- Develop pathways for good spiritual, mental, and emotional nutrition. I believe this is more key than developing physical nutrition. My friend and mentor, Vaso Bjegovich, has developed a program called Healthy ID, that encourages people to first search out what their identity (ID) is wrapped around, to deconstruct their false identity, and to build a healthy ID. When you have a healthy ID, you treat your body right because you want to, and you'll naturally become physically healthier as you treat your physical person with respect. Healthy ID isn't about appearance or performance. The program is currently not available as Vaso waits for the right time to take it mainstream, but if you are interested in the concept, let me know and I can get some more information, or even the Healthy ID package (audio CDs and journal) to you. I'd love to have even more company as I embark on this journey. Anyway, I'll be using Healthy ID as a foundation, and I will read my Bible more. I'll also read my Zig Ziglar "self-talk" sheet everyday. We all talk to ourselves, usually it's silent, but we believe what we tell ourselves. Our subconscious can't tell the difference between the truth and fiction. By telling yourself everyday, day in and day out, that you are a fantastic friend, for example, you will become an even better friend. You can't help it! I'll be reading to myself out loud, telling myself that I already am the things that I want to be. I'll post Zig's "self-talk" here soon.
- Being aware of what I consume. I've started tracking my food intake on www.fitday.com. For the next two weeks I'm going to limit my calories to 2800-3000 per day. From mid-July to August, I will consume 2600-2800 per day, and I will keep reducing that amount by 200 calories every two weeks until I'm consistently eating 2200-2400 per day. I will also be sure to eat 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit everyday.
- Walking 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week. The dog loves it, I need it. Humans were made to walk, and I'm tied to my cubicle desk everyday. The body was designed for walking. Walking outside helps maintain a healthy emotional well-being, and it also helps "reset" your body's natural weight set point. Frankly, walking is about all I can physically handle right now.
The new plan for getting healthy (that's the real goal, weight loss is only a part of it) has several facets:
Looking back at this post from January, I thought I'd bring you up to speed:
Ouch. January doesn't seem like that long ago, but here it is, the end of June. I'm not 50 pounds lighter, I'm probably about 30 pounds heavier. I'm not sure. My scale caps out at 380 pounds. Since my "plan" hasn't been going so well in regards to weight loss and fitness, I've enlisted the help of my folks. We've outlined a plan for me to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year, and I know I can do it. More on how I'm going to do that in a later post.
As for the debt, I'm on track or not far off. Of course, I'm not looking at the hard numbers to make that assertion, but I've been paying down the debt quite steadily over the past 6 months. Several small bills have been paid and I am making significant progress on the larger ones. I haven't sat down to recalculate balances and numbers of outstanding debts, but I will do that by week's end.
So what's been going on with these goals?
I've also set two important goals for the year. They're not resolutions, they are goals. They are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and have a completion date attached:
1. Lose 100 pounds by December 31, 2008. This year, I'm going to limit myself to two meals out per week. I'm going to walk at least 10 minutes continuously a day, and do other exercise for at least 20 minutes for 4 days per week. I will eat at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day. I will drink at least eight glasses of water a day. I will consume no more than 4 servings of dairy (excluding eggs) per week. I will enter my food daily onto fitday.com as best as I can remember until I have lost 50 pounds. I will take at least one cycle of hCG this year.
2. Pay off half of my debt (excluding auto and home). I will negotiate balances and payoffs with all of the creditors I can and will be current with every creditor by year's end. My list of creditors will be reduced by two thirds.
Ouch. January doesn't seem like that long ago, but here it is, the end of June. I'm not 50 pounds lighter, I'm probably about 30 pounds heavier. I'm not sure. My scale caps out at 380 pounds. Since my "plan" hasn't been going so well in regards to weight loss and fitness, I've enlisted the help of my folks. We've outlined a plan for me to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year, and I know I can do it. More on how I'm going to do that in a later post.
As for the debt, I'm on track or not far off. Of course, I'm not looking at the hard numbers to make that assertion, but I've been paying down the debt quite steadily over the past 6 months. Several small bills have been paid and I am making significant progress on the larger ones. I haven't sat down to recalculate balances and numbers of outstanding debts, but I will do that by week's end.
So what's been going on with these goals?
27.1.08
more goals
I said that I would post the rest of my goals in the categories of fitness, mental/educational, spiritual, relational, and domestic here.
Fitness: I will be able to run one mile in under 9 minutes before the year is through. I will be able to climb the Manitou incline in under 60 minutes before October 31. My first time up the incline, I finished in 48 minutes. My goal that day was to make it halfway. My best time up the incline was 34 minutes, and I made the whole trip (up the incline, down Barr trail) in under 60 minutes.
Ummm, you can probably figure this one out by seeing my lack of progress on my first goal. It's ok, my new fitness goal is to walk for 30 minutes continuously 6 days a week. I'll be kicking the incline's butt in due time.
Ok, so I haven't met my goal of reading 2 books per month, but I have been reading with greater frequency. Progress in this area, at least.
Convicted again. Reading the Word is part of my revised plan to get healthy. I need to remember to ask my folks to keep me accountable in this area, too. I haven't been to church, either. I have been in a guys' accountability-type group through Pulpit Rock Church, called Real Men of Genius, but I haven't started attending PRC or any other church.
This one is coming together.
March 31 has passed and the baseboards are in the same sad shape. The house is cleaner and I keep a running list of what to clean each day to maintain the organization of my home. I also would like to refinish the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and add hardware to them this year.
And I'll do my best to do it more often than every six months.
