How are your health goals coming along, Funky Junkies??
Back in January, we took a quick look at some easy ways to set yourself up for success regarding your New Year’s health resolutions. We’re approaching the first 100 days of the year, which is a mark usually used to assess the performance of our nation’s President, and especially a newly-elected one (ahem). Still, this is a good time to check in to see just where we are with our goals, give you some additional tips for staying on course (or upping the ante!) and help those of us who have maybe strayed a little bit to get back on the right track.
First, we covered that starting small isn’t a bad thing, the idea being that setting small goals can be a great way to build your confidence toward setting and accomplishing bigger goals. I committed to doing the 30-minute version of P90X once per week. I have to admit…I haven’t done that specific workout every week, but I HAVE worked out at least once every week. So, I’m giving myself some credit for doing that.
If you knocked your goals out of the park…CONGRATULATIONS! On the other hand, if your original goal wasn’t as easy as you anticipated, you can always make an adjustment. Think about your overall approach, and what you can change to improve your results. If need be, don’t be afraid to reset the same goal and give it another run. It doesn’t have to be the New Year to kick off a new plan!
Next, we discussed using visual aids to help track your progress. This can come in the form of a chart, graph, checklist, or journal — whatever tool you prefer to document your journey. My plan was to chart the frequency in which I workout. I just started doing this and it works! I simply color code the workout in my calendar. It has really helped me to increase the frequency of my workouts.
If you haven’t exactly been on top of your data entry, it’s never too late to start fresh! Keep it simple — choose a metric that’s the most important to you, and schedule your entries less frequently. For example, as opposed to tracking the times on your mile, you can hold yourself to a monthly weigh-in.
The last tip was to reward yourself frequently — and that shouldn’t change! If you’re busting your butt to meet your goals, you deserve to treat and encourage yourself to strive for even more. Even though I fell off the bandwagon a couple of times, I still reserve my Thursday nights for my Shonda Rhimes ABC line-up and a glass of wine or Haagen Dazs strawberry ice cream (I know I’m not helping myself with the ice cream).
You are capable, and you can do anything you set your mind to. Don’t tell yourself “I’m not good enough” or “I don’t deserve…”; even if you’re not where you want to be, or you haven’t been as diligent as you know you can be, approach things with the attitude of “I can get better at this. I will get better at this”. You can do it!
Keep pushing forward, Funky Junkies! To quote Bey once more: A little sweat ain’t never hurt nobody. Conquer your challenges at your own pace, and once those are goals are met, set new ones! Push yourself to the limit!
In the meantime, tell me about your progress in the comments! What are you most proud of? What can you do better? I look forward to hearing from you!