2012 Goals: Health + Fitness

Nike running shirt, Asics running socks, Champion sports bra,
Saucony running shorts and Omni 10 shoes, Timex Ironman watch

It's the last day of documenting my 2012 goals. And I'm saving the "best" of last: health and fitness. You can't have New Year's resolutions goals without talking about health! I don't care if it's cliche, I'm talking about them anyways.

As I've said before, I have trouble motivating myself to workout if I don't have a goal in mind. The last time I seriously trained (or even ran) was for the Cleveland half marathon in May. Since then, I've found plenty of excuses to skip running: moving, out of town weddings, bachelorette parties, work, I'm tired, and more.

The big "ah-ha" moment telling me I need to get back on the horse came when I had a physical last month. The number on the scale was a little higher than expected and my "bad" cholesterol was also a touch too high. I know cholesterol levels are partially hereditary, but I there are other things I can do to keep it in check. Mainly diet and exercise (duh).

And then while driving to Cleveland for Christmas, I had a craving for vegetables. It may have been the magazines I was reading, but my body knew I was about to enjoy one too many cookies in the coming days. It was telling me to eat a salad. Plus....I wanted to try brussel sprouts! Who does that?!?! Yes, brussels sprouts are the new quinoa or cupcake, but really???

My Mom picked up a bag of brussel sprouts for me to experiment with at home. I tried this recipe for balsamic glazed brussel sprouts (for Christmas dinner, no less!) and even the brussel sprout haters devoured them! I printed out the recipe for everyone in attendance.

With all of this in mind, here's my health and fitness plan for 2012:

• Work out 3 times per week. This can be running, weight lifting, spinning, yoga, or whatever else gets the blood pumping and sweat pouring.
• Drink more water. I have a huge water cup at work (maybe 32 oz) so I'm going to strive for one, maybe even two cups of water during working hours.
• Go veggie every once in a while. The doc said to watch my consumption of red meat, so I'll try to sub in different veggie-focused meals. I've already found friends in quinoa and spaghetti squash.
• Bonus: Meat is expensive, so eating more veggies than meat is also good for the wallet!
• Similarly, eat more fish or seafood. Maybe once a week?
• Set a more consistent sleep schedule. John is better about going to bed and waking up on time. I, on the other hand, have to drag myself out of bed in the morning. It's time to get better about this!

I have a "number" in mind for the scale, but I'm not going to stress about it. The bigger focus is to establish healthy habits again. Plus, I still have a few months until bikini season :)

Have a great weekend! Check out the other Friday's Fancies here!

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