Working it Out: Goals for August

Hallelujah! July is over. I feel like that took forever, even though I was too busy for life. Seriously, 4th of July seems like it happened months ago. Harry Potter, Nicole’s visit, and my friend Tiff’s wedding all seem like they happened months ago too, even though Tiff’s wedding was just last weekend, Nicole left this past Wednesday, and Harry was a mere two weeks ago. Why did July take so long?

Maybe because now that Harry Potter is over, my life is an empty shell.

I didn’t set goals in July because I knew I’d just be way too busy to put forth 100% and I didn’t want to half-ass things I really want to accomplish. It’s August though, and I’m back on the goal wagon, which will feel good. I like having goals.

Since there were no goals in July, there’s no July goal recap. I can tell you that in the month of July I ate a lot of food, skipped a week of working out, and was a bridesmaid. It was that last one drove me to eat (just kidding, Tiff!)  Going back to the gym after skipping a week is not advisable. I HURT for days. I’m back in action though, and feeling good about it, which brings me to my August goals:

Goal #1: Try the 6 small meals a day/grazing thing—I was reading up on hypothyroidism last night, since I was recently diagnosed with it (of course. OF.COURSE.) and I was specifically looking for recommended foods to eat and to avoid while dealing with the disease. Soy is number one on the no-no list, which didn’t surprise me. A couple of other things were on the no list that did surprise me though, like spinach, strawberries, and broccoli. I don’t know how I feel about that shit, so I’m going to ask my doctor about it. Anyway, while I was perusing, I noticed that everything I looked at specifically said that people with hypothyroidism should eat several small meals a day instead of three bigs. I know this is a method that works for a lot of people and I’ve even tried it myself in the past, but I never tried very hard. I have to admit, I do like to eat three regular meals, but I’d like to make my thyroid work correctly even more. Yesterday I gave the grazing throughout the day thing a try, even though it was a beach day. I had a banana on the drive to the beach, a pb&j when we got there, an orange about an hour later, crudites (carrots, cukes, and grape tomatoes) an hour after that, an Applegate Farms ham and cheese sandwich on wheat an hour after that for lunch, and I munched on Rainier cherries in the afternoon before we headed home. Once we got home I ran over to the farmer’s market and picked up a sweet haul for under $30, then had a simple shrimp cocktail and a watermelon and feta salad for dinner. I felt perfectly satisfied all day, my blood sugar never dropped, I never felt compelled to overeat or to indulge in the chips my friends were having on the beach, and I didn’t even feel like I needed dessert tonight (although that SURELY won’t last). Today I did the same thing, but at work instead of at the beach. Eating anywhere but the beach is automatically less fun, but it still worked out. I had something small about every hour or so, then a 300 cal dinner, then a little chocolate. I’m only human!

Goal #2: Strength, strength, strength—The thyroid stuff also really stressed how important strength training is for people with hypothyroidism who are trying to control their weight. Of course, I do my strength training every week, but this month I intend to do more than normal. A trainer at the gym recently pointed out that pretty much everything I do has a cardio element, and that she’d like me to do more plain strength training, so I’m doing it!  I like strength training better anyway–I don’t have to wash my hair afterward.

Goal #3: Wake up with the alarm—I like the snooze button. I like it so much, that sometimes I’ll hit it for two hours. Of course, I usually set an alarm for a reason, whether it’s to go to work, to go to the gym, to meet up with friends, or just to not sleep for 24 straight hours. Hitting the snooze is really a foolish act, if I think about it. This month I’m going to attempt to wake up with the alarm instead of hitting the snooze 800 times. This morning I did it! Up at 5:20 for 5:45 am Body Pump. Tomorrow I’m going to do it again, though a little later than 5:20 am.

I’m tired already.

Goal #4: Save money for a trip!—I’m not awesome at saving money. Not awesome at all. But I want to go on a trip in October (to Savannah) so I’m going to start putting money aside for it every paycheck. I need to get one of those piggy banks you have to break to get into, but I’d feel bad smashing a pig.

