I've been struggling a little with weight, self image, etc the past few weeks (gotta love holiday weight to make one feel bleah) - so this blog might not be as uplifting or exciting as my others. It also might not be a true testament to everything I've accomplished this year - but at least its a start. Even though I'm not where I want to be physically, I have got to give myself credit where its due - I worked my ass off this year, and I've got a lot to show for it
So how did I do? Well, here's my 2011 Resolutions and my "Recap" of how it all went:
My First Resolution was: I want to be HEALTHIER at the end of 2011 than I was in 2010 - whether this means weight loss, inches lost, muscle gain, more sleep - it doesn't matter, just healthier!!
Not as much progress as I wanted, but this year has truly been a learning experience for me in lots of ways. My weight is still up a little bit from the holidays and measurements are up to, but I'm thinking I'm building muscle considering my LBM assessments have gone up by about 7 pounds (meaning I've put on about 7 pounds of muscle in the past few months). I am strong enough to lead multiple fitness classes a day and my body seems strong (even if it is a little flabby after the holidays).
Once my weight settles down, I drop some water, etc I'll take progress photos and see where the 7lbs of muscle got me. I'm currently back on the weight loss bandwagon and hopefully will have a few good weeks of progress in the future. So much more updates on THAT resolution in the weeks to come - just want to get the holiday squish off before I walk around the house in a bikini for pics :-)
On to resolution #2, which was: I want to accomplish things I've never done before (such as a full unassisted pull up, run a 5K in less than 30 mins, etc)
In February, I went straight vegan for 4 weeks - which is something I NEVER thought I could do!!! It was a truly amazing experience and the stuff I learned is just incredible! That experience can never have been learned via books or research. As far as fitness goes, I am now able to successfully hold the Crane yoga position - which is AHH-some!!!
I didn't get the sub-30 5K this year, but I did run a race in October with some friends! Despite being sick with a nasty respiratory bug, I managed to finish with a PR which was awesome!!
I signed up to teach my first Zumbathon songs this year as well. Though it was scary, I think I did alright! Here's some pics from that as well!
I also started tracking my running mileage this year - which was really great for tracking progress over the months. The mileage wasn't as high as I wanted it to be, but its still the most I've ever ran in my life. So here's all that:
Total Miles Ran in 2011: 132.2 Miles
Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 19,860 Calories GONE
Its hard for me to come up with fitness goals when I'm so busy with my classes, but I'm going to do the best I can. I think in 2012 I'm going to change my outlook. Instead of running from my issues, I'm going to be running TOWARDS something. I am not sure exactly what that something is - I guess I'll figure it out along the way.
Resolution #3: I want to develop a healthier relationship with food. This one has (and probably always will be) a work in progress. The Vegan Investigation showed me that my body responds very well to high carb, lower fat/protein diets. When I started re-integrating animal products back into my diet again, I really REALLY struggled. I had digestive/tummy issues for months and eventually got so fed up, I tried to go vegan full time. Well, that didn't work out so well. Living with a carnivore made that very difficult. So now I'm lean proteins, veggies, beans, etc and it seems to be working well.
After months of struggling with my food, I determined that I need to learn to trust myself some more (we all remember THAT super long blog). I decided to stop tracking my food starting in early October. This had mixed results, I gained some weight initially (on vacations and such) but after a while my weight balanced out. I liked not obsessing over calories - it made me feel a little more natural again.
Once the holidays hit, weight started to creep up again and now I'm trying to recover from it. Clothes are a little tighter and because of that, I've been struggling with how well did I *really* do with this resolution. I maintained my weight during stressful times without counting calories. Weight only went up when holiday treats were sneaked in. I can't say this one's a total failure, but it will continue to be a work in progress for the next year.
Resolution #4: I want to grow my hair out and donate it to Locks of Love. I have decided to go with the donation program through Pantene - but it goes to the same cause - creating wigs for cancer patients. My hair wasn't quite long enough for me to complete this goal in 2011 - but I'm still sticking with it. I got my hair measured by a stylist in early December (because I knew I was getting close) and she said to wait a few more months. In February or March, I can go back in and complete this resolution, which is going to be awesome. I never thought that over 2 years of not dying my hair could have so much of an impact on me - but its really been an amazing experience! Its forced me to become more comfortable and confident with who I am as a person. I've also inspired a few other friends to cut their hair and donate to the same cause - I think we'll have a "cutting & dying party" in a few weeks...should be super awesome!!
Resolution #5: I always have a goal to be a better person than I was at the beginning of the year - whether that means making progress emotionally, physically, financially or mentally, I just want to continue to develop as a person. Becoming stagnant doesn't help at all.
This one is a resolution I have every year - and every year I manage to succeed in accomplishing this one. Emotionally & Mentally are kind of the same, so I'm putting those together - I'm working on a lot of different things. I've noticed that my self esteem is directly linked to how I feel physically. When I overeat & feel like a cow - my self esteem goes down the crapper. When I treat my body well, I feel amazing - which radiates into all aspects of my life.
I continued my independent personal training and Zumba classes. Through lots of transition, I continue to teach at Curves (which was officially sold, so we're staying open) and single-handedly coordinate the After School program for my city while still maintaining a full time day job. I've successfully made it halfway through the year and getting ready to start my new classes tomorrow. I've gotta be proud of this. Even though my weight isn't quite where I want it - I need to be proud of everything I've accomplished with my professional life this year.
Professional accomplishments aside, I tried to keep my brain busy as much as possible this year. I attended continuing education classes for Zumba and my PT Cert throughout the year. Since I'm a total book nerd, I read as many books as possible (totalling 35 last year....I kept a list) and think that really helped me maintain my sanity during the crazy After School program days. There's something to be said for reading a book every week and a half-ish throughout one of the busiest/stressful years of our lives. Since I enjoyed my tracking so much, I'll be keeping track of my reading throughout 2012 again and see just how many books I can knock out this year as well (Its only January 3rd and I've already finished 1 book this year and working on #2) I created a goodreads account so I'll be using that for sure.
Financially this year was a huge success. This past year, I've paid off 2 store credit cards (Sears for our treadmill & Zales), our motorcycle and we're getting ready to pay off my credit card in the next few weeks. The bike was over $5000 paid and now its completely ours, the store cards were each around $1300 and my credit card is almost $10,000 that will be gone thanks to our hard work and dedication. Our goal to be Debt-Free by Spring/Summer 2012 is well on its way. The hubby is working to pay off his credit card, mine is getting paid off soon and all I have left is $8,000 on my car....that's IT!!! With the exception of the mortgage (which doesn't count) we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Go us!
We've worked really hard this year and hopefully set ourselves up financially for a kick ass 2012! I'm still working on coming up with my goals/resolutions for 2012, but you can bet that they're going to be good ones!!
No comments:
Post a Comment