My Wellness Goal

Last year was quite an emotional rollercoaster. This year started off with the same level of intensity. The general uncertainty of political and health related issues made me realize one fundamental fact: I do not control much. However, what I can control is myself, and to a lesser extent, my home environment. Armed with this knowledge, I have resolved to improve myself to the best of my ability. I plan to become more healthy in 2021 than I was in 2020. I am a big fan of setting goals that are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and on a timeline.

My first goal, to be healthy, is very vague. So I’m going to make it more specific. I’d like to be 20 pounds lighter than I am now by December 31, 2021. I can measure this goal relatively easily by weighing myself weekly. Is this goal attainable? Yes - even if I lose less than one pound a week, I can still reach it. Is the goal relevant (meaning is it something I actually want to do): Yes! I do have a deadline so that’s that.

Now, I need to figure what steps I need to take to reach my goal. The first step is to eat less junk food. I will have to be honest about the amount of junk I eat, so I have a baseline. After that I’ll work to progressively decrease the amount of unhealthy food I eat, while increasing my consumption of fruits and vegetables. . The second step will be to drink more water. I actually like drinking water, but I just don’t do it. I drink a lot of water if I have a cup with a straw, or a bottle so I plan to buy myself a water bottle that is easy to clean, and that has a straw. If I keep sipping all day, I’ll definitely end up drinking more water. The third step would be to vary my exercise routine, and do more than Zumba. Just writing it all out like this makes it seem like a lot, but if I break it down into seasons, months, then weeks - I’ll be able to manage it.

The first part will be to record what I’m actually doing now. I won’t know what I need to change, exactly, if I’m not aware of what is happening. Most times, when I eat, I do so subconsciously - while watching TV or to pass the time while I’m bored. I have no clue how much I’m actually eating … I just snack until the show is over. I’ve tried to meal track before, and it’s kind of a pain. I’ve decided to just take a picture with my phone right before I eat, to keep a record. I’ll just start here, because food is the most important factor.

The next part is much harder, because I will have to actively stop doing something I like to do. I love eating delicious foods. I like eating fried foods. I like eating sweets. I like eating multiple servings of moderately healthy food. I like eating food at any time of the day or night. With that being said, my plan is to eat fruit when I want something sweet on most days. At night, when I get hungry I’ll eat a low carb vegetable and drink water. I also know that if I drink more water, I’ll feel more full in general.As time passes, my hope is that I will be able to spread out my cheat days as my tastes change. The first month, I’ll work my way down from three cheat days a week to two. By the end of the fourth month, I’ll try to just have one cheat day a week. From that point, I’ll just maintain it - and maybe eat better on my cheat days than in the previous months.

The exercise part of weight loss comes easy to me. Exercise is part of my lifestyle. Right now,I do Zumba two to three times a week. Unfortunately, my body is completely adjusted to this level of exercise, which means I need to do more. This month, I added swimming for a few minutes a week into my routine. I’d like to increase the time I spend swimming in five minute intervals weekly. In addition, I want to add strength or resistance training to my weekly routine as well. Youtube has a plethora of total body workouts that are thirty minutes or less. I’ll start with doing one a week, then do more as I feel comfortable. With all of this exercise, of course, I’ll need to also do some intense stretching - so I’ll try to do that at least once a week as well in the beginning, and more often as needed.

I’ve reduced my wellness goal to twenty pound weight loss, but really it represents a lifestyle change that will be beneficial to me, whether I lose the weight or not. Writing my goals down, and charting my progress is the best way for me to reach this goal.