[Girl♥Health]: Kicking February's Butt

I know I've been slacking off in terms of posting my monthly exercise plans (was November really the last one I created?!), so I wanted to be sure to post one this month.  It's also just really useful for me to outline my goals and to feel somewhat accountable for reaching them because I've sent them out in the interwebs for all to see.

I will say this about February's plan: I am super excited about my reward, which means I'll be trying extra hard to reach my benchmarks!

February Action Plan

My main EXERCISE goal for the month is to push and incorporate.  I want to push myself in terms of my running.  I want my physical activity to be consistent and progressive.  And I want exercise to be my default activity.  I'm bored?  Why not exercise.  I have a few spare minutes?  Why not take a walk with my dog?  I'm stressed out?  Wouldn't a run be great?  And I want to find another 5k to enter for the late spring.  For a specific goal, I want to run half a mile farther every 2 weeks (with my current baseline being 1 mile).

In terms of my FOOD goals this month, I want to focus on maintaining the progress I've made so far -- no drastic changes this month, just normalizing the changes I've already made.  So, that means continuing to cook, or to help Nate cook, every meal; continuing to eat breakfast and lunch during the day; continuing to eat less meat and buy only free-range, organic, humanely-raised meat products; and continuing to buy organic for veggies that are heavily sprayed with pesticides.

Key Activities:

Wake up before 8:30am (weekdays)
Eat breakfast, lunch and small snacks throughout the day (daily)
Cook dinner (daily)
Walk with Finn or on treadmill (daily)
Run (3-4 days a week), going half a mile farther every 2 weeks
Back strengthening exercises (daily)
Pilates or yoga at home (2 days a week)
Read food labels -- don't buy what I can't pronounce and what's not naturally raised

Reward:

Lunch at the Cliff House in San Francisco (I'm currently reading Laurie R. King's "Locked Rooms," a Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes novel, and this restaurant is not only pictured on the cover, but the couple have dinner there one night.  Plus, I've been wanting to eat here for about 4 years).

[Girl♥Health]: November is about Recommitting

It's about 10 days into the month so I'm a little late in coming up with a November Monthly Plan, but I still want to do one, especially after October turned out to be so...strange.

October definitely wasn't the most successful month in terms of pushing forward.  I felt like I played a lot of catch-up and eventually settled for maintaining rather than progressing.  But I'm okay with that, I think.  And I'm okay with taking November slow too.  I sort of want to reclaim this month, which hasn't been a very good month for me these passed few years, and make sure that I end up happy with what I'm able to give to my fitness goals.

November Action Plan

My main EXERCISE goal for the month is to continue to incorporate workouts into my life by doing something physical everyday.  This month, I want to try and have that physical activity be more than just walking the dog.  I want to sweat at least 3 times a week, for at least half an hour.  I also want to complete my 5k and be satisfied with trying my hardest, even if that means I didn't run the entire thing.  This will obviously require me to actually try my hardest.  And finally, I want to begin searching for another run/walk event to do either in February or March.

In terms of my FOOD goals this month, I want to really focus on getting back into the habit of eating better foods and eating more regularly.  I slacked off a little on this front last month and definitely need to recommit to it.  Continue eating humanely raised meat products, continue eating less meat altogether, and definitely watch my portion control.

Key Activities:

Wake up before 8:30am (weekdays)
Eat breakfast, lunch and small snacks throughout the day (daily)

Run (3 days a week)
Back strengthening exercises (daily)

Pilates or yoga at home (2 days a week)
Try a new recipe (once a week)

Read food labels -- don't buy what I can't pronounce and what's not naturally raised
Watch my portions -- half a plate of greens, 1/4 a plate of grains, 1/4 a plate of protien (every meal)

Reward:

A day trip out of the Bay Area, anywhere I want to go.

View all my previous monthly plans here.

[Girl♥Health]: What October Has in Store...

