February Goals

Did a whole month really pass between my blog posts?! It's crazy how quickly the last month went by. I last posted about my goals for 2016 and while goals for the year are great it is also important to break down those long term goals into some smaller goals. A January goals post was supposed to happen but somehow it slipped away from me.

Really quick, [because I want a record of it here on the blog] here are my January goals and how I did with them. Workout 12 times: 9/12, not bad. Drink 64oz of water each day: meh, I had some weeks of no water consumption. Work the WW program: I tracked more but didn't really work the program in meal planning and prepping foods that fit into the program. Blog once a week: oops! Reach 5% weight loss goal: I was so so close to this one. I ended the month at 214 [7 pounds lost for the month!] which is one pound from my 5% goal. She Reads Truth Genesis study: I fell behind and it was just hard to get caught up again.

Now onto the February goals!

Workout 12 times - just three workouts a week and this goal is in the bag.

Track every day on WW app - self explanatory here. I just want to focus on tracking and being more aware of what I'm eating and how much for the month. No pressure for big changes.

Blog once a week

Drink 64oz of water a day

Mail V-day cards - Checking this one off already because I dropped them in the mail yesterday!

Eat breakfast - I've been known to skip breakfast because I'm behind schedule in the morning and really can't afford to be late for work.

8 hours of sleep & wake up with alarm - This will help with the breakfast thing and will also make my mornings less stressful and give me a chance to put a little more effort into my appearance.

She Reads Truth - The lent study is coming up and I want to stay on top of it this time. Time to devote some time to "me time".

What are your goals for the month?

Got My Shitkickers On

I take the fact that the weeks, months, and years just seem to be flying by as a sign that I am getting older. It does not even seem real that 2015 has come and gone already. Where did the days go when I was a child and time just seemed to move so slowly?

Roughly a year ago I set some goals to make 2015 the year of me. Reflecting on how the year went I wouldn't say that I was as successful as I would have liked but I did make some progress and learn about myself. Sad as I am that I can't say I accomplished all of my goals I can say that I am ready to take on 2016 and my new goals...even if a lot of them are repeats from last year.

A photo posted by Amy (@lnlbyamy) on Dec 21, 2015 at 6:48am PST

2016 Goals

1. Drink More Water - Pretty self explanatory. More water less soda.
2. Work the Weight Watchers Beyond the Scale program - The program works when I work the program. Last year I didn't have guidelines and was just trying to "eat healthier" and I found it just wasn't working for me so I joined Weight Watchers. Lack of commitment to the program was the reason for my lack of success. This year I have the guidelines and the structure I need to truly eat healthier but still allow for indulgences sometimes.
3. Move More - Working out will become a normal part of my life this year. My body can do more than I give it credit for. Time to let its abilities shine.
4. Tracking Spending, Budget, SAVE! - I fly by the seat of my pants a lot when it comes to my financial situation. I have the money to cover the bills so past that I don't really worry too much. This year I want to do a better job budgeting, tracking where my money is really going, and replenish my savings account.
5. Organize / Clutter Free - This year I want to establish a better housekeeping routine to avoid cluttering up my counters, couch, and floor. Being on my own I basically leave things where I set them and they're out of my way. But lets be honest, my place looks a lot nicer when I've taken the time to put away those odds and ends. And after completely spacing on a rent payment last year [so thankful for understanding property managers!] I will definitely be staying organized with my Plum Paper planner and fun Plan in Color planner stickers!
6. Me Time - I tend to have a lot of me time in my life being single and having long distance friends but I want to be a little bit more intentional with some of it by spending time reading the bible and working towards my goal of reading 100 books.
7. Skin Care - This could kind of fall under me time too but I think it deserves its own goal. Time to kick the bad habits of sleeping in my makeup, forgetting to moisturize, and washing my face less than I should.
8. Send More Snail Mail - I love to drop a little something in the mail to put a smile on friend's face. Who doesn't like to see something besides bills and junk in their mailbox? I know smile any time I find good old snail mail in my mailbox from a friend.

I've got my shit kickers on and am ready to get started! Do you have any goals for 2016?

Hello July!

The last time I posted my goals for the month was April. That means I missed two whole months of goal setting and during those two months I realized that I missed it. Taking the time to write down my goals helps me have a more productive month and as a result I feel better. So even though I'm a little late to the game I figure it's better late than never. Am I right?

