Here we are again, another weekly check-in. If I’m being completely honest, this particular article that I write every week is a little intimidating. A week doesn’t seem enough time to really have something amazing to report as far as progress. However, I’m also finding that it is a huge accountability tool. I’m trying to let it be a drive to do better, instead of a pressure. This is a good opportunity for me to work through those feelings and becoming stronger.
New Goals
I have joined a monthly challenge. This challenge involves participation in mental, physical and spiritual work every day. Every day I will read a book, do 30 minutes of exercise and spend some time meditating. I have also done some research on the Wim Hof Method. Pretty much a breathing exercise. For meditating I have focused very much on emptying my mind of stress and burdens and breathing through to release tension. I haven’t honestly done a ton of meditating, so I am excited about this one to see what benefits I could receive from this exercise.
Ragnar – I have signed up for a Ragnar race May 13th-14th. It is a team of 8 people and I have to run 3 times for a total of 17 miles I believe. I have to become stricter about getting regular running in. I am hoping to be able to confidently say that my pace is an 11-minute mile. I plan on doing a 6-mile run this Saturday to really test out what my long-term pace is. Bonus is that my running will be a more regular occurrence, which will fulfill the other monthly challenge I’m working on.
Short term Goals
Intermittent Fasting – I really do think I’ve mostly gotten the hang of this. Still some kinks I’m working out. I did lose another pound and hit 140 this week. However, the issue I need to shake myself out of, is paying attention to my lax days. I had a sister night, and we had a family overnight adventure. For both, I decided I didn’t want to stress to much about food. Normally, I eat what I want but portion within my calories. I kind of talked myself into not worrying about it and went up a couple pounds again. I know a lot of this is because of sodium and that I can drop that and hopefully more by getting back on track.
I have started my reset today by kicking it off with a fast. I am doing a 48 hour fast and drinking lots of water. I want to be able to clear out any of the buildup in my system from less than desirable foods. I will get back on track with intermittent fasting. The biggest thing I want to focus on, is that if I have a day out with friends or something similar that I don’t use intermittent fasting as an excuse to ignore calories. I know that I can do it and I fully want to reach my goal weight by the end of March.
Squat Challenge – This one is kicking my butt right now. At first, I was sore a lot of the time. I just told myself to keep pushing through until I wasn’t sore anymore. I did reach that point. However, it is a different kind of sore now. I don’t feel sore as I go throughout my day. When I do my squats, I feel like my thighs and butt are screaming at me twice as much. My thighs burn like crazy for like half an hour before they calm down. I also see that my leg muscles are in a constant state of tension. I try to stretch them out, but boy do I feel it! 22 days down, and 8 more to go.
Adventures – We went down to Moab, Utah this weekend. We were able to visit both Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. We went on 4 hikes that totaled 5 miles. The boys were tired by the end of the two days, but they loved all the things that we saw. Which included whale rock (My oldest says this was his favorite), Mesa Arch (Hubby liked this one), Double Arch (my favorite), and Delicate Arch (we all agreed that this one was completely worth it).
Push-ups – I am still struggling with the push-ups. I was unable to increase the number this week. Still doing 24 a day, I hope to be feeling stronger throughout the week with this one. I won’t give up, I am almost halfway to 50 push-ups.
Do you have any new goals that you are working on this week? What have you accomplished so far?
Mel's Health and Fitness 