Kristy, thank you for this terrific idea and for leading the charge. You are now my fearless leader and you have nailed my personal foible: Giving myself an entire year to do things. You are right, milestones need due dates, damn it.

Here are all my resolutions for 2008. Here was how my health resolution looked before I read this post: "Health - Add weight lifting 2x/week to my routine." Here's how it looks now: "Health - Add weight lifting 2x/week to my routine beginning Jan. 7."

Sounds easy, right? Simple? Not. Even though I have belonged to a gym for about 365 days (you can guess what led to that), I have not been there for MONTHS. Months. I do manage to ride an exercise bike every day for 25 minutes but that's because it's parked in my basement in front of the DVD player.

So strength-training, essential in an osteosis-prone gal like me, is going to require more than just me rolling out of bed. With your help, I may make it happen. I'll report back next week.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

I need to floss. Really any regular flossing would be an improvement (bows head in shame) So, thanks for bringing that one up.

I need to get more creative and healthful with my cooking. I enjoy cooking, but fall into ruts where I make the same 2 dishes in various variations all the time.

I need to get back out there walking. (And I need to get the S.O. walking with me...is it OK to set a goal for someone else??!!)

I have to think about your SMART goals...I know that's totally the way to do it, but I'm not ready to put them in black and white quite yet.

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.org

It's "Try Harder".

When I was thinking about the year I wanted I realized there were lots of things I wanted to do and I've made plans for most of them at various times and set them aside. So this year I'm simply trying hard. I know what I want (well...somethings anyway) and I know what I need to do to make it happen I just gotta do it and stop coasting buy. Hence - Try Harder. :)

Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.

Thanks, Kristy!

I was SO proud of myself when my new doctor asked what sort of exercise I get and I answered, "I go to a yoga studio 3 to 5 days a week."

She just stared me down and said I needed to REALLY exercise, you know, cardio stuff.

So, I'm going to make sure that I get in 2 power yoga classes a week. It most definitely gets my heart rate up there.

I read your list and compared it to mine and they are identical! Okay, not exactly but close (I'm running out to buy floss as soon as I post this). Isn't the dark-chocolate-for-good-health discovery fantastic?

Two additional things made my list. Travel more. And learn to speak Spanish.

If the list of resolutions is too long to remember, I allow myself a rolling start. I begin with a few significant changes, and add a couple each week for the first month or so.

Thanks for the realistic approach to making lifestyle changes!

I go to the gym almost every day, but I only do cardio. That's half the battle. I'm adding strength training at least 2x a week starting Jan 7th. To make ti stick, I'm going to shell out some money for a trainer.

I need to loose that final ten pounds of the fifty I lost. Or rather re-loose. I need to get back to really monitoring what I eat. But my goal is is to get a healthy muscle to body fat ratio.

Sign me up :)

dina

dynamitt

I think my problem is that I always try to do too much at once - i.e. this year I'm going to yoga every day and never eating french fries and vacuuming all the time and saving money and flossing and getting all the Christmas presents in the mail early!

While it's certainly desirable to set and meet goals, what do you do when you've accomplished something? Too many of us have lost weight only to regain it later because the goal was to lose weight, not create a lifelong system for maintaining health.

So this year, I'm going for habits. And given that it takes about a month to really form a habit, I'm going for twelve new habits, and writing about it here. I'll tackle a new food-related habit each month, starting with planning my lunch in advance each day. Hopefully my habits will build on one another and I'll look back at 2008 as the year I really started to take control of my health.

Lauren

And I thought it was just me imagining I was being slapped around by scales and diet plans...yikes! This is a smart and sensible way to get to a healthy me. Thanks. I have to first believe that happiness can be achieved right now---I have to be good enough right now. I too posted my resolutions--the theme Resolution 2008: The Year of Love and Happiness www.lovebabz.blogspot.com complete with theme music--Mary J. Blige "Just Fine"

Thank you for being such a smart woman!

Love,
Babz
www.lovebabz.blogspot.com --personal
www.lovebabz08.wordpress.com --political

I started to write that this is such a 'smart' post, then I realized what I was saying! ;-)

I have been working on my resolutions for days (in between breaking up squabbles and attempting to entertain two boys, aged five years apart with completely disparate interests). Now I am going back to apply your filter to all of them (not those that are so obviously health related. Although working on my inner life is healthy, too, no?)