Life

1. Wake up by 6am Monday - Friday. I think this goal needs a permanent spot on my goal list because it seems that once I think I have it under control I'm back to staying in bed until 6:30am every morning and am rushing to get out the door in time for work. Just this past Friday I was up on time and it was awesome to have time to pack my bag for the weekend, take out the garbage, and be ready for work with enough time to stop at Dunkin Donuts. I definitely need to remember that feeling when I'm fighting the urge to hit the snooze button.

2. Balance my checkbook. I feel less in control of my money when I'm not on top of balancing my checkbook and it's been too long. Usually it seems that I take the time to do it when it's slow at work but I should really be taking the time to do it at home.

3. Clean my apartment. I half way cleaned my place in June but it needs a full deep cleaning. It would be nice to have people over spur of the moment without worrying about what my place looks like. Maybe I shouldn't be admitting that I have that worry to the world? Oh well I guess, it's my blog and I share my real life here which means the good, the bad, and the ugly.

4. Blog! This new design has helped to spark the urge to blog inside me and I cannot wait to reconnect with the blogging world. I was telling Erin during the design process that I realized I have been blogging in some way since 2008! No matter how many breaks I have taken I always seem to come back to it.

Fitness

1. Body Pump 2 times a week. Last month I finally went to Body Pump twice in one week but I haven't done that again since. I used the fact that my Pump partner for Monday night had other obligations that prevented her from attending be my reason for not going. I'm not doing myself any favors by skipping just because someone else can't go. I was even signed up for a Monday night class and I cancelled that reservation before I was even done with work. I'm disappointed in myself and know that I can do better!

2. Rib Mountain 1 time a week. A co-worker and I have started walking Rib Mountain (not really a mountain) and I want to keep it going this month. Right now we're starting out gently and only going once a week probably more because of me than her but my poor legs won't be able to handle Pump twice a week and walking the mountain more than once a week (right now). Have you seen the amount of squats and lunges in the latest Pump release?! (It's a lot, trust me.)

3. Run 1-2 times a week. (Finish the C25K program!) Its been at least a hot minute since my last run. With it finally being summer I really should be out enjoying the sun and hitting the pavement again. The C25K program has been great to me whenever I have started to follow it so I finally want to complete all eight weeks of it. (Structure is my friend so I'm not just out there winging it.)

4. Try RPM! I mentioned trying a RPM class last month but never pulled the trigger as Carolyn says. It will happen in July! The perk to RPM classes for me is that they are only 45 minutes long which means I would be able to squeeze a class in before work and still have time to shower and get ready before work. Body Pump runs a full hour so getting done at 6:30am doesn't really leave me enough time but getting done at 6:15am definitely should.

Nutrition

1. 64oz of water a day. I went off track with my water drinking for a while but I'm getting myself back on track. After dropping my tumbler in the parking lot last week I bought myself a new water bottle at Target and since then I've had renewed motivation to drink all that water (while at work). This new water bottle is 32oz so I only need to fill it twice to meet my goal. Is it just me or does having to fill something two times versus 4-5 times make it easier? Crazy mental games we play with ourselves.

2. Track everything. I've been off track with Weight Watchers and tracking and it's been showing up on the scale on Fridays. It has been proven that WW works for me when I work the program so it's time to get back to that. I won't lose weight if I'm cheating myself on being accountable with my tracking.

3. On Mondays I grocery shop and meal prep. Last week I went to the store (without a plan) and threw some things into my cart and managed to pull out a pretty decent haul. And once I was home I took the time to make some meals up for the week. It was great! Repeat performance to happen every week now even if that means back tracking to the grocery store after Body Pump and not getting around to cooking until a little later. (Last week I was at the store and cooking when I should have been at Pump.)

Whew! Lots of goals this month but totally doable and totally necessary to help me refocus and get back on track. I am looking forward to feeling in control of my life again and like I actually got something done.

What are some of your goals for July?

April Goals & 4 Weeks Fit Challenge Results

I swear just yesterday it was March 2nd and now here we are saying goodbye to March and hello to April.

I set goals at the beginning of the month, one I can proudly check off and some I didn't do so well with. I'm excited to take a look at how I did and set some new goals for next month.

