This weekend Andrew and I cleaned out the closet in our bedroom.  Our closet is wonderfully huge–it could probably fit two queen-sized beds foot-to-foot with some walking room–which I love, but it also means there’s great potential for huge messes.  Generally speaking, Andrew is a lot neater than I am.  His side of the closet had a few articles of clothing scattered on the floor, some drawers open, and some shoes out of place, but nothing that couldn’t be straightened in 15 or 20 minutes.  My side of the closet looked like a suitcase had thrown up its contents after I’d packed for a month-long trip.  Cleaning it involved multiple hours of sorting, folding, trashing, and Goodwill-ing.

Epic, mostly clean closet.  With my wedding dress hanging on the left. 😀

Also this weekend Andrew and I discussed doing some type of wellness challenge during the month of April to get ourselves in better shape.  As we examined our exercise and eating habits, we realized that our current routine is pretty good…when we actually stick to the routine.  Our lifestyle doesn’t need a complete overhaul, like what I had to do on my side of the closet Sunday, but rather a dusting off of our healthy habits, more akin to straightening Andrew’s side of the closet.  <Phew.>

So how do we stick to the routine?  A crucial part of maintaining healthy habits for me is planning ahead.  I know what I need to do, and I have this great idea in my head that I will get up early each morning to workout, pack a healthy lunch, and go to bed early at night.  If I am not intentional about planning ahead, however, this is what ends up happening:

We stay up late one night watching one more episode of whatever on Netflix.  I wake up too tired to workout in the morning, reset my alarm, and tell myself I’ll go for a run when I get home from work (it will be warmer then, anyway.)  I go to work, but run out of time/forget to pack a lunch–I’ll just grab a big salad around noon.  Noon arrives, and I’m in the middle of something, so I delay going out.  Around 2:00 I finally decide I can’t put off lunch any longer, and by this point I am starving, so I end up buying something greasy/fried/cheesy/etc.  (The later in the day it is, the more unhealthy my lunch will be.)  When I arrive home after work, I’m tired and have a stomach ache because I ate such a crappy lunch, so instead of going for a run I park myself on the couch, telling myself that Andrew and I can go to the gym after dinner.  We don’t, but instead watch a few more episodes of whatever on Netflix, once again staying up too late…

Can anyone relate to that?  I consider myself a fairly healthy person;  I know what good eating and exercise habits look like, and I still fall into that trap if I fail to plan ahead.  In light of that, our “spring cleaning” involves committing to some guidelines that will set us up to make healthier decisions, and recommitting to some fitness goals.  By doing it together, we can hold each other accountable and encourage one another to get our butts of the couch more often. 🙂

Here are our goals and guidelines for the month of April:

Spring Cleaning Our Healthy Habits

~Start getting ready for bed by 10 PM. 

~Plan lunches and snacks for the week, and make sure we have all necessary ingredients

~After dinner, only snack if actually hungry 

~Complete at least 4 cardiovascular workouts each week

~Complete at least 1 yoga + 2 weight-lifting workouts each week

What are are NOT doing:  counting calories, restricting what we eat in any way, or trying to lose weight.  Again, we both know how to eat well and have a desire to do so; if we are proactive with lunches, they will be healthy, so we don’t feel the need to dictate what exactly we’ll eat.  Plus, we don’t believe in deprivation.  My weight hangs out in the same 5-lb range no matter what I do, and Andrew’s is pretty steady as well.  Body fat, on the other hand, we’d both like to lower a bit.  We did weigh-in this morning, and while we are not super concerned with the actual numbers, I am curious to see if there will be any changes at the end of the month!

Andrew
Starting weight: X
Starting body fat %: Y

Catherine
Starting weight: A
Starting body fat %: B

(Unsatisfying, I know. 😉   All numbers fall in to the “healthy” range.)

I will give progress reports each week on Wednesday or Thursday–and because there are 30 days in April, but only 28 days in 4 weeks, we’ll have two freebie days in there somewhere. 🙂

The first major challenge for me will be this week, as I am traveling for a work conference Wednesday-Saturday!  I won’t have to think about packing lunches, but I will have to find time to workout.  (This will also be a major challenge for Andrew, who won’t have me there to drag him to the gym. :-D)

We are looking forward to embarking on our “spring cleaning” , and even more so looking forward to feeling better, stronger, and healthier by the end of the month!

-What are your wellness goals for the spring?
-How do you set yourself up to make healthier decisions throughout the day?