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Goal Check – 90 Day Fitness Challenge – Week One

One of my goals for this year is to get healthier, and since I’m the type that needs concrete goals to work toward (like say, training for a marathon rather than just ‘get healthier’), I signed up for a 90-day fitness challenge.

I’m using P90x by Tony Horton and this program covers fitness and nutrition so it includes workout schedule and nutrition plan to follow. Which makes it even better for me. No thought, no problem! And as I found out, it’s a butt-kicking workout program.

Well, this is the tail end of week one and I’ve survived so far. I’ve done well at the working out part and somewhat craptastic at the nutrition part but I’m determined to fix that.

For those interested, here’s what this week looked like:

  • Day 1 – Chest and Back
  • Day 2 – Plyometrics
  • Day 3 – Arms and Shoulders
  • Day 4 – Yoga
  • Day 5 – Legs and Back
  • Day 6 – Kenpo
  • Day 7 – Rest or Stretch

Since I know I never seem to have time to work out at night (actually, I just come up with excuses not to work out at night) I’ve gotten my backside out of bed every morning at the unholy hour of 4:00 a.m. to get my daily workout in. I’m proud of myself for doing it all week. I haven’t missed a workout yet! I feel pretty accomplished just for not missing a workout.

The nutrition part, though, I haven’t done so well on. I knew I wouldn’t, at least this first week. If I try to change everything at once, I’ll end up changing nothing at all. So, I gave myself permission to mess up on my eating this week.

To be honest, I did ok. I started every morning with my protein shake breakfast, had healthy snacks and a healthy lunch. But all nutrition bets were off once I got home from work. I think being tired from getting up an hour and a half earlier than normal made me super tired by the end of the day. I just reached for anything and everything I could find to eat.

This week will be different and better. My body is slowly adjusting to my new schedule and I’m not giving myself excuses for week two. In the meantime, here’s a summary of how week one went.

Week 1 Wrap Up

Let’s see, getting up at 4:00 in the morning won’t actually kill me. My pull-ups consist of me hanging from the bar watching my arms shake, I fall over when attempting yoga and I can’t punch worth a damn. However, I can do a few “real” pushups before dropping to my knees and my years-ago karate training is still evident in my side and front kicks.

Check back next week for my week 2 wrap up!

Note: I’m not affiliated in anyway with P90x, Tony Horton, or Beachbody Fitness. I just like the program and figured I’d share.

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Think First

I recently offended a coworker. Not on purpose, by any means. I just didn’t think about how my reaction to something would affect him. Since he didn’t say anything to me about it, I figured I’d just go on like nothing happened. After all, it’s not like we’re close friends. I like my coworker, but at the end of the day, he’s just the person in the next office, right?

Wrong. The more I thought about it that day, the more ashamed of myself I became. “Karen,” I said to myself. “You’re a jerk.”

Because it hit me. He and I may not be close friends, but he’s still a person. A person I like. A person who deserves to have his feelings acknowledged. And, when I’ve hurt those feelings, I should own up to it. This is what I tell my kids to do when they’ve offended someone. I should walk the talk.

The incident with my coworker made me think about what I see in my daily travels online. There are a lot of perfectly decent people not thinking about the effect their words and actions have on the people they interact with.

Look at the comments of almost any news article. You see a lot of name calling, rudeness and general disrespect. The more controversial the subject (like politics), the more the gloves come off.

It’s easier, I guess, to throw down online. You don’t know the person on the other end of that comment. Chances are, you’re never going to see them or even interact with them again. Not to mention you’re hidden behind an avatar and a couple of firewalls. So who cares if you call them a disrespectful name, right?

Wrong. That person you just called a disparaging name in your comment is a person with feelings. And while some may think it’s stupid for someone to have their feelings hurt online by a faceless commenter, it can still happen. If you’re purposely throwing out offensive comments, it stands to reason that your aim is to offend.

But I do believe (I have to believe) that people aren’t that disrespectful in their day-to-day lives. That they’re only caught up in the moment or the argument. Not that being caught up in the moment is an excuse. But it’s more palatable than thinking the human race is rapidly flushing decency down the toilet.

I have to believe that if these people arguing over their chosen topic were arguing face-to-face, they’d be a bit more polite; respectful.

That they’d realize that the person standing in front of them is indeed a person with feelings. And they wouldn’t purposely hurt those feelings. And that if they did hurt them, they’d man up and apologize.

I also have to believe that the respect and decency we (should) show each other in face-to-face interactions will eventually make it into our screen-to-screen ones. That we’ll remember there’s a living, breathing, feeling person on the other side of the ‘net and act like our parents taught us to act.

Speaking of acting like my parents taught me to and apologies. The day after my offensive behavior, I put on my big girl panties and apologized to my coworker for being completely thoughtless. I also vowed, to myself, that whether I am dealing with people in person or online, I’ll make a conscious effort to respect their feelings.

And to remember to think before I speak, write or act.

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New Goals for the New Year

Okay, so my New Year’s resolution post is a few days late. But since I just got back from a two week trip to England, I’ll give myself a pass. Just this once.

Before I dive into my list though, I have to issue a small disclaimer.

I don’t make actual resolutions anymore. My ability to keep them goes beyond sucktastic. I set goals instead. I find goals easier to meet.

