Wine & Plum

Wow, I can’t believe it’s week 4 already! Here’s the round up:

Goal 1: Cook at home most nights of the week: FAIL

We had some Groupons to use before they expired, we went out of town, and the BF treated me to dinner a couple times to make up for working so much lately. C’est la vie.

Goal 2: Have a max of 4 non-water drinks per week: SUCCESS!

Woo hoo, two weeks in a row of success! I noticed myself over the weekend thinking, ‘Oh crap, this is my 4th drink, this is it, no more until Tuesday…’ And then on Sunday skipping the Coke for dinner and on Monday skipping the coffee shop. All of which is EXACTLY what I’m supposed to be doing when I set a goal for myself. So… win!

Goal 3: Practice yoga once a week and take a walk at least once a week: SUCCESS!

After several weeks of either failing to meet this resolution or only kinda meeting it, this one is finally a complete, unquestionable success. I walked for 3.63 miles last Tuesday when we had a gorgeous, 70-degree, sunny day. And I went back to yoga Sunday night for an awesome yoga practice.

One struggle I’ve had with exercise over the years — aside from being a diva about the weather — is that I get bored easily. I would cut my walking sessions (or elliptical machine sessions, when I used to go to a gym) short because I was bored, and my mind would either wander, or worse, focus in on how miserable I was working out. Music wasn’t enough. I tried to read when I used machines, but it was hard to concentrate with so much going on around me. Then I found podcasts, and problem solved. My favorites are This American Life and Radio Lab, both of which I can download through iTunes for free. They’re usually an hour long, which is the perfect length for a walk, and I’m so wrapped up in the story, that I don’t think about my legs hurting or being cold or whatever. It’s great.

So when exercise is too easy for me, I get bored, but when it’s too hard, I just want to give up. That’s why yoga is such a great form of exercise for me. The guiding principle is to do what you need to do when you need to do it. If I’m really feeling it and I want to push myself, I can opt to do a more difficult form of the pose. And if it’s just not my day, I can scale it back, or take a break altogether. It’s very personal, but also communal at the same time. I’m doing this very personal, self-reflective, and body-focused exercise, but there are tons of people around me doing the same thing. And that group effort encourages me to keep going for the full 75 minutes. I’m so focused on my body and what I’m doing, that I make it through a fairly long and fairly strenuous exercise session without constantly wondering when we’ll be done. And the whole time, my mind is blissfully clear of anything outside of that room — one of the few times I can stop my brain from racing about stress and worries.

Whew — got a little long-winded about exercising! That’s weird.

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Here it is… round up for the week:

Goal 1: Cook at home most nights of the week: FAIL

But it was Triangle Restaurant Week, so I’m taking a pass.

Goal 2: Have a max of 4 non-water drinks per week: SUCCESS!

After not doing so well the past couple weeks, I finally got this one!

A little history on this: When I was growing up, we drank sweet tea. And I mean sweet Southern tea. Delicious. If we went out, I drank Coke. At some point, my mom went through a ‘oh my goodness, all this sugar is so unhealthy’ phase and switched it up. She went to Diet Coke, which I can’t stand. So I ended up drinking pretty much only water through all of high school. The water habit was awesome and healthy and not a big deal once I got used to it, but then… college.

Thanks to the unlimited dining hall soda, I got seriously addicted to soda. A couple years ago, I gave it up cold turkey. (Well, not quite. I drank a lot of chocolate milk to get through the caffeine withdrawals.) After two weeks or so, I was mostly cured of my addiction. I dropped 5 pounds almost immediately, felt way better not needing a ton of caffeine every day, and had some annoying stomach issues nearly vanish. But I still have a big weakness for a nice cold Co-Cola, as the BF’s Granny would call it. And the more I have, the more I want. It’s a cycle. So… back to water it is.

I’ve noticed that I really want Coke with certain junk foods or at certain times. Like at the movies, where our snack is always buttered popcorn and a Coke slushie. Or when we have pizza, which I feel just requires a Coke to go with it. So part of kicking this habit is also eating healthier and avoiding those junk foods. Sometimes I can just have one sip of the BF’s soda and then be fine. If that’s all it takes to curb my cravings and go back to my glass of water, then I think that’s okay.

