I am cold, but cannot be stopped from making smoothies for breakfast!
After an easy 6 miler this morning I tried to talk myself into different, warmer breakfast options. But, I reeeeally wanted a smoothie! So that was that.
In the mix: ice, frozen spinach, protein powder, almond milk, chia seeds. 
On the side I enjoyed PB&PB toast.
It’s December 1st! I love my new approach of making smaller more manageable goals this year.
My November Goals were:
1. Intuitive Eating – only eat when hungry, pay closer attention to fullness and night time eating = I did okay on this, but need more accountability.
2. Get 8 hours of sleep (this helps with #1 soooo much) = This is getting better.
3. Jillian’s 30 Day Shred Challenge = Nope. Ranked out of this, but did my own moves about 2 times a week.
4. Get organized: Bills, Blog, Personal – all of it will be organized by Nov. 3oth! = Made a lot of progress with personal bills, still working on emails.
5. No gum. This might be the one that kills me. = Didn’t end up cutting it out, but cut back a lot. Many people asked about this one – Why cut out gum? Because I was chewing about a pack a day and am trying to cut back on fake sugars.
December Goals:
1. Building on last month’s IE goals I am going to try and stay aware of calories and aim for 1800 a day. I kept track 2 days last month and saw I was up around 2500!
2. Go to the gym (or take yoga) 2 times a week. I need some cross training in my life!
3. No diet soda. This is building on last month’s #5 in an effort to cut back on fake sugar.
4. Do Abs every day. After the LB marathon my rib cage hurt very bad later that day and for a few days after. I think it’s because my abs are weak and it was hard to hold myself up for 4:04 hours.
Question: Did you make any December goals? Please share!
Great goals!!
And core workouts are SO important to running. But if you do abs everyday you will end up overtraining them. Working the muscles breaks down the muscle fibers and then when they grow back, they grow back bigger and stronger. If you don’t allow them time to repair and grow, you will just continuously break them down. Much better to do the 3-4 days a week than every day!
your goals sound awesome and i know you’ll be able to accomplish them!!
My December goal is to log everything I eat onto My Fitness Pal app on my phone. I started today and it helps to remember that the pack of peanut M&Ms I ate were way to many calories and that I wasn’t hungry when I ate them..just bored. My #2 goal is to continue with the sit up/push up challenge…
Trying to do a ten minute “workout” each night (in addition to the usual schedule) to tone up and burn a few extra Christmas cookie calories! I am also trying to get better about doing my PT exercises 3X a week to avoid injury when I start marathon training again. I am also trying really hard to focus on positive instead of negative, for example, I am thankful to have a job to whine about.
The 8 hours of sleep is always a goal but I think I am actually getting better!
I’m with you on the no diet soda thing. I’ve made it two days so far! It’s really much harder than it seems, isn’t it?
I’m also trying to drink little to no alcohol during the month of December (and maybe after that). Also a hard one!
You said that one of the days you counted calories, you found that you had eaten around 2500. If you think about it, that is an appropriate amount for someone who runs as much as you do! I’m not saying you should aim for 1800 calories or you shouldn’t, I just think you should keep in mind how much of that energy you spend on your workouts! 🙂
Both days I counted were on random mid-week days – NOT a weekend long run day or the day after (when I am legitimately hungry). I do eat that much during marathon training when I feel my body needs it.
I always thought counting calories is counter-intuitive to the IE approach of “trusting your body”.
I’m with you on the yoga.
You’re right, counting is the exact opposite of IE, but I needed to see where exactly I was going wrong. As I suspected it was during the afternoon slump. I don’t record those eats on the blog because they are very snacky and random – but they add up to over 500 calories!
After I ran Hood to Coast (17 miles total) my chest hurt for a week!!! I had no idea what it was and went to the doctor because it felt just like pneumonia. It hurt to inhale. I was so freaked. It turned out to be inflammation in my rib cage from running! WEIRD!
What an interesting smoothie idea… for some reason, I’ve never thought of using frozen spinach. I’m definitely giving this a try tomorrow!
I love the idea of making goals like this so that they’re more manageable. I tend to make bigger, overarching goals that are more difficult to track and follow through. Thanks for sharing!
I am trying to work towards more intuitive eating as well. And I completely agree taht sleep is key for that!!
I totally made 8 hours of sleep a priority! Since I wake up at 5 am and work out before work, it’s made a huge difference in my ability to make it through the afternoon! I’ve also done a lot of work with eating slower. I have a terrible habit of speed eating. I am finally focusing on eating slowly and enjoying every bite. I think I am eating a lot less now! 🙂
Good job on your goals. Sleep help me so much when it comes to listening to my body and hunger. Love the new goals…I might have to copy your everyday abs.
Does survive the next 2 weeks of finals without relying on chocolate as a crutch count as a goal? Because if so, that.
That is not only a goal, it’s a super tough one!
sleep is key!! I’ve been trying to cut back on gum too- it’s hard, but letting myself have a piece or two after meals makes it a lot easier.
I dont think you need to do abs every day- it’s important to let the muscles rest and recover.
I love your polka dotted dishes. Always. Great goals! on the abs~ make sure you give them a rest. I do them every other day. Like other muscles, they need a break. No, I am not an expert.. but I read a lot of stuff! 🙂
Thanks!
You’re an expert compared to me! I do 8 min Abs (90s style – had it forever) and the guys says, “See you in 24 hours” so I thought I was supposed to do it daily.
I started working on getting 8 hours of sleep last month and although it’s a most-night thing, not an every-night thing, it does help soooo much with eating and my general mood. Good luck on your goals!
I think my December goals are to lose the 3lbs I gained on vacation and not skip workouts. And, also to fit in yoga a few times a week, my body really needs to get stretched out a bit!
I made December goals today and they include only indulging in homemade goods — who wants that grocery store junk? — and doing some sort of workout 5 days a week. I’ve been way too lazy since the weather got cold.
Interesting thoughts on weak abs. This is a great motivator and reason for runners/walkers to take core work more seriously.