Progress

Progress is all I can really ask of myself these days.  Perfection is out of the question.  And I refuse to let myself fail.  So progress it is.  If I slip up, I make a mental note of the mistake and I move forward. 

My January goals went remarkably well.  No, they were not perfect, but in the past 31 days, I have definitely moved forward and not backward, and that's all that I ask of myself.  In review, I ate 90% of my meals at home, dosed myself with about 11 vitamins daily (with only one day that I forgot), and drank so. much. water.  Two liters every day!  And at the end of the month, I find myself 17 pounds lighter.  How's that for progress?

February's goals will build on those accomplishments.  I will continue to cook at home, allowing myself one meal out per week.  It could be dinner at a restaurant or grabbing lunch downtown, but once I've had my one weekly meal, that's it until the following week. 

I also will buy and cook one new vegetable every week.  I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to veggies, and I've tried just about all of them out there.  But I tend to stick to my safe veggies that I buy: zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, spinach.  I'm kind of in a vegetable rut.  So I need to branch out and learn to cook something new.  This week, I'm going with beets.  I plan to roast them and serve them in a salad. 

Finally, the fitness goals.  I tried to focus on making new habits and sticking to them in January and didn't pay much attention to exercise.  This month, it gets incorporated.  My goal is 150 minutes every week.  That's 2.5 hours, divided through the week however I want.  Even if I go on a 15 minute walk four days in a row, then spend an hour and a half at the gym for the fifth day.  The key is to just build the habit.  I also want to get a quick five minute stretch in every morning.

I hope everyone had a fabulous first month to this year!  Keep at it in February.