Winter Shed 2013

by Kathy on January 4, 2013 · 46 comments

in Accountability, Balance, Blog Hops, Exercise, Our Home, Resolutions, Winter Shed

Winter Shed logoIt’s that time of year when many of us are looking to make some changes in our life. Often that includes resolving to exercise regularly and find more balance within how we spend our time.

When I think about the New Years Resolutions that I made for 2012, it is frustrating to admit that I am not where I hoped and intended to be now, not even close.

Three of the most glaring areas that I fell short are:

1) Keeping Fit & Shedding Weight

In December 2012 I was determined to try to lose the last 5-10 lbs. of my postpartum/IVF weight to get back where I was around 2006.

When I made that resolution I was 5-8 lbs. from my goal weight, but in pretty good shape from regular exercise.

Now I am about 10-12 lbs. from where I want to be AND have managed to let regular exercise become less of a priority than it had been in recent years. Not exercising consistently over the past few months has led to weight gain and more stress, as running, group fitness and practicing yoga typically helps me to keep both in check.

I am going to get back on track.

2) Housekeeping

I won’t bore you with my excuses, some of which are valid and others, not so much. The bottom line is that I have not been doing enough as often as it is needed.

I can and will do better.

3) Balance & Harmony

I want to strive to not let any one area in my life outweigh the other priorities. I want to be a good, even better, woman, wife, mother, writer and group fitness instructor. I know that it is possible for me to do all these thing well, but I don’t have to attempt to do each them perfectly, which often trips me up when I am trying find that “harmony” as Brooke from Redhead Reverie wrote about in her “My One Word” post this week.

I want need to find balance and harmony in my life.

Which brings me to my plan to make/be the changes that I want to see in 2013…

When I reflect on what has helped me to shed weight, get/stay in shape in the past, prioritize housekeeping tasks and find more balance in my life, accountability is huge!

I have kept myself accountable various ways in the past, but this time I am going to do so publicly here on my blog.

Once a week, on Fridays, from now until at least mid-March/Spring, I will check in and share how my week has gone in the key areas I am working on. My hope and intention is that knowing I have this self-imposed report card to file will motivate me to stay focused on my goals.

If any of you want to join me in this “Winter Shed,” I will add a Linky Tool to my weekly Friday posts and you are welcome to link up to your Winter Shed blog entries, and/or you can comment here on how you are doing from week to week, so we can support and encourage each other, as well as share what works and what doesn’t for each of us when it comes to striving towards our goals.

Please join me and we can cheer each other on as we start 2013 strong (and stay the course long past February 16th)!

We can do this — TOGETHER!

See you next Friday!

In the meantime, if you know you are going to participate, please do an introductory post, on your blog and link up here or share about your intentions in the comment section, so we can learn about you and your goals for your Winter Shed.

You are welcome to grab the code for the Winter Shed button by clicking here and put it on your blog. The link will take you to a Google Doc where you can copy the code. If your browser does not allow access to your computer’s clipboard, you can use Ctrl-C for Copy and Ctrl-V for Paste, or use your browser’s Edit menu.


{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Lori Lavender Luz January 4, 2013 at 5:06 pm

Cool idea! I will check back in the future when I can take on something new again. I would like to shed judgmentalness.
Lori Lavender Luz recently posted..Worlds collideMy Profile

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2 Kathy January 6, 2013 at 11:11 pm

Thank you Lori! I understand and as I told Justine, you are welcome to check in anytime. But I certainly understand how much you have on your plate right now and what a big year 2013 will be for you with your book being released in just two months (that is so crazy awesome)!
Kathy recently posted..Happy New Year!My Profile

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3 Justine January 4, 2013 at 10:14 pm

I would love to shed my addiction to late-night eating. And shed my poor sleep habits, which contribute to said late-night eating. 😉

I would also love to shed my self-doubt. That’s a much more complex one … it involves my struggle to find paying work, my thoughts and fears about writing … and much more.