So, yes, let's form our own support group.

And your 'Example A' made me laugh out loud. It totally, totally spoke to me.

laurie
www.notjustaboutcancer.blogspot.com

My goals aren't perfect, but here they are:
Hey 2008, bring me some good stuff!

Nickie's Nook
and Nickie's Nook the Book

I'm a person for whom setting goals works. When I decide on a goal, I begin breaking down the final objective into the steps that need to be accomplished, and place them on a calendar. That's how I managed to finish college, complete my Master's in computers, and add Physics and Chemistry to my certification levels.

Where I have NOT been as successful, in the past, are in more personal areas, such as maintaining exercise fitness or losing weight. In these areas, if I was able to dovetail my activities with my husband's, it worked. But, if he wasn't on board with my plans, it never worked. (I should mention that he does the majority of the cooking for the house).

So, recently, when I planned my regimen for the next year, I factored his plans and goals into the equation. We bought a Bowflex machine, which he had been talking about for some time. I'm not as interested in using weights (in fact, I really don't like it much), but I decided that I could adapt. That way, we'd be working out regularly in a supportive environment.

With food, we're making our own choices for breakfast, planning lunch together, and cooking dinner as a couple. We will have some differences, but I plan to add more protein to the mix than I have done in the past. I'm also going to limit my carbs and fats, a weak point for me.

Kristy, you have hit at the very heart of “Get Yourself in Gear, Woman!” Reading your excellent suggestions and the comments of others online, I wholeheartedly support your challenge to make changes specific and doable.

This sensible approach harnesses my mind with a routine to follow. Believe me, I have witnessed and tried a huge array of self-help routines – 65+ years gives you a bit of time to play around with different approaches at different times: pre-marriage, post-pregnancy, menopause, and high cholesterol and blood pressure. I am now back to good old 142 pounds on my chunky little 5’4” frame. Ahem…this is the same weight I carried when our first daughter was delivered! Damn. How did that happen?

Hmmmm. Routines. OK. Ladies, start your engines. 2008 is upon us. Here goes my attempt at doable changes in my life and routine:

Food: I’ll have to admit that I am really pretty good about diet with two little exceptions: margarine (of course it is on any form of bread, carb, or vegetable) and vino – oh, how they call to me! The sirens of my food groups. So, here I go:

1. No more margarine or butter and vino only on Saturday night – two glasses max.

Exercise: I usually make it to the gym for cardio 5 times a week, but even though I did ten sessions with a personal trainer in the Fall, I shy away from the weights. Have to do it. Osteopenia looms.

2. Weights three times a week – for 30 minutes in addition to cardio. I am going for Sat/or Sun, Tuesday and Thursday.

Flossing: How could I leave this out! I have some great company with you other bloggers. Who knew we were so desperately remiss in our personal habits. Me too. Besides, I do happen to know that statistics are mounting that mouth hygiene is getting linked to heart disease. Soooo…

3. Floss once after breakfast and before hitting the sack. …everyday.

Mental Health: Here is one that has literally been on my mind for some time: my self talk. We all do it, but some of us have an advanced degree in beating ourselves up over past mistakes and present situations. I am going to beat my busy little brain into submission. No more silent sessions! To divert myself, I will take the time to check out some good books from the library and make myself sit down to read. My mind can’t do dual duty. Take that, babe!

4. I will check out new and interesting books from the library every two weeks…and read them. If I am not able to stop and read, I will think of the ideas in the current book I am reading.

So, here we go into 2008. Change is in the air…new year, new government (Thank God) and new us. I feel like we are all joining hearts in a huge group hug. 2008 is gonna be good. Know it. Live like you want to be.

My five weight loss and exercise goals for 2008 explains it all. But I really can't accomplish four of them without concentrating on the first - rehab my knee. The key to successful weight loss and health is regular exercise. When I hurt myself last fall, I stopped working out - and the weight came back. I stopped eating in a healthy way too because I wasn't feeling well and thought eating all that cheese and fudge would help. (Yeah, it helped make my pants too tight.)

So my plan is to do 30 minutes on the stationary bike daily, do all the exercises my physical therapist has given me daily, going to see him once per week for more intensive work, and my doctor every four weeks.

My ultimate goal is to be able to bend my knee enough to get back into Child's Pose in yoga and straight enough to walk properly. Once I can do that, I can go back to yoga and Pilates. Until then I'll be working with a personal trainer to get the rest of me back in shape, too.

