Day 1 and 2 recap

So its the end of day two and so far i've done fairly well.  Yesturday i hahealthy meals and snacks. I alo did better with the nighttime eating. I did have some snaks, but they were pretty much just fruit and popcorn  I didn't do exercise perse, but i was cleaning and organizing most of the day. Since i was home money was a non issue. I added the last few goals at night and didn't pray or meditate, but i did write in the blog.

 I have the bad habit of weighing in each day. Today i'm down one pound from yesturday. I'm not super excited though because i know it could just be a fluctuation.  We shall see. Today is definitely my cheat day of this week. It was carb city! i had pasta for lunch, but kept the portion moderate.  I had home made baked pizza for dinner. My nacks were healthy and probably had about200 calories of candy. Obviously not the best food day, but if this is the worst day this week, i'll be very happy.

Tomorrow will be interesting.  In order to get to my fitness goal, i will need to do 50 minutes five times a week. The advantage of this is that i get a solid workout with a good heart rate Monday through friday, and then don't have to worry about it on the weekend.  The disadvantage for this week is that i don't have access to my school gym until wednesday. I'll need to find an alternative.
Anyways i'm off to bed.  So far i'm actually feeling pretty good:) 

September Goals!

If you read last post, you know that it is excited about recommitting to some goals of mine.  In the last couple weeks I’ve registered for courses, tried to stop the whole avoidance / procrastination game and thought about the coming 4 months. I've watched Greg, Change (Jess and awesome vlogger who's name i've forgotten!), Slim4life (Marianna) and Shayloss (Shay Carl). I've kind of been getting motivation and ideas from them I've also met with my faculty advisor and listened to what they think will be beneficial.  The next few goals basically involve e listening to them, thinking about what i truly want and trying to decide what i think will help me achieve my goals

September Goals

Goal 1: implement a schedule

I’ve never been one for agendas and calendars. I think it’s time i gave it a try though! I’m currently only a part time student, my plan for this term is to be disciplined about my study, workout and even fun times! I remember a couple years ago i literally spent 12 hours in the library and still wasn't doing well in my classes. Unfortunately more time spent in the library or even working out doesn't always lead to better results. Time to schedule it in and do it with intensity!

Sub-goals:

1. create monthly calendars with all important dates and digitize current schedule i have planned
2. Go to the gym each time i have it on my schedule  (Mon - fir)
3. limit internet, cell phones and other distractions during study blocks

Workout for 1000 minutes

I wanted to give myself a good kick in the butt! I need to get active on a consistent basis. I was originally going to do 30 minutes per day, and then i realized i should bump it up to a nice round number ;)

1. workout 50 minutes at the gym 5 times per week (Mon - Fri)
2. track minutes on monthly calendar mentioned bellow
3. Try to organize a social workout once per week (i.e. going to the gym / walking with a friend

Save money / lose weight

I've combined those goals because the steps to achieve them are actually pretty identical (if you forget the gym membership).

1. Unless meeting friends, no restaurants!  This means i need to bring any meal i need from home.   It will probably save me about 10$ a day and  800 calories
2. Stick to my weekly budget!  September is going to be a bit of a test run for this.  I've never had a budget before.  I'm thinking of allowing myself between 30 - 40$ per week. This includes going out with friends, studying at coffee shops or any other thing i need pocket money for.   

 I'm doing this for a couple of reasons.  Firstly the more i save the less junk i put in my mouth!  Secondly i really want to save up enough to put a certain amount in savings this year a buy an ipad during the Christmas season.... This is going to be reallllly hard to do on my income! 

Blog Daily

This one is pretty simple. It’s my way of staying accountable.  I hope to get a couple people (or more) reading and perhaps commenting on this so i feel like I’m actually writing to people. I feel like this will help me through some of the tougher times

Pray daily / meditate

Even if it’s just a couple of Our Father's / Hail Mary. I'm not consistent with my prayer. I do have strong beliefs, but i want to turn that into a structured / regular thing

As for the meditation, i feel weird even typing it. I've never really done that before. I'm thinking of a mini / short thing here.  They suggest to start with 3 minutes a day. I'm pretty sceptical about any benefits.... but who can't do 3 minutes a day?

