Monday, February 1, 2010

Fit February

I love alliteration. It is my favorite literary technique (don’t mock me for having a favorite literary technique. I am a dork, I know). As I watched our sales manager write up his alliteration this morning next to our sales goal (Fantastic February) I started to think about what my alliteration would be.

Easy. Fit February (I actually first typed Fit Rebruary which is neither a word nor an alliteration). I started this blog partially to share my road to a healthier lifestyle... I haven’t really done a good job with it. So here we go again. At least two blogs a week about my journey.

We had a gorgeous Northern California weekend. Yesterday I walked Molly along the greenbelt behind my house and then took her on a 3.3 mile run in my neighborhood. I felt like I could have run more, which is a great feeling. I am hoping that we will get a few more glorious days like yesterday so I can run outside instead of just running in the gym. Running always makes me feel good physically and mentally, but running outside nourishes me deeply. Especially after weeks of rain like we have had, to experience the sun and the trees and the grass reminds me of how beautiful our earth is and how much I enjoy being a part of it.

For the first time since maybe November I actually made it to swim practice on a Monday morning. For those of you who like to sleep, you will understand that getting up at 5am on a regular basis is like torture. If the sun would rise earlier or the temperature would make it comfortable to get out of bed, I would be much happier. But alas, I awake to a cold, dark room and get in my cold, dark car so that I can jump into mediocre water. This morning was a tough practice and I worked really hard, but I am glad I went. I started Fit February fantastically.

February is a great month. There is Valentine’s Day, followed by my birthday. Some of you (not me!) will get a few days off to celebrate the presidents. This February we also get the premiere of the final season of “LOST,” excellent snowboarding (anyone want to go with me on Super Bowl Sunday?!) and I love that every day the days get a little bit longer—a promise of the coming spring.

February goals:
Maximum 1 cup of coffee per day
Run 3 times per week
Swim at least 3 times per week
NO CANDY (even the delicious Valentine’s Day candy)
Be more aware of calorie goals

What are your goals for February?

3 comments:

  1. You're doing great, and yay for making it to swim! I walked/ran outdoors this weekend, too and I couldn't agree more.

    Also, my fave literary technique? Onomatopoeia. I just like the name. And what it does. And that I feel proud each time I spell it correctly.

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  2. I'm so glad there's someone out there who's as dorky about alliteration as me. LOVE IT.

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  3. Just be mindful of making your goals attainable. Start small and don't get discouraged if you have a set back. Tomorrow is a NEW day. Make goals with measurable outcomes. We are working on setting goals in our Health Promotion/Disease Prevention class to see how hard it is for patients when we set goals for them. So I'm giving you some ideas from that class. Instead of eliminating candy, maybe try limiting yourself to 1 candy/week. You are more likely to gorge yourself and have a set back when you completely eliminate items that you love. Learning moderation is key...which I'm sure nutrition major Cristina could tell you. ;) Gradually increase your exercise over a set time period. Keep it new and exciting. The more variety in your routine, the more likely you are to keep it up! I know all these are easier said than done...that is why Americans are overweight. I also think it is helpful if you reassess your goals every week. What is/isn't working and why? What do you need to change? Let's do this together....I won't have time to maintain a blog starting next month, but I'll periodically stop by and let you know how I'm progressing. As SNL's we can be eachother's buddy. The buddy system has shown to be effective!

    My Ultimate goal: Get my BMI into the healthy range by August 2010 (going to Florida and need to be in a bathing suit...yuck!). The hard part would be maintaining the healthy weight for my wedding.

    My short term goal to achieve my ultimate goal is to lose about 1 pound/wk until July 31st 2010 (total of 25 pounds) by:
    1. Eating more fruits and vegetables
    2. Take the stairs at school
    3. Park farther away in the grocery store parking lot
    4. Exercise 3x/wk for at least 30 min. even if I have a lot of school work...this will probably be the most difficult for me.
    5. Maintain a food diary to make sure I'm eating the correct amount of calories and a well-balanced diet. Write down things even if I'm embarrassed I ate it!
    6. Weighing myself every Monday to evaluate my progress.

    We CAN do this!

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