There’s something positive and happy and hopeful about a new year, isn’t there? There’s something about the promise of a new beginning that fills one with optimism.
As 2017 drew to a close I found myself not in the best of spirits. I found the mandatory year-end post quite a drag, I didn’t do a gratitude post, nor did I feel like making any resolutions. I seem to end up breaking them anyway. I just felt too old for all the end-of-the-year hype. The Husband was supposed to leave late last night just before we ushered in the new year, perhaps that had something to do with it. But that was yesterday.
Before the day ended he had managed an extra day’s leave, then his flight was delayed and he booked himself into one for the next day which meant we could spend New Year’s Eve together and that kind of lifted all our spirits. Today, I find myself planning plans and thinking thoughts – good ones.
And I have a resolution, a focus point so to say, for 2018. This year it has to be health and fitness that’s top priority. And I have a plan.
Here it is…
- First up on the cards is a medical checkup. I’ve been putting it off for months, over a year actually. I’ve realised that no diet-exercise plan is going to work if my bones aren’t in proper order. So a check up and required corrective medicines/measures is the first step.
- I find I can no longer exercise as I once used to. So moderate exercise is what I’m looking at, hopefully twice a day. That’s optimistic I know, but I’m going to try.
- Yoga might not excite me much but I shall continue with it thrice a week for the peace of mind it offers.
- I’ll take up Zumba twice a week for the pure fun of it, for a month to begin with. If I find I cannot sustain it, I’ll substitute it with a 5km walk.
- As I grow older diet shall play a far greater role in fitness than exercise. Since I’ve always relied rather heavily on the latter, that needs to change. Which is why I’m looking at expert guidance to make a start and consulting a dietician is on the cards, but that’ll be after I sustain my fitness routine for a month.
I do realise I need to have other goals for writing, reading and self-improvement. However, I’m not too good a multitasker and so for now it is health that will be my focus.
And I shall have a quarterly review
I love Shantala’s idea of goal-setting and quarterly reviews. You might like to hop across to her blog to see what a wonderful job she does. Prompted by her I’ll do a quarterly review to see where I stand.
I’ve been subconsciously mulling over all of this for some time. But in the absence of a plan, I didn’t make much headway. It does feel good to have written it all down and I hope to follow it through. I’d love your support and suggestions.
Meet me on facebook at obsessivemom06 or follow me on twitter at @obsessivemom06 or at instagram also at obsessivemom06.
I’m terrible at managing social media accounts but it does help increase accountability and I hope to have regular updates.
What’s your focus this year? Does health and fitness factor in? Or do you already have a routine going? Do share it here so I can take a tip or two.
Since it is already mid year, shouldn’t it be time to assess what we have achieved so far. This blog helped and inspired me a lot and I just want to share that one of my biggest accomplishment is solving my back pain with workout and ergonomic equipment. May you all achieve your 2018 goals!
I totally agree with you. Health is wealth. It’s really hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle nowadays. And we shouldn’t ignore the simple things that affect our health, like, drinking more water, having the right amount of sleep, and many more. Wishing you a healthy 2018 🙂
Yes, It is true Health is wealth. To enjoy the life we need complete fit and fine body.If we don’t do the regular exercise expert advice can make us the perfect and healthy body.
Yes I totally agree with the fact that “Health is Wealth”. You can enjoy your life only when you are fit enough. I believe in complete fitness. Thank you for sharing such motivating post with us. It will aware many people around to stay healthy and fit.
I have noticed that I am happier on the day when I workout
I am too. Which is why working out is so essential.
Great, you’ve got a good start to the year already! It is never late to do something worthwhile on the health aspect of life. Good luck
Thanks Alok. I hope to stick it out.
Awesome post! 2018 is the year wherein I’ll start focusing more on my health. Great post, thank you for sharing this. Cheers!
That’s good to hear. We need to make health a priority.
New Year’s eve was a bit of a dampener here too. Both D and I felt bored. It had to be just like any other day but I guess the unsaid pressure to do something special left us bored. I ordered food from outside which took a lot of time to be delivered and it tasted really bad. So by the time it was 10.30 pm, I decided to call up everybody back home to wish them Happy New Year and went to sleep.
