A Glance Back…

I was flipping through my 2018 planner the other day and came across the page where I had written all my goals/focuses for 2018. I made those goals with fresh eyes at the start of the new year, and yet had completely forgotten about them (slightly typical). So now I’m forcing myself to sit down and re-evaluate those goals and where I am compared to where I was 9 months ago. Is what I want still the same? Did I get too distracted by the minute details of day-in day-out every day life?

Goal #1 Health & Fitness

• focus on overall nutrition
• whole30 reset
• working out = happiness –> don’t give up!
• experiment with different foods
• be better at meal prepping
• if I’m going to show up – SHOW UP!

Fitness wise, I’ve had my ups and downs. I started to get stagnant at my old gym, and my work schedule didn’t allow me to try many new classes. I decided to try the free class at Orangetheory Fitness to see if I wanted to incorporate that into my current gym routine 1x/week. Well I LOVED it. Since then, I’ve cancelled my membership at my old studio (cost prevented me from keeping them both) and joined OTF. I try to go 4x/week and can sometimes squeeze in a drop-in yoga class at a studio downtown to switch things up. I love the workouts and the challenges at OTF, however as I said my fitness has had some ups and downs. Occasionally I have to take a break from running due to overuse injury or I get rundown from work and need sleep more than a workout and I feel like I’m taking a step backward or stalling whatever progress I’ve made. Woe is me (dramatic sigh). Overall I have done a great job at SHOWING UP for my workouts. K. sometimes yells at me going balls to the wall at class and coming home exhausted, but if I’m not going to push myself why am I going? Yoga and my outdoor workouts are my breaks 🙂

Nutrition wise, I pretty much suck. I did my whole30 reset in January, and did not accomplish the whole thing. As I have learned, there is only so much temptation I can resist before the stress breaks me. I think I made it 2 1/2 weeks before I came home from work and drank a giant glass of wine. I’ve done pretty well with cutting out most processed foods (I am currently on a poptart kick after having not eaten one in over a year) and I am trying to experiment more with different veggies and recipes. I definitely drank A LOT the month leading up to the wedding so I am working on cutting back on the fun times. Decided to name next month Sober October, with the reward of a 1 hour massage if I meet my goal.

Obviously nutrition plays a huge and important role in fitness and the physical health of your body. That was one of my problems 2 years ago when I went hardcore at the gym, suffered a bunch of overuse injuries and never saw a change in my body –> I ignored my nutrition and kept eating/drinking like a bum. Its obvious I’m at the risk of doing that again, so its time to take a step back and look at what I’m putting in my body (as I’m typing this I’m eating leftover buffalo chicken dip from Sunday…) October is going to be a big nutrition month for me:

• No alcohol
• eat whole, natural foods
• get water intake back up to 1/2 BW in ounces
• take a huge step back from dairy (does not agree with me but cheese is sooooo good)

I plan on continuing at the gym 4x/week plus through an at-home or studio yoga class 1x/week so I’m curious to see how my nutrition changes will help with the physical appearance of my body. Added bonus, good nutrition usually helps with my energy, mood and clear skin!

More on goals #2-5 later!