Goodbye 2013 … Welcome 2014!

With a new year among us there are many resolutions flowing and being shared amongst those of us who are on social media outlets.  Whatever your resolution/wish/goal is for 2014 I wish you happiness, success and a beautiful & cherished 2014.

What is my resolution? Well … I don’t make resolutions because in my mind a resolution is a rule and rules are made to be broken.  So I make promises to myself. I also make goals for myself to aim at conquering.

2013 had me at a very long standstill for a while (having surgery, ending up in physical therapy and on doctor ordered restrictions from doing really anything). That 6-month roller coaster aside, I ended 2013 on a high note – I’ve been back at the gym, going to my beloved zumba class at least 2 times a week, usually 3.  I eased into it slowly, doing what I could. I’ve been working out with some weight machines and last week I did my first total body workout class before zumba. I was so sore and could barely move for a few days, but I’m feeling better and can’t wait to smash another total body class on Saturday morning.

 

One high-note that I ended 2013 on was I went shopping at Kohl’s because I had some Kohl’s Cash to spend. I found a pair of jeans and decided to try them on. I find shopping for jeans can be a pain because my waist is one size, but my behind is another. I’ve been wearing 12’s for over 4-months now, so I pulled on a pair of size 10 jeans and THEY FIT! I was elated! They FIT PERFECTLY!  I’ve been doing a tango with the scale for weeks – for a while my weight was continuing to go up and up and up due to a medication I was taking. This just showed that regardless of whatever the scale says, hard work will pay off and show in other ways. Obviously, I’m losing inches thanks to my work at the gym … so I’ll take a non-scale victory any day! Speaking of losing inches ... I should start measuring myself.

Now as for 2014 …I want to make 2014 the healthiest year for me!

I am aiming at hitting my goal weight this year. It’s been a long time coming, I deserve it and I’m going to give it my all to get there.  Now that I can use the gym as a tool to help me get there, I’m going to use that to my best advantage. There isn’t a secret to losing weight – it’s just a lot of hard work and dedication. I also realize that sometimes the scale will not be my “friend” so I’m going to focus more on how I feel (physically), how I felt my week went and if everything I did/ate was accounted for. If I’ve been dotting my I’s and crossing my T’s, I’m going to hope for the best but I’m also going to realize that sometimes the scale doesn’t reflect a good week and I will not let that get me sidetracked or down.  I also need to realize that I'm technically paying to look like this (meaning my monthly Weight Watchers membership, my ActiveLink and my gym membership) so eliminating one of those monthly payments in itself can help be a driving force to hit my goal weight.

Another goal of mine is to try to watch and perhaps even limit my snacking. I love snacks, always have, but I want to have only 1 or 2 healthier/low point snacks on hand at a time. Over the past 2 months I’ve slowly been depleting the snack stock by putting stuff out with company comes over, offering it out, giving it away, etc. I realize I live with others who eat what they want, but since I do primarily most of the grocery shopping I want to only purchase what’s requested not any “oh I think he’d like these” type of items. Truthfully I’d like to make my snacks healthier alternatives – onion & chive cottage cheese with crackers/pita chips, hummus with vegetables or pita chips, greek yogurt with fruit, deli ham rolled up with pieces of pickle, and I think it’s time to reintroduce sugar free jello back into my life.

I’m also looking into giving Weight Watchers Simple Start (Simply Filling) program a shot. To hold myself accountable, I think I’m going to follow the program BUT I’m going to track/weigh/measure everything out.  There was 1 week in 2013 where I was house sitting and followed a relatively simply filling sort of lifestyle. I didn’t have snacks on deck; I only had fruits, vegetables, lean meats and grains on hand. I was satisfied and lost a good amount of weight that week. The program would also kick my adoration for sugar and carbs.

As always I'm focused on maintaining positivity this year. Trying new things and pushing myself to branch out of my comfort zone more and more.

Here’s to making 2014 one of the best years of our lives!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!