I am happy for you that you have decided to prioritize fitness and health for this year. If I may advise, it would be better to consult a dietician right away after getting the thorough check-up done. Correct and adequate diet also makes it easier to carry on with the exercises – double the commitment. The other advice would be to hire a personal trainer who would give the necessary push. I know this is the main factor which has worked for me for so long. If I let go of the trainer today, then I am surely going to lose the motivation to exercise altogether. I hope you all the best for your goals.
Thats why they say HEalth is wealth 🙂 my best wishes to you .. and Go go go go go goooooooooo
fitness is a must and since the last few months I to oam trying to get it right and get into the swing of maintaining myself, I know its a bit difficult in the start but later it becomes a habit and thats when we start to see the advantages ..
Good girl! Hugs to you, Tulika! Goal-setting is the first step to getting things done, because it helps chart out a plan/route to reach what we aim for. It doesn’t matter if you deviate, because flexibility counts too! Sometimes change is for the better as we go along. My focus is health this year, too, except I am too lazy to be accountable on social media. I am glad you had a trigger to make you cheer up! Wishing you a wonderful year ahead! And don’t talk about age. No such thing. It is just a number in our heads.
This is such a coincidence _ I’m at your blog reading your post now :-). My yoga instructor keeps saying the same thing – that age is just a number until finally I begged her not to say that because she took away my single most potent excuse to not exercise! We had a good laugh together. On a serious note I do hope to carry through all my grand fitness plans.
Wishing you a very happy New Year Vidya.
I am looking these goals Tulika. Diet and exercise do go hand in hand and you can’t ace one without the other. Going to a dietitian is a good idea. Stick with one who understands you and does not ask of anything drastic. If possible get a trainer at home. Maybe for 3 months. Trust me you will learn a lot and nothing builds accountability quite like it or go to a gym with a trainer. Also keep smaller goals. Mark on a calendar and take stock weekly. Building regularity is the key. Once that is there, workout will be second nature. Good luck and a happy new year!
I did consider a personal trainer and maybe I will take one up if my group exercises don’t work. But I do like working out in a group. Maybe the trainer will help me focus better. I’ll keep this in mind for cure. I’ve made out a calendar and shall be updating it daily.
Thanks for those pointers. Hope you have a wonderful new year too.
I haven’t been commenting (or blogging :P) much lately Tulika, but I had to chime in on this one to agree on all you’ve said here. So glad that you have your fitness goals, and concrete steps to achieve them, in place! It is true that we have to sometimes re-align our workout routines based on what the body can manage – something that I have also found out in the last couple of years. All the very best for a healthy and amazing 2018!
Thanks so much for dropping by Aparna. You know how I’ve not been able to find my feet vis a vis an exercise routine. I’m hoping (yet again) that this year will be different. Wishing you a happy new year too.
Good on you for focussing on health and fitness. Honestly, once you get used to it, it becomes second nature. I fell off the exercise and healthy eating wagon in 2016 when I was depressed. It was so good to come back to it in 2017 and by the end of the year, I went to the gym on Christmas day and Boxing day without anyone needing to push me. It was just automatic. I’m doing monthly goals this year in addition to my word and overall goals. I love Shantala’s quarterly goals too but thought monthly might keep me more on track. Not sure if I should put it on the blog yet though! 😛
Have a wonderful 2018 and hope health and fitness goes well for you! P.S. Feel free to PM me for more accountability. I find it works so well for me to be accountable 🙂
Thanks a ton Sanch. I like your idea of monthly goals. In fact I’ve put up a monthly accountability calendar to keep a closer check. I know what you mean when you say it becomes fun going to the gym once you get into that zone. The sad part is I used to be there but then I had to change my gym and my knees gave me big time trouble and things went downhill from there. I’ll ping you if I find myself slipping.
Health is a priority too this year for me. I require that health and dental check up too 🙂 and of course a regular fitness regime. Hoping I am able to stick to it.
Good luck Ramya. I hope you manage to stick with it.
I love your goals… They are more than enough to keep you on the right track I wish you good luck. And do keep sharing your success with us.
