My 2011 plan

Happy 2011 y'all! I like the promise of a new year. It's as if with the turn of the calendar, the slate is wiped clean, and anything is possible. I've spent the past few days thinking what I'd like to see the new year bring.

Like last year, instead of setting resolutions, I'll outline a plan that to guide my days. It seemed to work really well last year, so here goes:

1. Running: I'm already starting out more positively without the pain of last winter. I'd like to work towards a half-marathon before I turn 35. Right now, I'm thinking of the Mardi Gras half in NO in Feb. 2012. To get there, I want to train and race more regularly. My goal: 8 races this year. I already have my eye on them: Rockets 5k in Jan., Rodeo 10k in Feb. (with the Bayou Classic in March as a backup if needed), Memorial Park 4 mi in Apr., either the Astros 5k or the Contraband Days 5 miler (in Lake Charles) in May, possibly a July 4 and Labor Day race, the 10-miler in Oct. I wanted to do last year, and the traditional Turkey Trot in Nov. I'd like to do most of these in barefoot shoes but will see how that treats me.
2. Staying active: My physician says I should aim for 45 minutes a day to keep the hereditary high blood pressure at bay. I'm fine now, but it will creep up as I get older. Staying active and will help with my thyroid issues too (just realizing now I didn't mention either of these in the 2010 review, and they were big game changers for me!). My goal: 300 minutes/week. I know I didn't hit the 200 weekly every week last year, but I think setting my goal high encouraged me to aim higher some days than I would have. Plus, I'd like to take a hot yoga class most weeks this year, so that will be almost a third of the weekly total if I'm successful. As I start training, long runs will eat a lot of that time too. It should be easy to get the minutes, as long as I commit to making them a priority! I'd also like to lift weights at least once a week as well.
3. Eating: I plan to continue tracking through the new Weight Watchers program most days. I recognize it is OK and healthy to take a day off now and then for special occasions (Christmas etc) where it's just not practical to weigh everything out. I am proud that this holiday season, I really worked well on portion control. It's more important to have tastes of everything and not stuff myself! I also want to eat more fruits and veggies, which the plan promotes. My goal: Achieve a healthy weight (under 150) through eating better, watching portions and staying active. I haven't settled on an exact weight number, knowing that the more fit I become, some of that will result in muscle gain. But under 150 is a healthy BMI for my height. And I'm only a few pounds over that now, so that should be achievable! It would also be nice to get closer to my 10-years-ago weight in time for our anniversary this summer!
4. Professionally: I will take the CFRE this year. My goal: to take the CFRE review course in Feb. and apply for the exam by the last deadline of Aug. 26 to test in fall. I will hit 10 years total of fundraising in Oct. (7 consecutive in Apr.), so it's time to add this to my resume. I may need to spread it out to the end of the year though ... the course and exam are both several hundred $$ each. (See previous note about anniversary: we are planning a second honeymoon and are saving for it!)
5. Personally: I want to read more often. I read a few books this year and really enjoyed it, but I've lost this discipline. My goal: to read a book a month (12 total) this year, and make it a mix of fiction and non-fiction. That will keep me from just reading 12 business or self-improvement books!

So this is my plan, and I'd like to stick to most of it again. What's your game plan for 2011?

2010, let's review it again

It's New Year's Eve, so I'll continue last year's tradition with a blog today about the year's progress, and one tomorrow about my new year plan. Here's how I did:

1. Running: I spent much of 2010 dealing with plantar fasciitis that began around Christmas 2009. So I did not achieve my goal of running a 10-miler. However, I did run the 10k on Thanksgiving again and finished about a minute faster than the year before, again with little training and hotter weather. I did transition to barefoot shoes, which allows me to run with less heel/arch pain. However, the adjustment in my leg muscles is still ongoing!
2. Staying active: In my 200-minute/week plan, I achieved this 19 of 52 weeks (about 37% of the year). January and December were my best months with more than 1000 minutes (1151 this month alone!) I averaged 25/mins of activity a day. I had 80 days off, more than last year's 70, but I did have the injury to thank for some of that. My lowest months were September and October, which tells me I must continue to work to make activity a priority, even when I'm busy, as it's better for me overall.
3. Eating: Since the new Weight Watchers plan rolled out after Thanksgiving, I've been MUCH better about writing down what I eat, no matter how "bad" it may be. This, in combination with the activity, helped me lose 2 pounds compared to this time last year. Pretty cool considering most adults gain 1-2 pounds a year in their 30s and beyond. So that's as if I kept 4 pounds off my frame! I am continuing to work on getting more fruits and veggies in.
4. Professionally: I did not take the CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) exam, but I did get accepted into Leadership Houston ... which I decided was a fair trade-off. It's been a great experience so far and I'm learning so much that will benefit me personally and professionally. Plus I have some really fun classmates!

So as far as my "resolutions" went, I was able to stick to some, I had to sideline others but mostly due to circumstances beyond my control, or other opportunities that presented themselves. They say the best part of being a leader is staying flexible. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping 2010 in stride.