Now that September has come and gone in a blur of Yay, I did it!, I thought it would be a good idea to build my October Action Plan.  I think that last month's plan was really helpful for reminding me of all the little things I wanted to do and needed to incorporate somehow into my days.  Hopefully, this action plan will do the same!

October Action Plan

My main EXERCISE goal for the month is to continue to incorporate workouts into my life.  I think I've done a fairly good job at getting a start on this in September, so October will be a little easier in a way.  One of the main things I want to do is begin waking up and working out earlier so that -- fingers crossed -- when I get a job, having to fit exercise in before work won't be such a jolt to my system.  My other exercise goal is to do what I didn't get a chance to do last month because of my back, so trying out different types of workouts (and ones that don't all come on DVD) are definitely on the agenda.  Finally, a big HUGE goal is, by the end of the month, to be well on my way to being prepared for my 5k (which is in early November) -- that means nearly running the full 3.1 miles!

In terms of my FOOD goals this month, I want to concentrate on exploring healthier food options.  In September, Nate and I managed to drastically change our diets by cutting back on all the unhealthy foods we were eating and replacing those with the limited amount of healthy food options we knew how to make.  This month, I want to expand on those options so that we're not eating the same 5 grains and vegetables at every meal for the rest of our lives.

Key Activities:

Wake up before 8:30am (weekdays)
Continue to eat breakfast, lunch and small snacks throughout the day (daily)

Continue to run -- I use Women's Health Magazine's running guide for beginners (4 days a week)
Begin running outside
Back strengthening exercises (3 days a week)

Pilates or yoga at home -- in search of a good DVD's (3 days a week)

Try a pilates class (at least once)
Try a new recipe (twice a week)

Continue to read food labels -- don't buy what I can't pronounce and what's not naturally raised

Reward:

A heart rate monitor (if I have a job by the end of the month), or the $75 Gap giftcard Nate got for me (which I can use to buy some workout pants).

[Girl♥Health]: September Rolls On

As promised, I wanted to share how I anticipate things going for me this month.  This mini-action plan will essentially be how I get real with The Method to My Madness plan -- in other words, how I put all that stuff I was saying into action.  So that means including measurable goals, key activities I can actually do right now, and (best of all) a reward at the end of the month to keep me motivated and moving forward.

September in a Nutshell

Goals:

My main EXERCISE goal for the month is to just get used to working out regularly, to get back in the swing of things so that at a certain point I just anticipate making time for workouts on a daily basis, rather than having to move my schedule around when I remember it at the last minute.  I also want to try out a bunch of different workouts so there's more for me to choose from. So that means trying my hand at yoga for the first time (the FIRST time!), getting my butt to a pilates class rather than just using my trusty old DVD player, and doing more hiking and running and other such fun stuff.  

In terms of my FOOD goals this month, it's pretty straight forward.  By the end of the month, I want to have stopped purchasing animal products that do not say "sustainably/humanely/naturally raised" on it somewhere.  I realize that better products are significantly more expensive than your run of the mill steak and that's fine since I'm also trying to reduce my consumption of meat products in general.  See how this all works together?  And my second goal of the month is start eating my meals more regularly -- so start eating breakfast (which I haven't done since the 6th grade), eating a larger lunch, snacks through the day, and a smaller dinner.

Key Activities:

Eat breakfast, lunch and small snacks (daily)

Run on the treadmill -- I use Women's Health Magazine's running guide for beginners (6 days a week)

Pilates at home -- I use the Stott Basic Pilates DVD (3 days a week)

Hiking (at least once a week)

Try yoga -- on DVD or at a class (at least once)

Try a pilates class (at least once)

Go to farmers markets -- where products are better and I can learn more about seasonal eating (biweekly)

Read food labels -- don't buy what I can't pronounce and what's not naturally raised

Reward:

A new running jacket so that when it chills a bit here and I start taking my daily runs outside, I won't freeze my ass off!  Now where's the nearest Lululemon...

And because it's a beautiful Friday here, I thought I'd share some pictures of Finn and I on one of our weekly hikes up to the hills to get some great views!

Happy Friday!