Goals.

Hi, my dear blogosphere friends, and happy NYE!

This is my final post of 2014.

It’s hard to believe that this year is coming to a close already. This has been an incredibly meaningful year for me, and maybe that’s why it also feels as though it was so short! The good things in life seem to pass by so quickly when the not-so-good things, on the other hand, seem to be painfully drawn out. This was not a painfully drawn out year, to say the least.

I’ve mentioned in my last couple of blogs that I wanted to write and talk to you specifically about fitness, so let’s do that now.

Here’s a little end-of-the-year confession to get the ball rolling:

My name is Rachael, and I am horribly, horribly, horribly inactive. 

There. Now it’s out there.

See, when I first started my weight loss journey 4 months ago, I was gung-ho about exercising. I went out and bought workout gear. I started walking my energetic 8-month-old Cocker Spaniel every morning. I made iTunes playlists to use as workout routine music. And I even started working out a little on the old, dusty elliptical my parents let me have.

But then I started to get lazy. And what really didn’t help matters is that I continued to lose weight without really exercising. I’ve dropped almost 40lbs. so far, and I’ve done that mainly by changing my eating habits. My weight loss is, without a doubt, 95% due to a drastic change in eating habits, and 5% due to the extra walking I do now—walking my puppy every morning (though our walks have gotten considerably shorter these days), parking further away in parking lots, taking the stairs instead of elevators, and just, generally, not cutting corners when it comes to moving, which is what I used to constantly do.

But that is absolutely not enough.

I know that I have to start moving more, and I want your help to do so!

As I mentioned in my Christmas blog, my parents got me a Fitbit this year. I haven’t taken it off since December 26th (though I’ve definitely screwed up some of my awake/sleeping time activity stats because I haven’t quite gotten the swing of the functions yet). It’s safe to say that I have been seriously unhappy with my activity levels. We’ve been covered in a blanket of snow and plagued with sub-zero temps for the past week here in Colorado (seriously—last night it was -17°F [-27.2°C] in my neck of the woods), so I know that at least some of my inactivity can be chalked up to that, but I still know that I’m not doing enough even when the snow isn’t hanging around and the temperature is at a more tolerable level.

So let’s do something together to get active in 2015! Let’s set some goals together!

I’ve seen a lot of people do “challenges” here on WordPress and on other social media outlets—walking challenges, jogging/running challenges, workout DVD challenges, you name it.

I’m super interested in this, and I want us to think of something to do together to start the new year off right and with a bang! There are currently 70 people following my blog. I know that there has to be at least a few of you who want and need to be more active in the new year, so let’s help each other accomplish that.

I have a bum knee, so jogging/running is out for me, but I’m open to anything else. We can start off slow and do a walking challenge, or we can do something else—a workout DVD, yoga, whatever. I am 100% open to suggestions.

This blog has helped me so, so, so much these past 4.5 months. You guys have cheered me on, talked me down off of the metaphorical ledge, encouraged me when my choices and my general mental state weren’t so good, and you’ve all really and truly held me more accountable as I’ve walked this path. I look forward to interacting with you all on my blog and on each of your own blogs. I start all of my blog posts by greeting you as friends because that’s what you are to me—you’re friends, not followers.

So with that said, I know that making a plan to workout with you guys will work for me. I know that this is something I’ll stick to if I have to answer to you guys for it. So let’s do it!

If you’re interested in participating in some kind of challenge with me in the new year, drop me a line below! Tell me what kind of workouts you like to do and what kind of stuff you’d be willing to do as a group. If you have a Fitbit, I’d love it if you added me to your friends list there, too! You can do so by searching my email, which is myjourneyonedayatatime@gmail.com. And, of course, if you’re a fellow Weight Watchers member, I’d also love to interact with you over on the Weight Watchers forum! My username there is Rachael9211.

Let’s help each other be better, more active, healthier people in 2015! ❤

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That’s basically what my goals for 2015 are: to be a better, more active, healthier, and happier person. I’m not going to make any resolutions or promises beyond that. I am simply promising to be good to myself in 2015. I am promising to do whatever I can to make myself the better, more active, healthier, and happier person I dream of being. That’s it.

What are your goals for the new year? What are you promising to do?

And what are your plans for ringing in the new year tonight—the night where binging on booze and greasy bar food is practically expected?

Me? I’m staying home and staying sober. I’ll be eating a couple of slices of Papa Murphy’s Gourmet Delite Vegetarian Pizza + a nice leafy green salad + sticking to my trusty pal water. I’ll also be watching cheesy ’80s flicks with my puppy + maybe playing a board game or two with anyone willing to spend the night in with me.

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So, happy new year, friends. I wish you health, happiness, + prosperity in 2015. Thanks for making the latter half of my year impossibly better and brighter.

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,200 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 20 trips to carry that many people.

Thanks for jumping in my cable car and joining me on this journey! I look forward to continuing on with you guys in the new year!

Until then.

Eat well. Be well.

rachaelxoxo