My Quarterly Report: Third Quarter 2018

It is time for my third quarterly report of 2018.  On the first Saturday in January, April, August and December, I will be posting a quarterly report of how I am doing in regards to meeting my goals, and what my goals for the upcoming quarter will be.

If you want to share a post that has to do with meeting personal goals, just leave a comment below with a link to your goal-related post, and I'll pop over and visit it and leave a comment, and hopefully some of my other readers will, too. :)  

Here is my third quarterly report:

How I did on last quarter's goals:

Goal #1: Lose at least 5 lbs. by August 4, 2018.

I did not reach this goal, and actually gained weight.  Part of this is due to the fact that I had to go off of my water pill because it was causing me to sunburn within half an hour even with SPF 50 sunblock on, and I was getting a petechiael rash on any part of my body exposed to the sun except my face after about 5 minutes (I am being 100% serious - this is not an exaggeration!).  I did really well off the water pill for about a month, and then my weight started to do the yo-yo thing, and then finally I started gaining weight by 2 or 3 lbs. daily regardless of diet or exercise.  I am not sure what I maxed out at, but it was at least 205 lbs.  I tried another water pill for about 4 days that also did not agree with me (heart palpitations - my rate got over 120, asthma-like symptoms, insomnia, and a few other not-so-fun things), so I had to go off that.  I have decided to try a low sodium diet (not eating food with over 140mg/serving of sodium and no more than 2,000mg of sodium per day), and have been losing about a half to one pound a day (which I'm sure is mostly water).  So, though I don't have an overall weight loss to share with you this time, I am hoping I will next time.

Goal #2: Drink 9+ Cups of water per day.

I was able to do this without difficulty!

Goal #3: Eat only when hungry.

I did ok with this goal.  I will admit to some stress eating, which didn't help the weight issue, especially because I crave salt when I'm stressed more than I do sugar.  I am more aware of when I eat now and why, so I definitely have learned from having this as a goal.

Goal #4: Eat less sugar/processed foods.

I did eat less processed and sugar, but am still not where I'd like to be here.  I think having to cut back on sodium will definitely help me improve in this area.

Goal #5: Get some form of physical activity daily.

I did very well with this goal!  I try to get 6,000+ steps a day, and I met that most days.  I have been joining the Samsung Health Global Step Challenge each month for a few months now, and have been able to do 200,000+ steps per month for June and July.  I am hoping to keep this up at least through August and early fall.  I will try to do it in the winter, but that gets a bit tricky with the weather we get here.  We shall see!

Goal #6: Manage stress better.

I feel like I am still a work-in-progress here, but I've also made improvements in this area.  I definitely feel like I need to take time to refocus a bit more each day, especially when things get hectic.  I am glad that I was able to look at myself a bit more transparently here and realize that I don't do well if I don't take a moment to breathe and unwind at some point.  I don't have to take a breath in the height of the stress necessarily, but I definitely have to find a way to relax when the crazy has passed.  As long as I can remain calm and get through it, that's the main thing.  Sometimes I do great at this, other times, not so much.  I'll keep working on this, and hopefully get better at it as time goes by.

Goal #7: Meet my blog posting goals.

I have definitely met my blog posting goals!  I managed to get Natural and Free merged with Fibro, Fit and Fab!, and that has helped tremendously!  I am very happy how Caring Foodie has turned out, and I hope you are, too! :)

This Quarter's Goals:

1. I want to lose the weight I've gained and more, if possible, by December.  Again, I've made a weight loss goal, and I'm hoping it will be over 5 lbs.  I'm hoping that some of my other goals, especially the low sodium diet, will help me reach this one this time.  Fingers crossed!

2. I want to continue to drink at least 9 Cups of water per day.  I feel pretty good at 9 Cups of water per day.  I've had some days when it's been hotter that I've had closer to 12 Cups, and very rarely even more than that.  I just want to keep drinking an amount of water that helps me feel well and keeps me hydrated, and I think a minimum of 9 Cups is that amount at this time.

3. I want to eat a low sodium diet.  As I mentioned above, I tend to eat more salt when I'm stressed, and I realized recently that I was just eating a lot of salt, period.  I am sure that contributed to my water retention and weight gain.  I am going to try to only eat foods with a maximum of 140mg/serving of sodium, and I am going to try to keep my overall sodium intake to 2,000mg/day.  I have been doing this for about 4 or 5 days, and I have been losing about 1/2 to 1 lb. a day of water retention.  I am hoping that this low sodium diet change will help me lose the water weight I've gained and keep my water retention under control.  If you've never had an issue with water weight, count yourself lucky!  Excess water can make you feel so stiff and just blah.  I am very pleased to have it coming back off!

4. I want to drink some green and herbal teas daily.  Green and herbal teas have so many wonderful health benefits from weight loss to digestion aid and more.  I think the green tea will help with weight management, but I don't want to drink too much because there is some caffeine in it, and I definitely do not do well with too much caffeine.  I want to drink one mug of green tea per day (that normally ends up being around 2 Cups, maybe 3 - some of my mugs are HUGE :D ), and then herbal tea after that if I want something other than water.  I think having that as a goal will help keep me from getting too much caffeine, but also help me get some added health benefits from the herbal teas.

5. I want to get some form of physical activity daily.  I decided to keep this goal again.  The weather has been very good for walking, though sometimes I've had to go either early in the morning or later in the evening due to the heat.  I've even gone to walking multiple times a day.  I find it very relaxing, and it definitely helps me feel better.  I hope to keep this up for as long as possible.  We normally have great walking weather through about November (sometimes into early December), so I'm pretty hopeful!

6. I want to focus on getting more quality sleep.  Some days I have a really horrible time falling asleep and/or staying asleep.  I am going to try to transition from watching a movie or TV show before I go to bed to reading.  I think this will help my mind relax a little more and hopefully help me get a little more quality sleep.  I find that I need enough exercise to sleep better, too, so I am hoping making sure I get that in daily will help with this goal.

7.  I want to keep meeting my blog posting goals.  As I mentioned above, I've been meeting my blog posting goals.  The merger has really helped with that!  I am hoping to be able to eventually add a few more posts per month, but for now I'm just happy with almost weekly. :D We'll see how things progress now that I've down-sized and refocused a little. :)

That's about it for now.  How are you doing?  Are you reaching your goals?  Have you tried something new?  Come up with a new recipe?  I hope all is going well with you, and I hope you will leave a comment sharing your thoughts and/or goals (with a link to your post, if you wish).  As always, I wish you the best of luck in all you do, and hope you will return soon! :)