It’s tempting to kick off Project 40 with an insanely inspirational game plan (Train for a Marathon! Stop Eating Sugar!).
But I’d last about six days. And I’ve got six months ahead of me.
Instead, I’m doing what I’ve always recommended to clients: Setting a few small, doable goals each month.
So here’s what I’m working on this month:
DIET GOALS
My diet’s already pretty healthy, but I’m not immune to falling into bad patterns. While I can’t tackle them all in this first month, I’m choosing three that will make a big impact.
1. Eat two pieces of fruit a day. This used to be easy for me, but I have a tendency to save the fruit for my kids as if I my own health didn’t matter (note to self: spend the few extra bucks each week and buy more).
2. Don’t eat while working at the computer, a terrible, nasty habit of mine. How nasty? I’ve gotten hummus stuck in the keyboards of my last two laptops.
3. Eliminate evening snacking (except fruit, if I haven’t met goal #1). I’m not convinced there’s anything metabolically magical about not eating at night. But it saves me a couple hundred calories, mostly in the form of sweet or salty snacks which don’t do me (or the aforementioned computer keyboard) any good.
FITNESS GOALS
1. Run or walk three days a week. Last month, I suddenly took up running (by which I mean “very slowly jogging”). I hadn’t run for more than 10 years, when my knees started protesting. But there’s something about being a mother of two that suddenly makes running away from the house seem like an awfully good idea. To keep me motivated, I signed up for a 5K near the end of the month, and I plan to raise some money for my friend’s wonderful non-profit, Donna’s Good Things (more on that in a future post).
2. Do an exercise DVD two days a week, likely one of my personal favorites, Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred or 6 Week Six-Pack.
3. Rest two days a week. In other words, wrestle a 35-pound preschooler into his clothes, haul laundry baskets up and down two flights of stairs, and work on my personal speed record for unloading the dishwasher.
If you’d like to join me and create your own Project, let me know in the Comments section–and maybe it goes without saying, but you don’t have to be turning 40 to do this with me (just pick an age or a time frame, set some goals, and get going!).
For those who are already following along, please share your own personal goals too so we can inspire each other.
Photo by Lincolnian
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Sally,
What wonderful goals! Let me know if you reach your goal of ELIMINATING nighttime noshing. I can’t seem to do it. Instead, I limit myself to a 150-calorie snack. That’s the best I can do!
-Liz
Love this. In my opinion you’ve already met the most important goal…setting goals. I do it every month.
What I like to do is set at least one goal based on performance. For example, “Be able to do 30 pushups” or “Run 3 miles in under 30 minutes”. Then I set the types of goals you’ve listed as the habits I need to establish to reach my goal.
I look forward to seeing how you did this month. Good luck!
What a great idea, Dan. I like the idea of being able to do 20 “real” push-ups (something I used to be able to do but have since lost strength). Perhaps that will be my goal for November. Thanks for reading!
Thanks Liz! I have eliminated nighttime eating in the past, and it hasn’t been that bad (much to my surprise!). For me, it’s easier to just say “I’m not snacking” than to try to limit myself to a certain portion of, say, chips. That’s too much of a slippery slope for me!
Thanks for reading.
I’m only working on one thing this month: the evening snacking. What I’ve found is that my evening snacks actually relate to eating too light a breakfast or lunch. It’s like my body knows there must be three meals in a day, such that if I skip breakfast or lunch I have mad cravings after the kiddo’s bedtime. I want to curb it, so I am bulking up breakfast, making intentional lunch (not just snacking there) and eating a regular dinner.
That’s very interesting, Rachel. And it validates research that finds people who skip breakfast end up eating more later in the day. I am so with you on the goal of “making intentional lunch”. I am so guilty of grabbing food here and there for lunch instead of putting together a real meal. Since I’ve sworn off eating in front of the computer, I’m forcing myself to actually sit down at the table with a plate and focus on it. That’s been the hardest thing so far.
Hi Sally! I laughed out loud when I read the sentence about hummus on your keyboard. I am notorious for eating at my desk over the lunch hour or grabbing a snack while I work. The worst was how sticky my mouse got after eating a handful or two of dry cereal!! I really love this post, because many people don’t realize that dietitians have to recalibrate, too, and focus on their healthy habits. I actually wrote a small blog post on that a month or so ago. I really like how you broke everything up into manageable chunks and are holding yourself accountable!
Katie: Yes, we dietitians DO need to “recalibrate” too (love that expression). That’s part of my mission with this blog–to help people realize that dietitians don’t eat perfectly (or feed their kids perfectly). It can be hard for everyone. Let me know if you decide to not eat at your desk too. The first day I tried it, I was eating lunch while checking email on my phone…then I realized I was still breaking my own rule! Thanks for reading.
Alright, I’m in. I just did 6 week six pack in your honor. Will be hobbling to the bus stop.
Woo-hoo! Alright, Laura! Let me know if you ever want to join me on a run. I’m up to 2.5 miles. Which is, like, a TON for me
Sally-
I love your blog! I’m a just turned 40 mom of two little boys and a Registered Dietitian. I have been telling myself that I need to set some nutrition goals now that I have hit the 40′s. I love the ones you set because I am guilty of all of those same things. My boy are HUGE fruit eaters, so I find myself saving the fruit for them too! You have motivated me and I am going to work on the same nutrition goals you have set. Thanks for the push!
Thank you Laura! I’m so glad you were motivated by my goals. Please keep me posted as to how you’re doing. My nutrition goals are going fine this week so far, but I think I may have overshot my fitness goals. Ah well, it’s a process.
Now that I haven’t eaten my way through State College, PA, I’m ready to start tomorrow.
Fitness – I’m starting small as I am currently in physical therapy and nursing a bad knee. Trying to do 4 times a week on the elliptical. But, my big change is that I need to incorporate strength training into my routine at lest 3 times a week. I tend to focus on carido even though I have read countless articles on why strength training is so important (especially at my age).
Diet – I need to eat a better lunch. Lunch is the baby’s worst meal of the day and she’s always fussy so I just end up eating what I can before she throws a fit and wants to get out of the highchair. When lunch goes bad, my eating habits for the rest of the day just get worse. I also need to drink more water…much more.
Lifestyle – I need to go to bed earlier. When I’m tired I grab handfuls of this and that and it’s bad. And there has been a lot in the news and in magazines lately about how lack of sleep effects your metabolism etc.
Great goals, Dawn. Lunch is my worst meal as well. Too busy on on my work days, too much focus on the kids’ lunches on the other days. We have to remember to focus on ourselves too! And yes, strength training is so important, but can also feel so tedious. Please keep me posted on how these goals are going!