goals

So I had a great plan in 2008 for getting healthy by setting several goals. Some goals I met, some areas I can see improvement on, and some I'd really rather not write about.

I wrote that I wanted to "develop pathways for good spiritual, mental, and emotional nutrition." It sounds like Kierkegaard found Jesus--I must have written that late at night to sound so existential. I talked about reading my Bible more, finding my "Healthy ID", gaining accountability, and promoting more positive "self talk". I really have made inroads in these areas, though I'm not where I want to be. Getting married is probably the best thing that's happened for me to find a healthy self-identity. No longer am I self-conscious about my appearance because I've found someone who loves me exactly how I am. And through that I have tangible proof of how God love me and sees me. Today I am going to dig out my "self-talk" paper from Zig Ziglar that I posted here before and I'll tape it to my bathroom mirror as a reminder to read it everyday. As for reading my Bible more I have been doing a little better. Erin is more of a morning person while I am more of a night owl, so she heads to bed a half hour to an hour before I do. I usually hop on the laptop or watch tv while she nods off, but I'm starting to pull out my Bible during that quiet time of day.

Another goal I wrote about was being aware of what I consume and limiting my calories to 2800-3000 per day and reducing my intake thereafter. I did this on and off last year and ended up losing about 30 pounds since July, 2008. Not nearly where i want to be, but closer to it at least. Now it's time to refocus. Over the past month I've done that and I'm down another 9 pounds. I know the health risks of obesity, but being so young I hadn't been affected by my weight until over the last year. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, gout, and high triglycerides. I also had a couple episodes of plantar facsiitis. I am being treated with CPAP therapy while I sleep, and I hope that as I drop weight my doc will eventually give me clearance to discontinue it's use. Gout is somewhat diet related for me, but I think it also has to do with my weight, as does my elevated triglycerides, which put me at risk for pancreatitis. The excess weight on my feet is also what causes the stress on my platar fascia arches. These are all excellent reasons to shed this fat suit!

I was able to pay off half of my debt (excluding auto and home). My stress and anxiety over finances has greatly diminished. Erin and I have been following Dave Ramsay's debt snowball strategy and have been seeing some serious results. In just the past 3 months we've eliminated $305 in minimum monthly payments which we've "snowballed" onto our other debt payments. In the next 3 months we'll have another 4 creditors paid off, leaving just a handful of debts owed. It's a great feeling.