A New Year = New Goals

Alright people, let’s hear it for 2010 and start off fresh with 2011. I’ve been making it to the gym this past week several times now, and have really missed it. With working part time during the holidays and all the other events going on I had no time left over for myself, let alone the gym. I am back in full force and will start a new adventure soon with The Biggest Loser Contest at my gym. This week I will register for the contest and the following week I will do my weigh in and body composition test. The results and winners are judged on highest % of weight loss and/or highest % of body fat lost in both a men and women's category. So, there will be 2 chances for me to win. I sure wish I had a financial sponsor for this, but I will have to lay down $99 for this whole thing. If I win, there’s no lose for me really, but it will put a burden on our finances this month. Jon and I are prepared to work around that. So, here’s a quick run down of my current weight, some thoughts on goals and workouts, and for the next week I will be re-posting some of my favorite posts from 2010 and then we will get into the contest!

My current weight is 266.6 and I can certainly tell you I am not excited about that number, but I am glad to see that by only indulging myself once in awhile during the past month I did alright about not gaining weight. My goals are large and will need a lot of focus from me to accomplish, but with some accountability partners (you readers), my family, and my drive I will do it!

Goal 1: Compete in the Biggest Loser contest at my gym. I would really like to put win as part of the goal, but would need to really size up the competition first. The contest runs into March, so this will be a good long term focus for me.

Goal 2: Complete 30 day Challenge on EA Active Wii Fit game. I started this again to see how well I do now that have lost weight and have a full year of exercise in my system. When I started this journey, the EA Active was all I had to get me started. I felt like it gave me a great starting point then, and it will give me another avenue of exercise this time around too. I began on the 1st and will finish the challenge in 30 days. The program consists of 2 days on and 1 day off of exercise, so some days I will do the Wii and the gym depending on what’s going on. So far I have really enjoyed the muscles that are being worked again – I had mostly been focusing on cardio lately and not strength building, so this is a nice variation to my workouts.

Goal 3: Zumba class! My gym is now offering Zumba fitness classes and I am interested in seeing how this class works. A lot of my friends have been working out with Zumba for awhile and have seen great results with it. They also say it’s challenging at first, but very rewarding and fun at the same time. The class is offered at 6:30-7:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays, so this will correspond with a lot of things and I will have to work out lives around trying to go to this class.

Goal 4: Lose 30 pounds by April 1! Wow, that’s a deadline that is looming close. I’m only giving myself 3 whole months to shed the weight. Why you ask, well that would be a couple of weeks after the biggest loser contest, but I really just want to have a deadline. I don’t want to keep telling people around spring time or early summer. It doesn’t give me a sense of urgency or keep me on track if I just throw out a time period that is ambiguous. So, that’s 10 pounds a month or 2.5 pounds a week. I can so do that!

Goal 5: Keep a daily food log, sometimes counting calories, but without obsessing over it. Last year at this time I began a head first focus on counting my calories, and it took up a good portion of time to calculate, input, and keep track of all the calories going in me. So, I’ve made my own little journal and will write down what I’m eating and the calories if I know them. If I can see when and what I am eating in front of me I think I will have a better perspective on anything that could be hampering my weight loss.

So, there are the goals and the hard work ahead of me. I hope you will continue to join me on my journey and send encouragement my way. I will do that same for your journeys and help lead you onto a new and healthy path for your life. Happy New Year and I mean it, make it a happy one!