Didn't "win" this round?

There will be some people who didn't make their Round 1 goals. Let's go easy on ourselves and not get caught up with the number on the scale. Do not associate a round 1 goal with self worth. Making changes to habits takes incredible time and energy and whether or not we've met a target weight goal is, I think, less important than if we've formed new and healthy habits over the past month.

In the spirit of sharing healthy habits, here are some of my achievements for January 2015:

- I've had several important conversations about health and wellness with family, friends and colleagues

- I initiated a weekly yoga class at my workplace for 1,000 employees. It begins this week.

- I introduced swimming, running, weights and group exercise to my workout regime

- I joined a bi-weekly bootcamp class

- A few days this month I walked to a bus stop 20 minutes away from my normal stop just to add fresh air and steps to my day

- I began taking my dog on a walking route that has more hills in it. We go for 1-2 walks a day.

- I maintained a health journal all month. This is a summary:

     - I went to the gym a few times a week

     - I performed beyond my usual daily amout of cardio activity more than half the days this month

     - I avoided wheat, refined sugar and alcohol 24 out of 31 days this month. There were MANY times each day when I turned down sweets

     - I made sleep a priority

- There were a couple days in a row I experienced some slip ups. I got, and stayed, back on track.

- There were several days where the number on the scale was high and I didn't give in or give up

- I researched and began taking daily supplements including fish oil, a multivitamin, whey protein, glutamine and oil of oregano

- I learned about the Kayla Itsines fitness program and will be implementing it for the next stages of Dietbet

- I spent a lot of time reading articles on the Muscle & Strength website to determine an appropriate daily intake of protein, carbs and fats. I created a chart to remind myself of the main points.

- I made weekly meal plans for myself before going to the grocery store and stuck to them. 

- I began keeping chicken, greens, rice cakes, peanut butter, almonds and greek yogurt at work for lunches and snacks to save me time and energy in the mornings

- I scouted out an inexpensive pay-by-weight salad bar near my work so I can enjoy healthy and inexpensive lunches on days I don't have a lunch

- I bought a locker at my gym so I no longer have to haul workout and swim gear around and can go for a workout any time of day, from anywhere

Let's stay motivated and determined and continue to create good habits for ourselves as we enter Round 2.