Getting back into the swing of things

The Christmas period was full of food, and I very easily gained a few lbs. I've actually lost about 20lbs in the past 7 months, and while this feels "not enough", I also know that with my plantar fasciitis, lack of running, and then the knee injury, I should accept that amount as 'not bad at all'. However, with the new year, and the reflection that always comes with that, I turn my attention to what I want to achieve in 2017.



The main goal is full recovery from the knee injury and PF, and building back my strength and fitness. I'm not setting any race goals or plans, until I know I'm able to put the work in to reach them. So I'm winging it, with the far more generic "get fitter" plan. I know that successful goals tend to be those which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based, but it feels like I'm not really in a position to make those sort of goals just now. They're on the back burner, and actually that feels quite liberating.  My personal trainer is keeping an eye on some of my non-running goals, though, and making sure I progress towards them. Maybe 2017 will be the year I can actually do a pull-up! Stranger things have happened...

Not to say that I'm starting 2017 'back at square one', though - apart from with the running. The work I've been doing in the gym has helped me start to see progress in other areas, such as with lifting weights, which I find super-motivating. I know my general cardio fitness is fairly weak right now, running will be a big struggle, but there are always other alternatives to work with until you're recovered. 

In January I'm working at getting back into the right daily habits, after the festive break from work, and getting myself OUT of the lazier habits I've fallen into over the past 15 months of injury. Getting back into the right habits and practices, plus a few new ones, that will help me be successful. The latest new habit I'm trialling is going to be no TV/internet/etc. after 8pm at night. I want to read more this year, listen to good music in a setting other than in the car or through earbud headphones, and I want to sleep better, which is supposedly proven to aid weightloss too. So, we'll see how this one goes. Not constantly checking social media, or watching random YouTube videos, all evening will be a big change for me!  

My main goal for 2017 that I haven't mentioned, but feeds into the other, is the weightloss. Again, not a specific number (though I would like to lose somewhere in the region of 35-40lbs from where I am now), but I want to feel like I'm finally taking control and breaking the yo-yo weightloss pattern. I turn 40 this year, so things have to change. I really feel - as dramatic as it sounds - like this could be My Year. x