Goal Setting

It does not seem that goal setting should be complicated, but how often have you said you would achieve something...especially in the area of health and fitness...and then are frustrated with your lack of success? I've set the goal of "losing weight" for years and years and today, I still stand more than 100 lbs overweight. Last year, something changed for me in my goal setting. I stopped telling myself that I needed to "lose 100 lbs". Sure, I still need to accomplish that, but that goal is a long term goal that needs some short term, more specific steps if I really want to see success.

So here is my strategy. Set time-sensitive, short term, very specific goals that work toward the ultimate goal.

I don't want to just lose weight. I also want to be healthier. I know normal weight persons who are very unhealthy. So my time-sensitive, short term, specific goals are geared toward overall health improvement.

Here are my "draft" goals for the GOING BACK TO BOOTCAMP - PHASE ONE:

1) Complete the transition to doctor recommended diet by eliminating yeast, wheat, and altered foods and planning family menu around whole, organic, natural foods.

2) Exercise 30 minutes daily via gym, walking the dogs, Wii Fit routine or home exercise video.

3) Connect weekly with accountability partner.

I may modify these goals once I complete the PFT on January 2nd. I haven't exercised much due to some health complications, so I will have to take that into consideration when planning for exercise. The diet changes have been ongoing (see my personal post), so this is just the next phase for me.

However, I want you to notice that my goals are specific, timed, and all aid in the successful achievement of my ultimate goals of weight loss and being healthier. Additionally, these goals are specific to where I am in this journey. I started over a year ago making changes to my diet and exercise habits. I have had a complete physical and am under the care of a doctor; I suggest each of you participating do the same.

Set SMART GOALS:

S Specific
M Measurable
A Attainable
R Relevant
T Time-bound

http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html

Examples of goals to set for the 13 week bootcamp:

Make an appointment for a complete physical exam next week.

Exercise ___ minutes each day.

Drink recommended amount of water each day.

Set aside ___ minutes for quiet relaxation each day.

Decrease my mile run time by ____ minutes.

Eat ___ servings of fruit/veggies each day.

Stop eating fast food.

Take ___ minute walks ___ each week.

Strength train ____ times per week.

Take a group fitness class at my gym ___ times per week.

These are just a few examples to get you thinking about your goals and how you plan to get there. Lots of links will be posted to our Facebook Event Page. So stayed tuned both here and there for valuable resources.

RECOMMENDED BOOK: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Shannon: Diet Revolution

Over the last year, I have been slowing altering my grocery shopping habits and consumption habits. Unfortunately, I am still not always consistent with my new guidelines, so I have not seen as many positive effects as I should have had I been consistent! :D But regardless of the inconsistency, I thought I would share how I went about it.

1) Drink water. This was the easiest place for me to start my diet revolution. I stopped drinking tea, coffee, soda and juice and started drinking more water. I didn't eliminate everything overnight, but just made an effort to drink the recommended 8 glasses each and every day.

2) Reduce/eliminate sugar. Not exactly good at this. But I stopped buying sugary treats with the exception of special occasions. Stevia is an excellent, natural replacement for sugar used in baking.

3) Reduce/eliminate fast food. Again, I wasn't exactly good at this, but our budget helped prompt me to be more consistent about avoiding fast food. Meal planning was a requirement for me and it made avoiding fast food much easier. Knowing that I had a short list of 4-5 meals I was making throughout the week left little question over "What's for Dinner?"

4) Eat more fruits and veggies. This was easy. I just simply started switching out old snack items with fresh fruits and veggies. Then I added a vegetable to each lunch and dinner.

Now, as we approach 2010, I am making some more drastic, more challenging changes to our family meal plan. This comes because of my son's dietary requirements. Overall, it's the most difficult change, but being that it's for my son, it's motivated me even more to be consistent and make the necessary changes.

We are making the following changes over the next 2-3 weeks:

1) Organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible.

2) Eliminate wheat (at least for a period of time).

3) Raw dairy only (raw milk, raw cheese only)

4) Eliminate all sugars (except natural ones found in fruits)

5) Free-range or organic meats (including free-range eggs)

Essentially, we are going God-natural. If it's god-made and not man-altered, we're eating it! :D

NOTE: We are using coconut and almond milks as raw milk substitutes until we figure out consistent acquisition of raw milk (which, by the way, is NOT illegal...just hard to find!)

Whatever changes you begin to make in your diet, my personal suggestion is to make changes slowly over a set period of time. Make changes one at a time. Set a week or multi-week period to make each change and when successfully incorporated into your diet, begin the next change. From experience, making drastic and numerous changes all at once can be overwhelming and discouraging.

Shannon: Getting Ready To Launch!

UPDATED: 12/30/2009 - My diet has been updated to reflect some temporary but severe restrictions that our doctor has put on my son's diet. I've joined him! Our diet is restrictive for roughly a 6-week period and we will begin to re-introduce wheat (whole grains) after the 6 weeks are up. For now, all carbohydrates are from vegetables.

So I thought I would share my diet and exercise plan. Keep in mind, I have been making slow changes over the past year and this is where I am right now. It's important when doing your personal assessment to consider where you are and where you want to get to and make the changes necessary to achieve your own personal goals. This is my plan!

MEAL OPTIONS:
BREAKFAST:
2 scrambled or hardboiled eggs with sliced or cherry tomatoes or side of salsa
Veggie Shake

LUNCH/DINNER:
chicken, turkey, or fish with steamed or fresh veggies
salad greens
raw nuts
Dressings: oil and vinegar
(For frying: I cook everything with either olive oil, butter or almond butter. Otherwise, steam or bake it)

SNACKS:
Fresh or dried natural fruit
Raw vegetables
Raw nuts

DRINKS:
Water
Raw milk
Coconut milk
Almond milk

GUIDELINES:
Meals = 300-400 calories each
Snacks = 150-200 calories each
Water = drink 64-100 oz per day
Drink 1 cup of water before each meal and with each snack
Eat every 3-4 hours
Eat veggies with every meal
Eat fruit by itself (for maximum nutrient absorption)


EXERCISE
GUIDELINES:
Move at least 30 minutes every morning
- Gym workout
- Walk the dogs
- Home fitness video
- Wii Fit

Walk/Jog/Run 3x per week

WELCOME

Welcome to Health Revolution 2010!

I need to make a change and I am inviting YOU to join me! Inspired by NBC's show The Biggest Loser, the memory of my post-Marine Corps Bootcamp fitness level, and by friends who have transformed their own health and fitness this past year, I am embarking (yet again) on a journey to change - out with the old, unhealthy, negative thinking and behavior patterns and in with the new, healthy, positive thinking and behavior patterns!

January 2nd marks the beginning of a 13 week "At Home" bootcamp for everyone wanting to revolutionize their health in 2010! This blog is to help us stay motivated and share information with each other! I will blog my personal successes, challenges and thoughts as we go through this 13 week journey. For some, like me, this 13 weeks will be just the beginning of the journey. For others, it will be just the right amount of time to get back on track!

So, stay tuned...we are about to launch an exciting time of transformation for me, you and all our friends and family who wish to join us!

IT'S TIME FOR HEALTH REVOLUTION 2010!