Well, that's unfortunate.

Here’s to August!

Working It Out: Goals for August

It’s August 1st, which means it’s time for my new goals!  Before I get into all that noise, let’s review my July goals:

Goal #1: Work on upper body strength

Verdict: Win!  This is going pretty well, though it’s definitely a work in progress.  I picked up a Cardio Strength class and I’m still doing weekly yoga.  My arms are slowly getting stronger.  I’m able to do multiple chaturangas and I can finally get myself into a wheel.  I’ve lost three and a half inches on my upper arms, which is a huge problem area for me, since December.  I’m going to continue to work on building up my upper body, until I have serious guns, and then I’ll work on maintaining my serious guns.

Goal #2: Change up my routine

Verdict: Win!  Like I said before, I’ve added Cardio Strength, I attended some different spinning classes, and I went to Pilates a few times.  It did help get me out of my exercise rut.

Goal #3: Get my sleeping issues under control

Verdict: Win!  But I cheated.  I got a prescription sleep aid and it is working wonders.  I’m sleeping 7-8 hours a night and everything in my body is working better.  I love it.

Goal #4: Watch more movies

Verdict: Big fat FAIL!  I sucked at this, as could have been expected.  I actually watched two movies today, but that’s one day too late, and one of the two was The 40 Year Old Virgin, which I’ve seen a hundred times because it’s hilarious Just kidding!  I totally forgot that I saw Inception and Cyrus riiiiiiiiiiight before the end of the month.  I didn’t stick to my at-least-one-movie-a-week plan though, so it’s still pretty much a fail.  Maybe not a big fat fail, but kind of a fail.

So, three out of four isn’t bad.  Let’s see what I can accomplish in August.  Here are my goals:

Goal #1: Get back into weight loss mode. I’ve been busy, I’ve been social, and I’ve been doing buttloads of exercise.  All of that has resulted in me convenience eating, drinking, and justifying having more calories than I actually need.  As a result of THAT, I’ve been maintaining my weight for several months, when I honestly want to lose at least 20 more.  I’m going to refocus on weight loss for the month of August by using the weight loss methods that work for me, which are counting calories, keeping a food and exercise journal, and abstaining from trigger foods.  I’ll be taking in 1,200-1,300 calories on non-workout and yoga days and 1,400-1,600 on spinning/cardio strength days.  I need to be especially mindful of not using exercise as an excuse to eat more than I need.  An extra Greek yogurt with wheat germ or an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter is all the extra that I need on a cardio day.

Goal #2: Improve my form.  I was told at a spinning class the other day that I was pushing way too hard and that my form was incorrect.  I was horrified!  I’ve been spinning for months now, and no one had ever said anything about my form.  I paid extra attention at my next spinning class, and in yoga, and I realized that I definitely do need to be more mindful of how I’m holding my body during exercise.  I also need to engage my abs a lot more if I ever want to build them up, which I do.  And so it shall be done.

Goal #3: Write more often.  I’m definitely going for quality over quantity when it comes to my blogging, but I also want to post often enough to keep readers interested.  I’ve been taking notes and thinking a lot about what I would like to read about on blogs so that I can write more frequent quality posts.  I’m going to shoot for twice a week during August.

Goal #4: Be more productive.  I stay busy and do a lot of routine stuff every week; I do my job, I work out, and I keep my house clean, but I want to accomplish at least one really productive thing a week that will make me proud of myself and/or improve my quality of life.  For example, I have been meaning to get around to painting my nightstand/mulching my front porch/cleaning out my linen closet/bringing stuff to Goodwill for weeks/months.  August seems like a good month to get around to doing those things.  My last goal for August will be to do one very productive thing that is outside of my normal routine per week.

So there you have it.  My goals for August are out there and it’s up to me to tackle them.  What are your goals this month?