My Quarterly Report: Last Quarter 2018

It is time for my last quarterly report of 2018 (It's a day early because Essential Oils 101 with Jess goes live on the first of every month, and I didn't want two posts in one day.  I figured posting this earlier is better than later. :) ).  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 last quarterly report:

How I did on last quarter's goals:

Goal #1: Lose all the weight I gained and more, if possible, by December 1st, 2018.

I definitely did not meet this goal, though my weight has gone down a few pounds this week (my weight got up to 207 since last quarter).  This is one of the things that I am most disappointed about.  I don't like ending the year with an overall weight gain, but it is what it is.  I know that part of this has to do with the fact that I can no longer take the water pill I used to take and have  yet to find a replacement (I know I would lose close to 10 lbs. in one week if I could find a water pill that worked for me), but I also realized that I need to be more honest with myself about the quantity, quality and type of food I am eating.  Carbs are not my friends!  I am hopeful that I can get off the "weight gaining" wagon and back on the "weight losing" one again soon, even without the water pill!

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

I easily met this goal, but am finding that I am struggling a little bit with it recently.  I still drink the target amount, but it is taking me longer to get it done.  This may be playing into the difficulty with my weight loss.  If I drank water sooner, than I think I'd eat less or at least not eat out of boredom.  Something to think about, anyway.

 Goal #3: Eat a low sodium diet.

So, this was one of the goals that I started off doing very diligently and quickly realized I could not maintain.  I am one of those odd people on the planet who need more salt in their diets.  When I was eating a low sodium diet, my blood pressure was dropping way too low and I felt absolutely terrible!  This meant that I had to up my salt intake, but not too much because of my water retention issues.  What I have found is that I have to make sure I'm not overly salting things and striving for "recommended daily allowance" vs. "low sodium requirements" to keep my blood pressure happy and keep my water retention to a minimum.  It's not always easy to find that balance, but I'm getting better at it! :)

Goal #4: Drink some green and herbal teas daily.

I have nearly met this goal.  The green tea does help a bit with the water retention, and the herbal teas have all sorts of other benefits, so this was a fairly easy goal to meet.  I didn't always drink the herbal tea daily, though, so that's why I'm saying I "nearly" met it.  Now that it's cold outside, I have no doubt that I will do just fine with drinking both types of tea (something I want to keep in my daily habits).

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

When it was warmer, I crushed this goal!  Once it got colder and more inclement weather arrived, I struggled.  I am working on a strategy to fix this because this is something I have to do for my overall well-being.  My husband has been advised by his doctor to up his physical activity (not because he's overweight, but just to improve overall health), so I should have an exercise partner to help me in this area. :)

Goal #6: Focus on getting more quality sleep.

I never transitioned to reading before bed like I planned, but I did manage to get to bed sooner, so I feel like I made strides in this area.  I'd still like to work on this, though, especially transitioning to reading vs. screen time before bed, so this will be a new goal for next time, for sure!

Goal #7: Meet my blog posting goals.

I met all my blog posting goals, and I'm so thrilled about that!  Makes me feel good inside! :)

This Quarter's Goals:

1. I want to start losing weight.  I am not going to set a weight loss amount.  I'll be happy with a half a pound!  I just want to start back in the right direction.
     
2. I want to be honest about my diet.  As I mentioned above, carbs are not my friends!  I definitely need to cut back on those.  I also need to be honest with myself.  If I am eating something, I need to focus on eating the right portion of it...and because I'm truly hungry, not because I'm bored or upset.  I am totally an emotional/stress eater!  It's a really bad habit.  It is one I hope to break, but it's going to take time.
     
3. I want to continue to drink 9+ Cups of water per day.  I want to put this as a goal again because I want to really focus on making it a priority.  I think it is essential to keeping my water weight and actual weight under control.
     
4. I want to drink some green tea and herbal tea daily.  I want to keep this as a goal because I think it will actually help curb my appetite along with bringing me other health benefits.  I already know that coffee and I only get along in very limited amounts (I can't even really drink caffeinated coffee anymore unless I absolutely must for a migraine, and even then it is half a cup at the very most), so I don't want to go down that road.  Also, I tend to want to drink coffee with creamer, and we all know that isn't the best idea when you need to cut back on extra sugar!  It doesn't mean I won't indulge now and then on a nice cup of decaf with or without some creamer, but it means that won't be the norm.
     
5. I want to find a way to do some form of physical activity daily.  I really need to do this!  It is vital to keep me from being very stiff and sore.  It gets hard to do outside activities this time of year for me because I react poorly to the cold, but I want to find a way to be outside more if possible and/or find indoor alternatives.
     
6. I want to continue to focus on getting more quality sleep.  I really want to try to switch to reading before bed vs. screen time.  It will not be easy (I love me some Netflix!), but I am  going to actively pursue this goal!  I really do think it will help me out a lot.

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! :)