NEW Year, NEW Me...I WILL keep my resolutions! Comments Welcome

[Friend of a Mouse]

I am hoping that this will be the year where things can come together for me. Here are my resolutions for this year:

My New Year's Resolutions:
1. Eat vegetarian (becoming Vegan by June 1st) as well as refraining whenever possible from products tested on animals
2. Lose 50 lbs
3. Run a 5k by April 1st, 10k by August 1st, and half marathon by December 31
4. Get house organized (upstairs by Feb. 1, downstairs by March 1)
5. Finish painting and flooring
6. Read 52 books + entire Bible
7. Eat out no more than 3x per week (including fast food/coffee)

In addition to the ones I posted on Facebook, there were a couple I did not add
8. Join either the National Guard or become a Police Officer
9. Successfully navigate a career change
10. Get my finances under better control


As you can see, the majority of my goals are health related. I am so tired of wanting to burn any photo that is taken, or hate looking at my reflection. I never seem to have energy and am constantly stressed out. This has been leading to a lot of anxiety (although some of that is my current job situation).

So how am I doing this? I took advantage of a sale and rejoined Weight Watchers. In the past when I would try to eat well/go vegetarian, I just tried to wing it. I would throw together random stuff and hope it tasted good. This meant that many times it didn't. This time I am going to really plan ahead and use recipes, at least until I get the hang of it. I have a Couch25k program on my phone and have joined Planet Fitness since I am horrible about going outside.

I am trying to break my goals down into smaller more manageable segments. I am also working on changing my mindset. I heard someone once say that they quit smoking by not saying they would never have a cigarette, but that they did not need that cigarette. They quit by not smoking one craving at a time until the cravings went away. I am going to do that with my food. I am going to try to do a little bit each day of the reading and oganizing, but not beat myself up if I miss a day. I am very perfectionistic and tend to get into the "wel, I blew it" mindset which then leads to more bad decisions. Instead, I am trying to take it one decision at a time.

Here is my before photo for weight purposes:

Weight is at 160 lbs.

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

So day 1 so far so good. I did not count points today but I did eat vegetarian. I had half of a cup of cream of tomato soup, the cous cous salad without shrimp, french bread, and frozen mocha at Panera. (I know, not the healthiest thing in the world, but at least it was vegetarian.) For dinner I had half of a boca banzai burger and 3 fries at Red Robin with iced tea.

Tomorrow I will have the second half of my burger (I take the bun off) and the fries for lunch. For dinner is a roasted vegetable lasagna from Weight Watchers. I will go to the gym and start my 5k training.

This is a pic of the roasted vegetables for the lasagna. I will post the final product later. I hope it turns out well, this is my first time making lasagna from scratch.

 

[disney1990]

I am hoping that this will be the year where things can come together for me. Here are my resolutions for this year:

My New Year's Resolutions:
1. Eat vegetarian (becoming Vegan by June 1st) as well as refraining whenever possible from products tested on animals
2. Lose 50 lbs
3. Run a 5k by April 1st, 10k by August 1st, and half marathon by December 31
4. Get house organized (upstairs by Feb. 1, downstairs by March 1)
5. Finish painting and flooring
6. Read 52 books + entire Bible
7. Eat out no more than 3x per week (including fast food/coffee)

In addition to the ones I posted on Facebook, there were a couple I did not add
8. Join either the National Guard or become a Police Officer
9. Successfully navigate a career change
10. Get my finances under better control


As you can see, the majority of my goals are health related. I am so tired of wanting to burn any photo that is taken, or hate looking at my reflection. I never seem to have energy and am constantly stressed out. This has been leading to a lot of anxiety (although some of that is my current job situation).

So how am I doing this? I took advantage of a sale and rejoined Weight Watchers. In the past when I would try to eat well/go vegetarian, I just tried to wing it. I would throw together random stuff and hope it tasted good. This meant that many times it didn't. This time I am going to really plan ahead and use recipes, at least until I get the hang of it. I have a Couch25k program on my phone and have joined Planet Fitness since I am horrible about going outside.

I am trying to break my goals down into smaller more manageable segments. I am also working on changing my mindset. I heard someone once say that they quit smoking by not saying they would never have a cigarette, but that they did not need that cigarette. They quit by not smoking one craving at a time until the cravings went away. I am going to do that with my food. I am going to try to do a little bit each day of the reading and oganizing, but not beat myself up if I miss a day. I am very perfectionistic and tend to get into the "wel, I blew it" mindset which then leads to more bad decisions. Instead, I am trying to take it one decision at a time.

Here is my before photo for weight purposes:

Weight is at 160 lbs.

I wish you all the luck accomplishing your goals. Personally, I think you may be setting your sights too high. I wouldn't want you to fail and beat yourself up over it.

