2015 - New Year New Goals

Perhaps being 40 is the realization that although mentally you may feel 20, physically your body will constantly remind you that you are, in fact, not 20.  And on most occasions, your body may actually attempt to force you into believing that it is more like 50 or 60, even though that is completely not true.  So, with this ripe (old) age, I have decided that trying to exercise, lose weight, engage in race training, and recover it can't be done the same way it was when I was 20, or even 30 for that matter.

Part of heading into 2015 was the realization that I was in fact well distanced from my athletic past.  A two year stint on the DL for disk herniation and 4 broken vertebrae had left me beyond my worse for weight gain and inactivity levels.  Perhaps the continued back pain was a correlation between the lack of activity, weight gain, and stress on the joints?  Hmmm.... it was seriously time to stop whining and get moving - even if that moving wasn't what it was a few years ago.

I have started 2015 with some specific and detailed weight loss and activity goals, that are achievable in the correct time frame - healthy weight loss occurs at no more than 1-2 lbs per week, if it is going to stay off and become part of a permanent lifestyle change.  This means that I have to accept that losing 45 lbs is going to take me AT LEAST 22-45 weeks - Hello Jenn - you didn't put it on overnight, it's not going to come off in a month - FACT!

Adding fitness to an unstable back also means that I am going to have bad days - days where I know I have done too much.  This means, that no matter what the workout program may say for that day - I have to accept a day (or even two) off.  Pushing beyond the pain isn't going to make this 40 (really more like 65) year old back feel like a 20 year old back, it's just going to make it worse: ACCEPT it Gordon, you may have to accept the sprint distance as the new half iron distance.

All of these goals are things that are a working progress towards feeling more fit and more healthy in 2015 - getting back to where I used to be before spending too much time on the DL.  These are also goals that my growing ABC's are going to see and realize that they are part of life, no matter the age. That healthy goal setting, eating, and activity are important to bodies of all ages and a skill they are going to need for a lifetime.

With the changes I have for 2015 I have changed the ABC kids blog title to include the more active approach our family is taking in the coming year.  You will see more of our posts about how we are staying active, incorporating health and fitness into our daily lives - especially for a family who has individuals in nearly 3 different centuries - which is going to pose challenges of its own.  Hopefully these stories will inspire you to keep on moving or to stay moving; and to realize that if you are a mom who has put her fitness goals on the back burner while your little ones are getting going, you can get all of those goals back and still juggle it all.  Cheers to our new 2015 :)