Mamavation Monday : The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Another Monday - another moment to look back over the week that was and prepare for the week ahead. The past week was full of really good moments and some really bad moments, and perhaps an ugly one or two as well.

The Good: Completing Week 5 of the Couch to 5k program.
The Bad : Forgetting to ice my knee down on Friday. No ice on my knee means next day stiffness.
The Ugly : The bruise on my thigh that I got when I walked into one of the weight machines. I can run but apparently walking still escapes me.

The Good : Planning my breakfast, lunch, and snacks so that I had healthy options on hand for office eating.
The Bad : Not planning or at least having a general idea of dinner options. I wound up nibbling on lots of things in the fridge while trying to decide what to prepare for supper.
The Ugly: Eating a bowl of ice cream and considering that a dinner option.

The Good : Making the best food decisions while eating Mexican with my husband for our weekly “date night”.
The Bad : Cheese Dip
The Ugly : My tummy after eating four pieces of pizza when having dinner with friends last night.

Last week was not perfect, as you can tell, I had a few slip ups. But I was able to realize that my poor choices often resulted from a lack of planning.

Therefore, M (that’s my hubby) and I have sat down and planned out our dinners for the week. We have 5 meal ideas that we can prepare from things already in our fridge or pantry. While we have not assigned any of the meals to a particular day, we have a better game plan, which hopefully will help us eat better.

Additionally, I have learned that I can still enjoy meals out but I need to do my homework before hand, so that I know the best options for me to choose from. For example, on Friday I knew that M and I would be eating Mexican, so I reviewed the menu before hand, and made choices accordingly.

The pizza debacle – as I have termed it – could have been avoided if a) I had known before hand where we would be eating and b) I had taken more time to review the menu and ordered what was best for me rather than just following my friends’ lead.

Shifting from last week to this week, I have the following goals:

1. Week 6 of the Couch to 5k program – I am planning on completing all 3 workouts.
2. M and I have scheduled 3 nights for lifting weights at our gym.
3. Make smarter food choices in social situations.

Mamavation Monday - Baby, it's cold outside

Fall has offically arrived in South Georgia. Over the weekend, the temperatures hovered in the low 60's. Now, I know that for those of you living outside my region - 60 degrees may seem warm - but just a week ago the temperatures were in the high 80's/low 90's.  This morning, the temperature was a brisk 29 degrees.

The sudden cold snap, has this Mama wanting to hibernate. That means, I am longing to lie on the couch under a warm blanket rather than working out and craving warm, less that healthy comfort foods (can anyone say gooey mac and cheese?).

It would be tempting to give into these urges. But I have been indulging my less than healthy habits for nearly a month. So cold nap or no, I am refocused and ready to rock this week. Somewhere over the weekend I realized that I can not be successful if I try to focus on all the things I want to improve on. Instead, I have to make the changes one step at a time - to keep my focus on the situation/moment that is in front of me.

For example, today at breakfast time, rather than eating simply because it was time -- I asked myself if I was truly hungry (I was) and then how hungry was I (just a little). Based on that, I chose a "breakfast" to fit my situation....

That's a steaming cup of coffee minus the usual artifical sweetners (who knew that plain coffee could be so good) and a chocolate peanut butter Fiber plus bar. I realize that many people would not label this a breakfast. However, it quited the rumbling in my stomach without leaving me too full. I am planning on eating another small breakfast around 10:00 a.m.

In terms of fitness, I have already made plans with a coworker for a gym date after work. What's on the schedule - Week 5 of the Couch to 5k plan. I have been stuck at this week for at least a month now. I am ready to tackle all 3 of the workouts and move on to Week 6.

How was your week last week? What are you goals for this one

Mamvation Monday

Today marks one week since I decided to create this blog and document my journey to a healthier me, or as my blog title says "One Fit Mama".

If I have to give myself a grade for healthy behavior this week, I would award myself a B+. I was able to exercise for more than 100 minutes this week, and ate great for 5 out of 7 days. However, a weekend trip to Altanta + poor planning on my part added up to two days of poor food choices and limited activity.

However, it is a new week full of new oppurtunities. Here are my goals for this week:

1. Drink 8 glasses of water every day. - I perform better when I am probably hydrated. Exercise is easier, my muscles recover faster, I don't seem to suffer from a mid-afternoon slump.

2. Eat 5 servings of fruit/veg daily.

3. Keep up with the Movement Challenge - My goal for this week is 120 minutes of exercise.

What are you goals for this week?