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

Okay..... In what way specifically? These resolutions are all things I have been working towards. I have already begun a couch 2 5k program and have walked two 5ks. As far as my house, it is almost there. What's left is some basic organizing, getting things a little bit more put together. Again, it's not like we're in a hoarding situation and these are goals we have been actively working towards. All of my goals are like this in some way, and that i why I broke some of them up into steps.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

I'm in for your journal too. sounds like you have some great goals. I like how you have your race goals laid out. I wish I could join you in a marathon. It has always been a dream, so I'll have to live through you. You go and get 'em! I know you can do it!

My DS started to read the bible. It really does sound like it would be a great challenge to read it. I'll look forward to hearing how that is going.

So I also see you worked for the Mouse... how close of a friend where you to the mouse???

 

[disney1990]

Okay..... In what way specifically? These resolutions are all things I have been working towards. I have already begun a couch 2 5k program and have walked two 5ks. As far as my house, it is almost there. What's left is some basic organizing, getting things a little bit more put together. Again, it's not like we're in a hoarding situation and these are goals we have been actively working towards. All of my goals are like this in some way, and that i why I broke some of them up into steps.

Seriously, I think you are. I'll check back with you in 6 months.

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

Let's just say Mickey and I were best friends.

So far so good. Two days- no meat! I had half of a banzai burger from Red Robin (subbed Boca patty for beef) and some fries for lunch. I had homemade roasted vegetable lasagna and roasted pepper tomato soup (MacDougall's for dinner.) The lasagna was excellent. It had eggplant, red bell peppers, and roma tomatoes in it. I first roasted the veggies with garlic. I then pureed half of them. That made the "sauce". I layered the veggies, puree, noodles, and two types of cheese. It turned out very good. This was a weight watchers recipe. It was 7 points and extremely filling because the veggies really bulked it up.

For exercise, I did the Couch to 5k program and met with a trainer at Planet Fitness.

For the job stuff, I attended a resume workshop and made a resume.

As far as reading, I have finished my first book (Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs) and have started my second. I also read my Bible last night. I have a study Bible with a reading plan that does a New Testament Reading, an Old Testament Reading, and a Psalm every day.

I have also gone through and finished getting the remnants of the New Year's party out of my living room. My living room and kitchen are organized so I can check those off of the list.

Oh, and finally, I weighed in at Weight Watchers today and I was down .2! I thought I had gained over the holidays, so this was a great surprise.

 

[Jannephotog]

Good luck with your goals! I love the fact we can all back each other up via the boards.

Also, those veggies looked sooo good!

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

Well, so far so good. Teachers had a work day. Do you ever dread going back to work after a long vacation? Things have been so stressful here that I had some serious anxiety about it. But I survived!

I'm continuing to work on my Bible reading as well as my book reading. I had some lasagna and the rest of the roasted pepper tomato soup for lunch and then my husband and I went out for Thai. I had Thai tea, Panang Curry, and a coconut banana. I saved half of my curry for lunch tomorrow. I have a Weight Watchers veggie cookbook and am going to go through looking for recipes for this week. I may have some extra time to cook because most here believe that we may very well have a "way too freaking cold" day on Monday because they are calling for life threatening wind chill.

 

[Jannephotog]

Well, so far so good. Teachers had a work day. Do you ever dread going back to work after a long vacation?

Yes!

I have a Weight Watchers veggie cookbook and am going to go through looking for recipes for this week. I may have some extra time to cook because most here believe that we may very well have a "way too freaking cold" day on Monday because they are calling for life threatening wind chill.

Do you go to WW meetings? I've missed the past 4 weeks pretty much but need to get back on that...holidays can really mess with a schedule.

I'm thinking that Monday's going to be like that here too...an extra day of break would be a little bonus...esp. Since my school is about 35 minutes away & I'm apprehensive to drive if it's so wet & cold out.

Let us know which recipes you use this week- I'm loving getting to feel like a foodie when reading your posts!

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

Yes!



Do you go to WW meetings? I've missed the past 4 weeks pretty much but need to get back on that...holidays can really mess with a schedule.

I'm thinking that Monday's going to be like that here too...an extra day of break would be a little bonus...esp. Since my school is about 35 minutes away & I'm apprehensive to drive if it's so wet & cold out.

Let us know which recipes you use this week- I'm loving getting to feel like a foodie when reading your posts!

Yes, I go to meetings. I picked up the Veg Power cookbook earlier this week and tonight I made the Tofu "Steaks" with Onions and Mushrooms. I subbed baby bellas for the white mushrooms and served it with asparagus with a little butter. It was very good. Lunch was more lasagna. Tomorrow I am making the Curried Edamame with Vegetables.