Now, without further ado, I present:

My Goals for 2012!

Become More Fearless with My Writing

I’ve been a writing wimp until recently. Too timid to share my scribblings. Too scared to try new forms of writing. That’s not very smart for someone who’s dreamed of making a living via the written word. I’ve read, studied and even practiced many forms of writing. It’s time to buckle down now and put aside my worry of not being good enough. The more you write, the better you get.

Starting this blog back in November was Step One toward fearlessness. When my harsh critic of an inner editor said “See. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” I found myself encouraged and eager to try other, new forms of writing.

So, out with my old writing fears for 2012.

Health and Fitness

I believe I’ve mentioned a few times that, due to health reasons, I’ve recently switched to a gluten free diet. Well, it’s time for me to quit thinking of it as a “diet change” and start thinking of it in terms of a “lifestyle change”. I don’t do diets well. Mostly because I start to think about all of the stuff I can no longer have and depress myself. And then go off the diet.

While I haven’t blown my diet (on purpose) in the past two months, I need to refocus. I don’t want to just replace the gluteny junk I used to eat with its gluten free counterpart (which, in some cases, is even more unhealthy).

So, I’m re-thinking my food habits entirely and find myself excited by the prospect of trying to incorporate more whole, unprocessed foods and lean proteins rather than just substituting rice bread for wheat bread. (However, all bets are off if someone finally starts making a tasty gluten free Pop-Tart… What? We’ve all got our vices.)

It’s also time to reboot my fitness program again. Part of a healthy lifestyle is movement, right? While I’ve had to cancel my gym membership (see goal “Pay off Debt“), I still have my awesome P90x and my running shoes. Both of which are getting dusted off and used. It’s time to get, and stay, healthy.

Family Time

When they were younger, the kiddos and I used to pop in a movie or go out for dinner every other Friday night. It was great, though I did sit through many a snoozer of a kid’s movie. But as they got older they started getting involved with school activities, activities with friends, and so on and the every other Friday night Family Night fell by the wayside.

One of my goals this year is to bring that back. At least once a month. I know that teenagers have friends they want to see on Friday nights and they see me every night. But one Friday a month, we’re getting some quality time in whether it’s watching a movie, going out, or letting my kids laugh their backsides off as they school me and the Hubs on some first person shooter X-Box game.

Expand My Brain

I love learning. I could easily be a professional student for the rest of my life. This year there are a few things I plan on cracking open some books on.

  • Continue to study the craft of writing (that sort of goes without saying, but I felt like saying it anyway)
  • PHP
  • HTML5
  • CSS3

The HTML and CSS are two things that I want to improve my skills in. The PHP is a brand new language for me. I’m excited and can’t wait to get my hands on some books.

Pay off Debt

For the longest time, I was completely debt-free (except my mortgage). And that, my friends is a beautiful feeling. But, good or bad, nothing lasts forever and I had a few emergencies come up. Like my 15 year old air conditioner dying in the middle of a Florida Summer. Car engines going kerplunk.

While my debt isn’t atrocious by any standard, it still sucks and it’s my goal this year to take a huge chunk out of it. In order to make this happen, I’ve had to cut some fat out of my budget, like my gym membership. But I’m looking forward to the day when I can give myself the money I’m giving to some corporation every month.

Create a Fulfilling Life

In essence, that’s exactly what the goals above are working toward. Creating a balanced and fulfilling life for myself and my family. I want us to enjoy every minute we have with each other. I think that, right there, is the most important goal of all.

So there you have it. My short list of goals for 2012. What goals to you have? Feel free to share them with me in the comments.

And have a safe and happy 2012!

Be on the look out. I’ll be posting pictures of the family trip overseas soon!

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Who is Karen?

While I’m not new to writing, I am new to blogging. So I figured I’d kick off my blogging journey by introducing myself to the world.

 

So who is this Karen person?

 

I’m a newlywed. My British husband (love the accent) and I got married on a day we could both remember. The date contained nothing but “1’s”. I figure that should (hopefully) keep us out of the trouble in the future!

 

I’ve got two boys. A teenager getting ready to learn how to drive (I expect plenty of blog fodder out of that experience) and a pre-teen getting ready for angst. They’re both great though and fill my days with joy. And sometimes screaming. But mostly joy.

 

I have a day job while I work my way towards my goal of publishing a novel. Thankfully, I like my day job. I get to design websites and write! Instructions and user guides, but I like writing those almost as much as I like writing fiction.

 

I eat too much chocolate and don’t exercise nearly enough to offset that in my mind. I ran my last marathon almost 2 years ago and my knee went on strike. My now healed knee is in for a surprise though. I’ve decided to carefully get myself back into running shape so I can run a marathon relay in 2013 with my sister. (Training=blog fodder!)

 

Last, for the moment, I write. I love putting pen to paper. Mostly it stinks. But it’s gotten better over the past few years. I’ve had two short stories published and recently received an honorable mention in Writer’s Digest’s 80th Annual Writing Competition. That caused much glee and girlie squeals at the mailbox.

 

In a small nutshell, that’s me. Karen. Newlywed, mom, sister, chocolate eater, writer, runner and squealer.

 

It’s been a pleasure introducing myself to you.

 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you’ll visit again in the future!