7 December 2009
Winter Shape Up Week 8: My Goals, and a Confession
I have something to confess. I totally fell off the WSU bandwagon. Yup, while you all have been going strong, meeting your goals week after week (or if you don’t, persisting until you do!), I stopped setting goals a few weeks back. I was frustrated that I wasn’t meeting many of my goals and figured it’d be better not to set any at all.
Someone recently emailed me to say that she was happy for the people that had lost weight and had other successes as part of the challenge, but that she hadn’t been very successful and was contemplating if there was even a reason to continue.
I wrote her back and honestly told her that I’d been struggling with the challenge, too. And now let me be even more honest: I’m up three pounds from when this challenge began. Is three pounds life changing? Absolutely not. To the outsider, I’m sure I look absolutely the same. But I’m short with a pretty small frame, so three to five pounds on me is edging on “my clothes are starting to get tight” territory.
All this to say, for the last three weeks of the WSU, I’m rededicating myself to the challenge. I’m going to write about my goals and progress again, just like I’ve required all the WSUppers to do every single week in an email to me. Without further ado, my goals for Week 8:
- Work out five days this week (doesn’t matter what I do). I’ve only managed to work out two or three days a week these past few weeks, and I feel like it’s starting to take a toll on my health and well-being.
- Only ONE sweet treat per day. I’m going to count anything with refined sugar (or other sweetener) as a sweet treat. This will be a big challenge for me, since this is the time of year when coworkers regularly bring in goodies and friends host holiday parties with the sole purpose of serving delicious grub. I don’t want to cut myself off completely, but every meal of the day does not need its own dessert.
- Stay gluten-free, for now. Even though I’m not sure it’s the cause of my stomach woes, I haven’t had any problems since I cut gluten out of my life on Dec. 1 (I’ve definitely had a few slip-ups, though). I’d like to stay gluten-free until at least Christmas Eve. I’m sorry, I just can’t commit to being gluten-free at my boyfriend’s family’s annual Christmas Eve party… not going to happen. If my stomach acts up before then, gluten gets to come back into my life!
I hope this might inspire any other WSUppers who are struggling with the challenge (it’s a long challenge, I admit!) to rededicate themselves these last few weeks. A lot can happen in three weeks, and what better way to end the year than to celebrate your health?
