2009 Fitness Plans

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has spent some time thinking about fitness-related "New Year's Resolutions" today.

I've got a few ideas, but I don't know if I'm going so far as to call them "resolutions." There are some areas in which I'd like to have better habits, so here are some general improvement ideas.

Eating:

Since I've had a stress fracture, I have gained a few pounds. Actually, the gaining started before that ~ it is so easy to gain weight when you are running marathons! Because of the necessity of eating enough before a long run, it is difficult to eat just the right amount, and I tend to eat more than I need to, and it becomes a bad habit. My weight is back in the 160's, which is in the "overweight" category for my height, so I'd like to get back down into the 140's again.

I don't believe in dieting or counting calories, so this is going to go slowly. (I believe in counting SuperFoods, and counting colors!) I think I will be able to lose weight just by being aware of what I eat, and by trying to eat as many SuperFoods as I can.

I usually have my camera handy, so I think I will photograph what I eat in a day. Not every day, but perhaps most days. And I'll post it on this blog, to keep myself accountable. I did this today, and I noticed that I was reluctant to eat, because I didn't want to add it to the picture!

(In case you are curious, here is what is in the picture:
Breakfast: a glass of Wal-born, and a pot of coffee. A bowl of muesli & rolled oats, uncooked, with soy milk; a bowl of frozen blueberries, thawed, with a container of yogurt stirred in.
Lunch: a Lean Cuisine, carrots, and steamed broccoli, and tea
Snack: a shot glass of nuts
Dinner: my famous turkey bean dish, with wheat germ & flax seed stirred in.)

I do well with my eating when I keep a checklist of "SuperFoods" ~ it's a list I made up, based on the book SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life. So today I made up a list that I can print off each week, and check off the foods that I eat, so I can see at a glance how I'm doing.

I don't have to eat all of these each day, but the game is to get as many as possible. If I eat normal portions of most of these, there isn't room for much junk food, and I get a lot of nutrients. My list is:

Blue/purple fruit
Citrus fruit
Other fruit
Spinach
Cruciferous veggie
Orange veggie
Tomato
Other veggie
Oats
Other whole grain
Salmon/turkey
Beans
Nuts
Tea
Yogurt
Supplements

I also made a weight chart, because it motivates me to see the numbers go down! I'll post that in a few weeks, when I get some data.

Running:

I'm not allowed to run yet, but I have a schedule for building back up to marathons by the end of the year. I'm being very conservative about it. I'm planning to run a half marathon in May, and we'll see how it goes from there.

Strength:

This is the area I've never been able to maintain good habits in for very long. So 2009 is the year.

I made a chart of several exercises for each muscle group. I'm planning to work on each muscle group twice a week. I figure 30 minutes twice a week ought to do it. I will print the chart each week on the reverse side of the paper with the SuperFoods lists.

I can't do some of these with a broken leg, but there are many that I can. So I'm going to start this week on everything except calves and quads.


Flexibility

I haven't decided exactly about this, but it would be good to take a yoga class, or use a yoga DVD, or come up with a stretching routine. I'm going to give this some thought for a couple of weeks, and start when I start running.