Day #5: Hollywood

In light of the Golden Globes being on tonight, it reminded me about something that I feel is very important with success in fitness and that is "Goal Setting!"

In September last year, my fabulous friend Jenn, a local Mary Kay consultant asked me if I would be willing to particiapate in the Mary Kay Hollywood Dreams Make Over Contest (link no longer works, sorry).... I agreed as I truly love having my make-up done and learning new techniques and, thus, we set a date. Well, my makeover was CLEARLY very good because I ended up winning the contest.

I will be jetted off to Hollywood and I will receive a full on Hollywood make over including make-up, hair and clothing! $500 in clothing, to be exact, that I get to keep. I will also get to go to a show, a red carpet event and hang out in Hollywood!

If this isn't a reason to set a goal for the next few months, I don't know what is. My first goal, that I hope will be reached through all my personal challenges, is to lose 15 lbs between now and Hollywood as I'd like to look good, feel good, wear dresses, maybe even a bathing suit (GASP) and be able to pick out nice clothes. I am being extremely careful with my food intake in order to do so and ensuring I track my exercise. I am the type of person who loses muscle tone and gains weight almost the next day after missing a work out so I know that there is work to be done. Goal setting helps with success. If I were just starting, I wouldn't select "15 lbs" as a first goal, I would likely go with something smaller, like 5 or 10 lbs... Until you know how your body will react to the changes in your lifestyle, its easier to start with baby steps. Yes, you do lose weight faster after extreme changes, but that will level off. If you set your goals too high though, you will be disappointed when you don't achieve them which will help you decide to give up on the whole plan. I have already lost 40 lbs and how my body reacts. I know that 15 lbs in 2 months is more than attainable for me and this blog is my journal of everything I need to do to get to that goal AND to Hollywood without the guilt of all the work out's I didn't do and all the chocolate that I did eat!!! Last year, I used events as my Goals in order to achieve success and I did. I will post on different events on a later day.

When I set out to do my 21 Day Challenge, it was mostly about getting up early and working out in the morning, but I am feeling like I need to make many more changes in my life along with that and there are days that getting up early just isn't going to happen. I am not going to toss this challenge to the curb, but change it just a smidge now that I am seeing how, as I mentioned above, my body reacts to the changes. As I was sick for quite a while, my work outs, that are pretty intense, are requiring a bit more recovery than it was a while ago when I was in better shape. Ifeel like I could over train if I'm doing a work out in the morning as well as high intensity classes in the evenings, so I feel this is a safe change. Right now, my plan is to get to the gym early Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, those would be the days I need to be up at 6am. On the other days, I am committing to waking up at 7am and eating well before work. Monday nights I am going to Fit Camp... Tuesday evenings Spin Class... Thursday nights Spin and a weight training session and weekends a mix of everything!

Yesterday, I confess, I missed a blog post... When I realized it, it was too late. Even though I did not write it, yesterday was a great day. I woke up at 7am, made breakfast, got ready and headed to the Y for Spin Class. After a great 45 minutes Spin, I then stayed for a 45 minute Boot Camp class which was mostly interval weight training and I really enjoyed it. Silly me, I then stayed for an hour long Yoga class which I ended up being too sore for half way through, but it was too crowded to leave. Later in the afternoon, I went on a 3km walk which half was uphill. Overall, that was a very good day. In terms of Weight Watchers Activity Points (which I promise I will talk about tomorrow, I know I said I would already).... I earned 30 points. The weekly recommendation is 42 points so I am doing very well.

I slept in this morning, had a hearty breakfast but ended the day with a light dinner (kale salad and baked pork chop) followed by a 30 minute cardio work out and a 90 minute weight training session with my trainer that was mostly core, balance and legs. I feel great.

So I will end this with asking you.... Even though I missed a few 6 am mornings, mainly to accommodate a larger variety of activity, and have stuck to my Weight Watchers programs, do you think changing my challenge slightly is a failure? I don't think it is. I think that it's being smart and listening to my body. However, I will continue this 21 Day Challenge of getting up early and continue to report on the different items I find and will post those that are interesting. Weight Watchers will be worth the read... I have so many ideas... It's hard to decide each day what to write. I am very excited for my next challenge, that I will have a partner for and it is based around a very popular, up and coming topic! Stay tuned.

In conclusion for today, set a goal that is reachable. Don't set your first goal as Lose 100 lbs because you will end up discouraged when it doesn't happen right away. Choose small goals and, when you get to that goal, reward yourself with something nice (lip gloss, clothing, etc. NOT FOOD, YOU ARE NOT A DOG) and set your next goal. Your body will thank you!

Thanks again
A