Better Late Than Never

With all the Super Bowl excitement this weekend, I didn’t get a chance to do my usual Goals + Inspiration Sunday post, but I figure it’s better late than never!

Workout Plan + Goals

When I originally designed my Phase One plan, I thought I would keep it for about a month (if I could handle it for even that long) before switching it up.  However, this is week four, and I’m still feeling really great about it.  That said, I think I’m going to extend it to six weeks before I change over to a Phase Two.

This means the end of the phase will coincide nicely with the mini vacation I’ll be taking at the end of February.  I often like to set mini goals and specify time frames for myself because it gives me something to look forward to.  I think coming back from the vacation will help me to reset and allow me to feel ready to start a new set of workouts.   As for right now, I feel good about the plan, the rhythm I’m in, and the way I feel after the workouts, so I’m happy to extend it a little longer before switching it up.

This week does mark the beginning of the second half of the six weeks though, so I will be making a few changes to both keep things fresh and continue to challenge myself.  Here’s what I’m hoping for:

• As I’ve said before, my core feels a little neglected, so I’ll be trying to add one new exercise a day that targets abs.  (Yesterday, it was tuck jumps.)
• I also want to focus on making my Wednesday/Saturday workouts more effective.  Originally these were going to be core-focused days, but they’ve since turned into running/free/off days. It’s fine with me if I deviate from the plan on these days and still get an effective workout in, but I don’t want to waste them.
• I feel good about my relatively clean eating until about 5p.m. After that, we go to the dining hall or out to eat, and my attempts at healthy eating often fall to the wayside.  In the next three weeks, I’m going to make a solid attempt to eat better, more balanced dinners (more veggies!!) at least 6 days a week.
• Piggybacking off this last point, I’m also going to be limiting myself to 2 desserts per week.  For my own purposes, I’m going to define “dessert” as empty calorie snacks (cake, ice cream, etc.).  If I’m still hungry at night, I’ll have something else after dinner, but I’ll make it something healthy (fruit, yogurt, milk) instead of something empty.   I’m definitely not going to be cutting out desserts altogether (hence the reason I’ve limited it to 2 per week), since let’s face it it’s my favorite meal of the day, but I’ve definitely gotten a little out of hand and don’t need to be making desserts a regular habit.

I definitely feel good about how I’ve gotten back into my regular habits of eating well and working out after taking that little holiday hiatus, but I think these goals will help me to refocus even more.   I think it’s always good to take a look at what you’re doing, habits you’re forming, and the lifestyle you’re creating in order to assess where you would like to be in the future and how you plan on getting there.  Striving to be healthy and balanced is certainly the lifestyle I choose for myself!

Fitspiration

(all images from Pinterest)

Have a great week!!