I have set myself many goals and aims for 2014, in various areas such as health, fitness, happiness, travel, home, and so on. But I also have an aim that spans all of these, an aim to be kinder to myself and more mindful – attentive to how I’m feeling, the impact I’m having on others and my stress levels and emotions. So rather than setting myself long-term goals for the future (lose 10lbs by April, avoid carbohydrates for a month etc) I’ll be trying to focus on developing habits that positively contribute to my health and wellbeing, eating foods that make me feel more energetic and listening to my body and the way it feels. I’m trying not to be so hard on myself – if I put on a few pounds (or a lot, lot more than a few, oops), miss a run when I was intending to go, if I gorge on Domino’s Pizza or if I drink a few pints of cider when I was planning on having a dry January (ahem). Life is much too short to be repeatedly beating myself up for things I perceive I shouldn’t have done, or for a different number than I want there to be on the scales.
The fact is, I pretty much know how to get stronger, more toned and feel healthier. If losing the fat around my middle I’m so desperate to get rid of, and feeling more confident about my body, is a side effect, then that earns some major bonus points for me. I know that when I eat lots of sugar I feel sick – I frequently buy bags of Haribo and seem to shed the memory that I always feel horrendous when I eat the whole packet. I know that eating too much of most things leaves me feeling bloated and uncomfortable and yet I’ll demolish six slices of Domino’s pizza and then have to go for a bread-induced nap. I know that running always makes me feel awesome but I’ll hit the snooze button at 6.15, and I know that white bread has almost no nutritional value and yet I’ll make marmite on toast instead of porridge for breakfast.
I don’t need an education, I just need a bit of willpower and a lot of listening to my body.
My goals are as follows.
[001] Do something active every day.Whether it’s a walk, a run, or 20 minutes before bed watching a spinning video and pedalling away on my new exercise bike, I want to try and make fitness and being active a part of my daily lifestyle.
{exercise bike gifted by argos as part of a health and fitness campaign}
[002] Go on ten dog walks per month
This might sound like a strange one since Bodhi obviously gets walked every day, but actually our routine is that Tom walks Bodhi in the morning whilst I’m getting ready for work and then we travel into work together. Although we often walk Bodhi at the weekends together I’d really like to accompany Tom on Bodhi’s morning walk or walk him more often alone, I love walking Bodhi and I feel like I miss out on time with him when Tom walks him. It will also help me with my first goal.
Bodhi and Henry on the beach
[003] Pursue yoga and meditation.
Yoga and meditation will help with my ‘mindfulness’ aim, improve my health and fitness and lower my stress levels – it’s a bit of a no-brainer for me. I’ve already started a course of meditation via Headspace and been to my first yoga class so I’m chuffed to be on track with this goal.
[004] Try a mostly dry January
This is related to my ‘listening to my body’ goal – the thing is, I don’t really like drinking alcohol. There’s not that many alcoholic drinks I like the taste of and I hate feeling hungover, I get really angry with myself that feeling sick and tired stops me being able to do the things I want to. I was aiming for a dry January bar my trip to Slovakia (I want to try the local wines!) but I also already failed on the rest of the month by drinking cider and wine at the weekend. The way I felt on Sunday made me more determined to give this a proper shot though! And in line with my ‘being kind to myself’ aim I have accepted the slip up (we were at a friends for a weekend and it was really hard to say no to being offered drinks!) and moved on.
Along with my exercise bike I also have two new DVDs, a hula hoop, a slendertone belt and an ankle support to help my running post-sprained ankle. I’m feeling really positive about being more active and am excited to see, and feel, the results. I’ve taken measurements and weighed myself as I know that tracking my progress is a huge motivator for me and I’m really hoping to see positive changes.
Have you made any health and fitness goals for 2014?