Weekly goals to help get back to slow running: Water

The long term goal of this blog is to motivate me to get back to running. Since I've been mostly sedentary for about a month now, I've decided to set a simple goal each week. Hopefully all this prep will have me ready to hit my running circuit just a couple weeks after this baby arrives.

Facing down the 250lb mark again, after having been below it for 3 years might be a motivator, too. (For the record, my all time high weigh-in was 270lbs+).

This week I'm going to increase my water intake. I've fallen off the wagon in terms of healthy eating and drinking, so this is a simple step back.

Once upon a time I took a class about project management and the importance of having a plan to succeed. It's a good approach to accomplishing anything. Paraphrasing an excellent professor, a solid plan has at least:

1. A stated objective
2. The tasks required to complete the objective
3. A time frame to complete the tasks
4. A person assigned responsibility for the task
5. An estimate of required resources
6. Deliverable/Outcome

Finally there's a need to always look ahead to make sure that dependencies are accounted for and there are some contingency plans.

Drinking more water is probably more of a task, but I'll take it out a little further.

The objective:

• Drink more water

The tasks:

• Drink two cups of water before each meal & snack
• Take a travel mug of water when on the road
• Actually measure how much water goes in my standard drinking classes

The time frame:

• Drink at least 8 cups of water/day and keep it up for at least 3 weeks

Responsibility:

• That has to be me!

Required resources:

• Mug at work
• Ice cube tray at work
  

Outcome:

• A lot more time in the bathroom.
• Less last minute purchases of hot chocolate, juice, diet soda because there's no nearby cold water.
• More satisfied feeling from my meals and less likely to over eat.

The dependencies:

• Can't think of any.
  

The contingencies:

• Traveling this weekend might be a problem. I'll be sure to drag around a travel mug so I don't have to waste money and environmental resources on bottled water.
• Around the house I'll add a second jug of water to the fridge.
• Make it part of my nightly routine to fill the ice cube tray.
  

Wish me luck!
I know from experience that simple adjustments can cause big changes. I lost my first 5 lbs (in about 1999?) just by giving up Coca-Cola. Maybe this will help hold my weight for the next couple of weeks.