1. No soda at work & 64oz of water. I had a slow start but I think I KILLED this goal considering March 9th was the last day I had a Mountain Dew. I have only had diet soda when eating out and that was only twice this month. I have had 76-100oz of water a day every day! Yes, weekends included. I can't tell you how happy crushing this goal makes me!

2. Hit the gym 2x/week. I've kept up with my Monday night Body Pump class but I have been skipping the gym outside of that. No reason other than laziness. It is so much easier to come home and be a couch potato. Definitely something I need to focus my energy on changing now that I've mastered the no soda/drinking water thing.

3. Meal plan and prep Monday nights. Meh. Meal planning and prepping is tough when you feel like you have no idea what you're doing. I think this is something I would learn better by actually being with someone while they do their meal planning and prep. I struggle with knowing how much to buy and make because sometimes I easily get sick of eating the same thing repeatedly in one week and other times I'm all for it. Again, this is something I need to focus my energy on changing. More effort into trying rather than throwing my hands up and saying I don't know.

4. Blog 2x/week. Um yeah about that... Again I'm lazy and even though I can easily blog while being a couch potato I just didn't put the effort in to get this done. I thought a lot about blogging this month but I didn't actually execute.

1. Hit the gym 2x/week. I will not stop making this a goal until I meet it!

2. Reach my step goal 2 days/week. Lately I have been lucky if I meet my 5,000 steps/day goal just one day a week. This month I want to really work on moving more. If I go to the gym twice a week outside of Body Pump I will have little trouble with this goal.

3. Meal plan & prep. Failure to plan is planning to fail. So true! My diet is so much better if I have a plan. Not just once a week either. Knowing what I will be eating for breakfast before my head hits the pillow greatly increases my chances of eating breakfast.  And packing my lunch before going to bed is a huge help in ensuring that I take a lunch with me to work. Otherwise it is highly probable that I will run out the door without anything to eat. Not the smartest idea for anyone.

4. Be up and out of bed by 6am 3x/week. Bringing this goal back from February because I need to work on my morning routine in the worst way. More often than not I'm staying in bed way too long and then am forced to rush to get myself ready and out the door. And as I mentioned above, it's highly probable that I will run out the door without anything to eat. I also want to work on putting myself together better for work. I've been skimping on the makeup and hair routine to save time. Not that I think I have to wear makeup and have my hair perfect every day but it's nice to feel like I'm rocking it.

Come back tomorrow to see how I'm doing in the weight loss department. I'm super excited to share how I've been doing. (Hint: it's been going so well!)

5 for Five: November Goals

Happy Sunday evening friends! I'm finally getting my blogging butt in gear and sharing with you my November goals. Go me!

Remember when I mentioned using the notebook Ricci gave me as part of the Falling Into Fall swap as a physical journal of my monthly goals and weekly updates on how I'm doing? I'm actually doing it! Again, go me!

I came up with five goals for the month of November. I tried to cover a little bit of everything in my life and I think I did I good job of it.

1.Get my healthy lifestyle on track.

• Meal plan for the week ahead.
• Hit the gym at least three times a week.
• Drink at least 64oz of water per day.
• Lose at least 3 pounds.

2. Wake up and get out of bed by 7am at least three times a week.
3. Put more time and effort into blogging.
4. Clean my bathroom and room, then keep it that way.
5. Read four books.

• The Book Thief {November's BBC book}
• The Single Woman's Survival Guide: Letting Go and Moving On
• Serena
• ?????

Evidently I sent a few more goals than just five since getting my healthy lifestyle on track has four sub-goals.

But besides the lengthy list I definitely think this is doable.

Sadly I was off to a bad start last week.  I think I first made this list of goals Monday morning, four days into November. But then on top of that I let working 11 hours that day get in the way of accomplishing pretty much anything besides downloading The Book Thief on my Kindle and kind of beginning to read it. Yes, that's a big fat excuse because working 11 hours one day does not mean I could not have been successful the remaining four days of the week.

That being said I will not let one week of poor decisions hold me back from making better ones these next three weeks. I'm looking forward to being successful in achieving these goals and am hopeful that one good month will turn into two and then three and so on. I need to get some good momentum going in my life!

I will see you all back here tomorrow to talk all things Grey's Anatomy with Kelley from One Hot Southern Mess!