Work It Out: Resolution 5a

There should be a subsection under my 5th resolution for workout more, eat less, drink more water, blah blah blah. I've really been trying to get in shape for college and since I'm not playing sports anymore due to injuries in my foot and ankle, it's a little harder than when I used to be a two sport athlete.

One.
Track your calories/write down everything you eat. It works really really well for me. It's easy, teaches you portion control and it works. Simple as that. Great apps are Lose It and MyFitnessPal.

Two.
Drink water, not soda. I gave up Diet Coke for a new years resolution, and while I still have a sleeve in the house for when I really need a zero calorie caffeine fix, I don't drink one every day. I've also cut back on my coffee to one cup in the morning. The rest of the day I drink water from my Nalgene. If I really need something to add taste, I'll throw a few cucumbers in my bottle.

Three.
Look at serving sizes. It really makes a difference. I used to have no clue what a tablespoon of peanut butter actually looked like, or what a serving size of chicken was. You wouldn't not measure out the different ingredients for baking cookies, so why not do it for yourself?

Four.
Fruits and vegetables really do fill you up. They're also super good for you.

Five.
I rarely eat fast food, and if I do it's only Five Guys or Chick Fil A, which I don't really even consider fast food. One, it adds up, and two, most of mass prepared food is actually disgusting. I love a good chicken biscuit, but only on the occasion. I've even given up my Starbucks fix!

Six.
Make a plan to go to the gym, and stick to it. Getting in the car to go to the gym is the hardest part to me. Once I'm on my way, I'm fine. I help teach swim lessons twice a week or if I'm just working, I'll normally not start until an hour after school ends, so it's a perfect amount of time to go to the gym.

Seven.
Change it up. I do spin class, I swim, and I run. It's good for your muscles, it prevents boredom, and they all clear your head in a different way. I always swim if I want to relax, run if I'm angry, and spin if I need a reality check.

Eight.
Reward yourself with material things, not food. I've been known to say "I've worked really hard, I deserve that second piece of cake etc etc etc", yes you might, but material things last longer. A manicure or a new pair of shoes comes to mind. Or for me, Lulu. I look good in spin class, and I'm motivated to go. I think that's what Stephen Covey would call a win-win situation.

Nine.
If you want to judge yourself by the number on the scale, go ahead. I use it as a reference, but I don't beat myself up over it. I am tall, and very muscular, and muscle weighs more than fat. Simple as that.

Ten.
It takes time. Be patient.

xx

The 6 Week Sprint

I once read somewhere that you can't sprint for six months, but you can sprint for six weeks, so challenge yourself to accomplish six big things in six weeks. I have about six weeks until I visit Alabama again/Spring Break, so I thought it would be fun to make some mini goals on top of my resolutions!

1. No soda! I know that my resolution was to give Diet Coke up, but I want to see if I can not have any soda at all, because one it's bad for you and two it makes my skin break out!

2. Try a spin class and a new yoga class. This was on my goal list for december and it never got done!

3. Psychology. Enough said.

4. Do really really well on my SAT. (This means actually opening the book and studying.)

5. Play dress up once a week and look fancy, just because it's senior year.

6. Buy myself something nice. I'm worth it. 

xoxo,

Royar

2013 Resolutions

1. Go to bed earlier & be more productive in the morning: This was my resolution last year, but I would really like to be asleep before midnight every night so I can get up earlier, and do more, like going to the gym before school.

2. Stop wasting my time on social media: The amount of times I check Facebook and the like is excessive, especially multiple times in a row, just because.

3. Let go of multitasking: There are certain times I need to just let go and focus on one thing at a time. Example: on the treadmill, I feel like I should be reading a book, while listening to music, and reading CNN on the TV in front of me. As Socrates said, "Beware the barrenness of a busy life." I am only one person, so I need to start doing one thing at a time.

4. Stop letting others influence my life: I found a great quote on Pinterest the other day, "A tiger doesn't lose sleep over the opinions of sheep." Too often, I let others thoughts about me make me really upset, even if I don't know them or don't like them. I am who I am, and I need to be confident in it.

5. Swim more, run less: While I love to run, it is really hard on my legs/knees/ankles, and I love to swim, bike, etc., and I need to change up my workouts more.