Can we join in later, even if we don’t commit at the beginning?
Justine recently posted..Perfect Moment … Wednesday?My Profile

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4 Kathy January 6, 2013 at 11:08 pm

Yes, of course! Please feel free to join in anytime. There is no long term commitment requirement, whatever works for you and others works for me. I am doing this first and foremost to hold myself accountable, but certainly appreciate having company and am more than willing to cheer on and help to support anyone else who wants to participate (whether they check in weekly or now and then).

Thank you for sharing about what you would love to shed in 2013.
Kathy recently posted..Breathtaking NotesMy Profile

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5 Jjiraffe January 5, 2013 at 1:43 am

What a good idea! All of the health experts advise that it’s much easier to stick to a exercising/nutrition plan when there is a social aspect to it: a group of others cheering you along. Good luck!!
Jjiraffe recently posted..SubmergedMy Profile

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6 Kathy January 6, 2013 at 11:12 pm

Thank you! xoxo
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7 Amy January 5, 2013 at 1:13 pm

Great idea! I would love to shed disorganization and find some better direction as far as what paths to take for my personal growth. What I can do for me. A tricky one. I think to do this I need to also shed a good amount of fear and self-doubt. I am my worst critic. Nothing to fear but fear itself, is probably a good motto!

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8 Kathy January 6, 2013 at 11:14 pm

Thank you Amy! I appreciate you sharing what you would love to shed! I am my worst critic most of the time too and that is something I would also like to shed.
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9 Kristen January 5, 2013 at 9:28 pm

This is a great idea! The accountability of blogging is great! I’ve shared my four resolutions in my blog as well: http://www.losingitinchicago.com/2013/01/new-years-resolutions-and-discount-to.html. I’m focusing on working out, growing my spiritual focus, boosting my career, and spending more time with my friends.

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10 Kathy January 6, 2013 at 11:15 pm

Thanks Kristin and I agree! Thank you also for sharing your four resolutions!
Kathy recently posted..Winter Shed 2013My Profile

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11 Kimberly January 6, 2013 at 9:46 pm

Hi! I found out about Winter Shed from the latest issue of LFCA. I think this is a wonderful idea and I look forward to joining you. Myself and an IF friend IRL made a pact to start leading a more healthy lifestyle and decided that we would do it together for support. This will be a great way for me to keep track of it and hold myself accountable for my goals. I look forward to following yours and others progress through 2013!

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12 Kathy January 6, 2013 at 11:19 pm

Welcome Kimberly! So glad that you got here from the LFCA and I am so happy that you are joining in the Winter Shed! That is awesome that you and your IF friend IRL are doing this together and I look forward to following yours and others’ progress too! Have a great week and I will *see* you back here and on your blog on Friday for our first check-in, if not before! 🙂
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13 April January 11, 2013 at 10:30 am

How did I miss this? I love it! I posted my 2013 goals on my blog as well, including one to make a new goal each week. http://rsativus.wordpress.com/2013-goals/

I’m looking forward to cheering you on and reading about your progress!
April recently posted..Letting Him Go FreeMy Profile

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14 Kathy January 11, 2013 at 3:54 pm

I don’t know, but thank you! 🙂 Thanks for sharing the link to your goals, I am impressed. Thank you for being willing to cheer me on and follow my progress. I look forward to doing the same thing for you! 🙂
Kathy recently posted..Winter Shed: Week OneMy Profile

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15 lostintranslation January 12, 2013 at 8:51 am

This is a great idea Kathy! This week I had the feeling my resolutions got off to a bad start when my youngest son got the stomach flu and so I was unable to bring him to the sitter, instead spending two days at home with him. I did get out of my blog non-writing funk though and I intend to keep it up. Hope to have a winter shed post up in the coming days! My resolutions: get out of mommy-mode isolation, i.e. read more, blog more, follow the news more, get my professional website up and running and find more clients / get more paid projects.
lostintranslation recently posted..The bracelet – three firstbornsMy Profile

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16 Kathy January 12, 2013 at 1:20 pm

Thank you! Way to go getting out of your writing funk! I look forward to reading your Winter Shed post and your resolutions sound great! You can do it and I am ready to cheer for you and follow your progress. Happy New Year! 🙂
Kathy recently posted..Winter Shed: Week OneMy Profile

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