2009 Resolution a little early

BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
edited February 2009 in Fitness
Monday is a good day to start new habits so Im starting on my 2009 resolutions a little early. 2009 holds many new things for me: Im finishing my MBA, CB and I are finishing our basement and Im going to loose 20lbs and maintain that weight. My goal is to loose the 20 lbs by the beginning of June. Seemed reasonable since I seem to be able to loose a little under 1lb/week.

My new job helps on the diet front: I get free soup and salad bar for lunch every day. I have been avoiding the cream based soups and creamy salad dressing. Other then that I am making a menu for the week every sunday before we go shopping. I started doing that last September and it helps me plan what to buy for the week and I was making good weight loss progress (I had lost 7lbs in 8 weeks :) , which for me is some kind of miracle.) before I lost my job and stopped doing it for several weeks. (I regained 4 of the 7. :( ) As part of the menu system I was being more conscious of serving size and food choice. (If my menu says that I am going to have an apple for a morning snack I am much less likely to visit the vending machine mid-morning although I might exchange the apple for a pear.)

Since I am still in school 3 days a week (on top of working full time) until May the exercise part is harder. I am doing Pilates for an hour two days a week and have been doing Pilates for over a year now so Ill be sticking with that. In addition to Thursday evening and Saturday morning Pilates, I plan on doing an hour of elliptical on Friday evening or Sunday morning and 30 minutes of elliptical between work and class Monday - Wednesday. I decided that 3 floors really isnt that far to walk the stairs this morning and my legs were killing me by the time I reached my floor so I think I will keep doing that as well when I am going between the lobby and my floor (usually: up in the morning, up and down at lunch, and then down in the evening)

Any suggestions for improvements on this plan?

Comments

  • BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    Or does anyone have any 2009 fitness resolutions?
  • NiGHTSNiGHTS San Diego Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    While it isn't as outlined or detailed as yours above, my rough new year's resolution would be to put on 10-15lbs and get back into form for a soccer league in the evenings, either indoor or outdoor.

    Ideally I'd like to find a 6v6 league someplace, as that requires much more work on my part, but one step at a time. I've got to make sure my knees are still up for it. Playing soccer 11 months of the year for 6 years (often times with club, HS and tournament squads all at once) wore them down, to say the least.
  • CBCB Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Der Millionendorf- Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    I resolve not to complain about the cost of healthy food anymore. Does that count as a fitness resolution?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    not to complain about the cost of healthy food anymore.
    I don't understand. You can find healthy food in any grocery store: produce section, whole grains, lower fat meats, fish, beans and legumes, low-fat dairy, and so forth. What's the big deal? The expensive food is the crap processed stuff. Per pound, the processed box and bagged stuff is the expensive food, really expensive. The healthy items are inexpensive.

    Good news: your resolution should be fairly easy.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    Resolution: increased physical activity - exercise -walking.

    In 2004 I completed my Army career of 21 years. For that period of time I was extremely active. Daily workouts were everything from running in desert heat, to unbelievable grueling light infantry routines, to cross country skiing at -20F. No exaggeration. Man, I was fit! Since leaving the service, I rebelled, reveling in lazy civilian opportunity of not having to rise at "zero dark thirty" for daily torture. Well, them chickens have come home to roost. *I've got my lungs back from quitting smoking, now it's time for the rest of my body. I need my physical stamina back, my strength (I once leg pressed 720 lbs), and want my middle-aged girth to disappear.

    Thanks for starting this thread, Betsy. You have just given me pause. I want a long, vigorous life. 2009 will see sensible, routine exercise for me. This time, I'm doing it for ME, not for the organization.

    * An early 'resolution' came about in late July of this year when I quit smoking for good.
  • BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    Leonardo wrote:
    I don't understand. You can find healthy food in any grocery store: produce section, whole grains, lower fat meats, fish, beans and legumes, low-fat dairy, and so forth. What's the big deal? The expensive food is the crap processed stuff. Per pound, the processed box and bagged stuff is the expensive food, really expensive. The healthy items are inexpensive.

