I was never much of a goal-setter, I think mostly because I didn't want to fail. If I didn't set any, I couldn't disappoint myself! BUT, what I came to realize is that if you don't set goals and aren't working towards where you want to be, it's so much easier to get off track. Like I said in my first goals post, I didn't intentionally gain 80 pounds. It sortof "just happened." That sounds lame, but it's true. A pound here, a pound there. And somehow during all those years, if you had asked me if I was "dieting," I would have said yes. But it obviously wasn't working. I didn't have any goals. It was all too vague - oh, I'm trying to "lose weight." Oh, the irony! But once I started changing my habits and actually spelling out goals, things actually started to change. You can see in this post how I have successfully accomplished my first round of short-term goals; so now I need to create my next ones.
As a reminder, this is my current long-term goal:
LONG-TERM GOAL:
Reach my wedding weight. 139lbs (so, minus 27 from my most recent weigh-in). I would like to reach this by the end of this year, Dec. 31st, 2012... which should be TOTALLY doable.
NEW ONE - someday start my own business / get paid to blog, write, create, and encourage. One can dream anyway! I seriously LOVE doing this, and it would be so awesome to get to spend more time on it, not just squeezing it in during free time.
Now that those are on the table, I think it's important to set shorter-term goals too that will help you (and me) stay focused and meet mini-milestones along the way to your long-term goal. It gives you something specific and smaller to work towards. Little chunks, if you will.
Tips for goal-setting:
Make sure your goal is specific / measurable. Ex: I want to lose 10 pounds. I want to run 3 miles. I want to cook one new recipe per week. I want to work out 3 times per week.
Set a time-frame / end-date. Ex: I want to lose 10 pounds by Aug. 21st. I want to be able to run 3 miles by July 31st. I want to cook one new recipe per week for the next 2 months. I want to work out 3 times per week through the summer. This makes sure you can tell if you accomplish your goal!
Make sure your goals are reasonable. Ex: Don't say you want to lose 10 pounds by the end of the month. This is *almost* impossible, and definitely not healthy! If your goal is centered around weight-loss, aim for 1 - 1.5 pounds per week. Slow and steady wins the weight-loss race!! Don't say you want to run a half-marathon by the end of summer if you've never run a mile in your life. Start with something smaller. Make your LONG-TERM goal the half-marathon, but a short-term goal a 5K. Make sense?!?
Set some rewards for various milestones. I believe in rewards (non-food related!!). For example, for me... one of my short-term goals from round 1 was to get into the healthy BMI range. In meeting that goal, I would be losing over 50 pounds. I felt this was something to be celebrated and rewarded; it was a huge accomplishment!! So I decided that IF/WHEN I met this goal, I would splurge and get a photoshoot done to show off my more svelte-self. So I did! They turned out so great. Lovely, in fact. Click here to see them! Other non-food rewards that could motivate you might be a massage, new workout clothes, a better juicer, a pedicure, etc. Or for me, because I'm weird unique, I enjoy getting a new pretty dish... a plate, a cute mug... I love enjoying all my yummy recipes on pretty dishes!
Here's my reward for accomplishing my goal of setting new goals this week... hee hee :)
So without further ado, here's my updated short-term goals:
NEW SHORT-TERM GOAL(S):
Get to 159lbsby my 8th anniversary, August 21st. I will need to lose 1- 1.5 pounds a week to achieve this... again, should be TOTALLY doable. (And yes, I'm basically a marriage "expert" having done this for almost 8 years now... hahaha! Kidding aside, it's been a lot of work, but soooooooooo wonderful. I have the best hubby!!)
Run a official 5K by the end of the summer. I will need to research a local option. Time for a confession again. I didn't stick to the Pooch to 5K program. There I said it. But I want to get back into it. It felt good when I was consistent. I just let life get in the way, and excuses crept in, and then all of a sudden I didn't even feel that bad that I wasn't doing it. No more excuses!! I think I will take the doggies a couple times a week after Babycakes goes to bed at 8. It will still be light out (and cooler!)
Write a blog post every weekday. I have a lot to say and by golly, I just think this is FUN!!!!... so I hope you check back often!
Have at least one guest blogger each month. I love this community of healthy living ladies - and I love the idea of sharing fresh perspective and sharing what others view as the top three essentials for a happy healthy life.
And, to end this post, I'd like to share a couple more honeymoon pics. We were in Maui for 9 glorious days! Just LOOK at this beauty:
We did tons of hiking through the rainforests, over lava, along the beaches, etc...
We ate at the same cute little restaurant that my parents ate at 25 years earlier on their honeymoon:
And we got up early to make the climb up to Haleakala, only to have this as our view, LOL:
But we made up for it by hiking through a redwood forest. Who knew they even had those in Hawaii?!
Seriously, what a beautiful place. I sooooooo want to go back!!
So I just thought of something spectacular! I think my reward for meeting my long-term goal (of 139lbs) should be a trip back to Hawaii!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!! Why didn't I think of this sooner?!?!? I'm so excited :)
Questions:
Do you set goals? If so, what are some of your current ones? If not, why don't you try setting one, today?!
Do you come up with non-food related rewards? What motivates you best?
I was never much of a goal-setter, I think mostly because I didn't want to fail. If I didn't set any, I couldn't disappoint myself! BUT, what I came to realize is that if you don't set goals and aren't working towards where you want to be, it's so much easier to get off track. Like I said in my first goals post, I didn't intentionally gain 80 pounds. It sortof "just happened." That sounds lame, but it's true. A pound here, a pound there. And somehow during all those years, if you had asked me if I was "dieting," I would have said yes. But it obviously wasn't working. I didn't have any goals. It was all too vague - oh, I'm trying to "lose weight." Oh, the irony! But once I started changing my habits and actually spelling out goals, things actually started to change. You can see in this post how I have successfully accomplished my first round of short-term goals; so now I need to create my next ones.
As a reminder, this is my current long-term goal:
LONG-TERM GOAL:
Now that those are on the table, I think it's important to set shorter-term goals too that will help you (and me) stay focused and meet mini-milestones along the way to your long-term goal. It gives you something specific and smaller to work towards. Little chunks, if you will.
Tips for goal-setting:
Here's my reward for accomplishing my goal of setting new goals this week... hee hee :)
So without further ado, here's my updated short-term goals:
NEW SHORT-TERM GOAL(S):
And, to end this post, I'd like to share a couple more honeymoon pics. We were in Maui for 9 glorious days! Just LOOK at this beauty:
We did tons of hiking through the rainforests, over lava, along the beaches, etc...
We ate at the same cute little restaurant that my parents ate at 25 years earlier on their honeymoon:
And we got up early to make the climb up to Haleakala, only to have this as our view, LOL:
But we made up for it by hiking through a redwood forest. Who knew they even had those in Hawaii?!
Seriously, what a beautiful place. I sooooooo want to go back!!
So I just thought of something spectacular! I think my reward for meeting my long-term goal (of 139lbs) should be a trip back to Hawaii!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!! Why didn't I think of this sooner?!?!? I'm so excited :)
Questions: