My New-Year's-Get-in-Shape Plan

I totally missed the ball on creating 2018 resolutions (see here for my post on this last year), but I guess it's not too late, so here we go.

My first focus this past year was to decrease negativity in the following areas:

• "Road/line rage": I think I've gotten a little bit better at letting things go here, as I can feel less tension when I am in these types of situations.  I know that's not quite quantifiable, but I really can feel a small difference.
• Work: I have been put under considerable pressure these last few months, but I think I handled it the best I could.  Still, this is something I want to continue to focus on, though I'll be out of work for a few months.  But I think that just makes it even more important!
• Home life: I also feel like I've been doing better here, as well, but maybe because things have been less intense with the boy growing up a bit and becoming "easier."  Of course, the home dynamic will change again!
• Compliments: With me working from home mostly now and not in public very often, I don't think I've had this chance, but I think it's always in the back of my mind!

The second focus was my health:

• Don't skip vitamins: I definitely did better here, because of prenatals.
   
• Protein: I did really well on this between March and June and got in really good shape because of this.  Of course, pregnancy took over, so I tanked wayyyy down here, but back at it soon hopefully!
   
• Try a new workout: My activities have been limited with pregnancy, but I spent much of the year with a weight training focus.  And for the holidays, I bought myself a TRX set, so I'm excited to see what I do with it!
   
• Don't exceed weight threshold: Haha, I did drop below my weight but gained 20 lbs due to pregnancy.  Tabling this for now...

In 2018, I will continue to work on the goals above and not set any new ones, since, well, I'm just going to try to survive here!  But I did want to outline my approach to post-partum fitness here, since fitness/health is a focal point of the blog.

• 4 weeks "off" - this will depend on how the delivery goes, but this is how much I took last time
• Once I'm back "on," gradually reintroduce activities and not beat self up if they are less frequent than desired
• Walk more than I did last time
• I have weights, TRX, Alexa (so I can do 7-minute workouts), portable DVD player, and stability ball in the house, and also a treadmill... this should help me squeeze in small workouts during the day
• Nap > workouts, since I find sleep will help me more than anything else, so most activities should occur when baby is awake or if I've already napped
• Focus on strength, not cardio - I've been doing this, and it seems to work; plus, I plan on nursing again, so hopefully this will help me get into shape without supply issues
• To be added slowly later on: DVD workouts, running
• Diet: Will focus on cutting out a lot of the junk I've been living on during this pregnancy... eventually want to get to low carb again, but I'll see how that goes since it requires more planning.  At the very least, I want to focus on eating more fat/protein, which naturally reduces my reliance on processed carbs.

I don't have a timeline to "lose the weight" -- it took me nearly 2 years last time, so I'm not even going to go there.  But I do hope to get within striking range (the very stubborn last 5 lbs that made up the majority of those two years) by 6 months postpartum.

I will probably be posting on Instagram to keep myself motivated and accountable, though it may not look like much.