I will. Thanks Raj.
Your goals look great. I suffer with seasonal depression. But I’ve been doing Zumba for about three years, twice a week, so I will keep up with that. It’s a lot of fun and it’s good exercise. This year, I’m hoping to finish my novel and lose some weight and to get into better condition. Also, I’m planning on doing a series for a paintings to illustrate a friend’s story. I hope to do at least some of it because I’m kind of lazy.
Ah laziness is the bane of us all. Good luck with your goals Alice.
Thank you so much for the shout out, Tulika. And I can completely relate with what you’ve written. Getting the medical exam done is a great first step. I do an annual visit around Nov/Dec every year (only from the past couple of years), just to get a baseline for what I need to work on the next year.
I know everyone needs to tailor their health and fitness plan according to what their specific situation calls for, but since I can relate to how it feels like being on ground zero, I’ll share the first steps I took, in hopes that it might help you too.
1.Medical Exam to ensure everything is in normal range (and find out if there is a problem area).
2. Start taking multivitamins (right after breakfast – first few months I had to set an alarm) + take any additional vitamin you need as per your health report ( I have vitamin D deficiency, so I take that).
3. Diet – The only thing that has worked for me is Portion Control. Nothing else seems to keep the weight off.
4. Exercise – I hate exercise, so I always have to take baby steps, and need an end date in sight, which is why quarterly goals really help me here.I do cardio 3 times a week for 20 mins (started with 1). And I am also incorporating strength training now (at home) as above all else, I want to stay fit, and pain free as the years progress. After watching countless videos and tutorials, I have learnt to do a perfect squat. Now I am focusing on the plank (and hopefully will graduate to a full pushup next quarter). I know all these are really tiny steps, but I guess we all need to start somewhere.
Zumba for a month seems like a great idea. You can always continue with it, or mix it up next month.
P.S. The quarterly goals post for the first quarter is going up this weekend, and it’s going to be a linky. So you can work out your goals, link up, and we can cheer each other on and check up on each other all through the quarter – at-least in the fitness department.
Oh and if writing down fitness goals are not your thing, don’t worry about it. Feel free to ping me on Facebook, and we can stumble through this fitness thing together, and form an low pressure accountability team of sorts. If you are interested in strength training, I’ll share the links that I have found helpful.
Thanks for the detailed comment Shantala. Strength training is an area of concern too but I put it off for next month after I have a routine in place. As of now I’m not looking at any goals in terms of weightless. I’d rather focus on consistency – that’s my goal – just being able to put in an hour of exercise at least five times a week.
Do share the links to strength training. I know I’ll need to get there soon enough.
Health first, oh yes. That’s what I’m planning for the new year too.
I hope you succeed in everything your try this year, Tulika. Wishing you lots of love, luck and a very happy new year.
That’s a sweet wish for the new year Soumya. Thank you. And I hope you have a wonderful year ahead too.
Can I just send you a bear hug all the way from here first? As a way to start off your new year on the right note, I mean 🙂
Coming to the health aspect, I love the idea of quarterly goals update. Keeps it easier on you. Coming to the exercise itself, I love the fact that you’ve injected variety to keep it interesting, so that’s good. Start small and keep it measurable, since that helps with accountability too. Get an app like Google Fit to track your steps if you are walking and FitnessPal (i think that’s the name) if you are tracking diet changes. I am no fitness expert so will recommend either Rachna or Rajlakshmi for specifics on how to test your progress 🙂
Good luck and warm wishes for the year ahead. May you achieve your goals, Tulika.
Thank you, a hug goes a long way in making my new year brighter. I know how consistent you are with your walk routine. I hope I can bring in some amount of consistency to my workout too. Also, I like the idea of small goals, whether it is for exercise or like what you’re doing for writing. Thanks for those apps. Will look them up.
Happy new year to you too.
Health is and will always be my first priority.Great that you plan to work on it this year with focus
Thank you Amrita. Wishing you a happy and fruitful new year.
Its good to focus on our own health and fitness. It will indirectly impact everyone in the family. Wish you luck..
