So those of you that are members of Richard Simmons Website know that he is helping us do a 30 day challenge in the month of April… no I will admit, I didn’t start mine until yesterday (4/6/09) so mine will go a little into May. The idea is that we each set goals to improve ourselves for the next 30 days.
I though about what my goal should be quite a bit… and I came up with one theme for them all.. “Back to Basics”… and that made me cringe because that was the term way overused by supervisors at my former employer… every time I heard it I just though “come on.. be a little more creative”.. and now here I am using it in my own life… great 😉
So with that in mind I started to set my 30 day goals (let’s take them one at a time):
Stay on the LightenUp eating program every day.
When I started the program in June 2008 I was vigilant and would NEVER go over a single serving and always figured out what the exchanges were for everything that I ate… it made it easy and it worked. Why I stopped? It started with just estimating the servings and then it went to not checking the exchanges.. then it just went out the door. I think that as I started not being so strict the results slowed down.. then I gained weight over the holidays and never got back on the right track fully.. so without results I lost all focus and motivation.
Exercise at least 5 days a week (home workouts and gym)
When I was 18 I lost 73 pounds in a year and I worked out almost everyday. I set-up a little area in the garage and I would do sit-up, push-ups (and when I started and couldn’t do push-ups I still tried every day) Pull-up’s (same thing.. I would hang and try every day), Jump rope and run. I was in the best shape of my life at that time. It took commitment and I just did it. Now I have way more equipment available to me at home (elliptical, exercise bike, full weight set, weight bench, etc.) and I belong to the YMCA which has a full weight room and aerobic equipment area and a swimming pool. I just need to use all of this religiously.
Sleep 7+ hours every day
I have been lacking in sleep for a long time. Right now I get about 5-6 hours during the week and lately less on weekends. I feel like I need to focus on my rest so I can be more productive in the waking hours.
Water intake of 8+ servings every day and Limit myself to 1 can of diet soda (or diet flavored water) a day
When I started the lightenup program I was still drinking a lot of diet soda. then a couple of months ago I came up with a way to drink more water (posted about it here). It’s a great trick and it works well to this day. I have been successful with my water intake goal while at my desk.. the problem is that I don’t keep that up at home (including on the weekends) I have been drinking many more diet sodas now and need to focus on drinking water at home.
That’s it.. those are my 30 day challenge goals… Now, since day 1 is over for me, how did I do?
Goal #1 – Stay on the LightenUp eating program every day.
I did pretty well with this, I didn’t eat everything I was suppose to, but I didn’t go over in are exchanges… I also didn’t weigh the protein at dinner (but I think I was realistic in the portions)so now my focus is to eat more of the exchanges so that I am closer to the actual calories I should be. Score: B+
Goal #2 – Exercise at least 5 days a week (home workouts and gym)
I had scheduled to work out at home yesterday on my calendar and I didn’t. I thought about it and never got up and did it. This will be the most challenging of the goals and I will work my hardest at it. I am scheduled to work out at home again today. Score: F
Goal #3 – Sleep 7+ hours every day
I went to bed at about 11:45 and was asleep by 12:15 am… I was up at 6:40 so that is 6 hours and 25 minutes. Just lack of planning on my part and I got involved in reading some stuff on the internet. Score: B
Goal #4 – Water intake of 8+ servings every day and Limit myself to 1 can of diet soda (or diet flavored water) a day
I drank my 8 servings of water while at my desk today and I think I drank about another 3-4 at home, but I also drank 2-3 diet sodas… This should be the easiest of all the goals, I just need to be more focused.. the true test will be on the weekend since that is when I do the worst on the water (so far) Score: B-
Overall score for day #1 is a C (2.25).. not great, but it is an improvement from where I would have been the day before if I was keeping track.
Today has been good so far.. water on track, food tracking is going fine.. my exchanges have been good and my dinner is planned. Update tomorrow.