I was thinking about how in the next year we plan to start potty training the tiny one. And with that I began to think about all the various methods I have known people to use; one of which being the sticker chart method.
The basic premise being that you fill a section or the entire chart with stickers by not having an accident and you get rewarded.
In order to have some physical representation of our own fitness goals and such we are going to try do an adult equivalent of this. I figure, what could it hurt and also it is a good way to keep us both accountable (Collin has agreed to try this).
My plan is to set monthly goals (i.e. drop six pounds) and in return give myself something like a new e-book, a shirt, or ten dollars into a pool for something bigger I want. You know, something small and simple, but still good motivation. I also plan to set "next level" goals each month. I guess it would be like a tiered concept; lose x achieve y - but lose z and achieve a. Hope this makes sense. Feel free to comment or email me if you want any clarification.
My chart looks like this:
If you are interested in trying this out, send me an email (the link is somewhere over there >>) and I will email you back a PDF of the chart.
I made a generic chart that I can cross out the days as befits the month's structure; example, I will cross off the first four days of the first week for January.
The 30+ minutes of activity during the week will NOT include my daily walks at work, but will be comprised of time crawling after the wee monster (her favorite game right now is for us to chase her around the house, and you'd be surprised what a work out it is crawling on all fours all over the place in a hasty manner...), and running as I get back to that again, and maybe Wii Zumba (I have missed it a lot), and even just dancing around like an idiot with my husband and child.
One the weekends I have Saturday listed as fun time. This is both so I make sure that I am enjoying whatever I am doing, but also I want it to be a fun family thing; like going to the park, walking to grandma's (round trip walk from our house is three miles), working in the yard, and other things that we can all do together. I also think taking the family to the zoo, on a hike, to OMSI, or to the beach are all acceptable forms of fun physical activity. On the nasty weather days that we are likely to see for at least the first third to half of the year it will probably be some of the weekday stuff too, like chasing the shorty or dancing around the house.
You'll notice how Sundays are for "mental health." I have it marked as relaxing, but it doesn't mean that my (our your) version of mental health/relaxation doesn't include physical activity. For example, I LOVE gardening and the project that is renovating our backyard this spring has me over the moon excited. I also find gardening to be very cathartic and meditative, much as I do running. Some Sundays the relaxing may be just that; snuggles with the family or reading a book. I might even get wild and work on my crocheting. I have an afghan that is dying to be completed... It's like years in the making... No joke. Other times it may be walking for coffee with the fam bam, or visiting friends. Anything really that will make me feel recharged and ready to take on another work week.
We'll see how it goes, and as I mentioned before, I am going to try to be an open book about the next leg of my weight loss journey (I don't want to say it is the last leg because maintaining will be just as much of a journey).
Again, if you have any questions, or want a PDF of the chart, comment below or email me.
Wishing you health and happiness in 2015!
Remember, it can't just be a resolution; it needs to be a life style change.
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