My second 10 weeks of fitness (10+2 weeks, actually) will be wrapping up on Saturday the 22nd.  This has been a long haul given all the travel and date nights we’ve been doing – it’s hard to eat sensibly when you’re having fun!  I also think that my body is getting pretty attached to the pounds that remain on it – it’s getting harder and harder to shed pounds and body fat, which is expected after you’ve lost 25 pounds already.

So people are asking, “what’s your end goal here?”  They want to know what my weight and body fat goals are for the long term, and that’s hard to answer.  I don’t really know what’s realistic or attainable.  I’d love to be 135 pounds (I was a soft 139 pounds at 14 years old) but that’s just a number.  I’d love to be a strong 135 pounds with a body fat percentage in the low 22%-iles, but I’m not 100% sure how to get there or how long it will take.  If I can end this current 10 weeks at 144-145 pounds, then that would leave 9-10 pounds to go.  This current 10 weeks shed only 10 pounds (I’m not complaining!), so I’m thinking it’s going to take some time – and a lot of work.

I’m a big fan of shorter-term goals, and the holidays are coming up, so I’m not going to even think about committing myself to another 10-week fitness period.  We may be out of town on the 22nd when this 10 week session wraps up, so I’m going to take my final stats and photos on Wednesday, 11/26, so that I’m not fretting about it if we’re out of town.  Doing it Wednesday gives me time to recover from a weekend away (I usually “correct” my weight and body fat by Tuesday/Wednesday after following a fun weekend) and it also sets me up for a 5-week stint until the new year.  This is PERFECT for setting a shorter goal over the holidays!

So what’s the goal for the 5 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years day?

• Whatever weight I end up at on 11/22, I’ll set a goal to drop 3.5 pounds from that number (no reason to get over-excited and shoot for a pound a week while I’m fighting the urge to eat holiday treats)
• Whatever body fat % I end up at on 11/22, I’ll set a goal to drop 0.5% from that number
• I will set a goal to exercise DAILY during those 5 weeks, but allow myself a pass on 3 of the 35 days (walking counts as exercise if it’s dedicated walking and not tooling around)
• I will set a goal to do strength training two days a week instead of the one day I’m doing now
• I will set a goal to get to the Y three days a week to ensure dedicated time without having to worry about the kids
• I will set “final” goals for myself once this mini-session is complete

In typical fashion, I’ll be tracking my progress!