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I don’t have a particularly good track record with goal setting. When I started on this healthy living journey, I guess my goal was my wedding. I was in-between dress sizes when I purchased my wedding gown, and went with the smaller size. It was a good thing I did, as I ended up having the smaller-sized gown taken in at my last fitting, because I’d been successful at dropping about 30 pounds in the year prior to the big day.
But since then, my fitness and foods haven’t been particularly goal-oriented. At least not to the point where I’d been writing them down.
I started lifting heavy, but I did it because I wanted to be stronger, and I didn’t set a specific goal.
I started running (and then, subsequently, quit running after a bout with piriformis syndrome that was unresolved by physical therapy) because it looked like a quick and efficient cardio workout – and I’ve never been much of a “cardio queen” 🙂
I changed my eating habits, but it was more in response to being tired of my IBS symptoms and feeling sick constantly, than any specific goal-set.
But through it all I never set goals. At least, I never thought about them as goals.
When I started this blog, I was full of vim, vigor, and an abundance of free time, as we were just coming off the holiday season, AND we were buried in about 2.5 feet of snow. Goals sounded like a fantastic idea!
But know what? I haven’t done a single one. Not one. And what’s worse, looking back on them, I don’t have much desire to do any of them….well, except maybe try spinning. 🙂
And then here recently, Susan focused on goal setting. And every month I read Susan’s goals with excitement anyway. I LOVE reading other people’s goals! And then Janetha posted her monthly goals. And I thought…well…maybe I can do goal-setting, but maybe I need a shorter time frame. Shorter than a year. J
I am, after all, an instant-gratification kind of gal 🙂
So…baby steps. We’re starting with October. Monthly goals. I picked my categories rather randomly…basically setting the goals and then dumping them into “categories”
I’m already 5 days in to October, so it’s time to get crackin’!
October Goals
Blog Goals
- Post at least 1x/week on the fitness blog – I’ve neglected this. I’ve discovered I hate blogging my eats, so that probably won’t happen….but I love blogging my workouts. There will be more of this. Not sure what else…
- Post at least 2x/week on the food blog – I already post 1x a week religiously, as I post my weekly dinner menu. But I’d really like to focus on getting new recipes I try (we average 1 new recipe a week, unless we’re out of town) on the blog more efficiently…I end up with a pile of recipes and no recollection of what I wanted to tell readers about it!
- Look into combining my food and fitness blogs into one blog – I’d love to do this for an affordable amount of money, but I don’t know any HTML…kind of skurred about branching away from the easy/standard WordPress. But I’d love to have one single blog address, for all my blogging adventures. I’d also love a new design that will better incorporate food, fitness, and life in general. Anybody have any recommendations for me? 🙂
Life Goals
- Stop taking BCP (seriously terrified about this!!!) – This will probably be addressed on Kelly B Well… I am scared to death to see what happens when I stop taking it, the withdrawl, the side effects… I’ve been on it for 10 years, and originally went on it to deal with out-of-this-world menstrual symptoms. I’m terrified they’ll be back in full force!
- Start charting – This goes hand-in-hand with the above. I’ll be charting, (using Taking Charge of Your Fertility as my guide) to understand my cycles, as well as to potentially use this as my only means birth control method in later years (NOT right now though). It will also (hopefully) set me up to get pregnant when we’re ready, with minimal fuss. I hope. 🙂
- Make it a priority to be sitting down/relaxing by 9pm every night (earlier is better, but 9pm is a must!) – I am seriously bad at winding down. All evening I think of things that need done, etc. But then I can’t sleep! I need that wind-down time. No computer, just relaxation. Either TV and book. And I’m making it a priority because it has certainly suffered as of late (as has my sleep!).
Money Goals
- Get back to saving monthly – I got away from this with a budget overhaul a few months ago, and paying off some debts, but I want to get back at it. A minimum of $100 monthly into my own personal savings.
- Bank my car payment amount (I paid my car off in September, and will be looking to replace it in January, so I want to ‘bank’ my car payment amount until then!) – I’m hoping to bank my car payment each month. I was paying $350 on my car, so that’s an additional $1,050 towards a new car in January. Definitely worth it!
- Get life insurance and car insurance money together in Oct (due in Dec) – I’d like to get these two items paid (money set aside) in October so I can focus November on Christmas gifts, and hopefully be AHEAD by the time December arrives. 🙂
Work Out Goals
- Work on cardio endurance. More HIIT, more strength training circuits to increase stamina – My cardio stamina SUCKS. Without even realizing it, I’ve become one of those moderate-paced-workout-every-single-time-for-30-minutes type people. Not good. I need more cardio, if for no other reason than my endurance is bad and I seriously feel it when I push myself.
- Yoga (minimum 2x a week)…focus on lengthening and stretching my incredibly cramped-up muscles – My hamstrings and hip flexors are notoriously tight (helloooooo desk job!) and if I don’t stretch and lengthen them regularly, I get knotted up and it makes things like deadlifts and cardio painful. So gentle, stretching yoga is the focus here, with at least 1 of my sessions being a “yoga for runners” type session which will focus on the areas I get tight in.
- Focus on strengthening/stretching my hip flexors/glutes to work on my piriformis pain/knotted muscle – Similar to above. I’ve not done any of my hip strengthening/glute moves in ages. My butt is flat and muscle-less, and my hip hurts accordingly. 🙂 I keep hoping if I focus on it, I can get it strong and then (maybe?!) try running again?! That would be a long-term goal, though 🙂
Food Goals
- Stop the afternoon candy dish attack. Seriously. I’m not even hungry, I just like how the sugar makes me feel. I’m willing to admit it. – My name is Kelly, and my sweet tooth controls me. Add in the massive quantities of Halloween candy…I am seriously losing this battle. So no more candy dish. It isn’t a response to hunger, it’s a response to boredom. But I do struggle with it anyway!
- Limit desserts. No, you don’t need it every.single.night – We’ve had an awful lot of treats in our house with hubby’s birthday, and a make-your-own-sundae party for him (toppings and ice cream, oh my!) and it’s hard to not have a little bit every night. But it needs to stop as well. A little bit is fine, but not the quantities I’ve been consuming, and not every night!
So there it is…October’s goals!
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Okay, it’s kind of inappropriate, but it’s hilarious nonetheless 🙂
