Cycle Goals

In Jan 2012, I started my weight loss journey. After two years of changing bad habits into a new lifestyle of better eating and more exercise, I decided that 2014 would be the year to get serious about losing 100 pounds.

I decided to divide the year into smaller portions of one month each and these are my "Cycles". At the end of each month, I evaluate my goals from the previous month and begin thinking about new goals for the next Cycle. I process my thoughts on this page and then update each Cycle Goal on individual blog posts.

UPDATE: 06/02/2014
I'm discontinuing doing Cycle Goals because I just don't feel I need them anymore.

05/01/2014: My Goals for Cycle Four (May 2014):
I'm going to stick with 1400 calories this month. Looking forward to a weight loss workshop mid-month. I'm eating my salad for breakfast and walking everyday. My water system WORKS and I'm feeling like the structure I've worked so hard to put into place is helping me.

04/01/2014: My Goals for Cycle Three (Apr 2014):
I'm really happy with my progress, I'm having more peace of mind as I've put some new habits into place and I'm sitting at 1400 calories daily. I think I can leave my max at 1400 and still lose weight this month with what I'm doing.

What will I work on this Cycle?
1 Walk Daily: I'm RUNNING on the treadmill! I can deal with 15 minutes with some intervals and up to 3.0, still room for improvement, but I'm trying to walk 6 days per week. Would love to be able to walk out the front door and walk like I used to do.  Would like to find a way to walk outside again, I miss it, actually, though using the treadmill and pool is working well for now, but I want to consider options...what about walking the Costco lot?? There's sidewalks around there...could just drive to that neighborhood (not as far).
2 No Sugar: keep going
3 Fiber: I'm kinda surprised about this, but I might consider going back to my high fiber cereal for breakfast.
4 Water: keep going, offering my daughter chore money to fill my water bottles before bed, loving this!
5 Sleep: I need to continue to focus on this, I'm just not getting enough rest. I've set up a cool tracking sheet, so I think just TRACKING my sleep everyday is a good place to start! I have a lot of blank spots from last Cycle.
6 Calories: going well, tracking daily on MyFitnessPal.com
7 Get Strong: keep doing morning routine
8 Half Dinner:
9 Salad: I would like to eat a salad at least 6 days per week.

How much did I lose in March? 5lbs
Weight goal for end of April: 210lbs (I would need to lose 7 pounds in 4 weeks, I lost 5 pounds in March, so I might need to cut more calories to do this.)

3/30/2014 End of Cycle 2 (Mar 2014):
Wow, I've made good progress this Cycle! I've REALLY cut back on my sugar, that's so awesome! As of today, I'm tracking with 1400 per day instead of 1600. Sleep still needs attention. And I have a workout I'm happy with for now. My exercise is mainly for flexibility, I'm not using it to "lose more weight". Get Strong is going to develop in the months to come, but I've added counter push-ups and the rotisserie workout. A few times I have RUN on the treadmill!

This is what I was working on this Cycle:
No Sugar: Really feel good about where I am and had very, very little refined carbs! The Quest bars probably help a lot with satisfying my sweet tooth. I eat refined carbs when I really crave them, which was only twice(!) Keep on with sugar and take it off the focus list.
Calories: I'm going to see what happens at 1400 all Cycle. This is very comfortable, which slows down my loss, but I am still losing, so I want to see if I can still lose at this level.
Sleep: I survived Daylight Saving Time! I can see the start of some better habits, but I have a ways to go. This stays on the focus list.
Get Strong: I'm doing rotisserie and a little barbell, this comes off the focus list.

Did I meet my projected goal?
Today's weight 217.4, I MET MY GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

03/01/2014: My Goals for Cycle Two (March 2014):
Water:
No Sugar: I had a total revelation. I'm losing momentum because I have a "maintenance" mentality and have too many "cheats". I need to have a "I'm losing 100 pounds this year and need to reduce". Like Friday night dessert night...I need to find a NON-sugary alternative, like a sweet protein bar or something with no impact on my blood sugar. I'm really focusing this month on further reducing obvious sugar.
Calories: I'm going to experiment this month with 1600 per day. This helps me with my portions.
Sleep: I'm tracking my sleep patterns this month.
Get Strong: I've spent a lot of time trying to figure this out! Get Strong means Build Muscle. I'm working on flexibility and strength. I found a Fitness Blender beginner workout, and I might try this month, but I haven't quite decided. I did an interval workout on the treadmill, I might try writing that down and doing everyday when it isn't nice enough to walk the pool loops. Also want to use the resistance band. Did the rotisserie workout modified.
Half Dinner:
Salad:
Fiber:
Daily Walk:

Weight goal for end of March: 218lbs

2/28/2014 End of Cycle 1 (Feb 2014):
I've been walking again! Treadmill or around the pool. That's awesome. I'm using my sheet that is divided into the areas the Lord has told me to work on.  I've also added a notebook for when I write things on paper and this is where my Cycle sheets live.

My goals for Cycle One which ends on March 15, 2014:
-1300-1400 calories/day
-get back to walking every day
Current weight: 230, I'd like to lose 10 pounds for this cycle and weigh 220 when I start Cycle Two.

Update 03/02/2014: I weigh 223 at start of Cycle 2.

2/16/2014: I've been wanting to take the next step in losing weight. I'm going to split the rest of the year into four week chunks, giving me ten cycles. I joined MyFitnessPal to help me be more accurate and efficient in tracking my daily calorie consumption. I don't know if I'll like tracking or not. My goal is to reduce my food intake while increasing my exercise. I want to give it a try.