April's Lifestyle Goals.... and The Buffet Report

Okay... better late than never... here I am with my Lifestyle Goals for the month.

Lifestyle Goal #1 : FINISH the Around the World Challenge at the gym! Do you realize how far behind I am on this thing now?

This is what I would have to do on a daily basis IF I go to the gym on every available day between now & when the challenge ends (20 days because they are closed for Easter & I have one other day that I know I can't get there):

• 9 sets on the circuit machines


• 11 sets of core stuff


• 19 sets on free weights


• 3.75 miles on bike


• 1.85 miles on treadmill


• 1.52 miles on elliptical


• 79 floors on StairMaster

Considering that "stuff" ALWAYS comes up to interfere with my plans, I'm hoping to get it done with 15 visits to the gym, which would require this:

• 12 sets on the circuit machines


• 15 sets of core stuff


• 26 sets on free weights


• 5 miles on bike


• 2.47 miles on treadmill


• 2.03 miles on elliptical


• 105 floors on StairMaster

One minute I look at those numbers & think that doesn't look so hard... then the next I look and think "OMG, I'm gonna die before this is over" and visions of Mother's Day last year (when I was at the gym almost all the hours they were open) start swimming before my eyes. I know I can do it! After all, I'm in way better shape than I was last year when I finished the whole adventure!! And... there is that new Coach bag I'm working for... you can see it here if you missed it.

Lifestyle Goal #2: Drink one cup of water before & after each meal or snack I consume... starting tomorrow. Other than when I'm sweating like crazy in the gym, I haven't been drinking nearly enough water. I used to be pretty decent about this... don't know when I got out of the habit. If I do this 21 of 27 days (approx 75%), I will get myself a "special water glass" for at home use... something pretty, haven't picked out the exact "one" just yet.

That's it... just two goals this month... trying to keep it simple because I know Around the World takes a lot out of me. Besides, The Husband will be in pre-deployment (aka we need to be together every waking moment) mode soon so I don't want to to pile too much on myself right now.

Moving on to The Buffet Report...

Here is my first plate from last night's visit to the buffet.

Look at that... you can actually see a fair amount of white plate there! Everything in this picture was pretty tasty; I ate all of the mac & cheese, the roll, the chicken & half of the brisket. That chicken is Hawaiian BBQ with pineapple....so unbelievably good. Its probably best not to ask how much of it I consumed. My second plate had more chicken (lots more), mashed potatoes with gravy (which I took two bites of and decided they were gross) and a little corn. Plate number three (yes there was a third plate and yikes) had more chicken (seriously the chicken was amazing) and way too much corn bread. My only defense is that they had just put that corn bread out and its soooo tasty when its fresh. So yeah... I confess the buffet was carb & protein heavy... with not much to call a veggie or fruit in sight... except a few tidbits of pineapple. I do have to say it was a bit amusing walking out of the restaurant... everyone else in the family was groaning about how much they ate and how full they were while I was thinking to myself "I'm on the well satisfied side of things... but definitely not overstuffed."

Ok, now that my buffet confessional is over... I want to know...

What are your goals for April? How do you plan to reach them?