Well, it’s the end of the month and perhaps it’s a good time to look back and set goals for the next month. I won’t set any weight goals because I think they can be counter-productive. If you meet them too early in the month it might give you an excuse to slack off. If you don’t meet them will it cause you to be disappointed over what could be perceived as a failure. However, monthly goals should challenge you a little to step out of your comfort zone, if only a little. So, based on that, the goals for February will be:

• 1800 - 2000 calories a day
• 60 minutes on the treadmill each day
• 90 minutes of non-treadmill exercise (weekly)

The calories and the treadmill are quite reasonable, as I’ve been hitting the food target daily, and since January 7th most days on the treadmill are 90 minutes. I just recognize that I should do more strength training. I have weights, resistance bands, and a fairly decent DVD for using both. I just don’t like doing the other types of exercise, so this will be a push for me. The goal should be possible, since it’s less than 15 minutes a day. However, I know it will be the hardest one to reach.

I added a picture I took this morning.  This is Gus getting ready to workout.  I guess he’s over his fear of it.

leanmoomercows - I’m not necessarily bored with my diet. I find the lunches the hardest one to work around. Breakfast is a protein shake and fuit, dinner is one of either 17 of the things in the freezer or one of two other choices. And even some of the frozen items can be changed up a little (like the pork and the chicken breasts). Lunches are hard to keep low enough that I can still snack later, but not so low that I’m famished in the afternoon. The soups have been a good choice, but I do need a little more variety, especially in the late spring. So that’s why the plan to see what Costco has in the cold meat area. If they have some portabello mushrooms it might be crab-stuffed mushrooms this weekend.

justdeb - I know my mother isn’t frantic about the money. She’ll save that for once I start (or at least after I’ve been accepted). She’s probably also seeing a slight rise in the food bills as well. I used to do some of the shopping on my way home from work, mainly so I could buy the junk I was eating. But to her that was a hidden cost. We did agree to increase the equity loan once I’ve been accepted into a college. Even if we double it, we’re still at less than a third of the overall value of the house. So financially we’re okay, but we’re both used to just buying things we want as we’ve had way too much disposable income over the last 7 or 8 years.