I started January by journaling how I wanted my year to look, including the most important things I wanted to experience. When I was planning my year, I wasn't even thinking about the fabulous Christmas present I bought for myself and the whole family. I bought us all a package at iFly to experience Indoor Skydiving. I miraculously found a night that we all had free and booked us in. I don't know if you are like me and had dreams as a child that you could learn how to fly, but that iFly experience was a dream come true for me. I couldn't keep the smile off my face! Even though it wasn't something I listed in my vision of my year, it was a huge highlight for me. A big part of making this a great year for myself is to have room to do the things that make my heart sing. I want there to be space for spontaneity and fun. Fun and excitement are huge values for me, so when I I have the opportunity to do something like this iFly experience, I am going to take it!
Another less exciting and fun aspect of this month for me was my focus on weight loss. One of my biggest desires for this year, is to lose weight. I wasn't looking forward to changing my diet or feeling restricted. I was happy living in blissful ignorance about the foods I was eating and pretty permissive in how strict I was about following my workout plans. Except I wasn't that happy about the results I was getting from that pattern. Since January, I have been pre-planning most of my meals and tracking my calories. I have been trying to have at least some form of exercise each day. I finally tried a new approach to weight loss for myself...moderation. I have tried extreme measures before and they only lasted for a short time. I decided trying a new approach that was more of a lifestyle change. I simply planned what I would eat with my daily allotted calories and try to exercise enough to burn more calories than I consumed. I ate pretty simply during the week, only drank alcohol on the weekend and small amounts. I enjoyed eating out sometimes and tried to make good choices. I didn't feel deprived, just more conscious about my food choices.
And the result of my experiment...I lost 5 pounds! That's not huge. But in another month it will be 10 pounds. And in 3 months, it will be 15 pounds. I plan to keep going with my moderation plan until I feel like I am at the right weight for myself at this stage of my life. This plan makes me feel like I am making progress and I can still be happy and enjoy myself. I have had days that I ate more than I had planned (or more calorie-rich foods) and days that I missed exercising, but overall I was pretty consistent. I didn't just give up if I strayed from my plan. I just got back on track the next day. I am really pleased with my start to January and want to continue this plan for the rest of the year.
My learnings from this month include seizing the moment and finding joy whenever I can. I also learned that moderation can work and my plans don't have to be perfectly executed. It is okay to go off course as long as I course-correct right away before I start veering in the wrong direction. I don't need to be perfect. I just need to keep moving in the direction of my dreams.
I am also excited for a new challenge in February. Watch for my February post next Monday! In the meantime, I would love to hear how your January went! Not everything has to be a win either. There is great learning in setbacks as well. Please share anything you would like in the comments below, in our Weekly ONE Thing Facebook Group or on Facebook or any other social media.Your successes and challenges can inspire other people. I look forward to reading your posts!