On to 2011!! I expect many big things to come in the new year. We'll celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, which means I will also hit the decade mark in my fundraising career. I have some ideas of what else I'd like to achieve ... but you'll have to come back tomorrow for that!

Some like it hot

So this morning I ventured out of my comfort zone and tried a hot yoga class. I've been to yoga plenty of times, but never the hot variety, though many friends have raved about it.

This summer, I bought a Living Social deal for 5 yoga classes at Yoga One. At $25, even if I only used it twice I was ahead as a guest class is $15.

In true former journalist style, I procrastinated until the last minute possible to start using my pass. I decided that my extended break out of the office for the holiday would be a great time to use as much of the pass as I could. The studio is in Midtown, which with no traffic, is 20 minutes tops from Casa Burns.

As YOH's website notes, hot yoga is done in room 102-105 degrees (though I think the thermometer read 110 by the end of class) and 50-60% humidity. So basically, it's like a Houston day in August but less humidity.

Upon entering the room with my mat, towel and bottles of water (I took about 48 oz.), the warmth hit me immediately. Participants are encouraged to arrive early to acclimate to the temperature. Seeing as I'd just gotten up about 90 minutes earlier, I enjoyed the chance to lie quietly on the floor. In fact, I would have liked to have just napped right there! I'm one of those that needs to be warm to sleep.

We were encouraged to stay in the room for the whole 90 minutes, and if it got tough at all, feel free to take a break, grab some water, and rejoin when all was good. I only had one point, about 45 minutes in, that I plain needed to just lie down for about a minute. I did take a few more water breaks than the rest of the folks but that was minimally disruptive to the routine.

Our practice consisted of pretty standard poses. Most I had done in other classes before. I noticed the heat in the room made it a little easier to push myself a little further (in fact, I can already feel that some in my legs now!). The breathing is more key in this kind of yoga than others, and once you get the hang of it, feels quite refreshing. I went in still having a little bit of the sinus issues tickling my throat, and those are greatly reduced now.

Another difference: you SWEAT. Boy, you sweat! Like dripping off you as you stand there. Like soak the bath towel through. I don't even think I've sweated that much running! But it felt awesome. I felt so clean. I felt like I didn't want to put any bad food in my body anytime soon. In fact, I didn't get hungry until a good hour after the class, and the scrambled eggs I ate then were the BEST eggs ever. I drank all the water during the class, and another 16 oz. on the way home. I have never felt so hydrated and it feels good!

I'm a little worn out now, but am relieved to know I've gotten my exercise in for the day, so now I can just enjoy the day as it progresses. I have a lot to do on my list today, but I feel pretty peaceful about it.

So I think I'll be going back Thursday morning for another round. Who's in?

Level up!

So the good thing about not fitting into all your clothes is it makes you take a hard look at yourself and your habits. And I realized it might be time to go a little boot camp on myself. I have been giving myself a lot of excuses these past 3 months to take it easy on the exercise (walks around the block are better than nothing but nothing close to a good gym trip, run or class) and on my nutrition (everything seemed to be a special occasion and I have eaten way too much bad stuff).

I decided I would start making some small changes that would be easy to implement, and keep adding until I wipe a lot of the bad habits that creeped in away. First up was a new snack rule: "Nothing but fruit after dinner." This started last night. I had some delicious clementines and an apple. There was a good sale at the store so I stocked up. Usually by dinner, I've eaten most of my Points allotment for the day, and now that fresh fruit is free, this is a good way to hit that sweet tooth.

Another one, at least for the short term, is that I'd like to workout every day for the rest of the year. No easy workouts. I hit the elliptical and weights yesterday when errands got in the way of a run before dark, and totally busted it in kickboxing tonight. I already have the rest of the week planned: repeat of Sunday tomorrow and Thursday nights, Zumba on Wednesday, a class or cardio on Friday depending what time I make it to the gym (as I have a pending car repair to deal with but there's a gym across the street!). If I get through that, then I'm off on vacation the rest of the year and remaining scheduling should be much easier.

The next change I want to tackle is two fold. I want to cut back on afternoon coffee for several reasons: 1) even though I get a nonfat latte, it's still 90 calories. 2-3 of those a week are worth a decent workout, 2) I'm a sucker for Starbucks, so this would save $8-12 a week. That's a new piece of clothing by the end of the month! and 3) it helps with part 2, making sleep more a priority. I need to get back to 7 hours a night during the week. I need to make 11 p.m. a usual bedtime. This will be the hardest change, so I'm giving this one a few days to do it.

I'm hopeful that these changes, while small, will be the start of some big progress. Time to take things to the next level! (Speaking of ... I plan to blog again this week about exercise intensity. Stay tuned and bug me if you don't see it by the weekend.)

More sweat, less salt!

I had my follow-up doctor's appointment on Friday. The good news? I can go from monitoring my blood pressure daily and now only need to do it occassionally? The bad news? Three months of results have me at an average 120/80, or just BARELY pre-hypertensive. This prompted several pieces of advice: follow the DASH diet (which emphasizes fruits and veggies), cut back on sodium where I can, and aim for 45 minutes of exercise a day.

