November 2013 Goals

I’ve always found it to be helpful for me to put my goals down in writing. I realized that I should treat my fitness goals the same as any other goals I’m currently working on.

November is an easy month to lose track of fitness goals. Thanksgiving is one of the main reasons, but there are so many other opportunities to cheat on your health during this month. People at work start bringing in baked goods, spiced pumpkin is an intoxicating aroma that comes in so many sugared, breaded, creamy forms, and the days start getting colder and darker.

A few years ago, the Cleveland Clinic posted these great tips on how to avoid gaining crazy weight during the holidays. They’re great, and motivated me to come up with my own list of ways I’m going to avoid weight gain this month. Not only will this help me avoid the weight gain, but it should keep me on track with all of my other fitness goals.

1. Eat more breakfast! This has been the worst thing for me my entire life. I’ve always sacrificed starting the day with a jump start to the old metabolism by choosing to sleep a few extra minutes — and usually, I can’t even get back to sleep after the first slap of the snooze button! I’m going to start picking up more breakfast items at the grocery store that are easy to transport, and packed with tons of fiber and other nutrients to get my days started right. This is so crucial! I can’t promise I’ll eat breakfast every day, but if I at least ate breakfast three times a week, I would be much better off than what I’m currently doing.
2. Drink more water. This is such an important thing that most people forget about. For me, it keeps my skin clear, my energy seems to be higher, and I’m not dehydrated (duh). On days where I know I’m going to be playing a lot of volleyball in the evening, I drink AT LEAST 64 ounces of water; however, I don’t repeat this behavior on non-volleyball days. 🙁 Bad Lex. Bad! So, I’m really going to focus on keeping water bottles all around me this month so that I can’t make any excuses!
3. Eat more foods that are high in fiber. I just know that I’m not getting enough. My favorite app, myfitnesspal, will help me keep track of this. It’s also the reason I know my daily fiber intake is super low. A diet that contains a lot of fiber will help me shed those lbs, as well as control my cravings. 
4. Eat healthy snacks. It’s so easy to just munch on whatever a co-worker has brought in, or stop somewhere and pick up whatever satisfies that moment’s craving. I need to purchase healthy snack foods in order to eat healthy snacks! 
5. Pack my lunch more frequently. This ties in with my efforts to eat more breakfast.There’s something to be said about waking up early (or at least on time…) and preparing your meals for the day.