Per my 2017 goals, I’m going to assign myself one fitness and one nutrition-based challenge each month.
Fitness
For the last couple years, Adriene (Yoga With Adriene) has led a 30-day yoga challenge in January. This year, she’d doing a 31-day challenge, and it has come at a perfect time. One of the big things I need to do for my ankle is to stretch and loosen my Achilles tendon and the surrounding areas. I specifically asked about yoga, and I’m good to go as long as I modify any pose that hurts or puts pressure on my foot. Add to that yoga’s ability to help my PTSD and mental health, and I think this is the perfect January challenge. I don’t know that I’ll complete all 31 days – we have a couple events scheduled this month, including some travel – but I’m going to attempt to get a good chunk of it done, and aim to fully complete it.
Nutrition
This month I’m working on lowering my insulin levels, especially after the sugar-filled Christmas holiday. For my challenge, I’m cutting out sugar and flour this month. I’m not going to worry about small amounts in things like jerky, ketchup, or salad dressing. I’m also allowing a few exceptions:
- When I’m traveling and have limited food choices, I just need to minimize flour and sugar as much as possible.
- I’m allowed a measured tablespoon of honey in my yogurt, though the bulk of sweetening should be done with fruit.
- Each night, I can have one small piece of chocolate. (Because I’ve never been good with all-or-nothing deprivation!)
I hope these two challenges together will help me recover from holiday eating and get me back into a regular routine for fitness without hurting my ankle. Wish me luck!
The Zen Leaf 
I need to get back into yoga. I’ve started back at the gym and I need something that keeps me moving and helps me work out the tension on the days between gym days. I have definitely noticed immediate changes in mood and energy level. I hope that you have the same benefits! (And I’m going to skip commenting on the nutrition part as I still have TONS of chocolate to eat. 😉 )
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I still have tons of chocolate too, but I keep it all locked up, so that to get to it I actually have to do all the unlocking and stuff. It’s a bit of a deterrent when I know I’m not supposed to, heh.
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Every time I try to do Yoga, the dog thinks it is a weird game and tries to play. lol If he would stay outside for 30 mins, that would be awesome. But, he is more likely to go out and then want back in 10 seconds later only to want to go back out in 5 mins. lol So, haven’t quite figured it out yet.
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One of my cats does the same thing (the treating Yoga like a game, anyway) so I have to kick him out of my bedroom and close the door!
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I’m doing the yoga challenge and it is intense! I have tight Achilles, so I tend to modify my downward dog by bending my knees slightly, though it means I have to pay extra attention to the weight in my shoulders.
I have a chocolate habit too 🙂 It’s a little indulgence and I prefer moderation to extremes in my diet. Keeps me happy and satisfied.
Good luck!
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I have super tight Achilles too – they think that’s the reason my foot fracture never healed! So I’ve been trying to make sure I stretch it constantly. I missed two days of the yoga but hope to get back on today.
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I love the fact that you are including chocolate into your goal. I find that one small piece of good chocolate is satisfying enough for me. Besides, I dislike all or nothing requirements too.
Good luck! I know you can do this!
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I figure if I can make these goals about 85% of the time, I’ll be good. 😀
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