New Monthly Fitness Goals

After doing a weekend full of online research (via Body Building mostly) and speaking with my trainer about my progress, I have come up with a plan of action that will take me through April. I also set some more attainable goals this month. I get really down on myself when I am not able to meet the goals I set. Given that I have a little over 5 weeks until April 30th, I feel that these goals are challenging enough to keep me motivated, but not too far fetched. I am also debating on scheduling a day off from work to go to the spa to celebrate ahead of time. I tend to tell myself that I don't deserve to be treated until I meet my goals, but maybe a little motivation  midway  through will help keep me more sane.

The biggest feat for me this month will be not hopping on the scale each day and not tracking my calories. After a year of being on this weight loss journey, I know how much I eat everyday and I rarely binge eat. Tracking my calories in MyFitnessPal has almost become an obsession for me. I spend so much time finding the exact foods that I ate, I check the nutrition labels to ensure that it is correct, and I am not comfortable actually eating my food until I track it. The odd thing is that, I still don't always stick to the guidelines that are set on MFP though. I just mope and beat myself up for not doing it more consistently. 

The scale is the way of judging myself that I force myself to endure most mornings of the week. As much as I read about not letting the number ruin my day, I can't help it. That number, to me, represents if I am doing things correctly. Which I know is not an accurate depiction of the work that I put in at the gym. (Right now NONE of my jeans fit. The pairs I have been wearing since I gained weight are all gapping in the waist and the pairs I wore when I was smaller are all still too tight. So I guess this means I will be resorting to leggings. Thank goodness they are back in style).

As for my eating, I will break this down a bit more later with the exact types of food choices that I will be making, but in short, there has been a lot of research on the benefits of having 6 small meals throughout the day. The greatest benefit has a lot to do with keeping your metabolism working. By eating more frequently, never allowing yourself to get too hungry, your metabolism stays fired up throughout the day. This can help you ultimately lose more weight. So, we will see. 

***crossing my fingers for a good month***