For Myself
1. Get control of my weight and my health.
After last week's weight gain, I decided to totally reboot my food management this week. Beginning last Wednesday, I began tracking every single bit of food that I ate, every day. I use the online tools provided by the Weight Watchers program (but I've also used the free online app My Fitness Pal, www.myfitnesspal.com for this purpose). I made a huge effort to stay within my WW food program this week, and in doing so I realized just how far afield I had gotten in the last couple months. I thought I was making good choices, but turns out so many of the foods I had been eating were just so high in calories, it's no wonder I haven't really lost any weight since before Halloween.
I did really well all the way until Sunday night, when I went out for Mexican dinner with my husband. It's my favorite, and my downfall. Monday and Tuesday I did mediocre. But even with my backsliding on the last few days of the week, I still lost 2 lbs at my weigh in today. Hooray! I'm only 0.2 lbs away from my most recent low weight (which occurred all the way back before Christmas). I'm finally feeling like I'm back in the groove.
After last week's weight gain, I decided to totally reboot my food management this week. Beginning last Wednesday, I began tracking every single bit of food that I ate, every day. I use the online tools provided by the Weight Watchers program (but I've also used the free online app My Fitness Pal, www.myfitnesspal.com for this purpose). I made a huge effort to stay within my WW food program this week, and in doing so I realized just how far afield I had gotten in the last couple months. I thought I was making good choices, but turns out so many of the foods I had been eating were just so high in calories, it's no wonder I haven't really lost any weight since before Halloween.
I did really well all the way until Sunday night, when I went out for Mexican dinner with my husband. It's my favorite, and my downfall. Monday and Tuesday I did mediocre. But even with my backsliding on the last few days of the week, I still lost 2 lbs at my weigh in today. Hooray! I'm only 0.2 lbs away from my most recent low weight (which occurred all the way back before Christmas). I'm finally feeling like I'm back in the groove.
2. Walk 70,000 steps per week.
Still walking and still loving it. Some days I did a 4 mile walk all at once, some other days I took two shorter walks. Some days I got in over 12,000 steps and other days I bottomed out at 2,100 steps. I had an injury to my right leg and knee that made me want to rest it on Monday and Tuesday, but today I talked to a physical therapist and I'm now back on track to continue my routine.
Still walking and still loving it. Some days I did a 4 mile walk all at once, some other days I took two shorter walks. Some days I got in over 12,000 steps and other days I bottomed out at 2,100 steps. I had an injury to my right leg and knee that made me want to rest it on Monday and Tuesday, but today I talked to a physical therapist and I'm now back on track to continue my routine.
3. Try one new thing per month to stretch and grow.
I bought and cooked a rutabaga, a new vegetable in my life. The recipe was in a spicy vegetable and bean chili, and the rutabaga was cubed and cooked in with a mix of lots of other things. So how was it? I couldn't really tell! It was a lot like a firm potato in the chili. Nothing bad, but not distinguishable. So I guess I should try another recipe where the flavor can be highlighted, not masked under chili seasonings.
I began reading a new blog this week, www.themilitantbaker.com. This is out of the norm for me, because it's a sassy (and somewhat foul-mouthed) 20-something woman whose blog is all about positive body image for plus size people. She's got a lot of things to say, and she says them in a pretty unabashed and in-your-face kind of way. Agree or disagree? It's up to the reader. But something in her writing speaks to me, as a life-long overweight woman. I recognize in my reactions to her writing that I have a ways to go before I feel 100% comfortable in my own skin. So for this reason, I will continue to follow her blog and stretch my perceptions of myself.
I began reading a new blog this week, www.themilitantbaker.com. This is out of the norm for me, because it's a sassy (and somewhat foul-mouthed) 20-something woman whose blog is all about positive body image for plus size people. She's got a lot of things to say, and she says them in a pretty unabashed and in-your-face kind of way. Agree or disagree? It's up to the reader. But something in her writing speaks to me, as a life-long overweight woman. I recognize in my reactions to her writing that I have a ways to go before I feel 100% comfortable in my own skin. So for this reason, I will continue to follow her blog and stretch my perceptions of myself.
