Join My Team!

Derek's mom and I just formed a team to run/walk the Komen Race for the Cure in Salt Lake City, on May 12th. We would love it if you joined us! So far, we have me and Derek, Derek's mom Toni, his sister Britanna, his younger brother and sister who are too young for me to reveal their names on the internets, and his sister-in-law Linda.

Some of us will run, some will walk. It's a no pressure "race," and it's for cancer research. Join Team Hope is Power!

Write your goals

I ran for 21 minutes today. 28 push-ups. 130 crunches, some pilates. 142 pounds, down from 144 last week.

One thing that really keeps me motivated and on track is my exercise record. Before I had a blog, I kept (and really still do) a cheap day-planner with my goals for the week. I would sit down on Sunday night and make goals through the next Saturday. I write down the goal on the day I plan to accomplish it, then when I've reached my goal, I make note of it in the same place. At the end of the week, I make a tally of all I've done, so when I look back at previous weeks, I can find a weekly total easily.

For example, this week I plan to run 20 minutes and walk 10 on both Monday and Thursday. So at the top of the Monday section, it says 20/10. Monday's goal also includes a push-ups and crunches goal. 26 push-ups, 130 crunches. When I've done the running I planned, I put a check next to the goal. If my actual exercise was different than my goal, I circle the goal and write in the actual next to it. Today, I ran for 21 minutes instead of 20, so I make a note of it. Yes, even one minute matters to me. It helps me remember that I felt good enough to keep going past my goal.

If I skipped that day, I just put a slash through the goal, and sometimes revise goals through the rest of the week to keep myself on track with the weekly goal. If my running goals for the week will total 75 minutes, then I just add a few minutes to other days of the week, walk a little more, or just forget about it and redo the same goals the next week.

I like being able to look back at my progress before I got pregnant with Kiki. I had raised my goal minutes (which translated pretty closely to mileage, 10 minutes = 1 mile) by about 10 minutes a week until I was running 25 miles a week, with one long run of 10-12 miles. Sometimes I recorded where I ran, and how I felt during and after the run. This helps me especially on days when I don't feel like getting out. I find a day when I had a good long run that I enjoyed, and remember that I can't feel that good unless I get out and run.

Start Small

Real Wednesday totally worked. I followed my plan almost exactly (I just left out the yogurt), and I kept it up for Thursday too. I feel pretty good right now. I ran my 15 minutes this morning, and walked 15 more. I did 130 crunches, 24 push-ups, some pilates, and some stretching.

The most important part of changing your life permanently is to do it gradually. You will be much more likely to maintain your changes if they are small and few. If you want to lose weight, it will be so much easier to do it slowly.

So today is Start Small day. You don't have to wait until Monday to begin a new habit. Start today, with something small that you would like to change. If you are beginning a daily habit of exercise, start today with a walk. Some people will benefit from starting with 5 minutes. If that is too easy for you, try 10.

Your eventual goal should be to get 30 minutes of exercise every day, but most people should not just jump in and do 30 their first day. So right now, it is a goal to work toward. For the next week or so, go for a walk for about 5 minutes. You could do this a few times a day and it will add up.

If you are beginning a diet change, choose one aspect of your diet that you will focus on. Maybe you have a snacking problem, like me. I am going to focus on getting enough to eat at meal time, and then having a break from eating. I will not graze between breakfast and lunch. I will have a snack around 3:00 in the afternoon, and stop there. When I get stronger in this area, I will move on to a new goal.

With a small beginning, you will be able to accomplish your goals. Then, when you have reached it, a new goal will also be small.

Set yourself a time limit. As in: I will walk for 5 minutes every day for 7 days.
Choose a time of day that will work for you. I will walk at the beginning of lunch hour. I will walk before breakfast, after breakfast, etc. Make sure it is a time when you will not be in a hurry to do something else.

Leave your goals here and I will keep them safe for you.

Tomorrow: Why do you want to change?

Gonna get me some new shoes

I walked to church today with my sister-in-law. It's only 3/4 mile, but that's kinda remarkable for Utah. I've decided that I've really, really had enough with shoes that aren't comfortable. And I don't just mean ones that don't hurt very bad. I wore the flats that I've had since I got married 6 years ago. They're still in good shape, but I can't walk fast in them. I hate hate hate walking slowly.

Which is funny, since I distinctly remember, as a youngling, complaining to my mom nonstop that she was walking too fast, and I couldn't keep up with her. It must have driven her insane. I hated going shopping with her. I hated having to be with her at Lagoon. I hated hiking. I'm so ashamed that I ever hated hiking. Now, I can't think of anything more fun. I would do it more often, but my kids are so freakin' slow! I almost can't take a walk with them around the block or my head will explode.

This week, I'm going to:
1. keep the same running goals as last week, 15, 20, 15, 30, even though I did better than I expected last week. I want to have a while where I don't have to push my little body very much harder than normal.
2. get up at 6:00 every day, even though it will be dark. I'm going to do my best not to fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon.
3. go to bed by 10:30 every night.
4. pick up the toys in the living room before going to bed.
5. speak kindly and considerately to my kids, even when they are driving me nuts, bananas and ice-cream.
6. not go looking for candy at every opportunity.

Is that enough to keep me occupied for a week?