Mental/Educational: I will read one fiction or non-fiction book (I prefer non-fiction anyway, frankly) per month. No more 7 or 8 months without reading, then reading 5 or 6 books all at once. At least 6 books this year will be about sales or the health insurance industry (not including my monthly HIU [Health Insurance Underwiter] trade magazine). I will also begin my first RHU (Registered Health Underwriter) or REBC (Registered Employee Benefits Consultant) class through The American College. Which track I take depends on if I will continue to specialize more and more in group health insurance or individual market insurance at work.
Ok, so I haven't met my goal of reading 2 books per month, but I have been reading with greater frequency. Progress in this area, at least.
Spritual: To read through the Bible by year's end. I've read through it completely only once, and that's not nearly enough for a believer of over 21 years. This will take 4 and a half chapters per day. I'll also begin church "shopping" in February, and I'll get plugged in before Spring.
Convicted again. Reading the Word is part of my revised plan to get healthy. I need to remember to ask my folks to keep me accountable in this area, too. I haven't been to church, either. I have been in a guys' accountability-type group through Pulpit Rock Church, called Real Men of Genius, but I haven't started attending PRC or any other church.
Relational: This goes hand in hand with being at a new church. I'll gain at least one new friend this year.
This one is coming together.
Domestic: This may sound like a stupid category for you, but I think it's appropriate. I will thoroughly clean my bathroom and kitchen, vacuum, wash my sheets, and do two loads of laundry once a week. I will dust the house once every two weeks. I will also finish my 3 year old baseboard project by touching up with paint and caulking. I will replace the kitchen and bathroom linoleum and install new baseboards. The baseboards will be completed by March 31 and the new flooring will be installed by December 31.
March 31 has passed and the baseboards are in the same sad shape. The house is cleaner and I keep a running list of what to clean each day to maintain the organization of my home. I also would like to refinish the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and add hardware to them this year.
I'll keep you updated on the progress of these goals here.
And I'll do my best to do it more often than every six months.
i don't know why, but i always gain lots of satisfaction from making iced tea.
the full pitcher of freshly cooled, tea and herb-infused water.
the pale color.
the heaviness of the container.
the sound of the ice knocking around inside the glass as i pour.
the anticipation of a tasty, refreshing, and healthy beverage.
I'm glad the warmer weather is here! It's great to be able to sit outside on the balcony in the evening and read or bring the laptop out and surf the net. It's not silent out here, I can hear the rush of traffic a half mile away on Fountain Blvd, the hum of the a/c units, and the giggles and gleeful cheers of newly-liberated school aged children playing nearby. There's something so peaceful, though, about watching the sun set and stars appear, even as the noise and busyness of the day draws to a slow close. Even when the rest of the world is moving, God brings me into this strangely still place.
Last year I hardly sat on my deck. I holed up in the cool air of the climate controlled bedroom most of the summer. I wasn't as happy. I didn't have purpose in what I was doing, and I wasn't adequately supporting myself. I know I shouldn't derive my happiness from my job, my income, or my employer, but I let those things become a major factor in determining my happiness.
This year my life is 180 degrees from what it was last year, success-wise. I am one of three salespeople that, along with sharp new management, has helped to take an off-track health insurance agency that had a third party fulfillment service that was upsetting prospective clients and losing existing policyholders like the Plague had just swept over town to the number one producing new broker in the state for many of our contracted carriers. Aside from a generous compensation and benefits package, my new employer values my opinion. VPs and managers have regularly asked for my opinion on important decisions, and in many cases have actually taken my advice as they've acted on those decisions. Our partners currently market our products to 700,000 salespeople in their field force, and with the partners who've just signed on with us, that number will increase fivefold within the year. It's finally all good on the work front, but I'm learning that with the success comes responsibility.
David said to his son, Solomon:
As I was just writing, I thought of Luke 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." I guess I should be expecting to have more expected of me in the future.
Last year I hardly sat on my deck. I holed up in the cool air of the climate controlled bedroom most of the summer. I wasn't as happy. I didn't have purpose in what I was doing, and I wasn't adequately supporting myself. I know I shouldn't derive my happiness from my job, my income, or my employer, but I let those things become a major factor in determining my happiness.
This year my life is 180 degrees from what it was last year, success-wise. I am one of three salespeople that, along with sharp new management, has helped to take an off-track health insurance agency that had a third party fulfillment service that was upsetting prospective clients and losing existing policyholders like the Plague had just swept over town to the number one producing new broker in the state for many of our contracted carriers. Aside from a generous compensation and benefits package, my new employer values my opinion. VPs and managers have regularly asked for my opinion on important decisions, and in many cases have actually taken my advice as they've acted on those decisions. Our partners currently market our products to 700,000 salespeople in their field force, and with the partners who've just signed on with us, that number will increase fivefold within the year. It's finally all good on the work front, but I'm learning that with the success comes responsibility.
David said to his son, Solomon:
11 "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. 12 May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.I'm learning that I have much more responsibility than ever before. It comes with the territory, but I never realized it. I have a responsibility to everyone who calls in for a quote. As ridiculous as some caller's requests seem (the lady on 5 psychotropic medications who demanded guaranteed approval coverage NOW that would pay for her $800 a month pharmacy bill, the mom who inquired if any of our dental plans would cover a root canal her son had LAST WEEK, or the young dad who wanted health insurance coverage for his family for LESS than $30 a month), they are all important. More importantly, I have a responsibility to my applicants. They lay one of the most important financial decisions they will make on an annual basis at my feet. Not only that, but I've got to find the best coverage with the carrier that will give them the best coverage for their conditions at the best possible price. It's not always an easy task, but it's an important one.
As I was just writing, I thought of Luke 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." I guess I should be expecting to have more expected of me in the future.
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