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Monday, November 17, 2008

Baby Steps

As a part of me trying to eat healthier and get back into working out regularly, I’ve decided to set some goals for myself to ease back into things. I think trying to jump back into working out an hour and a half each day and eating "perfectly" (for me that means no binges!) would be too overwhelming. So I’m going to set these goals for myself now. After Christmas (only 5.5 weeks away – yay!!!!) I will re-evaluate them and set additional goals that are more challenging:

1. Drink at least 125 ounces of water a day – NOT including the water I drink before/during/after a workout.*
2. Avoid diet sodas at night.
3. Do cardio 4-5 times a week, for 30-60 minutes.
4. Start strength training. Period!
5. Eat at least 2-3 servings of fruit/veggies a day (that is not a lot, I know…baby steps!)

(*Does anyone know how much water you are “supposed” to have each day? I heard the 8 glasses of water thing is inaccurate….but I also heard too much water can be bad!)

Have you ever had to ease yourself into something by taking baby steps?

15 comments:

Erica said...

Hey girl- those are great goals. Read this about water:

http://www.fakefoodfree.com/2008/11/water-intake-is-not-myth-to-me.html

Holly said...

Thank you so much, Erica! I love that site - she had an interesting post on artificial sweetners, too.

Anonymous said...

I can totally relate to your approach because my entire weight-loss strategy has become about taking baby steps (or as I call them, "turtle steps")!

Unknown said...

Great goals! Baby steps are the best way to do it.

With water intake, the RD I spoke to said that we should have 8 glasses of fluids a day. This includes fluids you get from food (such as fruit), as well as water, juice, milk, tea, etc. Basically any kind of drink except for things like coffee and pop, which have loads of caffeine... and for every serving of alcohol, you're supposed to have an extra serving of fluids. That's about all I remember for that!

Holly said...

Liz - that's crazy that you had a post like this, too! Promise I didn't copy. ;-) I like "turtle" steps better then "baby," 'cause I'm planning on taking this slooow!

Sagan - Thank you! I guess that 8 glass/day is good...I think I'm good to go! I really do love water, I just need to watch the caffeine. I can have a lot of caffeine if I have a lot of water...right? Then it's okay? :-)

jess said...

Through getting my Nutrition and Wellness consultant certification, I learned that, really, if a person eats a balanced diet (with plenty of fruits and vegetables) then they should be alright just drinking water whenever they are thirsty. So many foods have a high water content anyway. But I would definitely aim for at least 4 glasses Minimum just to make sure ;)

carla said...

life.

seriously.

everything in my life begins with baby steps.

Holly said...

Jess - that is great to know! NORMALLLY I do eat lots of veggies and fruit, I'm just trying to get back into the habit. Thank you so much for the info! :-)

Miz - isn't that the truth? I have a tendency to want to get everything done right here, right now...but I need to realize it's okay if it doesn't happen that way.

Anonymous said...

If you google water calculator, you can answer a few questions and it will tell you.

For me, I am 163 pounds, workout a minimum of 45 minutes, don't live in a dry climate and it said I should drink 110 ounces of water.

Granted, if you eat a healthy diet, 20% of that can go towards your water.

I have a mug called the Bubba Keg and it holds 34 ounces. I love it because it doesn't sweat! I drink one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and then another at home at night.

That seems to work! I am much better at drinking water M-F, not so much on the weekends - I don't think red wine counts!

Holly said...

Biz - Thank you!! I think I am okay, according to what it said I should drink...like you, I have a bottle that holds 24 oz. and I aim to drink it/refill it 4-5 times during the day. Otherwise you would find me drinking Diet Coke! :-) I am better at it on the weekdays, too....and I wish beer counted on the weekends. It has some water in it.....right???

Anonymous said...

I drink as much as I'm thirsty for. Other than coffee, I don't drink much else. Fruits and veggies are great snacks, and I generally plan my meals to include veggies.

I find that including small amounts of protein/healthy fats (or sometimes not so healthy) keeps me from feeling restricting and not bingeing.

Unknown said...

sounds like amazing goals!
i have a water bottle with me ALL DAY! i work out a lot, so i probably need it, but i usually drink about 6-7 bottles per day
hope you have a great night!

Holly said...

lajuliebean - that is very true. Certain days it's like I can't drink ENOUGH (water, hahaha). Then there are other days where I'm just okay. It's that whole "listening to your body" thing that I so need to work on!

Gina - I totally freak out if a water bottle isn't near me at all times! You are super active, though, and I'm sure you do need that extra liquid. The more I drink water, the more I crave it...weird, huh??

GroundedFitness said...

GREAT GOALS! I just recently did it with cardio- i hate it. i went from a few days a week, to half an hour most daysn and now im up to an hour most days. it took me a while, but once something is habit, thats when i add more.

Kelly Turner
www.groundedfitness.com

Holly said...

Kelly - that makes me feel better because I'm sure you are a gizillion times more in shape than I am! That's kind of my approach with strength training...once I get started, I actually kinda like it. It's just getting motivated to get up off my arse. :-)