Fail to Plan - Plan to Fail

You can make as many goal and wish lists as you'd like, but you will never accomplish them without a plan. Failing to plan is planning to fail. I lost sight of this simple statement over the past month.

In the past I had all my meals planned. There was never any question as to what was for lunch or dinner. My kitchen was stocked with healthy options: easy peasy. Then, life got stressful and I made it even  more stressful by forgetting to plan ahead. When you get home from a 9-10 hour day at work and realize you didn't thaw the chicken for dinner, odds are you're going to go for whatever is quick and convenient. That's exactly what I'd been doing.

It reminds me of the "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" book. Please tell me you have read this book, otherwise you need to relive your childhood. Brad had never heard of it.. whaaat?! I digress...

If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to want a glass of milk. If you are fueling your body properly, you're going to have a stronger desire to workout and vice versa. Right? I was stuck in this "eat like crap/feel like crap" viscous cycle.

Well, I'm breaking out of that. I've set my goals for Fit 4 Christmas, and am working on a plan to achieve them.

{ONE}

Stick to my workout plan. NO EXCUSES

I'm scheduling workouts 2 weeks at a time according to the weather man (which seems like a waste since he's usually wrong). I refuse to run in anything below 20°, thank you very much.

{TWO}

Meal plan. No fast food, no junk (well... until my small slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, because that WILL happen)

{THREE}

I want to be back to my lowest (168) by Thanksgiving.

{FOUR}

162 by the close of the challenge. That means I will have to hit a 2 lb loss a week through December, which isn't always easy at this point in the game. But, it's not impossible by any means. I want a challenging goal for those last few weeks to keep me in check on Thanksgiving and with all the holiday treats.

{FIVE}

Push myself, but don't be too hard on myself either. Positive self talk. I struggle with this... I think we all do at times.

I hope you all have some goals in mind for the challenge. Get specific and really challenge yourself. You want to lose weight? Okay, how many pounds by December 20th? You want to lift more or run further? Then how much? What are you going to do to achieve these goals?