Conclusion:

That about covers it! I have quite a few goals, some are going to be harder than others. I know though tha ti only have classes part time, and that i really have the time, and i think the dedication to make this work. I feel like they are pretty well rounded / balanced.  I hope you'll come allong with me during this month as i blog daily and take steps to help reach my goals.  I'm really hoping to be down 10 pounds by the end of the month, but rather than focussing on the number, i'm focusing on the tangeble behaviours instead.   I'm looking forward to this and i majorly pray i don't mess up!  This cannot be yet another false start.. I already feel like my mindset is different, i just need to let that  continue all month :)

New outlook

It has been quite a while since i created this blog.  Not a whole lot has changed other than my mindset.    Weight wise I’m probably up about 15 pounds. Academia has been pretty much hell the last two years. I went from being a b+ student to having major difficulties concentrating.  I have since taken some time away from school and am very excited to return. I used to love school! I miss the love of learning and the honour roll grades. I'm hoping to re-kindle that fire :)  It still bothers me that i am 28 and have basically done nothing other than go to school. Jobs have been pretty scares... and not for lack of trying... That said, I’m optimistic about my future and looking forward to actually enjoying the journey rather than wishing i was at the end point.  Some time off shifted my thoughts from: "if i can't get through this degree I’ll never find a job and life will be horrible" to "I want to do well because I’m in the right field.  I know finding a job with my disability will be difficult, but a, I’m up for the challenge, b, the work excites me, and c, the world will not end if this doesn't happen right away."

I also feel a lot more content about whom I am and the relationships i have. While i never really wanted to be the life of the party, i often felt that most people fit in better and had more friends.   As i grew up i constantly wanted to blend in and belong. I wanted to be friends with everyone.  I'm the kind of person who doesn't quite know what to say at first. I finally feel really great about my social circle. I have enough friends that if i want to be social once or twice a week, i can. The last couple years have not been the easiest or the funniest. If my friends can put up with me at what i feel was my worst, they can certainly put up with me any other time!  I'm so blessed. I really cherish each one of them. They say that if you have a handful of true friends in a life time you're lucky. I can honestly say that many right now.

Basically at this point in my life i think I’m ready to take everything i learned, and all the mistakes i made and basically put them in a filing cabinet. They are still there if i need to refer to them, but they are in the past. I feel like i have a fresh attitude 

This blog used to be called road of improvement. I changed that name deliberately. Of course we all want to improve. I definitely want to lose weight and wish i already had a great career / job, but i am noticing that people are happiest when they are comfortable in their own skin.  I'm done searching. I'm done thinking that i need to transform my life and myself. I'm hoping this attitude stays! I'm surrounded by people five years younger than me with great careers. I always feel like i have to justify that I’ve basically been doing school part time for ever.  I'm pretty determined that it won't affect my enjoying the journey this time around though!

Now here's the weird part. Now that I’m more at ease with where i am in my life, i actually feel energized to go after my goals. I'm excited for school and in some odd way I’m kind of looking forward to getting new gym membership (how weird is that??? I hate working out! LOL). I'm going to go into Septembers goals in tomorrow's post.  I will say though that i plan on blogging on daily in september.

If you've actually read this, please comment!!!! If you have a weight loss / other type of blog, i'd love to subscribe.

An Intro, where i'm at and where i'd like to be

A few things about me

I'm a 27 year old female who's generally a pretty optimistic and motivated person. Nothing is more important to me than family. I'm a dog lover at heart. I'm christian (Don't worry i'm not the in your face / let me convert you type of christian... i just have a strong belief in god and its a part of who i am....) So anyways back on topic: I am passionate about having a career and doing what i can to help others. I'm most interested in working with people with disabilities and the elderly. I'm one of those people who's a little shy at first but the friendships i make are usually extremely long lasting and important to me. Oh... And you've probably noticed by now that grammar is not my strong suit. I appoligize if spelling or grammar errors bother you. The reality is though that i want to blog for accountability. This means i'm less apt to do it if i spend forever afterwards going through everything i said with a fine tooth comb... i just don't care enough about the details.


Where i'm at: I'm currently really frustrated with my life.
- academics: after a long / part time psych degree i decided to go back and get a more practical degree. So here i am at 27 being utterly fed up and ready to move on.
- weight loss should really be weight gain. I am the queen of false starts and half harted attempts. The reality is though that i will not put my life in danger and failure is not an option.

Were i want to be: Eventually the goal is to be fit, graduated and employed. This blog is one of the ways i'm trying to learn, adapt, and change my life. I know who i am and i know what i can do... now i just need to get there!