The goal is to fight the slight increase in BP I'll get as I age, so that I don't become hypertensive and need meds. So when I got home Friday night, Adam and I started scouring labels. It's really something to see how much sodium is in the items in our pantry! Sure, canned/jar food is going to have more than fresh, but it was quite an eye-opener.

This was good timing, actually. I've been following the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program since it came out almost a week ago. I've been eating at least an extra piece or two of fruit a day thanks to not having to count them anymore. My new routine is an apple when I get hungry after dinner. Then if I'm still peckish, I have a few small squares of organic dark chocolate (translation: pretty low in points) and that does it. I used to carb up with toast, waffles, etc.

I even had a banana before my run today! I am not a fan of bananas, but I'm learning to love them since they help with muscle cramps and I don't have to count them anymore either. This week, I'm going to try to make bananas my breakfast (except the 2 mornings I have meetings) and keep up the nighttime apple habit.

The exercise recommendation has led me to settle on a goal of 300 minutes a week next year. I'm really going to have to work to schedule that in. I am already seeing benefits in an energy boost since kicking off my latest batch of activity on Thanksgiving.

The biggest other change? Having to visit doctors more frequently. Have to go back to my main doc in 6 months, and she said I should also be seeing my endocrinologist every 6 months also to monitor the synthroid. But if it makes for a healthier me, I'll do it. Just a big shift from someone who pretty much goes once a year and doesn't get sick much.

Welcome to Day 76

Wow, the end of November! The month, and year, have really flown by. I'm happy to report I had one of my better months, exercise minutes-wise, even if not a great month on the scale. 856 minutes this month ... only January was higher with 1046. June and August came close with around 800. The rest...eh. I have made my 200 minute goal just 15 weeks this year. However, several weeks were at 170 or more, so it's a start and possibly one of my more active years in the past few.

A nice chunk of that time was the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. I rocked the 10k, in my barefoot shoes. Sure, I had some aches and pains towards the end and for a few days afterwards, but knowing I could go that far, and even shave about a minute off my time from last year (despite heat and humidity) was a great feather in my cap for November. It gave me hope and encouragement that I can get on the healthy track again.

See for me, that's what this whole adventure is about. Trying to take care of my body so it takes care of me. It's not for vanity (though, I would love to look totally hot in a swimsuit for our second honeymoon next summer-who wouldn't??). It's not a diet. It's living my life to the best of my ability. And realizing that eating the right things and making time for exercise can enhance all parts of my life, not just the physical. Even just the past few days, I've noticed a lift in my mood, slightly better nights' sleep, and increased productivity.

So with just 31 days left, I won't make my "70 days off or less" goal. But I can aim for 80. I'm not sure if I will start off 2011 weighing less than 2010 (I'm technically up about .4 right now). But I can workout in a more effective way that if the scale doesn't move, it's because I will have the baby muscles back in 4 weeks. And I'm going to really dedicate myself to tracking what I eat, especially since the new Weight Watchers allows for nearly unlimited fruits and veggies.

I'm already seeing changes. I was hungry before bed last night and ate an apple. I had a banana for breakfast and another apple this afternoon. That may be more pieces of fruit in 2 days than I've gotten in some weeks! See, I'm not as perfect as I may seem ;) I did even eat a cookie at the holiday party tonight (but stopped myself at one!!).

I think the key to a healthy lifestyle is constantly recommitting yourself to the big picture, then figuring out how to make the details work in the execution. And with that, I will also spend the next 31 days dreaming up big goals for 2011.

Whip it, into shape

It's time for me to get serious again about fitness. We have 61 days left in the year. In the past 2 months' flurry of activity, I have not made my fitness a priority, and it shows. I've gained back the 6ish pounds I lost after summer vacation in June. I'm sore from lifting weights Saturday. I got winded on my walk/run Sunday.

I dislike that it takes me feeling sluggish to become "scared straight" again, but I am only human. I'm also not pleased that after a good July and August, September and October were my downfall. Sure, I know those are my busy months. But I could have planned better to combat that. I leaned on the activity in my life like a crutch, and I'm feeling the effects.

And sure, I have the thyroid issues now that I wasn't aware I had before. But all the more reason to get things back into check, right?

So I've already started this morning tracking what I eat and drink. No matter how bad it looks, I'm writing it all down. It helps make me really think about what I stuff my face with, and if it's worth the exercise I'll need later to work it off.

I am at 69 days off exercise this year. That's a little shy of my 65 goal and pretty darn close to the 70 I took off last year. If I workout every day remaining, that's 63 straight (counting this past weekend). That's really not that bad. If my goal is to lose weight, I can't really afford to miss a day right now.

I am going to the gym after work. I'll do the same tomorrow. I'll work towards switching that to the mornings after my schedule eases in 12 days.

I will hydrate. I will hydrate. I will hydrate. In fact, I'm going to fill my mug as soon as I post this.

I will start 2011 better than I started 2010. So who's with me? What will you do in the next two months to make your health a priority? Let me know and let's support each other.