2015 // A Year In Review

12/31/2015

Way back in January, I posted a reflection on 2014 and resolutions for 2015. At the beginning of every year, I always go about setting out a list of resolutions that I hope to accomplish that year. I used to set one main goal for the year and this used to be weight loss related. As I got more into my blog and got to the point where there wasn't much more weight to lose, my resolution list actually became longer!

I wanted to achieve so many things throughout the year and actually ended up forgetting most of them.

Last year, there were 7 things I wanted to accomplish during the year. Here is a brief recap:
- Get back down to my pre-surgery weight
- Get better at Yoga, practice at least once a week
- Learn to swim confidently with all swim strokes
- Do at least 1 month sweet-treat free.
- Be more social
- Start a Youtube Channel
- Continue to focus on building up my blog/content

So, How did I do?
I will whole-heartedly admit that I set way too many goals for myself this year. Everyone sets out with good intentions at the start of the year, everything is going to plan and then the novelty of setting resolutions wears off and this is exactly what happened to me. Things got in a the way and I didn't plan enough for everything.

With regards to weight loss, I have stopped actually focusing on the number on the scale and I'm just going off how I feel and how my clothes fit. I think there are probably other factors at play here, maybe my implant, that are stopping me from losing weight. Even when I am eating healthily, have been tracking my calories and exercising, my weight stays the same(in fact, even when I eat like complete crap I don't gain either!), so it's become one of my least priorities.

I was actually doing really well with Yoga practice during the year and was participating in a lot of monthly challenges, however, this faded towards the end of the year and practice became non-existent.

I've been continuing with my swimming lessons this year, my breast stroke and front crawl has been really good, except that I have been struggling with stamina on my front crawl, so it's been a little frustrating!

I did not go any sweet-treat free months this year.. I don't think I even managed a few days! This is definitely not the best of ideas for me to do as I have a major sweet tooth, so restriction of these types of food does not work for me.

I did make a more conscious attempt to be more social this year both in person and online. Last year, it had been made apparent that I was not a very talkative person and would shy away or struggle to make conversation - this year, I've stepped out of my comfort zone in an attempt to make more conversation with people and be more present! I've also tried to interact more with people online too and make conversations with people - It's still work in progress, but it's a hell of a lot better than it was the year before!

I did start a Youtube channel this year! and it was actually going fairly well where I was putting out a video every week consistently for a while - but these really needs further planning! I only had a small digital camera, no lighting, no special setups for my videos and it was very hard for me to film - not to mention that I always felt really nervous in front of the camera. I need to plan way in advance on the videos that I want to film rather than deciding a few days before actually filming - then I can know exactly what I want to talk about!

You can find my Youtube channel HERE if you're interested! :)

I've actually got a new camera now, I've purchased a better tripod and some lighting to improve the quality of my videos, so I'm excited to start filming in the new year!

The last and final resolution I set this year was to continue to focus on my blog and it's content and I actually think that this was a bit of a flop! I've had some good moments with my blog - but also some not so good moments where I've not planned in advance and ended up having a big break in between blog posts.

This year has definitely taught me that I need to be a lot more organised if I want to achieve goals!

In Summary
My year hasn't been too bad if I'm honest! I've still accomplished a lot this year, running and racing wise, I've had a good year. I've participated in quite a few races this year, I got a 4 minute PB on my last 10 km race and I'm excited for the races next year!

Although I didn't achieve all of my resolutions for this year, I'm not disappointed. I've still had a good year and I've learnt a lot from the resolutions I did set.. I've learnt not to set myself too many goals, as it's too hard to keep on top of them all and I've learnt that I need to be A LOT more organised and plan things better in all aspects of life, including fitness, blogging, Youtube and work for that matter!

I WONT be setting resolutions for next year, I have something else in mind that I think will make things a lot easier. Keep an eye out for a blog post going live tomorrow to find out!

I'm hoping for a bigger, better 2016! Bring It On!