Goal Setting: Commitophobia or Motivating?

I've never been one to set a number for my goals in weight loss and health. It's always been a very vague, "I want to feel good again," or "Be healthier." After some reflecting it seems to me that I'm afraid to commit to a number and fear failure. Pretty typical, huh? So it's time to bunker down and set some real goals.


We have a cousin getting married the first week of June in California. I would like to be down 15 pounds by then. I have 18 weeks to do this in, which means I can follow the no-more-than-a-pound-a-week-for-breastfeeding-moms advice I've received. It also gives me some wiggle room and I'm a fan of that. There's a vanity aspect of it, of course. I want to look good and feel good being out there, but there's more.


Remember those other cousins we went to Tahoe with last year? They also had a baby boy born exactly a month and a day before Vince. We're going to go camping with them in Yosemite following the wedding and take the boys. It'll be tons of fun and I'm really eager to be able to keep up with them. The snowshoeing really put into perspective how much more you can do when you are in significantly better shape. Plus! Yosemite has some awesome hiking trails and waterfalls off the beaten path that I want to visit.

So the goals:

1. Lose 15 pounds by the 1st of June
2. Be able to walk 5 miles in one instance.


Where I currently am on these goals:

1. I'm down 1 pound from my pre-pregnancy weight! Yay! 14 more to go!
2. I can easily walk 1 mile now and am starting to get into the grove of doing 1.5 miles.


It'll be tough, but I think I've got enough time to make it happen!

Do you set goals? How do you keep up with them?

California Adventures

Whoa! What an adventure! That is the only way to describe the past five days we've spent out at Lake Tahoe and briefly in San Francisco. We left Friday morning at an hour no one should know exists and arrived back into the Tampa Bay area late last night.

Marc's cousin Brian picked us up from the airport and we went over to his apartment so he could finish packing and so we could catch up with his lovely wife Iris. We stopped by this incredible burrito place, Papalote (http://www.papalote-sf.com/). This place was so good, it has been on Throwdown! With Bobby Flay...and they won (Food Network, February 2010). I have no doubt that this was not on our “diet”anywhere. But it tasted amazing. Then Brian and Iris kindly took us over the Golden Gate Bridge, simply because we asked. It's a pretty neat and they're pretty awesome.

^Brian and Iris

Afterward we drove up to South Lake Tahoe and did some grocery shopping. Brian's cousin (on the other side of the family – get a marker...I'll draw you a flow chart) Si Si met us at the cabin we rented. Iris made some pasta with snazzy sauce (jarred sauce with some seasonings) and then we settled in.

The next day was suppose to be skiing/snowboarding at Kirkwood, however, they didn't rent ski suit clothing and Marc and I didn't particularly feel like investing in the clothing and then finding out we hate the sport. Brian's friend Rodrigo also met us up there, so Marc and I drove back into Tahoe. We were able to snap some good pictures on the way home and get a closer look at people ice fishing. Marc and I brought the spice rub for the blackened chicken with us, so that was cooked that night. (Recipe forthcoming...I promise!) Rodrigo's wife made some amazing organic oatmeal. I'm currently waiting on the recipe for that one and can't wait to make it here. It was nothing like the “traditional” oatmeal that you heat up and whatnot.

^Kirkwood

^Kirkwood

Sunday was a quiet day. We attempted to do some hiking but found the snow deeper than anticipated. I would say it was approximately thigh deep based on falling into some: We got some nice pictures on Emerald Bay (part of Lake Tahoe – Google it if your curious, otherwise here are some of the pictures).

^Emerald Bay

^Lake Tahoe

^Thigh Deep in Snow

We did find a paved path that led down to the lake, so we went for a hike that way. It was really weird to be on the beach with snow at the same time. We also found random people hanging out, lounging on the beach that were really nice. 

^The water was incredibly clean

Monday was the real adventure. We went over to Northstar and went snow-shoeing. Thankfully snowshoes have been modernized past the tennis racquet looking things. So, snow-shoeing. It's winter hiking, but you strap these shoes to your feet in order to disperse your weight and not sink the snow. It also helps get to areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. On top of this, we went geo-caching. It's basically a high-tech scavenger hunt using a GPS. You enter in coordinates and then go find a box full of trinkets. You take a trinket and leave one. It wasn't an easy trek. We were high up (thin air) and it was super dry; two things that you won't find in Florida. At some point we managed to climb over a hill that had a, “Danger Keep Out” sign on the other side. Oops.

Some of our expedition:

^ Our intrepid adventurers

(L-R) Marc, Nicki, Iris, Brian and Sisi

^Opening a geocache

^We were pretty hardcore

On top of all of this, according to the Self.com calculator we burnt approximately 1,680 calories over a three hour span. Woooo! Overall, it was an amazing vacation. It was a great combination of relaxation and adventure.

 

Bon Voyage!

Away we go again! This time we are headed out to Tahoe to meet with some of Marc's cousins for an extended weekend of winter sports and hot-tubing. I've never been skiing, or snowboarding, so I'm eager to see how it goes.

Further, I'm looking forward to snow-shoeing. You know...that hiking thing people do with tennis racquets on their feet? Yup. That's it. Can't wait to take pictures

I'm also looking forward to a quiet morning, with snow, and a cup of coffee in my hand.

Oh! And I'm really looking forward to seeing his cousins. It's a "kids" trip, in that we left all of the adults at home and planned this all by ourselves.

We'll be meal planning and grocery shopping before we arrive at our cabin. I've put together a spice rub or two to put into my baggage. I hope TSA doesn't take it away. Two of the cousins are in the medical field, so hopefully we'll be able to create some very yummy, but healthy meals.


So, we'll be mum for until Wednesday, when you'll get a full report on the activities and what we planned to eat.

Ahhh Vacation

We're headed off to California this weekend. Marc's cousin will be getting married so we are flying out there to be part of the celebration. I'm really looking forward to the trip. 1) I soooo need a vacation. 2) His cousins are awesome. 3) I haven't really been to California (flying through LAX doesn't count in my book) 4) I'm incredibly intrigued on what the food selection will be for the wedding. We had the option of chicken or vegetarian. We both chose the chicken. Perhaps we should have each gotten one and then swapped mid-way through.

According to the website for the location, most of the food is organic and locally grown. Now I'm not one of the, "Must go organic because it is awesomezor," however I appreciate that the organic food I've previously had is very flavorful and with a good aroma. If it's organic and competitively priced, I'll go for it. If it's significantly more expensive, or requires excessive amounts of energy on my behalf, I won't do it.

I intend to take pictures of our yummies, and hopefully continue to stick to our diets during this treacherous time that will surely require some Starbucks along the way. :)