    Good news: your resolution should be fairly easy.

    His "resolution" is very true... prior to me starting this whole foods/healthy/portion watching diet we would go to costco and Kroger get our staples and then get whatever was on sale for the week for dinners. Total cost ~25

    Now I make a menu, with lots of fresh fruits, veggies and the cooked dishes are requiring a lot more spices and we are generally looking at >$50/trip... CB knows he was annoying me by complaining about the increased cost despite the fact that I was actually loosing weight doing it. As Ive continued to do it Ive been getting better at picking recipes that we already have the spices for and use in-season fruit and veggies and thats brought the cost down a little but its still more expensive then 7 boxes of pasta-roni and cans of chicken.
  • BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    Leonardo wrote:
    Resolution: increased physical activity - exercise -walking.

    In 2004 I completed my Army career of 21 years. For that period of time I was extremely active. Daily workouts were everything from running in desert heat, to unbelievable grueling light infantry routines, to cross country skiing at -20F. No exaggeration. Man, I was fit! Since leaving the service, I rebelled, reveling in lazy civilian opportunity of not having to rise at "zero dark thirty" for daily torture. Well, them chickens have come home to roost. *I've got my lungs back from quitting smoking, now it's time for the rest of my body. I need my physical stamina back, my strength (I once leg pressed 720 lbs), and want my middle-aged girth to disappear.

    Thanks for starting this thread, Betsy. You have just given me pause. I want a long, vigorous life. 2009 will see sensible, routine exercise for me. This time, I'm doing it for ME, not for the organization.

    * An early 'resolution' came about in late July of this year when I quit smoking for good.

    Congrats on quiting smoking. I think thats a very good early resolution.

    Good luck on the rest of your goals!
  • DrLiamDrLiam British Columbia
    edited December 2008
    My plan to lose weight this year involves giving up video games and getting some sun and exercise, not frags.

    Also I'm going to continue my work-out journal and my black-book. (Write down every time I go to McDonolds or something of a similar nature.)

    I wish you good luck on your goal BetsyD, just make sure it's enjoyable and it will come easy.

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  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    By the end of February, I want to be 200 pounds. By some time in the summer, I want to be 180 pounds w/ 9-12% body fat. By September I want to resume bulking towards 220lbs. By year's end I want to be slightly over 200lbs again, working up to 220.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    She's right, Leo. Fresh produce / meat is more expensive than ramen and kraft mac & cheese.
  • BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    I went and got a water filter for work. (The water here is awful!) So far thats kept me from hitting the vending machine for a soda every afternoon. However my sleep is messed up from all of the randomness of the holidays and Im exhausted every morning so Im having too much coffee in the morning :(

    Goal for Janurary: Kick the newly found caffine addiction before its a real addiction.
  • BetsyDBetsyD Cincinnati, OH Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Checking in to see how everyone is doing a month into the year.

    Ive stuck to the menu pretty closely. Ive had to substitute a few days when I discovered I was out of something that I thought I had and there have been a handful of days when we decided to go out to eat instead of cooking whatever was on the menu.

    Exercise-wise I havent been very consistent. Ive done the pilates 2x/week but since CB and I decided to carpool to school M/W I haven't been going to the gym between work and class. Im still taking the stairs at work and am getting to the point where Im not completely winded at the top of the 3rd flight of stairs. Next week I agreed to start going to the gym for 30 minutes in the morning before work 3 days a week with a friend from my pilates classes. We'll see how that works out.

    So overall sticking to my resolutions but not as closely as I had hoped to.
  • LawnMMLawnMM Colorado
    edited February 2009
    BetsyD wrote:
    Or does anyone have any 2009 fitness resolutions?

    Shooting for 10% bodyfat by April/May.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited February 2009
    I'm about 5 pounds and/or 30 days away from starting my cut. By June of this year, I will weigh 178-182 w/ 9-11% body fat. :)

    Everyone keep it up!
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