I wasn’t going to blog about this right now, because I’m afraid of talking about it to people and then failing again and feeling like even more of a failure because people knew. But then I started to make a Facebook group post about it, and it ended up becoming long enough that I thought, “I should just blog about this”, so here I am.
I didn’t make any new year’s resolutions this year. I think they are kind of overrated, anyway, in a way. People talk a lot about them, but labeling something as a new year’s resolution seems to set yourself up for failure. But I do recommend making your holidays (especially the time around New Year’s) different. Do something special. This time I went to Maui. I know, not everyone can afford to do that. (Heck, even I couldn’t afford to do that!) But I think from now on I’m going to make it a point to make that period of the year a time for a relax and reset. That’s what going to Maui felt like to me. It was a vacation, a time away from the norm of work and such. It was a change of scenery, which I’m probably not always going to be able to do every year. And after spending time there, at the end of the year, coming back felt like a reset. Which was good.
So I’ve been thinking about some things. Reflecting on things I want, goals I have, and how I haven’t achieved them yet. One of those, obviously, is to lose weight. I’ve talked plenty about it. I get plenty frustrated when I fail at it. I’ve tried more than one method at it. But for the most part, the methods I’ve tried haven’t worked for me. And yes, that’s probably just because I’m lazy and not making the right choices about it. But for whatever reason, these ways just aren’t working for me. So, that got me to contemplating what I could do that would work for me. (Hey, it’s a better way of looking at it than just “I’m a failure”, which is how I had been seeing it.)
As far as my diet… well, in a way, I’m not changing anything too big. Obviously, like with AdvoCare, I have tried following a meal plan. And while aspects of that seemed to work for short periods of time (the small snacks in-between meals were helpful), I just can’t exist on straight meat, veggies, and carbs at each meal. I had upped my daily allotted calories on MyFitnessPal recently, and that seemed to help a little. But I still had a hard time making myself not just eat what I wanted when I wanted at times. I haven’t really changed anything specific there, but I actually kind of do enjoy cooking. So I’m trying to make more of an effort at that. Nothing too fancy, but I’m challenging myself to find new healthy recipes and try them. Mostly what I did up until this point if I ate at home was buy frozen stuff and make it. I’m hoping that the recipe thing will get me to where I don’t want to snack all the time, but instead I spend time making a meal and put effort into it. So far, it’s kind of fun. I’ve made chicken and dumplings (my first foray into the world of using a slow cooker) and taco soup (super easy recipe that’s not really cooking, but it wasn’t just buying frozen stuff either) and both turned out pretty good. So if you have any healthy, relatively easy recipes that you have the calorie info for (especially slow cooker stuff, since I have been looking at that), feel free to pass them along!
As far as fitness… well, there’s another story. I haven’t been consistently working out in a while. I tried running, but it’s hard to get motivated. I only like running sometimes. I would go to yoga classes off and on, but I hadn’t found one I was consistent about. And I only used my gym membership for the yoga classes, really. As for weight/strength training, I really just didn’t know what to do. I don’t like the idea of going to the gym and looking like I don’t know what I’m doing while everyone else there does. Plus, I just generally don’t really like working out. So nothing stuck.
Honestly, I think the biggest problem I have had with not working out is time. I’m an introvert, and I just need my me time, my down time. So when I have to be at work at 8:30 and I don’t get home until 5:30… I really just want to veg when I get home. Read or watch TV or something. Not go run or go to the gym. Plus, if I’m already at home and want to leave to do something fitness-related, it involves walking the dogs first, getting them in their crates, etc. which takes some time and effort. So I figured out a couple of things I’m trying that I think might help. One is getting on a routine. I had tried working 2 days a week from home, Tuesday and Friday, and I just discovered that having a day in the middle of the week at home wasn’t working for me. It just disrupts the routine. So I went back to the office on Tuesdays. And now, my routine is getting pretty clear… get up at a certain time, leave the house at a certain time, take my lunch (frozen lunch so no preparation required), and go home at a certain time. But also, I’ve been doing something fitness-related on my way home from work. So when I get home, I can stay there. That helps.
Since I want to get on a routine, I’m working on doing the same things each day of the week. I’m flexible, like if Ricky plans something on an evening, I don’t have to always do my activity for that day. I’m also changing up WHAT I do. I found what seems to be a really cool concept for a fitness club. It’s called Koko FitClub, and it’s basically like having a digital personal trainer. As a tech geek, this just might work well for me. Basically, you go in, they give you a USB key and do an assessment, and then when you come in to work out, you plug in the USB key to one of their SmartTrainer machines (basically like one of those all-in-one weight machines, only with a screen) and it tells you how to set the machine and do the exercise. It has a different strength workout for you every time you go in. They also have cardio machines with options for 15-minute interval training workouts. Since you plug your key in to the machines, all of your data about your workout is recorded and then when you’re done, you plug it in to a machine in the back to update your workout online so you can see all your stats on their website that you log in to. It seems right up my alley. It’s something I can do on my way home from work, each workout only takes less than an hour and they recommend you do it 3 times a week, plus I get told exactly what exercises to do and how to do them, and I can track my progress online. I sound like an advertisement, but so far I really like the concept. So, my plan is to do that 3 times a week.
I also wanted to get back into yoga. I really do like it, and I love the mind/body balance that it brings. I like having an hour to spend on myself, working my body as well as gaining some spiritual balance also. My ultimate hope is that I would find community in it as well, and it might help replace some of what I miss about the routine of going to church on Sundays. So I’m thinking that if I end up sticking with Koko FitClub, I will no longer need my previous gym membership. The only thing I’ll miss about that is the yoga. So I checked out local yoga studios. The thing I hate about them is they are SO expensive. But I might be willing to invest the money if I find one where I’m using it and I’m getting what I need from it. I found a Groupon for one near my house that sounds like it could be what I want. Oddly enough, looking at their schedule, the classes and times that seem to be best for me are mostly the same instructor. So, Tuesday evening I tried out one of those classes. And I loved it! The instructor is awesome. I love her style, and she even just started using The Four Agreements as a part of the classes. I think it will be perfect. The classes I plan to try to attend are Tuesday and Thursday nights, then a Yin Yoga class on Sunday evening (maybe that will be my church replacement?).
I know that’s a lot (congrats if you read all of this!), but it’s just what’s been on my mind since the new year started. There are some other “new year” type things that have crossed my mind as well that are somewhat related, so maybe I’ll talk about that in another post, as this one’s gone on long enough! So what about you? Do you make resolutions? Any thoughts about things you’d like to achieve or change this year?
Life is a series of experiences. Some of mine include walking along the Great Wall of China, drinking craft beer in Belgium, playing poker in Vegas, reading novels at home, or just relaxing with my husband and lovable dog. This website is your invitation to join me as I take on the planet one experience at a time and blog about it for your enjoyment!
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