Setting goals

I have been whining a lot about how I have been struggling these past few weeks.  I was complaining to Priscilla on our last long run about how in the past I have gotten to the 2 month point and then quit.  Usually it's because of the fears that I have written about in an earlier post. Also, it seems that I plateau after 2 months and I think "hey, my clothes are loser and I'm feeling pretty good, so that's good enough." She kindly reminded me that I was an idiot and that I needed to remember the whole "divorce you story" thing that I have written about before.  Okay, she didn't call me an idiot, but she did remind me that we weren't those people anymore.



After much soul searching and internet searching for inspiration.  I finally realized what I have been doing wrong.  I haven't had any concrete short term goals these past 2 weeks.  Yes, I have my long term goal of having that bikini body, but I don't really have daily, weekly, or monthly goals to challenge me. I read 2 posts on Facebook that really inspired me.  The first one was about buying a "target outfit."  Yesterday, like an insane person, I went to the mall (it was Black Friday).  It was really for my sister because she needed some clothes for a trip she is going on.  I have been looking for a dress for an upcoming wedding and because I haven't bought any "church clothes" for a long time, I ended up looking for myself too.  I actually found 2 skirts that I love.  The one skirt has an elastic waist and it fits just a little bit snug on my tummy.  The second skirt was a little tight in the size 6 (I could zip it up, but I had a little muffin top), but just perfect in the size 8 so I got the bigger size. When I got home I started to think about that "target outfit."  I love that size 8 skirt, so today I took it back and got the size 6.  My goal:  I have to fit comfortably in both skirts in 4 weeks!!! I am going to hang one skirt in my closet and one in my home gym for inspiration.
The other motivating post I read was by a woman who was celebrating her 35th birthday.  She wrote that she was in the best shape of her life.  On my 35th birthday, I was not in the best shape of my life.  In fact, I was pretty close to my highest, non-pregnant weight.  I was relatively fit, but I was also relatively fat.  I will turn 36 in 8 months and 3 days and I will be posting on facebook that I am in the best shape of my life.
In order to do this, I will have to set daily workout and nutrition goals. Every night I will write my goals for the next day and report on how I did for the day.  I will keep these daily goals in a hand written journal that will be readily accessible.  I will continue to make my weekly and monthly goals, but I am going to make them more challenging.  They also have been a little bit vague in the past, so I'm going to make them more specific.  Honestly, I'm starting to get excited again.  I just needed a plan, it's the type A part of my personality coming through!