2014 Health Goals: Lets Do it Again!

This is maybe one of my most disappointing sections.  I made it so far last year only to bounce back horribly after a terrible autoimmune inflammation that left me laid up and unable to do anything for almost three months.  However, I have to remind myself that what's done is done.  It's in the past.  In order to lose the weight, I'm going to have to move past my failure.

With that being said, let's dive into my 2014 health goals!

Last year, I desperately wanted to relive my running days, but I no longer have a deep seeded need to make that marathon.  If I do, I do.  Fantastic!  More important to me, however, is losing the weight and keeping it off.  So my health goals this year will focus on that.

In 2013, I wanted to lose 30 lbs.  Though I have yet to weigh myself, I can guarantee that I'm back to where I was at the beginning of last year.  I think one of the problems I had was that three pounds a month was so incredibly doable that it took no effort.  Often, I ate on the diet 5/7 days of the week and lost the weight effortlessly.  Sounds like a dream, doesn't it?  Unfortunately, it made it all too easy to gain it back.  "Oh, I've done it before.  I can do it again.  It wasn't like it was hard."  This year, instead of losing three pounds, I'd like to up that to five.  In order to his this goal, I will have to exercise and diet properly for six out of seven days of the week.  Maybe I'll appreciate myself more if it takes more effort.  Five pounds is still more than doable.

At five pounds a month, that will still leave me with two Lose 15 Pounds goals.  I'm good with that.

That will also have me end sometime around late June, giving me six months of maintenance.  However, I know I'm liable to falter here and there.  With that in mind, my third goal should be to Maintain my Weight for Three Months.  Should I successfully complete my weight loss journey by June, this doesn't mean that I should maintain my weight until October then go crazy with holiday foods.  It means that, if I falter and manage to hit my goal weight by September or October, I can still hit my maintenance goal with relative ease.

By weight maintenance, I'd like to place the stipulation of +/- 3 lbs.  That means water weight or a little extra goodies one week won't deter me from still hitting that goal.  My end weight for December 31st should be between 137 and 143 pounds.

Losing weight requires changing the lifestyle I've been on since I started gaining weight in late August.  As with last year, I want to create small, positive goals to lose those five pounds a month as well as begin my maintenance period.  Here's the chart I came up with:

I am aware of the typo in the first row.  It should be 8 glasses of water, not 8 ounces of water.

This chart may be edited once every three months to reflect my weight loss progress and get me remotivated, particularly if I come up with new ways to lose weight.

As with last year, I also want to revamp my wardrobe once the weight is lost.  I've decided to tack on an additional $50 to my wardrobe money to make it seem more appealing.  I'm also going to give pretty sizable boosts for getting under 140 lbs.  Here's the basic chart that will get me that $150 new wardrobe money to blow at a thrift store!

In addition to the final reward of a new wardrobe, I need small rewards along the way to make the weight loss worthwhile.  Once I hit maintenance, I may start rewarding myself for managing my weight if it's necessary.  I'm hoping eventually to do it of my own free will.

(Also, can I just say that I really want to get all of my friends together for the new wardrobe purchase, take multiple videos of thrift store shopping and make a kick-ass video to Thrift Shop by Macklemore.)

Last year, I managed to get my TSH levels for my hypothyroidism more under control, with my most recent test at a little over 7 (your TSH levels should fall somewhere between .3 and 3).  This year, I'd like to hit optimum TSH levels and get my thyroid thing officially behind me.  In order to do that, I feel like Seeing an Endocrinologist is of the utmost importance.  S/he may be able to help me with other hormone and vitamin deficiencies I have, thus getting me closer to better health.  As of right now, my prescription for Levothyroxine runs out late January.  Because winter months in KC are a, for a lack of a better word, bitch to drive in and the endocrinologist I'd like to see is about an hour away, I'm more than willing to go back to my primary for my January test.  That will give me three more months of pills.  This puts seeing an Endocrinologist on my to-do list in March or April.

My final health goal is to begin Managing my Stress.  I have Multiple Autoimmune Syndrome.  Many of my symptoms flare up during times of intense stress (my Scleritis while we were moving, my psoriasis flaring at every single stress point in. My. Life. Ever., etc).  If I want to help my immune issues, I absolutely have to get my stress under control.  My goal is to try one new stress management technique a month.  After asking Facebook and doing some research, here's a monthly table I've created to help me achieve this goal:

So let's take a look at my 2014 health goals on the primary chart:

As with Financial goals, there are no habit goals to add to my monthly goal list template.  That makes throwing together that template pretty easy.  Here it is!

HEALTH - 0% Complete

See an endocrinologist (March/April). – Done | Not Done – 0% complete.

Lose 5 pounds. – 0/5 pounds – 0% complete.

Try one stress management technique for the month – 0/x Days – 0% complete.

Some notes:  None.

Almost half way there!

Next time on The Progressive Planner:

My 2014 Home Goals.

Question for my readers:

What are your 2014 health goals?