2023 Goals But Really More Like Slowly Implemented Lifestyle Changes

Elisabeth posted about her goal of walking everyday in 2022, with a recap of her fitness workouts recorded with her Apple Watch, and I wanted to copy because imitation is the most sincere form of flattery :)  Here's my 2022 monthly workouts, in time and calories burned:

2022 Summary	Workout Time per Month	Workout Calories Burned per Month
January	41:18:05	11,718
February	41:04:44	13,175
March	49:20:06	15,424
April	42:27:42	13,121
May	48:29:08	14,098
June	48:30:20	14,104
July	42:48:25	11,971
August	57:00:19	15,588
September	44:58:20	13,108
October	44:21:17	14,230
November	46:48:27	15,123
December	37:41:29	13,984
Totals	544:48:22	165,644
Average per Day	1 hour 29 minutes	454

I try to walk 3 miles in addition to doing a workout each day, hence the amount of minutes per day.  I *literally* sit on my tuchus all day at my job, and then in the evening watching tv or reading or watching a kid's sports game....so trust me when I say I NEED these walks and workouts.  I often dream of having a more physically active job so that I wouldn't have to dedicate so much time each day to working out, but hence is the life of an accountant.  And please don't mention a standing desk, I know myself and how much I need to sit to do my work :)

Now onto the goals for 2023:

Look into our life insurance plans again.  I bought this life insurance without needing a medical exam but Phil is still using another company.  We tried to increase Phil's amount but due to the blood clots (which doctors say are not genetic and should not happen again) the price went astronomically high.  I need to look into switching him over to the same company as me.  A health scare is a sad reminder to take care of things like life insurance, but then you realize that you should have locked in prices before the health scare ever happened.  Sigh.

Four years ago, as a weekly cross training day in my half-marathon training, I started taking Jennie's kickboxing classes at the YMCA.  I LOVE group exercise classes and have been taking them regularly since the end of high school.  Jennie's classes (Kickboxing, Insanity and Cardio Pump) were some of my very favorites and I faithfully attended over the years.  Even throughout the pandemic, when the gym was closed, Jennie would host online zoom workouts for her faithful followers.  And then in December, she retired from teaching group ex classes.  She's the same age as me, so it's not that she was really "retirement" age, but she had gotten into rowing and was burned out from teaching over the years.  I literally cried after her last class, as did everyone including Jennie.  I feel like I'm at such a loss now as to what to do for a workout routine each week.  Having her classes (and some others I attend taught by different instructors) really mapped out my exercise.  

When she announced she would be retiring back in the fall, I decided to start running more to prepare for her departure.  Running had always been part of my life but at the start of the pandemic, I hurt my hip and stopped for awhile.  Phil and I began walking lots of miles instead, and I kind of just assumed that I was at the age where walking + group ex classes = the best fit for me.  After two years of not-much-running I didn't really know where to start to get back into it, so I looked up training programs and followed one for eight weeks which ended the same time that Jennie retired my favorite classes.  I am so thankful that I was able to complete the program without injury and I want to continue to run three days a week going forward with one long run on the weekend.  For the other days, I am hoping to attend a bootcamp class one day, a Zumba or another class one day (never tried Zumba before and scared my white-girlness will show) and a Saturday morning HIIT class I like.  Phil and I bought each other pickleball sets for Christmas (great minds!) and we want to start playing that as well.  There's actually a beginner pickleball class at a YMCA 30 minutes away on Friday evenings that I think would make a fun date night!

What I really need to make more of an effort in is cleaning up my diet.  As much as I try to believe I am still a balanced eater, the truth is that over the years I have become an all-or-nothing eater.  I'm either following a healthy plan or I'm indulging and I want to get back to my balanced ways.  I've tried Intermittent fasting for years (basically just cut out breakfast) but have slowly gained weight at the same time.  I don't know if it's the fasting messing with my metabolism, or years of dieting then bingeing, or being over 40 or life stress or whatever, but I need it to stop.  I actually rescheduled my yearly physical from November 2022 to March 2023 to give myself a few months to get back to my normal weight range before it gets recorded by the doctor.  I was definitely a bit overweight at last year's physical, but God smiled down and our doctor's office lost power due to a storm and their scale didn't work.  So if my doctor compares my weight this year to the last weight on record, well let's just say he will probably comment on it in his kind way.  So what am I doing to sloooooowly make healthy changes to bring my weight down?  I'm eating lots of lean proteins, fruits, veggies and fiber.  I'm drinking smoothies and water and eating smaller meals 5 times a day.  I'm actually hungry for breakfast now, after not snacking and packing in the calories the night before.  This book has given me a good guideline, if you're interested.  I'm treating it as a lifestyle change and not just a 15 day diet because I'm channelling Ally and rejecting any quick fixes this year.

As far as my spiritual + personal + financial growth, I have a couple gentle aspirations like Suzanne.  I am listening to Fr. Mike Schmitt's Catechism in a Year podcast.  It's on the Halo app and an easy listen on my drive to work each morning. I admittedly whisper-type that I have never read any section of the Catechism.  I have occasionally used it as an encyclopedia to look something up, but that's it.  This podcast, like his Bible in a Year should help tremendously.   I also want to go to Confession more often, having been told by my last confessor that that was my first issue.  Yikes!  I can make all sorts of excuses not to go but really it's just pride.

I would like to date my husband once each week (we try to do this already) and do something with friends once a month, something my extroverted husband loves but his introverted wife has to psych herself up to do.  I want to stop shopping to make myself feel better and be more considerate about the difference between needs and wants.  I also want to sit in the living room each night, using this amazing Christmas gift, while drinking tea and catching up with my kids, praying the family rosary, and helping them with violin and piano practice.  I find that as soon as I sit down, the family just gathers around.  I want to not take that for granted and to be more present instead of feeling exhausted and heading to bed early to watch tv.

OK that was a lot methinks.  Let's see if February Colleen has the same amount of youthful promise as Today Colleen :)