Fit and Balanced Mom: Goals, goals, goals!

Weekly Update: I officially got over the 35 pound marker 'hurdle' after being down then up the same 2 tenths of a pound the past two weeks. Down 1.4 for a total of 36! My goal for next week is 8 tenths (or more) to get me under the 200s. I plan to get there by tracking my food, drinking 100oz of water a day and working our daily.

If you know me, I'm big on goals. No matter what your 'ultimate' goal is, you need to set manageable time bound goals to help get you there. This will help with motivation and long term success. If I had only set one goal to 'lose 100 pounds' imagine how overwhelming that would be?! Instead, I go for SMART goal setting to help me get me to my ultimate goal and enjoy the progress along the way.

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The SMART acronym is an awesome tool. It gives you a way to hold yourself accountable in a very easy to follow way. 'Lose 100lbs' is relevant (I need to do it to be healthier) and measurable (100lbs), but it's not very attainable without placing some mini goals along the way. It's also not specific in what I plan to do to acheive it, nor is it time bound - how long will it take me?? I have a long term goal off 'lose 100 pounds in a year through fitness programs such as the 21 Day Fix, T25 and Body Pump' but it's way too big to consider realistic without some other goals.

So this led me to set some other goals:

My first goals were set in July when I started this journey. I wanted to lose 20lbs and waterski by the end of the skiing season (September). Very specific, time bound, relevant, attainable and measurable. They were aggressive but I was determined. I hit both by August 31st, losing 22lbs and skiing several times. Reaching these goals wasn't as overwheming as the thought of 'losing 100lbs' and achieving them motivated me to keep pushing.

My second set of goals was to finish the Hartford Half Marathon and get 'below' 200 pounds by Race Day (October 11). I hit the race goal, and came very close to the weight goal (201.8lbs). I continue to push towards my goals and feel that I'm being realistic but also pushing myself - the fact that I came so close on my weight goal I consider a huge accomplishment even though I didn't hit the goal. To me if I am consistently overachieving it means my goals are set high enough to keep pushing me to a stronger, better self.

I now have officially set my 'year end' goals which are a little less aggressive given the holidays (staying attainable). I plan to lose 15 more pounds in the upcoming weeks as well as drink 100oz a day and workout 10-30 minutes at least 6 nights a week. I am tracking my water intake through a free app 'waterlogged' and using my 'Body Pump' calendar to track my workouts while I complete the 90 Day Pump Challenge.

Here is a photo I found reminding me of what I'm marching towards each day. I value health most importantly because of the fun opportunities it affords me to participate in! Here I am zip lining 4 years ago. I love hiking, waterskiing, running and being adventurous in general. For those things, I need my health.

Changing subjects to some food news, I made these for a MOMs club event last week and wow were they both easy and delicious! So much that a fellow mom asked me several times for the recipe! She went and ordered Shakeology through me as a result and I'm so excited that she'll be drinking it as well as making these snacks for her family! I used almond butter to avoid peanut allergies and they were just as tasty.

And this was a super easy 21 Day Fix friendly fajita salad. Peppers, onions, tofu (you could do chicken), lettuce, cheese, rice & seasonings!

Similar to my water challenge a few weeks ago, I'm starting a 7 day 'MOVE IT' challenge which challenges members to move 30 minutes a day for 6 of 7 days. I Ioved this quote as it's a reminder something is always better than nothing.