Your Journey

 I love this quote! It's a great reminder that it's all your choice. Your path. Your journey. You do what's best for you. Don't expect others to have the same goals as you do, and don't expect anyone to be excited for yours. It doesn't mean people don't support you. It's just that we are all different and we all have different goals. As long as you are happy and following the goals you set for yourself then you'll continually be going in the right direction.

Our overall health is a journey. The path to get healthy will constantly change based on your current situation. It doesn't mean the end goal of being healthy changes. It just means the way you get there could change. That's why it's important to have little weekly goals and be flexible. 

This has always been one of my favorite images. Don't let a few "bad" days change your goal. Keep showing up. Keep trying. Keep chasing that goal.

My goals for this week are simple. Move more. Strength train four times. Log my food. I'm doing great with them so far! My morning walks are turning out to be what I look forward to the most. I get up, have my morning cup of coffee, and by the time I'm half way through it I'm already thinking about my route for my walk. When I get home afterwards, I have the same sense of accomplishment that I always had after a run, and I love it! It's my time to clear my head. Eventually I would love to be running again, but for now, I just love being outside and moving more.

Weight lifting is my favorite! It makes me feel so strong and confident. I can see already how it's changing the shape of my body. I'm loving the Body Beast program, and I can't wait to see my results when I finish it. It's so challenging! After two heavy arm days in a row, this was me in the shower this morning - lol!

Food logging is my least favorite goal this week. I'm doing it though! I know it's the one that will benefit me the most. My plan was to just log what I eat and not change anything; however if you've ever logged your food then you know you subconsciously start changing the way you eat. You suddenly don't want to log certain foods and you'll start looking ahead at your day and planning it out. For example, leftovers for lunch most likely means I'm having a salad for dinner or if I'm at 1200 calories and I still have dinner, but I'm hungry for a snack then I'll make a better choice for that snack. It really just makes you more aware of your choices which is a good thing!

We just had a slight change in plans for the week and will be heading to my folks place for a few days. I was going to take tomorrow as a recovery, but I think I'll go ahead and tackle leg day so I can enjoy the following two days as rest at my folks place. Remember to be flexible in your goals! Look ahead at your week and make a plan to still achieve your goals no matter the obstacles. You can do it! I believe in you, and me!!

First, A Plan

 

I've been thinking about my accountability post yesterday and I started to realize that you can't be held accountable if you don't know what you're trying to achieve. I need a plan. A goal. A focus. Otherwise, how can I be held accountable?

I'm going to start small, and take it a week at a time for now because, honestly, I'm not sure what I truly want in the long term. I mean, ideally, I'd like to be stronger, faster, better then I am today, but what does that look like exactly; I'm not sure. So, for this week I have a few things:

    1. Be more active. Eventually I want to run again, but for now, for today, I need to focus on moving more. To accomplish this I'm going to go for morning walks. No set time or distance. I just want to be more active. Ideally I'd like 10,000 steps a day, but again, for this week the focus is getting those walks accomplished.

    2. Strength train 4 times a week. I love strength training. I like the way it makes me feel and the way it makes me look. I'm doing the Beachbody program Body Beast, and I absolutely love Sagi Kalev. He is my kind of trainer! After completing three of his workouts and having DOMS every. single. day. I decided that I need to change the program some. I'm not changing the goal of completing Body Beast, but I'm adjusting his schedule. I'm changing it from 5 strength days a week to 4, doing the 1 cardio day, and adding 2 rest and recovery days that are yoga and foam rolling. In a few weeks I hope to be strong enough to do his calendar as it's laid out, but for now, I desperately need those recovery days.

    3. Food logs. I had a Nutritionist ask me once, "How can you achieve your goals if you don't know what you're putting in your body?" It's stuck with me all these years. I do best when I log my food, so my goal this week is to get it done. No whining, no complaining, no halfing it. Just getting it done. I completed it yesterday, and will continue to complete it all this week. I'm not changing eating habits yet, just focusing on tracking what I'm currently eating.

That's it. Three goals for this week. Move more. Strength train. Track my food. Sounds simple enough, but it's been a struggle. I've said, to myself, for weeks now that I'm going to do these things. So for now they've just been words. No more. Action starts today. Right now.

1. Move more ✅ Morning walk is done for the day!

2. Strength Train ✅ Beast Shoulders is done!

3. Food log. Started! Breakfast has been logged.

It's time to stop thinking about it, and start doing it. Let's get after those goals!! 💪

Accountability

 

Accountability. It means something different to everyone. To me it means holding yourself responsible for something you said, long after you said it. I'm not very good at holding myself accountable. I can support my friends, and hold them accountable when they ask me to help them stay on track. Can I do the same thing for myself? Sometimes. It's when I'm struggling that I could really use an accountability buddy.

I've got goals. Big goals. I want to accomplish so much. Wanting and doing are two completely different things. Sometimes I think if I just had someone checking in on me, making sure I was staying on track I'd do better. Why do I need someone? Why can't I be that person for myself? I don't need someone to hold my hand. I need to hold my own hand and get things done. That's not always easy. 

I started a new workout program this week. Body Beast. It's a beast of a workout, for real! I've been sore every. single. day. I've been pushing myself, and challenging myself to go heavier, to keep trying, to do just one more rep. I feel strong. I feel confident. But the last two days, I just haven't wanted to do it. Why not? Because I'm sore? No! I'm stronger then that. I think I just needed a rest day. Two rest days. I feel slightly guilty tonight, but I also feel better and more prepared to tackle this upcoming week. I believe my body was telling me to slow down. No one says you have to stick to the program exactly how it's written. I don't need to lift heavy six days a week. I'm not chasing a body building competition. I just want to be stronger. Look stronger. Feel stronger. Be stronger. I can do that with four or even five days of lifting a week as long as I take rest days when my body says it needs it. I'm not going to stop pushing and challenging myself, so I need to make sure I'm giving myself adequate rest. I would expect the same from those who seek my help to get stronger. 

I hope my friends and family believe in me, but if they don't that's okay. I believe in myself as much as I believe in you. I just need to start holding myself accountable so I stop getting side tracked from my goals. Don't worry. I'll keep working hard. I'll keep pushing. I'll keep showing up. I'm not a dreamer, I'm a doer.