Goal 3: Practice yoga once a week and take a walk at least once a week: FAIL

The weather was awful — we even had ice/snow. My office had a delayed start one day and got out early another day. I keep inside when it’s cold, and I certainly don’t drive anywhere when there’s frozen stuff on the ground. And then I planned to go to yoga on Sunday, but ended up spending the day on the couch feeling sick.

Now that I was finally successful with avoiding soda, this week I’m going to try to focus on this goal. I think maybe I need to find a friend to go to yoga with me. That would certainly help.

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers participating in Resolutions in Motion – Round 2!

Whew! I’m already late on this post, and now it’s late at night, so here’s a short and quick check-in on my resolutions:

Goal 1: Cook at home most nights of the week: SUCCESS?

Oh geez, I really don’t remember. These resolutions really are just showing me that my memory is terrible. I think I did well on this one? I don’t really remember eating out much, and that’s the biggest point of this goal, so I guess… success.

A little history on this one: My cooking at home goal was going well at one point in my life, but then things got busy, and well, you know. But one thing that will definitely help me get back on track — I try to spend Sunday afternoons planning meals, shopping for groceries, and cooking meals to be packaged and frozen for weeknight dinners.

Goal 2: Have a max of 4 non-water drinks per week: SUCCESS?

Again, poor memory here. But if I didn’t succeed in this one, I think I was pretty close. I drank a lot of water.

Goal 3: Practice yoga once a week and take a walk at least once a week: MIXED RESULTS

Like last week, I didn’t make it to yoga, but I walked a ton. The weather has been going up and down, so I made it outside quite a couple times on those high points. I walked a little over 6 miles total last week. Not bad. But I really do need to go back to yoga.

Woo hoo! On to week 3. Things have been crazy at work for both me and the BF — that always makes it a little harder to keep my resolutions. We’ll see how it goes!

Alright, as part of Resolutions in Motion, I’m supposed to check in and let you know how I’m doing. I guess that’s what they call “accountability.” Pshaw. 

In some ways I had a good week, in some ways not so much. I’m also realizing yet again that I have a terrible memory. One reason I had trouble is because I couldn’t remember what I’d done throughout the week, so I had no idea if I was at my limit or not. Note to self: if you’re not sure, just play it safe.

Here’s how my resolutions went this week…

Goal 1: Cook at home most nights of the week: SUCCESS

I didn’t necessarily cook, but I think I worded this goal wrong. The point is less about cooking at home and more about NOT eating out. So on that measure, I’ll mark this one a success. We went out with friends for dinner on Tuesday night, and I went out with coworkers for dinner Friday night. But I’m pretty sure I didn’t eat out the rest of the week. I cooked, had leftovers, or had something small like canned soup most of the nights this week.

Goal 2: Have a max of 4 non-water drinks per week: FAIL

I’m pretty sure I didn’t manage this one, but this is what I mean by not being able to keep track. I can’t remember exactly, but I think I hit 5 or 6. I’m gonna do better this week!

Oh, and by the way, I am NOT counting unsweet herbal tea against me. There’s no sugar or calories, and I think it’s pretty tantamount to adding lemon to your tea. Plus, a lot of what I drink is helpful — both peppermint and ginger tea can settle the stomach and help digestion. (FYI, pregnant ladies — could be super helpful.) I tend to drink those a lot in the afternoons.

Goal 3: Practice yoga once a week and take a walk at least once a week: MIXED RESULTS

This one is mixed results, but it was intentional. We’ve had remarkably beautiful weather this week, so I took multiple walks. That’s the great thing about living in North Carolina — though it’s typically probably in the 50s this time of year, it’s just as likely to swing to 70 degrees as it is to 30. With temperatures in the low 70s, a few different times I was getting ready for yoga and then decided to go outside instead. So though I didn’t really meet my goal, I’m considering this one fairly successful — I walked over 13 miles in the last week!

I hope all y’all’s resolutions are going well! (You like that? “All y’all’s.” One of the few indicators that I actually am from North Carolina. That and I say “pee-can” sometimes.)