If you read my post earlier in the month you may remember my New Year's Resolution: 130 by 30. I want to get down to 130 lbs by my 30th birthday. I haven't been down at 130 since I was on my way up, which was probably high school. Last summer I got down to 133.6 in June. It was the best I've looked and felt (in my opinion) my whole life. But then, as it does, my weight cycle, fluctuated, and changed with the seasons. Fall came and I put on 10 lbs, winter came and so did another 10 lbs. :( But I'm determine to get them all back off and a little more before (or maybe after, but hopefully before) my 30th birthday. My 30th birthday is April 7th, so I have a little over 2 months to go. I won't lie, it will be a steep climb, and there's a good chance I won't meet my goal and be at my ideal weight by my birthday. But that's not going to stop me from trying. :) (Be positive!) I started this month at 151.2 lbs. My goal was to lose 7 lbs/month. My weight today was 146.6, down 4.6 lbs. Not as much as I wanted, but I'm not turning my nose up at weight loss! Every day the scale goes down is a win! My lowest this month was 146.4, then I went on vacation and didn't moderate myself and basically had to start over again. It was a bummer, but has made me even more resolved to eat right and make these next 2 months count! I have 16.8 lbs to lose in 2 months, which works out to 8.3 lbs/month. Like I said, a steep goal, but I'm staying positive. Wish me luck and help me succeed!!
If you'll also remember earlier this month, Michael and I made goals for each month of the year. One goal focused on our financial health, the other focused on our physical health. In January our financial goal was to look at our finances and review where we could make changes and make things work better. As we looking through our spending, we found we spend a lot more money than we thought going out to eat. Not a lot of large dinners, but several small fast food stops that add up over time. That is one area we'd like to focus and change. Simply being conscious of the problem is a start, but we intend to take it farther than that. Our financial goal for the month of February is no eating out. From fancy dinners (Goodbye nice Valentine's Day dinner) to coffee (Goodbye Sunday morning Starbucks) to fast food (Goodbye Michael eating lunch out with his coworkers), we're putting a (temporary) stop to it all this coming month. Hopefully after February is over we'll be more grateful for the (few) times we go out later. Another area we spend a lot of money is groceries. We're going to see if we can't reduce our grocery bills by taking a week each month to eat out of the fridge, freezer, and pantry, with no additional groceries bought. Heaven knows we have plenty of food in our house. This should be an easy way to alleviate some of our grocery spending. We're also looking for a new bank. Our charges us an ATM service charge every month for using our debit cards as debit cards (instead of running them like credit). This seems like a waste of money for the opportunity to use our own money. If you have a bank suggestion, we'd love to hear it. I was thinking Equity in Andover, Michael wants to look into a credit union. Either way, something had to change and soon. We have several other ideas to help our budget and intend on implementing a couple new ideas here and there as we adjust to others. Wish us luck as we continue to attempt to be better stewards of our finances.
Our health goal for January was to stay positive. I found, especially at the beginning of the month I was really looking for the bright side of things. Towards the end of the month I got less intentional about it, but I have certainly been more optimistic the last week as I've made a final push to get my weight down for the end of the month. I hope I'll continue to look for the good and positive things in life as the year continues. :) Our health goal for the month of February is no eating out. Yup, that's right, our health and financial goals are the same this month. We tend to consume a lot more calories when we eat out (although we've begun sharing meals when we go out, both to reduce calories and reduce cost). We think that not eating out for a month will have positive effects on our weight and health goals. My biggest concern with this goal is my mentality through a month of not eating out. I use that time to catch up with friends, spend quiet time with Michael, and get out of the house for a bit. I just hope those needs will continue to be met, even if we aren't going out to eat. We'll definitely have to be more intentional in those areas and possibly call in favors to make sure those things are still happening. I spend all day, every day with my kids. Someone please take them away for a while so I can enjoy snuggling with my hubby or cleaning my house in peace. Also, suggestions for things to do by myself out of the house and not spend a lot of money in the event Michael offers to babysit and suggests I go out, are appreciated.
So that's where we are. :) I think January went well, but February is really stepping it up. We want to make good financial and health choices and we're making steps to do that each month this year. :) Also, wish me luck with my diet the next couple of months. I have a lot of work to do still. I'm hopeful that the weather gets nice early and stays nice. If it does, I'll get back on my Zombie Run app as well as working in the garden and flower bed. (Speaking of which, Michael and I worked in the garden Sunday! More on that later.)
Hope January went well for you and that you're looking forward to a lovely February! Goodnight!
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