Where to start?

It's a new year and like most everyone, you probably want to shed some holiday pounds, if not more. This task can be extremely overwhelming, so it's important to know how to start and what to take on. Your method of weight loss, whatever it may be, should have these components:

1) Be realistic - If you say you'll exercise for one hour everyday and you are inactive right now, that is not likely. Make this something that you'll really be able to change. Baby steps!

2) Be specific - How do you see yourself at your goal? "I want to fit into my red dress on my birthday in April."

3) Be positive - Don't write your goals in the negative. "I don't want to have a badunkadunk butt anymore" is not a goal!

4) Be yourself - No one can do this for you! Write goals that you have control over for yourself, not goals others have for you or that you have for others.

What is your theme this year?

I think my 2010 theme will be...................................

CHANGE!

There are a lot of things I'd like to change this year - or at least improve upon - so I thought that would be a good theme. I want to make some bigger changes, like potentially a job/career change. But, I'd also like to stick to some small daily goals like making exercise and a healthy diet a priority. This means a lot of planning ahead and journaling.

My husband and I typically write out our goals each New Year's to help get re-focused. This year I'm using this template, so I thought I'd share.

Have a safe and happy 2010!

Thankful

Since it's the end of a long Thanksgiving weekend, I thought this post would be appropriate. I'm pretty bummed because I missed out on the actual holiday due to illness, but I guess I should be thankful about all the calories I saved. I have a lot more to be thankful about this year like friends, family, being employed and being in good health. I am ALWAYS thankful that I decided to turn myself around five years ago. I can't imagine where I'd be now if I hadn't made significant lifestyle changes.

What are you thankful for?

If you always do what you always did...

…you’ll always get the same result. The question I get asked most often is, “how did you do it?” I’ve added a page to my website that explains it all!

Shake it up

Have you been stuck in a food or workout rut? Are you stuck right now?

If so, it can be difficult to get yourself back on track. You may find some inspiration for a few days, but relaxed behavior can easily return if you are bored with your food, tired of your workout routine or both! And, you know what this leads to...

I've recently tried to shake things up to solve this problem for myself:

1) Write out your goals and post them. Remind yourself why you want to be healthy.

2) Find new foods. Try a new vegetable, buy a new cookbook or revamp an old recipe with healthier foods. For me, since I'm always short on time, I searched for some new and easy crockpot recipes like beef stroganoff with wheat noodles and white chicken chili.

3) Try a new type of exercise. I'd been going to the same gym for four years and I recently switched. The change in scenery alone helped a lot! I also tried a spinning class for the first time and found that it was a great cardio workout that I loved!

Spice without the sugar!

I just made one of my favorite treats to eat during this time of year. Forget the high-calorie, high-sugar pumpkin pie and Halloween candy. Try this is a low-calorie, yet satisfying dessert!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Bars

Mix together:

1 package spice cake mix (unprepared)
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Bake in 9x13 pan for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cut into 36 squares for 50 calories each (or 1 Point if you are following Weight Watchers.)

Serve - guilt-free!

What Motivates You?

We had our first snow today. Yes, it's only Oct. 12, but it snowed...ALL.DAY.LONG. I value my outdoor workouts a lot since you can't do many of them in Minnesota. I was trying to tough it out last week and ran outside when it was 40 degrees, windy and drizzling. I made it three miles and I was pretty surprised with myself. I prefer to run in sun and 80 degrees even though some would say that is too warm - I love it!

But, back to the 40 degrees - I had to find the motivation to accomplish that run. As you know, some days it's much easier to find incentives to work on your goals than others. For those days that you need to dig deep, make sure you have a written list of your goals handy for inspiration!
Answer these questions to help you get started:

-Why do you want to be healthy?
-What have you already accomplished?
-What is your next short-term goal?
-What is your reward for reaching that goal?

Let me know - What motivates you?