You ladies are awesome. I'm quite honestly impressed with how much thought and effort you're putting into your resolutions.

Personally, I've only gotten so far as thinking about the resolution process itself. Uh, oops. But I'm working on getting more specific, and you're terrific inspiration!

I heart BlogHers. :)

---
Kristy Sammis
BlogHer's Conference & Event Planner
e. kristy@blogher.org

I posted about this on my blog and so far I have 4 small goals. I plan to review them every friday.

Dina

dynamitt

This is a terrific post. Thank you for creating it.

I keep relearning that I think bigger than I have hours in the day for. It's easy to get discouraged by the big ideas that I can't do all at once and underestimate the value of the small persistant steps I can take. I have a teeny-tiny pad of paper and every day I'm listing my three must-do, most meaningful priorities for that day (if I use a bigger pad I write to much and I'm sunk before I start). I'll do those three things and give myself credit for moving forward consistently. I know from past experience that I'll be amazed in six months at what I've been able to accomplish.

Melissa
Live Your Best Version of Your Life
my blog: http://www.endingemotionaleating.blogspot.com
my website: http://www.enduringchange.com

My post is here:
http://krissyscookingblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-is-not-diet.html

Just two goals.

It's a great idea!

As an American living in China I have become obsessed with the large-ness of me. In my life I cannot remember a time when I was more self-conscious than I am now. Those awkward pre-teen tom-boy years when my sisters used to ridicule me for having a flat chest and scraped knees, the teen years when having been rejected for the cheerleading squad I sported a pixie haircut and joined the softball team, the college years where the freshman fifteen was 35 and by senior year I was back to the size of my eighth grade self... None of those years have had the impact on my self esteem that moving to Shanghai has had.
Three and a half years ago my husband called me at work and said "What would you think of moving to China?" Being the adventurer I was (meaning: I didn't have a passport and leaving the country was tied with visiting the world's largest bucket of vomit on my vacation to-do list) I immediately replied "sure lets move to China". He was serious and a month an a half later our family was on a plane over the Bering Straight headed for Shanghai.
When we arrived it was August and truly hotter than anything I have ever experienced. After shlepping two kids and ten bags through customs we passed through the "green channel" and came into the "entrance hall" where we were faced with at least 500 Chinese stares. Even though Shanghai is a very International city, the "Wei gou ren" are still quite a novelty and Chinese manners are not Western manners. So from my arrival to my first shopping experience where a kind Chinese student explained that "hun da da" means "very big", I have been faced daily with not so subtle reminders that I am a "very big foreigner".
So, that being said, my resolutions are as follows:
(I hope they are measurable, keepable, attainable,acceptable etc.)

1. I will spend 30 minutes a day doing an aerobic activity (biking, walking,ellipticalling?) starting January 8th.
2. I will attend Pilates (cant seem to get into yoga) class three times per week.
3. I will have tasty Chinese dumplings no more than once every two weeks and I will limit myself to ten dumplings.
4. I will stop telling myself how fat I am and I will think of something that I am good at everytime a "fat thought" enters my head.
5. By December of 2008 I will be known as "foreigner" instead of "fat foreigner".

Thank you for the motivation to get this in writing.
After one visit to Blogher I am now hooked and you are now added to my favorites bar.
Best to all in 2008

It would be difficult to top last year's accomplishment of losing 40 pounds, but this year I hope to lose 10-20 more to reach my target. I started out last February, after radiation for breast cancer, hoping to drop 50 in order to be healthier to resist a repeat performance of the disease.

It's been scarily easy, once I had the motivation. So scary that when I had my first annual checkup (in October) with the oncologist, and he congratulated me, I admitted that it seemed too easy. Three blood tests and a bone scan showed no cancer recurrence. Since that time shedding the fat became more challenging.

So, I joined the "Y" right before Christmas. I'm already reaping rewards from participating in a gentle Yoga class twice a week. Three times a week I work out with "Fitlinxx" machines. Every day I walk on a treadmill and sometimes outdoors if weather permits (yes, even in southern California we have winter!)

My goal is to persist losing weight, at least to reach my previous target and maybe another ten, and to regain muscular strength lost from six months of mostly just lying around recovering from two surgeries and radiation. Already I feel better than I had in years.