Thank you Lata and wish you a very happy new year too.
Happy New Year, Tulika. Wish you all the best for your health goals.
As for me, I’m not really sure what my goal is. I guess managing all that I have to and maybe progress on some of my personal projects. No big plans at the moment. My New Year Weekend was a drag, probably worse than any other weekend. Hopefully, the year will turn out to be better.
Thank you Nabanita. We didn’t do much on that weekend too, just hung around the telly watching a mindless award show and went to sleep! But the New Year got me excited, a little late perhaps but still. And that’s when I took those health decisions. I hope 2018 is kinder and easier on you.
Oh yes, lady, do stick to this health plan you have made.
You are right…after a particular age, we find it difficult doing certain exercises that we used to do well earlier. But, do work out. It will help you stay flexible, active and keep your joints from getting rusty. The joints are what we need to focus on as we age. I know, I may sound as if we are in our sixties, but, that’s how it does feel these days, doesn’t it? P
Yeah well some days it does feel like that! But I’m hoping the exercise routine shall get the spring back in my step. Wishing you a super happy New Year Shilpa.
It SUCKS that food plays a far bigger role than workouts do :/ I’ve learnt it the hard way.
Her quarterly goals format is SUPER for accountability, right? Such an effective way to track everything/anything.
Also, good luck to you! I hope you love Zumba as much as I do. Don’t stick to only cardio though, strength training is supposed to work wonders for overall flexibility and stamina.
Happy 2018, T <3
Isn’t it? And as we grow older diet becomes more and more important. That’s a pain. There was a time I’d simply up my exercise routine the day I indulged myself, that doesn’t seem possible any longer. Pity!
Oh I love Zumba. I did it for about three years consistently, then had health issues and dropped out. The music still cheers me up. I’m hoping I can do it again.
It’s always good to see you here Cookie. Hope you have a fab 2018.
That’s some wonderful health goals, Tulika. I found I’m not very excited by the prospect of Zumba, so decided for regular walks. Health should be a priority, I agree. If that falls into place, the other things like reading or writing fall into place too. Wishing you a Happy New Year 2018.
Hmm walks are great but I find I work better with group exercises – partly due to the company and partly because it makes you more accountable. I do love to walk too and I hope I can squeeze it in during the evenings or weekends. Hope you have a wonderful and healthy new year.
All the best Tulika. Your exercise regime is not moderate – it makes me tired already 🙂
Ha ha Suzy, with a metabolism like mine I really need to up my exercise routine. Or like my ma says, there’ll be a time when I won’t be able to move at all. Wish you a very happy new year.
First of all, I wish you a very, very happy, healthy & bubbly New Year, my dear ObsessiveMom!
Fitness is surely a perfect resolution to set the tone of a vibrant, brand new year. And it is, indeed always on the top 2 of the New Year resolutions’ list of most people around the globe. The very irony that we toss our health over almost an ‘abandoned’ pile of procrastination is testimony to this popular resolution. However, one of my most admired mom bloggers that you are, I’m super-glad that you’re going to take the much awaited call about your health. I do understand how being an instinctively dutiful momma coaxes us to put our health at a backseat over that of our family. But, we all know how WE are the powerhouses of our homes. The days we fall sick are enough proof of that!
Oh, dear ObsessiveMom, I just want to disagree upon your feelings about your multitasking abilities. Come on, doting mothers like us are strong enough to challenge robots in the domain!
And lastly, I’d love to endorse Yoga to everybody who’s been in love with health. Yoga is just not relegated to matters of the mind; it’s a simple (yet sophistically projected by many!) science that anybody can learn with ease, but with faith, self control & perseverance. And I’m so happy for the changes it brought to my life.
All your posts deal with such essence of parenting. This one too will inspire many parents to take up their health as a major priority of the year. Have a rocking 2018!
Thanks for that happy warm comment. That in itself is enough to kickstart my new year. Thank you for pointing out that our own health is as much a part of parenting as anything else. That makes me feel good about making time for myself.
I’ve been trying out yoga for the past year or so. This year I hope to be able to tailor it to my specific needs with the help of my instructor.
You have a wonderful New Year too.