Every year I like to review my fitness goals for the prior year and set new ones for the upcoming year. I’ve found that setting measurable goals and then publishing them keeps me on track and holds me accountable.
In 2019, my goals were focused around three areas – working out, walking, and diet. These were the same 3 areas of focus for 2018, and they will be the same for 2020.
When looking back over the last year, things went well for the most part. There a couple of adjustments I’d like to make. Otherwise, it’s going to be more of the same in the upcoming year. Sometimes it’s best not to fix it if it isn’t broken, if you know what I mean.
Here’s the look back at 2019, and the look ahead at 2020.
2019 Goals
Working out
My typical goal is to go to the gym 70% of the weekdays during the year. For 2019, this equated to a goal of 183 days. I also had a stretch goal of making it to the gym 200 days.
I don’t break this goal into specific gym activities, but I do track the types of work-outs I do. Here is the breakdown of work-outs for 2019:
| Cardio (stairs, stationary bike, etc.) | 89 days |
| All body routine | 37 days |
| Weights | 86 days |
For those keeping score at home, that was a total of 212 days, which surpassed my previous yearly high of 200 achieved last year. I made both my standard and stretch goals for the year. Working out went well for the year. I feel like I’m in a good spot here heading into 2020.
Walking
Since we got another dog at the end of 2018, I started out with a goal of 500 miles for the year broken down into four 125 mile segments. By the middle of the year, things were going well, so I started to up the challenge and pushed myself to break 600 miles.
I ended up walking a total of 635.1 miles. Adding in the 3.4 mile hike I did in November, I ended with a total of 638.5 miles tracked in 2019. Now that I am in a consistent routine walking the dog, I am going to up my walking goal for 2020.
On a side note, since tracking my activities in Runkeeper in 2012, I’ve tracked 5,756 miles split between walking (5,171 miles), running (39 miles), cycling (526 miles), and hiking (20 miles).
Diet
Diet continues to be the most challenging area for my fitness habits. I continued to follow a reduced carbohydrate diet in 2019, which has been working well for me. I emphasize reduced carbohydrate because I don’t buy into total carbohydrate elimination, and I enjoy the occasional pasta dinner, slice (or two) of pizza, and piece of bread every now and then. Instead of total carbohydrate elimination, I choose instead to watch my portions, avoid filling up on breads, and stay mindful of how many carbs I’m eating daily.
The technique I wanted to incorporate into my diet in 2019 was routine fasting periods. Intermittent fasting periods of 12-16 hours are a consistent part of my eating habits. I will usually consume my last calories for the day by 8PM and not eat again until between 10AM and noon the following day.
What I wanted to do last year was incorporate 24-hour and 48-hour fasting periods into my routine. My goal was 20 24-hour fasts and 6 48-hour fasts. The results weren’t good. I managed 6 24-hour fasts, and a total of 0 48-hour periods. I’ve done a 48-hour fast before, which went fairly well. It’s not a matter of being able to do it, it’s having the discipline to follow-through. There are a few adjustments I want to make in 2020 that I hope will help me get better at incorporating regular periods of fasting into my diet.
2020 Goals
The 2020 goals are going to consist of the same three areas – working out, walking, and diet.
Working out
The goal for 2020 is 183 days, with the stretch goal of 200. Each year has its own challenges to achieve the goal, and this coming year will be no different. The key is to stay disciplined and go when I’m home and feeling good.
Workouts will again be split into cardio, all-body, and weights. I’m not going to set goals for each area, although I suspect they will end up being around the same split as 2019.
Walking
I’m going to target four 175 sessions for the year, each one covering 3 months. It’s going to be a challenges as that is an average of almost 2 miles per day. I know Maverick is up for it. It’s going to come down to being able to work around weather, travel, and vacations to get the job done.
Diet (Fasting)
Diet will be the main challenge for 2020. I plan to stick to the reduced carbohydrate diet, and I will maintain my habit of daily intermittent fasting. The big goal will be incorporating longer fasting periods of 24 and 48 hours.
I’m going to dial back the goals this year and go for sixteen 24 hour fasts and four 48 hour fasts. The key is going be setting the dates for the fasts in advance so I can prepare for them. I feel pretty confident about the 24 hour fasts, but the 48 hour fasts are going to be a bit more challenging. I’ll need to review my notes from the last 48 hour fast, do more research, and grab some inspiration from Dr. Fung’s book, The Complete Guide to Fasting, which I read last year.
While I’m a little disappointed in the diet results from 2019, I’m feeling good about my fitness on the whole. As it is every year, the challenge is to keep things going. I also make it a point to listen to my body and adjust as necessary. I will also take into account the results of my annual check-up and blood work, which I’ve done every year for the last 10 years. I like to get this done by the end of February so I can incorporate any adjustments I want to make into my routine as early in the year as possible. No matter the results, I’m looking forward to the coming year and working towards my 2020 fitness goals.