"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"
So, I am a list maker... shocking I know.. but I love to make "To Do" list and cross each item off as I do it. Yes, I am a nerd like that, but I find that it really helps me stay focused, and to be able to celebrate accomplishments. Along with being a list maker, I am also an obsessive "planner". Again, no surprise by those who know me. I compulsively start each with with a "To Do" list for both home and work, along with a menu plan for the week. I even plan out my social events.. I like to know by Tuesday or Wednesday that I will have some fun plans for the weekend, I don't necessarily need to have planed out what I will be doing on the weekend, but more like just have the security of knowing I will have something fun to do on my days off. Weird... I know! I am finding that this quirky planning skill I have is coming in handy with my goal of trying to be healthy. I love recording when I go to the gym, and planning out my menu each week and creating shopping lists. I once heard long ago a quote that has stuck with me.. "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail", and I have found it to be pretty accurate. If I don't plan on going to the gym, it is just way to easy to find something else to do in it's place. If I don't plan out what I will be eating for the week, it is all to easy to order take out or snack all day long. One thing that I have really loved about my gym (Planet Fitness) is that I can have someone else come along with me, and I am finding that using the buddy system with exercise has really motivated me to go. I actually have looked forward to going to the gym just so I can see my friends... crazy huh. I have also found that going with people can motivate me to work harder and longer instead of just going through the motions when I am by myself. So, thank you friends who count on me to be at the gym with you! You have made working out so much more fun! So, I have come up with a couple of forms that have helped me plan and track out my workouts and menu. I am not sure how to attach them to this post, but I am giving it a try... so
Click here for my Workout Plan/Tracker form:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2MVL2xrU-5sRUFvalZvUTRMbFE
And Click here for my Menu Plan/Shopping List form:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2MVL2xrU-5sTFhhb2dJcDBvYm8
Friends make it so much easier. I love my workout buddies. Way to go. I also like to make lists but do falter in keeping a continues food journal and I think that is so key. I'm reading Body for Life for Women and am finding it inspirational.
ReplyDeleteThese docs are awesome! I'm going to start using these starting next week when I'm all moved into my transitional apartment. I'm a compulsive planner, too, which can be a good and bad thing for weight loss. It's a good thing if you know what you want to do and plan it. It's a bad thing if you don't start because you don't feel like the plan is good enough. I've stopped trying to plan to do things right the first time and now I plan to just do it. If it doesn't work, I'll make adjustments along the way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wanted to share with you that a woman in one of my exercise classes is super fit and I assumed she'd been like that her whole life. Turns out she's lost 140 pounds in the last two years! Makes you think!
Anica, that is inspirational! Especially for those of us who have to lose 100+ pounds! Wow, I can't even imagine how different her life must be now. Crazy! Great advice as well! All plans need to be flexible, but I do believe, making plans is an important piece of the journey. We can do this!
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