2010. The Year of Living (more) Healthily.

Happy New Year! Here we are in 2010. I was born in1970, and I remember that, when I was little, I couldn't believe that I'd turn 30 in the year 2000. It seemed so far away and futuristic. Now, 10 years after that, I march down to 40.

I'm a few days a way from one-third of the way into this challenge I set out for myself this summer. Sometimes, 30 lbs (well, about 17 more at this point) seems completely doable with little more effort than I already put in. After all, I'm more than a third to my goal, on good days half way to my goal, and most days, my life doesn't seem so different in terms of eating and activity than it was 5 months ago. On other days, I go back to my "up a little, down a little" posts, and I'm reminded that every week has its own struggles, and 17 lbs left suddenly seems very daunting.

I know that my 2010 efforts really need to be focused on exercise. I know this. I know this rationally, and I know that I see better results when my diet and my exercise are both a focus. I've done a lot on the diet (except the damn chips) and feel good about what I've accomplished there, but I know that I will quickly lose the powerful impact it has had if I don't combine it with exercise.

In November and December, I really had exercise 2 times a week, but mainly just pilates (one reformer class, which is not cardio exercise) and one power pilates, which is a bit more cardio, and more of a calorie burn. In weeks I didn't have the power pilates, I did the Zumba class. But I know that this just isn't cutting it. I am going to have to find a way to get to the gym at least 3 times a week, (or outside one of those times), and make sure that at least 2 of those days are cardio.

I'm dreading it. I'll be honest. I hate it.

Now, what I DO know, is that I've got stronger and healthier and more fit over the past several months, which should make cardio easier to do. That's my hope, anyway. And I still love the pilates reformer class, and hope to stay with that several more months (even though it costs extra money on top of my gym membership, anything that makes me enjoy going to the gym that much is something to stick with, right? AND it has results that can't be argued with...)

As you know, if you know me well or if you've been reading since the beginning, I generally need a gimmick to motivate me (I'm simple; I know). I was enjoying my "get 100 Fitrewards points for 8 visits to the gym each month" plan, but they canceled that program, promising to announce something new in January. (I did get enough points for a cool long sleeve shirt, though.) So, something I need to work on this week or so is coming up with a new plan to motivate me, some gimmick, short term goals and rewards, to help me stay focused. I was able to build in initial goals around "achieve this by Christmas" kinds of stuff, but there's a lot of runway between now and October 8th, and I need to fill it with achievable milestones to get me the whole way.

I'm sure some of you are all pondering your own resolutions for 2010, and looking to set your own achievable milestones. Hopefully, we can continue to inspire one another through this blog and any other methods we can find. And for those of you who read along with me just to keep supporting me, THANK YOU for all your encouragement. I have to say that writing this blog and keeping up with it, even in the weeks where I only post once, continues to be the number one reason I stay focused. It has provided great accountability, which was entirely my goal for this in the first place. Glad I got that one right!

Happy 2010!

Thanks for reading!