I’ve been thinking a lot about whether I want to set “New
Year’s Resolutions” this coming year. In
the past the only resolution I’ve been able to even somewhat keep has been “no
more caffeine”. I quickly abandoned that
resolution the second the next New Year came around. As it turns out I LOVE Dr. Pepper. Having only ever really successfully
completed one resolution I hesitated to sit down and really set some serious
goals. Would it be worth my time? Am I just setting myself up to be
disappointed come February when I have failed at all of my resolutions? These are the questions I have been asking
myself as the New Year approaches.
After thinking very seriously about it, I have decided to
set some goals for 2015. I don’t want to
call them “New Year’s Resolutions” because I think that just begs to not be
accomplished. I feel like I am at the
best point so far in my life in so many different areas. I finally have a dependable job that offers
me reliable pay. I might not make a ton
of money, but I finally feel like I can set a budget and even put some money
aside for savings. I am in a very stable
relationship with the most supportive of boyfriends. He might not go to the gym with me and he
might not like every new recipe I try out but he supports me no matter
what. If I say I want to eat healthier
or want to go to the gym on a regular basis he is right there pushing me off my
lazy butt. I have a great friend who
seems to have the same fitness goals as I do.
Granted she lives in Boise but she is always there to support me in my
gym adventures, run races with, and vent to when I fall off the work out
wagon. I am in such a great place in my
life that even if I fail miserably at each and every one of these resolutions I
know I will still be happy and satisfied with my life.
So here goes. My list of goals for 2015. I have thought long and hard about this and am
only listing the most serious goals I want to accomplish.
Run a half marathon.
Kyrene (my race buddy) and I are really wanting to run the haunted half
in October 2015. We are figuring out a serious plan to make this a possibility
in the next few days. While a half
marathon might not happen this year, maybe a 10k? We have accomplished a 5k, but can always
improve and progress right?
Lose some weight!!!!
This hopefully goes hand in hand with running a half marathon. As I have previously posted, I have gone up a
couple sizes in the past year and a half or so.
Funny how that time line corresponds with how long I’ve been with John.
. . No I’m not blaming John for my
weight gain. Since starting to date John
a LOT of things in my life has changed.
I’ve had a couple different jobs, we’ve moved a couple of times, we’ve
gotten busier, etc. Now that our life
has kind of slowed down and at least stabilized a bit I think it’s a good time
to get serious about shedding those few extra pounds and just being healthier
in general. My sister-in-law gave me
some great ideas after I posted about wanting to be healthier. She has inspired me to set a menu every week,
which definitely helps me not go out to eat every night. I hope to get better about eating healthier,
going to the gym, and making smarter decisions in general. Some subsets of this goal are:
a.
Stop the soda drinking. You have no idea how much this pains me. I seriously LOVE Dr. Pepper. And I am addicted to caffeine. I get a horrible headache without it and am a
bit cranky. But soda is bad for you and
does not help with weight loss, so away it will go.
b.
Cut back on fast food. If I absolutely HAVE to go out to eat I need
to choose healthier options. But ideally
I won’t be stopping at McDonalds for chicken nuggets at all. Thank goodness fast food joints have some
decent salads these days J
c.
Go to the gym at LEAST 3 times a week. The only adjustment to this is if I decide to
go for a run outside while training for the big race. But for the most part I choose the gym over
outdoor running. Something about being
able to watch tv while on the treadmill makes working out a bit more bearable.
Save some money! I
need to assign an actual dollar amount to this
but until I sit down with my
spreadsheets and pay stubs and figure out what I can feasibly afford to save
every month I am keeping this pretty generic. I’ve been working on paying off some debt (yay
student loans!) so that’s where a lot of
my extra cash has been going. I want to
continue to keep ahead of loan payments but also put some money away for a
rainy day. I think I will focus all of
my cleaning checks on paying off debt and put any money I make in overtime at
Big Mountain into savings. Or something
like that. Like I said, I need to think this one through a little bit more.
Become a better couponer.
Yes I said it, coupons. I first
realized how much money I could save by watching Extreme Couponing. Granted that show is a bit unrealistic. But the reality is you really can save some
serious money using coupons. I have done
it myself a time or two and have watched some youtube videos featuring real
people in real situations save some serious dough. I have finally found a blog to follow that
really helps piece together great deals.
I just need to be dedicated to it in order to really reap the benefits
of couponing. I’ve been casually
couponing for the past year or so but I really think I want to delve into
this. It takes some time, but I think
the money I could save is well worth it.
We’ll see how beneficial couponing is I guess.
Alright so there you have it. My most serious goals for 2015. I really think I can keep most of these. I just need to be dedicated to it, and not
succumb to the laziness that I have fallen victim to time and time again. Hopefully Kyrene and John can help me stay
focused on the fitness goals, as those are the ones I really want to accomplish
this coming year.
I hope you all have success in any New Year’s Resolutions
you might be embarking on as well.
Hopefully we can all stay motivated and have a great 2015!
Until next time,
Tara