4. Daily journalling and reflecting.
Yep, love it. I'm finding lots of opportunities to jot down my thoughts and ideas, both as a way to develop some dreams I've got brewing, and as a way to process feelings I have throughout the day. It's a great practice to get into, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do this every day.
For My Family
5. Stay connected to family (and friends).
I've been enjoying phone calls with extended family lately, catching up on everyone's news. We celebrated our daughter's 21st birthday on Friday, and had a wonderful dinner with her. And I got snowed in with my husband in Maryland (Ok, not really, but I did have an extra evening together with him that I didn't expect due to travel plans changing).
I've been enjoying phone calls with extended family lately, catching up on everyone's news. We celebrated our daughter's 21st birthday on Friday, and had a wonderful dinner with her. And I got snowed in with my husband in Maryland (Ok, not really, but I did have an extra evening together with him that I didn't expect due to travel plans changing).
6. Participate in our son's wedding plans.
This week I took a few minutes to send the names and addresses for the family wedding guests to my son and his fiancee, so they can get the Save the Date cards in the mail soon. So that's done. I also spent some time browsing on line for ideas for a dress to wear to the wedding. I love dream shopping for pretty things, so this was a fun little while on a cozy evening in front of the fireplace with my laptop.
For Friends and My Community
7. Extend at least two invitations per month to friends.
I'm so glad I got to visit with my friend, Kiki, who has been dealing lately with some very serious health issues. It was great to be able to give her hugs in person, to hold her hand, to talk and laugh and cry and just be with her.
I'm so glad I got to visit with my friend, Kiki, who has been dealing lately with some very serious health issues. It was great to be able to give her hugs in person, to hold her hand, to talk and laugh and cry and just be with her.
8. Volunteer at least three hours per month in my community.
I'm looking forward to my first time on a construction crew with Habitat for Humanity tomorrow. I'm kind of nervous - will I be too inexperienced? Too slow to learn? In the way? But I want to help, and I want to learn construction techniques, so hopefully this will be fun for me and useful for them.
For Our Home9. Purge and organize the house by May 1.
I made some small progress in putting away the Christmas decorations... they're still all out on the dining room table, but now they're sorted and ready to be boxed up. This is officially the latest I've dragged this job out, and I feel like a slug, but it's just no fun to think about doing that job. Blech!
10. Work in the yard at least 3 hours per week.
11. Allow time for at least two fun home decor projects per month.
No progress here either.
For Sweet Adelines12. Personal singing rehearsal at least 4 hrs per week.
I've been getting this done, and wow, did it make a difference at rehearsal over the weekend! I really noticed a big difference in our forward progress because all four of us had put in our required home work.
13. Do daily vocal exercises for 15 minutes, for 30 days.
I think I'm gonna just ignore this one. Everyone needs the chance to fail on at least one resolution, right?
14. Complete the CHC New Member Handbook by Feb 28th.
This one is weighing me down. I need to get cracking.
15. Serve the Region 19 Silver Sorority champion's organization with at least 2 hours of activity per week.
I was supposed to have a meeting on Monday night but the big snow storm in the north east prevented us from driving to meet. We had one member in Philadelphia, one in Baltimore, and one in Annapolis, and we were supposed to meet for dinner north east of Baltimore. The snow got in our way and we cancelled. So we'll pick up via video chat later this weekend.
How about you? How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? I'd love to hear about it!
I was supposed to have a meeting on Monday night but the big snow storm in the north east prevented us from driving to meet. We had one member in Philadelphia, one in Baltimore, and one in Annapolis, and we were supposed to meet for dinner north east of Baltimore. The snow got in our way and we cancelled. So we'll pick up via video chat later this weekend.
How about you? How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? I'd love to hear about it!
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