Weekly Recaps

One month ago, I posted with my health goals.  I'm in a private health group with friends on Facebook and I found myself adding weekly updates every Sunday night based on my 3 goals, so I will share them below.  I find that ending a week on Sunday keeps me accountable over the weekend, especially if I need to weigh in.  I'm going to buy a scale today, but in the past I've found that weighing in on Monday morning at the end of my week definitely keeps me on track over the weekend.  It's so difficult to keep up with healthy habits when you've had a tough week and just want to drink all the wine and eat all the food and lay on the couch watching true crime murder shows on Netflix. 

 But, when I know my week isn't over, I can keep up with the end of my week's goals.  Now, having said this, balance is okay, so if I don't track my food on Saturday, I don't beat myself up about it.  I also don't just shove food into my mouth, either.  My Garmin watch keeps me going, too.  My average step count today is 8,319.  I want to increase my average, so every day I try to beat it.  I try to "Beat Yesterday", which happens to be Garmin's tag line.  Even on Saturday and Sunday I try to get up and do stuff so my average increases or doesn't fall too much and then I have to work extra hard during the work week. 

Here's what I've posted in the Facebook group:

Week 1:

1. Track my food intake and hit calorie goal ✔️
2. Be more active; went to CG and went past my step goal ✔️
3. Get more sleep. Fell asleep before 11 last night and ready for bed now (9:15!) ✔️

Started last week, but it feels good to get back into my routine. I think my students can tell I'm feeling better, too!

Week 2:

1. Tracked food 6/7 days. Stayed at goal 6/7 days!
2. Active (outside of work) 4/7 days. 3 CG workouts and one run. Need to run more! It felt great tonight.
3. Hit sleep goal 4/7 days. I stayed up too late a couple of nights and really felt it at work the next day. Slept a lot this weekend!

Victory: I tried on some pants that were snug when school started and they fit now! Woohoo! I also haven't had an alcoholic beverage since August 28th, which I know is helping me stay on track on weekends and my sleep patterns more regular.

Ready for another week!

Week 3:

1. Logged food and stayed at calorie goal 5/7 days. Chose a healthier meal at Chuy's, even after a crazy work day.
2. Active 5/7 days. Goal achieved! I need two rest days in my week to keep up energy and it was difficult. I fell asleep on the couch when I got home from work on Wednesday!
3. Got enough sleep only 3/7 days. I didn't take melatonin and it's hard to fall asleep early when my husband doesn't get home from work until almost 10, when I need to be asleep. Still working on it, though!

Victory: I wore pants I didn't fit into in August!

Week 4:

1. Tracked and stayed at calorie goal 6/7 days. Yay!!!
2. Active 5/7 days with a long run today. Yay!!
3. Got enough sleep 4/7 days. :( I sleep in on weekends but it's still hard for me to fall asleep at a decent time during the week.

Victory: ran my longest run since April and timed a pretty good mile!

Week 5 ends tomorrow night for me, so I'm not adding another update yet.  After looking back on these updates, I can see that I'm achieving goals and feeling better.  It really helps to go back and see how good sticking to my goals makes me feel.  I'm two weeks away from opening night of our musical, and I've been so exhausted from trying to teach 7 classes and get the show ready.  This week I didn't work out as much because I hit my step goal at work, but I knew I needed to stay on track nutritionally and that has kept me going.  I don't want to go back to coming home and eating everything and sitting around.  I know that does not make me feel good; it makes me feel like I have less and less energy while my body packs on the extra fat from energy I didn't use.

I know my body, and I know staying healthy and making it happy is hard.  Keeping this little record of my weeks has definitely helped.  I challenge you to try it!

Cheers,

Kasey