Our family likes to go out to eat as a family activity and we all know how hard it can be to eat healthy when restaurants offer portions that are too large and with too many calories, sodium, fat, etc. But, I do make an effort to make healthier choices when we are out. If I know we will be eating a higher calorie meal, I try to balance that out with more exercise.

Spend less/Save more - This one is tough. I try to keep spending in control but unexpected things seem to come up. I guess that's why we have an emergency fund. Thanks, Dave Ramsey. I have established an automatic transfer to our savings account on payday, but I know I could do more.  I'll continue working on this one.

So after reviewing my goals, I feel good about my life in 2011 so far. Everyone can use improvement, so I'll keep that in mind in the months to come. I'm happy that I've managed to sty focused on my goals so far. So many times before, my goals for the year rarely fizzle out sometime mid-February. I'll revisit these goals again in December and hopefully be able to give another positive report.

How are you doing with your goals for 2011? Even if you have slacked on your goals, remember every day can be a new beginning. Live life one day at a time and celebrate the small victories.

Weekly goals review

It's almost Friday and I thought now is a good time to revisit my personal goals from earlier in the week.
Here is a link to that post, in case you missed it...http://lovinglifeintn.blogspot.com/2011/06/goals.html

Fitness Goals. I have to say that I am proud of myself for working out this week. I have stuck to my calendar and completed every workout that I planned. That's progress. In the past, some weeks I would only do 1 or 2 workouts, depending on my schedule. My new work schedule rocks too! I do have to work on Fridays now, but I'm much happier and healthier just knowing I'm not overwhelmed by being a workaholic. I am happy that I was able to stick to the fitness plan this week. It's a great feeling to log workouts on my calendar. I am still trying out some of the local gyms in the area. I hope to make a decision by the end of the weekend.

Healthy eating. I have done well with my healthy eating this week. I managed to bring my lunch every day and I made sure to bring lots of healthy, unprocessed food. Today was a little tough because we had an office lunch. It was catered by Jason's Deli. I was glad to see a platter of fresh fruit and veggies to have instead of chips. The sandwich platter was an assortment of different sandwiches and wraps. Lunch was fine, but there were desserts too! A co-worker made a homeade cake that was absolutely scrumptious! I had a small piece plus one chocolate brownie. The next challenge....trying to eat healthy during the weekend.

Time for me. I feel that I have accomplished this goal also. Several nights this week, I took the time to listen to my relaxation music before bed. I also took a detox bath by candlelight. I didn't have time to schedule a massage, but I was able to relax on my own.

So, overall I feel this has been a good week and I applaud myself for staying on track. You Go Girl!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Goals

It's a beautiful Monday morning. I'm so happy to start my new work schedule today. I was able to have coffee and my healthy breakfast at home this morning.

I also brought my workout clothes with me so I have plans after work!

Here are my personal goals for the week:

1. Continue trying out different gyms in my area and decide on which one to join! I have 3 gyms that I am looking at and they all have free passes to try them out. I feel making this commitment will help me reach my fitness goals!
2.  Stay on track with my healthy eating. Weekends seem to be the hardest for me. I brought a bag of salad fixings to work today to keep here.
3.  Set aside time for me to relax and do something for ME! Is it time for a massage yet?

I'll revisit these goals on Friday to see how I did!

Life is Good!

April 6 - National Start Walking Day

I posted a few days ago about today, April 6 being National Start Walking Day. I just wanted to report that I managed to get up from my desk and take a walk outside with one of my coworkers. I tried to recruit others in the office to join, but no one was interested. I'm glad I kept my commitment to walk and it made me feel good too. It was a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine. We walked right before lunch for about 30 minutes. It makes me feel good to stick to my goals. A feeling of accomplishment.

If you aren't familiar with Start! see the webpage below. This is sponsored by the American Heart Association, one of the causes I support.

It's not too late to Start!

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Affiliate/National-Start-Walking-Day-2011_UCM_322924_Event.jsp

Another month is almost over

It's hard to believe that another month is almost over already! How are you doing with your goals? I must admit I have had a rough time sticking to my healthy living goals this month. I can usually stick to the healthy eating much better than the exercising part. It's not too much trouble to pack a healthy lunch. That is a habit for me and I do that almost every day.

Its the exercising part that seems to disrupt my schedule. I know I have whined about this more than once this month already. I try to slip in a little exercise throughout my day, but it just doesn't seem enough. I started feeling tired this week and I am sure that the loss of exercise in my life is the reason.

I really want to do the right thing. My excuse is always work. My job is stressful and sometimes my family life is stressful. This makes me tired exhausted....and I feel like I can't get up and do it. And this causes me to be more exhausted. What a vicious circle! I am confident that April will be much better and I'll get back on track. Meanwhile....I'm going to workout tonight. What should it be? Zumba, Taebo, weights, hmmmmm..

I'll let you know what I decided.

Ready for the Weekend!

I love long weekends! I worked longer hours this week so I can be off on Friday. My daughter is on spring break and I wanted to spend some time with her. We are planning a day of fun! I'm not so sure what we will do but shopping will probably be in the agenda. It was a very long week at work so I'm very glad my weekend starts NOW! Here's some cute pics of me and my girl.

I am a little disappointed in myself this week though. My goal for the week was to exercise more. It didn't happen. I attempted to get up early one morning and exercise before work, but I slept through the alarm. By the time I get home from work, I am so tired that I can't begin of thinking about working out. Its very frustrating for me. I know I need to work out, I want to work out, but my job is very demanding and during the week it is near impossible. I did attempt to move more today and I wore my pedometer just for that reason. But I noticed after a few hours that I didn't turn it on. So that was useless. At least I have a long weekend to get in a few workouts. I guess if I can't do it during the workweek, I can still do it on weekends.

my pedometer

How do you fit in exercise to your busy schedule?

Lunch with the family

I had a nice afternoon today at Cheddars with my family. This one of our favorite restaurants. I usually order one of their BIG salads. My favorite is the Asian Chicken and Shrimp salad. Its served with a yummy croissant. I also had a cup of chicken tortilla soup.

My BIG salad!

I also ordered a peach iced tea. Very refreshing.

My daughters both ordered steaks - no surprise there. My husband had a combo of salad, baked potato and a sandwich.

After lunch, the girls ordered their favorite dessert....a cookie monster! I managed to get a bite of it before they finished it off. It's basically a warm chocolate chip cookie topped with ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. Delicious!

Cookie Monster

After the sizable lunch we had, I came home and got in a cardio workout before settling in my chair to watch more of the NCAA tournament.

rode 4 miles in 15 min & did strength training with weights

Its time to begin getting ready for another week. My goal for the week:  increase workouts during the week and find new ways to get moving.