There is probably a statistic out there that will tell people that if you write down your goals onto paper (or the interwebz), you are ____ times more likely to achieve them. I could google that but statistics don't really matter.
I have spent the majority of my adult life attempting to have a healthy lifestyle and be in better shape. I have at some points gotten very far in pursuing that goal and at some points, lost my way due to stress, overworking myself, and sacrificing a lot to have good grades and a social life.
At this point in my life, I need to finally have the mental capability and determination to stop putting off important things like my health. Besides issues of health, I am creating a list of things to accomplish and work on in the next year. From now on, when I get stressed, I am going to look at this list and put aside petty problems and get working at it.
1. Lose Weight - become more height/weight proportionate. I am consciously not putting an amount here along the lines of "lose 20 pounds" and there's a lot of logic behind that decision. I don't believe number measurement or jean sizes are a good way to determine someone's health. I am more healthy than people who are a jean size 8 because I have muscle mass and do not eat at McDonalds every day. I say more healthy in that previous sentence because I am far from being healthy in my own opinion. I can run a mile in less than 14 minutes but my weight is above normal weight groups. I don't say that because I have low self-estem, I say that because it is the truth and I need to face it.
2. Eat healthy and fresh foods. By all means, I do not have the worst diet in this country. But I do not eat enough healthy and natural foods. I drink a lot of coffee, probably twice as much as the average person. I occasionally gorge on fast food though I often times check the nutrition and chose something 'better' than greasy burger and fries. I definitely do not spend enough time cooking my own meals. I have made a lot of positive steps in the right direction and am beginning to eat more veggies like broccoli, peppers, spinach, cucumber, sweet potatoes, and zucchini. But I need to move towards making those foods an everyday part of my life.
3. Finish my damn Masters Degree. I haven't been at all lazy and slacking in this department in the last few years. I only took one semester off due to stress and issues with my living situation (ie apartment ceiling collapsing). But I need to get it squared away so I can get a full time job and have health insurance again. Not seeing a doctor in two years is a scary thing and its been nagging me for some time now. But I definitely need to focus on completing my Masters with a high GPA (which I currently have a 3.77/4.0) and there are some decisions about school that need to be made in the next few weeks that are important and will take a lot of thought and consideration.
4. Join a sport. This will probably be postponed til Spring or Summer but I'd like to join a team sport that way I can burn calories and have a social life at the same time. I find that going to the gym and studying conflict with maintaining the social life that I enjoy and need to find more ways to combine these things.
5. Volunteering. Okay, I know. That's asking a lot now, isn't it? It's a true story when people tell me that I put too much on my shoulders but something I've really wanted to do but haven't been able to do is volunteer. This is something I want to keep in mind for after I finish my Masters degree and maybe before finding a full time job. It's just something I always want to do and it needs to be set down here to remind me to do it.
6. Quit Smoking. I guess this is an important one that I nearly posted without including. I did quit smoking for a while and saved a lot of money that way but now I am back to being a full time smoker and I don't really need to put down why I need to quit. It costs money, makes your clothes smell bad, reduces your lung capacity, and in general weakens your immune system. It's time to give it up and poor Dan is going down that road with me (which we have already talked about, I'm not forcing him to or anything like that).
7. Get Married and have tons of babies. PSYCH! But in all seriousness, that was a joke as I do not have any desire to be married and popping out babies at this moment in my life. I guess number 7 should be something along the lines of developing a research project to apply to PhD programs.
Good luck Colleen. I always found that making realistic goals was the best way to achieving them, and these seem very realistic.
ReplyDeleteKeep me/us updated.
Statistics also say people are more likely to reach goals that have measurable success. ;) Seriously, I fully agree with the logic behind not making your goal to lose a specific number of pounds, but I also think there is merit in setting a specific goal when it comes to weight loss. "Lose weight" or "get healthy are fantastic goal but they're also vague and subjective. It can make it very easy to lose perspective on success when you don't have a definitive goal - even something like 10% of current body weight. (I used 10% because from everything I've read, that's the point at which people really start to see health benefits from weight loss.)
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, number 1 and 2 very much go hand in hand. As you increase the amount of fresh, home cooked foods you are eating, you should see results in the weight loss department. Something about losing weight being 80% about diet and 20% about exercise. If you ever need recipe or meal ideas, hit me up. I've got tons of recipes and resources and ideas. I could go on for hours. Eating fresher and healthier foods and cooking more is definitely something that gets easier with practice. Keep at it and it will become second natuer.
And you know I've got your back and will do anything I can to help you reach any/ all of your goals!