Day 342: Ode to Austin (via Progress Pics), 3.5 miles, Goal Chat!

Today is Austin’s birthday – the 21-year-old boy I met in college is now my 29-year-old husband who I love just as much as I did when my 19-year-old sophomore self met him and began dating him. Happy Birthday to Austin – and a shout out on his AMAZING progress. This boy was just supporting me – sure I’ll join a gym if you do, sure I’ll eat whatever you make…and like it and help and not complain. He quickly lost weight and before we knew it he was down 35 pounds. He looks just like the boy I met - even grew out his frat boy hair! Hehe Anywho – here’s some before and afters from February 2008 to May 2009 (both in tuxes to help see the difference!). I’m SO proud of him – but of course I loved him with or without the 35 pounds and think he’s the cutest person I know. Duh.

Anywho – sorry for the lovefest here – on to my day! Yesterday was a great day! I got lots done at work, had productive meetings and it kind of flew by (sweet!). I did have a work lunch though so of course I overate. Why can’t I be trusted in restaurants? Grrrr. After lunch me and Stacy headed over to the gym for a quick 3.5 miles, then I headed to Brandsmart to buy Austin’s birthday gift! I wanted to get him a beverage chiller for his man room the upstairs den. I knew exactly what I was looking for – glass front, shelves not wine racks, European Bar Pull handle, stainless steel, cold enough for beer, etc. So of course, I couldn’t find it. After leaving Brandsmart I hit up a Lowe’s and then I found it at Home Depot… but the guy working there wasn’t helpful – another customer and his wife ended up helping out and I left happy with a 100-pound fridge (so much for taking it upstairs, filling it with beer and surprising him. Boo. I DID get it to the garage though – woo! And unpacked it – still need to put a bow on it!

Once the fridge was ready, it was time for Drop Dead Diva, Make it or Break it and Time Traveler’s Wife – woo! I ended up at 1,849 calories, 204 carbs, 55 fat grams and 102 carbs. Here’s what I ate. Still slightly disgusted that I ate SO MUCH at lunch…. Bread/butter… salmon/potatoes/asparagus… pie. Grrr. I wasn’t even kind of hungry until 8! Maybe one day I’ll be able to keep my ordering in check at restaurants. Boo.

So, as far as goals, let's start with a funny to help put things in perspecitve....

hehe Okay, for reals now.... I started setting goals in the beginning; I really just wanted to be accountable. I know myself and if it's not written down - if i can't "cross it off my list" and mark it as "done" it's just not as satisfactory. At first my goals were all about weight/nutrition/cardio - and they were ALL measureable. I personally can't work with goals that say "walk more" or "eat less." Mine have to be "walk 84 miles/month or 21 miles/week," "don't exceed 1,750 calories 20 days per month, etc.). I need numbers and I need a start and stop (the beginning of the month/the end of the month). I also need to see them - I post them on my blog - can't miss them and helps me stay on track. Later, after I started losing, i realized I didn't just want to be thinner. I wanted to do things I love to do - make reading a priority, make doing things around the house a priority, cooking, etc. So I began adding 'human interest' goals in addition to my weight loss/nutrition/cardio goals.

So I guess for me, goals need to be:

1. Written down - so I can have a constant reminder of what I said I wanted to do!


2. Measureable - numbers, numbers, numbers so I can benchmark and show progress.


3. Timely - I have to have a start and stop time. I'd never say - i'm going to make 20 recipes. Um, when? By August 31. Done - now I have a "deadline" - and I can monitor as the month goes on.


4. Well-rounded - not just about losing X many pounds or walking X many miles, also cooking X many recipes and reading X many books!


5. Attainable - i'm all for goals I can achieve. I'd never say i'm going to read 5 books in one month. I won't! But.... if I see 2 books getting "easy," i'll try for 3! I'm also not afraid to break a goal down. If i want to lose 20 pounds, i broke it out over months. My goal is walk 1,000 miles this year, so it was broken over months, weeks even, this makes it more attainable.


6. Realistic - like attainable, you want to set goals you're capable of achieving. Who can lose 20 pounds in a month? Not me. Who wants to have 15 goals and not meet any because the bar is unrealistically high? How discouraging! Look at where you are and start small - then build up from there!


7. Detailed - This is hard for me. For instance, I had a goal as "Research CFW (crap free weeks." It was a bit too high level for me. Instead, I should have said read an article from 3 different sources about CFWs and by the end of the month determine if it's for me. This is specific enough to make it actionable. Another one I failed on because it wasn't detailed enough: "Work on Wedding Album." I should have said "Start and complete 5 pages in my wedding album by the end of the month." Seems less daunting and it's specific enough so i'll know when i've achieved it.


8. Fun! This may sound rediciulous, but they need to be fun - things you WANT to do. They can't all be things you HAVE to do or 'chores.' I think you should honestly, on some level, look forward to achieving all of your goals, but some need to be fun and they ALL need to be for you - to better yourself, to try something you haven't before, etc.

I think the most important thing about goals i've learned in my last 11 months of setting/tracking/assessing goals is that you won't get it all done. You just won't. But you WILL form great habits, learn new things (that you may or may not like!), feel better about yourself and feel more focused. K - that's my goal chat! I hope you don't think i'm some weird goal-oriented freak now. hehe Happy Hump Day!!