Goals

August 19, 2017

I'm a goal setter.  But I don't weigh (that's a long story for another time) and I cannot receive frequent updates of my health statistics.  In fact, it'll be late November or so before I have either of those.  And that's probably good for me actually, so I'm not ultra focused on the numbers, taking my highs and lows from incremental changes.  So, as I go along, how do I measure or recognize change?  There are a few ways, I believe:

Clothes:  This includes fit of current clothes at intervals.  Like many people, I have a variety of sizes, mostly abandoned over time.  I'm estimating when I might be able to wear those if all goes well.   I especially have a long-sleeved, green t-shirt that I hope to be able to wear in late fall or early winter.  It's my main article of clothing to try on for measurement and has been for a while.  Once it fits, I'll wear it, and then I'll designate something else to be used as measurement through winter/early spring. 

Energy:  I think this is increasing a bit already.

Clarity:  This might be a surprise on the list, but I feel it belongs here, and I feel it happening already.  I find myself doing things ahead of time when I wasn't.  I'm planning a little better than I was, but I did improve on this about a year ago, when I felt like I drowned in minute details.  For more, I plan to add meditation on a more-regular basis to my toolbox in the near future.

Movement:  As I feel my body get a little easier to move, as it fits places better, I'll celebrate this.  And my plan at this point is to start to move my body more in September.  For one thing, the return of my part-time job means I'll stand and walk two to three hours every afternoon two days a week.  I want to add a little more time another two days, maybe three.  I've considered buying a Varidesk for my full-time office but haven't yet due to cost and also a concern.

Healthy food:  I find myself making better choices and passing on poor ones, and this seems a little easier every week.

As far as the numbers go, I have set some hopes for where those come in when I return to the doctor in November.  I am very fortunate that my health statistics aren't as bad as one might expect.  I credit this to good genes and good choices, including no meat other than poultry and seafood for decades and only seafood since December 31, 2011.  With the changes I'm making and even about a 10-15% decrease in weight, my numbers will be better in line.  I'm not looking for a miracle, but I do want improvement.

So, this woman who has spent many years of her life looking at the numeric details and statistics will set goals from one doctor's visit to another, and many of those will have nothing to do with the numbers.  This is new territory, but I head into it with lots of hope.