Goals: Failed!

So, if you read my last post, you know I've been just a little busy the last 2 months. This week made me see how that has affected other areas of my life. Like my kitchen! HOLY MOLY - there is almost no food in my house! And my last weigh in? Not so pretty! And my goals I set for myself at the end of June? Totally blown, not a single one was kept. Yup - this is me saying I screwed up - AGAIN! You can shake your head at me, trust me, I know how pathetic it sounds. But if losing weight and keeping it off was an easy task, there wouldn't be a billion books and articles and exercise and diet plans created every year to help "battle the bulge"!

Back in May, I listed my health goals. and after reading them, I still want to accomplish all of the goals on that list. To recap - here they are again:

1. I want to weigh 150lbs - this will require me losing 100+ lbs.
2. I want to be able to Jog (not run) for a minimum of 30 minutes without getting winded.
3. I want to fit into a dress I still own from my first year of college.
4. I want to be able to try on wedding dresses without worrying if they will carry my size.
5. I want to have children and not be overweight when I do.
6. I want to expand my food knowledge so that I make healthier food choices.
7. I want to work towards a whole month with no fast food.
8. I want to step on the scale at my doctor's office and for the nurse to tell me my weight falls into the NORMAL category.
9. I want to train for a half marathon.
10. I want to share my experiences with other women, and men, to help them gain the courage to get healthy as well!

I've looked over these goals and really tried to break them down in my head. I've tried to plan on when I could accomplish these goals and how I plan to accomplish them. To make it easier on myself, and to prevent myself from getting discouraged when I don't accomplish ALL OF THEM, I've decided I need to make smaller, more attainable goals. I always feel like I'm setting realistic goals, but then I look at them and feel overwhelmed. Lose 100+ lbs? Yeah - because that's just so easy! (Yes, that was sarcasm!)

To reach any of the goals, I need to have an organized home! I find that when I don't have an organized home that I am scattered, stressed, and less likely to do something productive. Lucky for me I'm spending the weekend working on organizing the apartment! That includes unpacking enough items to clear room in the living room and spare room, reorganizing the kitchen, stocking up the apartment with nutritious food, and putting my workout stuff in an easily accessible location (not in a bag in a box, hidden in the closet)!

So what are my smaller goals? Here are just a couple and how I plan to reach them!

1. Lose 20lbs. by Christmas. - This will take some time. I'm learning to rely less on the NUMBER and more on the feel of clothes and my fitness level. However I know the number is still important in the grand scheme of things.
2. Increase Water Intake. - I know I need to be drinking 64oz of water a day, minimum. I have a water glass at work that I can refill and I need to start drinking more water at home. I would like to increase to 100oz of water a day. I feel this will help flush some of the "yuck" out of my system and make my body feel better during the day. 
3. Cut back on fast food. - Never fails, whenever I try to give up fast food completely I wind up gorging for days! I can't escape getting a meal at lunch on occasion, but I can control what I eat for dinner. My goal for the month of October is to not have any fast food for Dinner and ensure I make the time to have a home cooked meal each night.
4. 4 days a week exercise! - I do a lot of walking during my work day. To and from the bus station is 10 minutes minimum and then there is 8 minutes each way to walk to and from the bus at work. I've started to NOT count that in my exercise and instead will strive to do ADDITIONAL exercises 4 days a week. I really love the Bodyrock.tv programs and enjoy how they are usually between 12 and 20 minutes to complete. They are high intensity interval training exercises, and every time I have done them in the past, they have KILLED me! They work every muscle and get my heart rate going! So, since the recommendation is 3x's a week at 30 minutes, I'm going for 4 days a week at 12-20 minutes!

If I work hard at these smaller goals, I know the bigger ones will fall into place. I still want to lose 100+ lbs, I still want to fit into my dress from college, I still want to train for a half marathon - but I will be doing it all on a much smaller scale. Slow and steady wins the race, right? And now that I already OWN a wedding dress, I would like to get to a point where I can alter it to fit my NEW size!

Over the next couple weeks, I'll touch on each of the 4 smaller goals and check in with my progress. After a couple months, I'll reevaluate how I want to continue and go from there! Until then, hope you stick around to watch the journey! So many adventures, so little time!

Peace and Good JuJu,
Holly