Commitments are good. Public commitments -- even better!

A Writer's Edge
Hancock Websites

Thanks for the great post! I started out this year so strong...but insane! I wasn't drinking hardly at all (like a glass every other day), had stopped eating bread, and was eating such small portions that by yesterday I had turned completely bitter. After yelling at my best friend for no reason last night, I bought myself some Jack in the Box. :p

I really like this idea of setting short term goals...I get so wrapped up into the goal of "just be perfect forever" that I get overwhelmed and fail hard. My beginning of the year post related to a handful of vague goals I have, but I think it's time to try this again, with some specific ideas that can start leading me into the right direction.

Ya know gals, I do not like the cardio (though I do it 4xs a week).. but I LOVE me my weight training! I focus all my frustration on the weights and simply push it away!

I really wish we were all in the physical world so we could work out together. You'd make my time on the cross-trainer go faster.. and I'd get you enjoying the feeling of pushing weight. We could renew the estrogen/testosterone balance in the free weight room!

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

I kinda started my own good health-a-thon early (back in July), when I embarked on a weight loss program (46 pounds gone, 14 to go).

But there's still a lot to work on (including the working out thing). The easiest specific little goal is to remember to take all the vitamins I'm supposed to consume to ensure that I'm not losing out on important nutrients while I'm trying to getto goal. So let's start with that. This week, I'm going to remember to take all the stupid little tablets twice a day like I'm supposed to.

Kristy, I like your focus on breaking vague, daunting goals down into specifics. Just the kind of counsel I need as I embark on the most elusive health goal I've ever envisioned--living in the now, not in the past or the future.

To some people this comes naturally. I'm not one, sad to say. Most of the time, I do what I think I ought to do, not what I really want to do. In fact, I'm so good about the ought-to-dos that I really have to stop and think about what would captivate me right now. (Maybe I should get a dog! Word has it they're great zen masters.)

But back to living in the future: I'm just too good at it for my own good. For 10 years I held a demanding job as editor of a magazine; if I didn't strategize about the future (and think about Christmas in July), I couldn't possibly have succeeded. And I've known a good many other career-minded people (not all of them in the media) who have exactly the same problem.

So, how to get specific about living in the moment? Leonard Cohen went to a zen monastery, but I like my creature comforts. As for the dog, my husband says it's either the dog or him. But here's what I can do, starting now. I can resolve to do one thing, every day, just for pleasure. Not because it burns calories or crosses another item off my to-do list, just because it would be fun.

As I say, it doesn't come naturally to me. But neither did working out, and I've been a regular at the gym since 1986. When I started, I could barely run one lap around the track and I couldn't stand the feeling of my own jiggly flesh. My innards bounced up and down uncomfortably because of nonexistent muscle tone. Within weeks, that started to change. How motivating! After a few months, I could look in the mirror and like what I saw for the first time in my life. I see that quite a few of you are trying to work fitness into your life. Well, if I can do it, anyone can! So here's to you. And if you have any ideas to inspire my inner hedonist, please do pass them on.

A week late, but better late than never, right?

I'm going to walk the kids to school three days a week.

Goal-Setting 101 at Three Kid Circus

The Circus is in town!

I've been "trying to work out more" since the first week in November, and doing a decent job of it, but this was just the inspiration I needed to get "smart" about it.

By May 1, when my 6 month gym membership needs to get renewed, I will have swum 30 miles.

I've done 11.1 since November 5, so this goal means that I really will have to make it to the gym 3x/week, and at least once/week, I'll have to go more than my standard .5 mile.

Personally, having a visual reminder of my progress helps, so I set up a ticker that I'm going to add to my blog:

Liza
Founder & Coordinator, LesbianFamily.org
Personal Blog, LizaWasHere

Great gauntlet to throw down - thanks!

This year I didn't set a weight-loss goal, but created a "wellness vision" instead:

“I am energetic and flexible; I can feel the muscles in my body as they flex and move. There is no extra fat on my structure as I move through the world. I am lean and athletic, have redefined myself as an athlete, and have slowed the aging process by being fit. I move quicker and with greater ease and confidence; I am active every day and look for opportunities to play outside with Emma and Tess. I love hiking and biking and our weekends are mainly spent out of doors. I am strong and sure of my physicality.”
(http://37days.typepad.com/37days/2007/12/w-is-for.html)

Am I there? No. But I'm creating weekly goals, babysteps, to get there this year. One of the bigger components is transitioning from being vegetarian to being vegan, a journey chronicled on a new blog - My Year of Living Veganously http://37days.typepad.com/my_year_of_living_veganou/

Thanks to everyone for the inspiration!

patti digh
37days (www.37days.typepad.com)

Hiya!

