Health Journey: Goal #1 Achieved

It has taken me a long time (life events and various stressors disrupted my mojo), but I have finally reached my first goal in my health journey.  You may remember that the goal was to lose just over 9 pounds.  In total, I have lost 11.  This is not great for three months (I would rather have lost a little more in that time), but it’s sure better than where I was, especially considering the circumstances—and it’s an achievement in general, so I’m just happy to be moving in the right direction.

The reward I set for achieving my first goal was to buy one piece of clothing each from Athleta and Title Nine.  I love the clothes from each company, but more so, I love the lifestyle they each represent—health and activity and fun!  I find their clothing to be a little more expensive than I would usual spend, but in this case, I’m allowing myself to make a purchase.  With Christmas coming up and birthdays and anniversaries galore this month, I may have to wait for this purchase.  I have written it down though, so I won’t forget, however.

I have also updated my Health Inspiration book:

I put a checkmark next to my first goal to represent that I’ve done it.  Also, I added my achieved goal weight (because it was more than the actual goal) and date at the bottom.

Next, I started a new page with my second goal listed:

At the top, I put my starting weight for goal #2 (the same as the goal weight achieved in goal #1).  Then, I jotted down my next goal weight, which is 12 pounds less than I am now. 

I also added things I want to focus on in this round of my journey.  Yes, some are the same as was listed in goal 1, but that’s because I didn’t do so well with them the first time around.  I did better than before I started the journey, but of course, things can always be improved upon. 

In my focus points, I allotted for some wiggle room:

• Exercise every day or a minimum of 5 times per week—the reason for this is because I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to be “perfect.”  Life is full of disruptions, and not allowing for those would only cause me more angst.  So although my goal is to exercise every day of the week, it’s okay if I don’t, so long as I do it a majority of the days, preferably at a minimum of 5 days during the week.
• More solid bedtime, by 10 pm every night or as close to it as possible—some days, it’s just not possible with my schedule.  I work one night a week, and on that day, I don’t get home until 9:30 pm.  So being in bed by 10 pm is just not doable since I still have to prepare for the next day before I can even begin to entertain that notion.

I’ve also added two additional focus points:

• Journal more—by this, I don’t mean life journaling.  I mean more journaling about my health journey.  As I find inspiration for things I’m doing right or frustration for things I’m doing wrong, I’d like to write about them so that I can focus on them better and either continue the trend or change it.  I will do this in my health book, along side my goals and achievements.
• Reducing stress—you may notice that I’ve quit caffeine.  As many of you know, I love, love, love coffee.  But coffee does not love me; at least, its caffeine doesn’t.  It makes me edgy and shaky and anxious.  With an anxious nature to begin with, this often results in unneeded stress.  So I’ve quit the bad stuff.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love coffee and still drink decaf (it’s nowhere near the same, but it’s a doable compromise).   But there are additional things I can do to reduce even more stress.  Daily activity is one, and hopefully that will be achieved by my goal to exercise every day.  But meditation is another, one that I’ve been wanting to try for a while.  I’m going to start out by making time to just sit and be quiet 3 – 5 times a week for about 10 minutes at a time.  I’d like for it to be everyday and perhaps for a longer period of time, but again, sometimes it’s just not possible.  So I think this is a good start.  I’ll improve upon that as I get into this current routine.

Finally, at the bottom, of my page, I’ve listed a reward for achieving goal number 2.  It’s blank at the moment, mainly because I haven’t thought of one to put down.  I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, but I want to think about it.  I’ll add it in when I’ve officially decided.

Although my health inspiration book sits on my desk at home, I don’t look at it every day.  This is one of the reasons I want to start journaling in it more, so that I open the book more often.  Still, it wouldn’t be on a daily basis.  I want to keep my focus points in a place where I will see them often.  So I’ve added them to a sticky sheet and stuck that on my monthly planner pages.

I look at these pages every day, so hopefully this will keep my focus points in the front of my mind.

I have not set a time frame for when I want to lose the next 12 pounds.  I don’t ever do that.  Again, that’s an added stress I don’t need.  If there were an occasion that I really wanted to lose it by, I would jot that down as a goal to keep in mind but I would also keep in mind not to beat myself up over it if I didn’t.  At this point, my timeframe goal is to just get through the holidays while losing the next 12 pounds.  However, if all I do is maintain the already lost 11, I’d be okay with that too.  Not gaining those 11 back during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years is the ultimate goal, and one that’s easily achievable.

*Note: I am not affiliated with any of the companies listed above.