I'm proud of my husband. He is a very meat and potatoes kind of guy and doesn't always like trying new stuff. Often we each make our own meals just because even when I eat meat I tend to make "exotic" stuff. Yesterday he went to a Thai restaurant with me we have been to before and he tried something new. He also tried (somewhat against his will) the cocounut banana dessert I ordered and ended up eating half of it. He tried the dinner I made tonight and he said it was "different, but not bad." we decided to use a little bit less spice next time. (I put the seasoning on both sides of the tofu and used a little more than the recipe called for because I was afraid of the tofu being bland. (I could have stuck with the 2 tbsp and been fine).

 

[Jannephotog]

I may need to check out that cookbook....are you doing fish/shrimp at all? There's a really good recipe for a shrimp based meal from another WW cookbook...crunchy fresh veggies with it, a perfect summer dish.

And totally saw where you go to WW meetings in an earlier post when I went back & reread...sorry for my short attn. span!

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

I am not doing fish or shrimp, which sucks because I love sushi. I plan on getting the sushi kit from Barnes and Noble and making some vegetable "sushi".

Here is a pic of the tofu steaks from last night:

Today I made Curried Edamame with Veggies. It was supposed to be served over rice, but I totally didn't see that part of the recipe until the food was almost done, so I put it over Israeli pearl cous cous instead. It was decent, but the curry was more like a broth than a sauce, which gave it a mild taste that simply could not compete with the veggies. Next time instead of using 2 cups of veggie broth, I will use one. (The sauce was made with green curry paste, coconut milk, veggie broth, sugar, and soy sauce.)

Tomorrow I am going to make Panang Curry Seitan (using a premade sauce). I had some leftover lasagna for dinner tonight. I am trying not to eat soy two meals in a row. I know there is concern that too much soy can cause some hormone issues. I also want to make sure I am getting a good variety to my protein sources.

I was planning to run a the gym today but between the snow and cold and starting my period early (I get absolutely nauseated and have horrible back cramps the first day) that did not happen. I will go tomorrow. We have no school!

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

I did it! My friend Ariel and I are signed up for our first 5k. I told her my resolution and she said if I ran a race she would run with me. We are both supervisors at a theme park locally and we start our season training the first weekend of March so it had to be in February. We will be running the Sweetheart 5k in Overland Park, KS on February 16th. I will definitely need to make sure that I am hitting the gym and that I also get some work in outside. Just not tomorrow!

 

[Jannephotog]

Yay! You've got a 5k no problem....I'm excited for you- plus it's awesome you've got a partner in crime! My friend who's a runner would be my running buddy but unfortunately she lives in Nashville so I rarely see her... So cool you've got someone to run with.

 

[rebeccam31]

You are taking on a lot of changes! Good for you. I would ultimately really like to do a 1/2 marathon, too, though I am not targeting that this year. And I also will not run/walk outside if it is cold (though I'll hang in the barn in cold weather--I'm aware of the disconnect ). Fortunately I have a treadmill in the basement. It bores me, but at least I'm warm...

 

[rebeccam31]

some lasagna and the rest of the roasted pepper tomato soup for lunch and then my husband and I went out for Thai. I had Thai tea, Panang Curry, and a coconut banana.

I made Thai yesterday--beef in red curry sauce with acorn squash, pineapple, and basil. It turne out pretty tasty! Our nearest Thai restaurant is 1+ hour away.

 

[rebeccam31]

I did it! My friend Ariel and I are signed up for our first 5k. I told her my resolution and she said if I ran a race she would run with me. We are both supervisors at a theme park locally and we start our season training the first weekend of March so it had to be in February. We will be running the Sweetheart 5k in Overland Park, KS on February 16th. I will definitely need to make sure that I am hitting the gym and that I also get some work in outside. Just not tomorrow!

Very cool news.

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

Did my second day of training today. Thank God for Planet Fitness. I will need to make sure to do some training outside to get used to the cold, but I will wait until they take the words "life-threatening" out of the forecast! I like how good I feel after I run. Having a date to shoot for is definitely helping me get my butt in gear.

For lunch I had the leftover Panang Curry from the Thai restaurant. I was going to try a homemade variety but did not want it two meals in a row. So I used the Sweet and Sour Seitan recipe from the Weight Watchers website. I did not have enough Seitan so I did half Seitan and half Tempeh.

As far as the job front goes, tomorrow I have my rehire interview with the theme park. I would love to go full time with them, but as we are a seasonal park there are very few opportunities and there is a long line ahead of me. I am hoping for a challenging position that will allow me to continue to grow. If I can't go full time with the park, I am hoping for another guest service position with a different company in the area. I have already started putting out feelers. I also am taking a career exploration workshop at the Missouri Career Center and might be able to get funding for a Customer Contact Professionals c

class.

 

[Jannephotog]

That is some delish looking food!

Good luck with the interview & possible job hunt. I'm on the cusp of really having to job hunt myself..so much excitement (not). But you know what, by doing these other things to make you feel better in life, it'll all pour over into different aspects of your life too, such as work. Good luck!