Thanks Kristi for this awesome idea. I hope you come visit us girls. There are two of us blogging this journey so 2 heads are better than one. Then again, 20 heads are better than 2 so feel free to pitch in.

My goals are outlined as eating 2 servings of vegetables or fruit per meal, going outside for 2 hrs a week (ok I know that's not lots but it's -35 here in Canada!), staying away from fast food and fried foods and continuing with kickboxing. So there, no specific goal weight but some significant changes. I would like to blog about it every day but will probably only blog every week.

Jewel
Feed Our Souls
(www.feedoursouls.blogspot.com)

I revisit my New Year's Resolutions every Tuesday on my blog an am a big believer in the power of daily habits ("Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle). My daily habits for the year are yoga and writing and I set the bar for accompllshment of each really, really low. Like one long luxurious stretch counts for yoga. A sentence in my journal counts for writing. Building the habit is the key...I haven't missed a day all month and THAT is a serious accomplishment for someone as flighty as I am...

http://theendofmotherhood.typepad.com

15 months ago I had the opportunity to work out three times a week with Susan Powter, who lives near me in Seattle. I did, and went from a size 14 to a size 8, though I lost very little weight. It seems I was mostly fat, and when I converted it to muscle, it took up a lot less space!

Susan's no longer teaching the classes here, so my challenge for 2008 is to put together a variety of workouts each week that will match the scope and intensity of Susan's program. Her yoga-based workouts can be modified for any fitness level, but, done aggressively, they are extraordinarily demanding. (They're online at her new website, BTW.)

Currently I'm learning belly dance, taking a Power Belly class (with weight belts), and dabbling in some cardio-fitness classes based on African dance (which is not intuitive for me). I'm trying to find a non-sanctimonious yoga program, and in the meantime doing some yoga at home. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who has to get far away from home/office distractions to be able to do a good 90-minute workout.

I started the blog Food, Fitness, Fashion to be public about all this and keep myself going. Also because I suspect that many readers of my other blogs, who have serious weight and fitness issues, don't want to hear about food and fitness. (The fashion part? Hah! That's all about how I reward myself for working out!)

The Blogher Good Health-A-Thon will definitely help me stick to my workouts and continue my hunt for that very necessary yoga workout.

I recently wrote a chapter about getting fit after 50 (I'm 53) for a book of essays about women at mid-life. Much of what I wrote was about how angry I was to discover all the mis-information women are given about mid-life and mid-life fitness. I try not to blog about that because it makes me so berserk. I guess I'd just say: You can do it; and the results will be so much more amazing than you could ever imagine.

I made myself a promise that I would get really motivated this year, to lose the weight that I have gained. When I read this, I was happy to see others have the same problems!!!!!!!

My goals are to walk at least 8 miles a week!! I want to be able to wear a pair of shorts.(and not be totally afraid !!!!!!!!!) I know that I need to be healthy. I want to be a grandmother that can do things with her grand kids!

I am plaining on a vacation in Oct. and I would love to be able to wear a bathing suit and not be ashamed!!!!!!

I am going to try this although I am new at this blogging thing! I am wiling to try this .

Aside from the ones I try to do every year like eat better, drink less pop and more water...I'm saying "no" more often. So far it has been great (for me) and the reactions from my children are priceless.

redheadshesaid
http://redheadranting.blogspot.com/

My goal is to return to taking a 30 minute walk each and every day. So far (a week in), I'm doing fine. Thanks for the support with the Good Health-A-Thon! Elizabeth

This is such a great community - thank you Kristen.  (Most hilarious boob post brought me here!)  

The problem with "More" is that it is never attainable!  How will you ever accomplish "more"?  I want to be a "better mom".  How the @#*& will I ever know if I arrive?  I don't know about you, but I love to arrive!  More arriving the better, in fact.  Actually, I could arrive all day long and be okay with that. lolol

I so LOVE the smart goals!!  Especially Attainable! 

~ Cathy

Personal: Mommy Motivation

Gluten Free: Strawberries Are Gluten Free