6. Appreciate every day: My life is going to get really exciting this year, but before graduation, camp, recruitment, college, I have a bit to go. I want to really cherish the last few months I'm spending with my classmates and school.

7. Write more in my journal: I love to write, but I always forget to or I'm too tired at night. I love to read my previous entries, and I just need to open up my journal and write, even if it's only a sentence.

8. Less Diet Coke, more coffee: DC is so bad for me, and I want to cut it down to once a week and make it an occasional treat. I also want to start having just water whenever I go out to eat.

9. Take care of myself more: I take care of myself, but I want to start having my nails done every week, doing my hair, start wearing eye makeup every day, and make my life a little more fabulous, even if it just for myself. I'm worth it.

10. Work harder: It's my last semester of high school, and I want to leave my mark and have my best semester yet. This spring, I'm also taking quite a few AP exams and I want to do really well on them so I can take better courses next year. 

What are your resolutions?

xx,

Royar

New Years Resolutions: Pass or Fail?

I thought it would be fun to look back at my resolutions from last year!

1. Stick with my running club and yoga: Yesterday morning I set out on a 5 miler with a new running group. Needless to say it kicked my butt, but the girls were so awesome it didn't matter. It did hurt a little bit to get up at seven in the morning, but by ten, I was super happy.  I've also been going to hot yoga every friday afternoon for the past two months.  Now with my class package and new yoga mat (Thanks Mama!) I don't have any more excuses.

2. Stop bringing my computer to bed with me: After I finish my homework and I get ready to go bed, I will bring my computer back to my room "just to finish one more thing". This normally turns into five more things and before I know it it's midnight or later.  It can all wait until the next day. I also need to get better at scheduling my blogposts ahead of time so I'm not stuck at 11:00 without a post.

3. Go to bed earlier: See #2. And I just need to stop being a night owl, so I can start getting up earlier and be more refreshed in the mornings.

4. Read more books: I only read 118 out of the 150 books I set as a goal for this year. I am currently on #119, but I want to give this goal of 150 a retry this year. 

5. Follow the 5 P's: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. This is so true for me in 2012. This spring alone, I have Winter Mission Training for Operation Smile, the SAT, two weeks in Paris, history thesis, weekend of work at camp, AP Exams, Brother's graduation, english credo final, finals, camp and applying for college!

6. Keep my Starbucks visits to once a week: I spend WAY too much money at Starbucks. It's obscene. And it needs to stop.

7. Make a budget and stick to it: I need to learn to manage my money better. Now that I have my not-so-big-girl job of working at Camp, I need to actually be responsible.

8. Take it one day at a time: There is a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks and months, but I have to make the little things count in order for the big things to work.

9. Give and work more for big things outside of school: Some of my big goals for this year are: meet the Republican candidate if he comes close to my city, get published on a website like Back Down South, get published in Southern Living, Matchbook or Garden & Gun, do more work with military families in my area, work on outreach for my school's Happy Club, keep volunteering with Operation Smile and work on some business ventures, both personal and with Ensley, get into college, keep donating blood and last but not least, sell my life story to Nicholas Sparks. I'm only half-kidding.

10. Stop and enjoy the little things; Let go of things that are out of my control

So, how did I stack up in 2012?

1. Between my foot injury and other injury issues and run club only meeting in the summer, I didn't really pass or fail on this resolution. I've gotten better about going to the gym and swimming and running on the treadmill, though, so I give this a pass.

2. I've gotten a lot better about this, but I also have my iPad and now my iPhone with me, so I really need to get better at this. Fail.

3. Complete fail. This year I did get exponentially better at coming home and crashing until the next morning, though.

4. I got better, but I still haven't made my goal of 150, and I'm farther away this year than I was last year. Fail.

5. Pass! I did really well on everything that I set my mind to, and reaped the results. 

6. Pass! I barely go to Starbucks anymore, and I haven't been before school once this year.

7. Pass/Fail. I learned how to make a budget, but I still need to work on saving money.

8. 2013 is going to be all about being in the moment for me. I failed big time in parts of 2012.

9. I got a lot of big things done in 2012: Column in SGG, Internship at HerCampus, meeting John McCain, and I got into college! Pass!

10. Still need to work on this. Big time. Fail.

Four passes, five fails, and one middle of the road. Not so bad for 2012. 

Have you taken stock in what you did during 2012 and re-evaluated your resolutions?

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}