Creating a New Me

2020 was hard on everyone. I want to be optimistic about 2021 by creating a new me. To do this, I am going to get to my goal weight and become more productive on writing. My goal weight is to be 180 lbs from 316 lbs. I will reassess my weight goals at that point to see if I want to be smaller.

To reach my goal weight, there are a few things I am going to do. I am going to begin a high protein, low carb diet. I cannot totally cut out my carbs because of low blood sugar issues, but I can lower them to a minute amount.

One of the problem areas is my soda intake. I love drinking soda, mainly Mountain dew. I have been looking into it and find that I very much enjoy Coke Zero with Vanilla. It has no calories, carbs, or sugar. It also has a limited amount of sodium. I will also be limiting my carbonated drink intake to 2 a day.

Vegetable and fruit intake will be increased over sugary, junk food snacks. I need to branch out and make healthier choices while eating. I love broccoli and carrots. I have already been using riced cauliflower as a substitute for where a large amount of my carb intake comes from. A great joy for me is cooking. I enjoy making dishes that involve rice. Its easy on the stomach and you can do many things with it. With riced vegetables you get lower calories, and a good amount of fiber in your diet. My favorite thing is to mix it with green onions and sautéed mushrooms in a skillet. I definitely need to include more fruits in my diet.

I am also going to start going for walks everyday. My current route will be a mile. It will be a good balance of flat, uphill, and downhill. As I grow use to it I will be extending it. Once the farmer markets are open again on Saturdays I can make it a 2 mile or more walk. I am very excited to start doing this. I also enjoy lifting weights periodically and will be doing that at least 3 times a week.

Writing wise I want to do at least 500 words a day. Its not a daunting goal, but doable. If I get to 500 I can always do more than that. With how long I am at my day job, 500 words I can do during my work breaks. Writing is my greatest joy. It has helped me through some dark times in my life. I am currently working on a fantasy novel and doing the preplanning for a science fiction novel. I plan to post anthology parts on here on Vocal to give people teasers of those worlds.

I am also wanting to be less stressed this year. It is not healthy to keep that much bottled up. I will be working on creating a less stressful life for me and asking for help, rather than shouldering it all.

I have started to take inventory for my business and what I am going to need to purchase during taxes. I will be making a better attempt at making my business succeed this year and to improve business. My cousin had given me the groundwork and some ideas to help me on the marketing front. I really do want it to succeed. I have been researching different recipes for skin care products and soaps tat I want to make in my 'alchemy' area.

I want to further my education to become a trained herbalist, so that I may help people more naturally. It a main focus in my business is creating candles, skin care products, and soaps using herbs and minerals. I wish to make people feel beautiful more naturally than with chemicals and harsh dyes.

I am hoping that buy autumn I will be able to expand using my taxes and regular wages enough to where I can get the assistance of a grant or loan to expand. I have a 5 year goal to work towards having my own storefront.

Year 1- Which began last year in January. I will open a shop online and build my presence through Etsy and Facebook. I will add new items into it. It will be funded by my wages from my day job that are left over from my daily expenses (food, gas, medical, bills, etc). I will remain on this step until COVID restrictions are lifted to help maintain social distancing, that and it makes the next part a little difficult without being allowed to be at things in large groups. I will also start doing little video ads/live shows to help market my products better.

Year 2-3 - I will start attending events like fairs, conventions, crafter/grower markets. If it has become successful enough after 3 years I will move towards doing this full time and go down to part time or completely leave my day job. I will not be in this step until COVID precautions in my state have been lifted significantly.

Year 4- Depending how the last 3 years have gone, I will start putting thought into hiring a intern or a part time helper. If I go the route of the intern it will most likely be a high schooler who is interested in learning a skill like herbalism and/ or owning a craft business. The intern will eventually move to becoming a paid part time or full time depending on the need and their restrictions at school. When I was in high school that was the main thing that stuck with me about my education (that and art and writing) was business. It helped pave the way for me to be on the path I am on now and I feel like if I were to get and intern or a part time student to assist with my business; it would be giving back to that part of my life for what it gave me.

Year 5- This would mark the culmination of my efforts. With the money I had saved up over the years with my business, my previous day job, and writing, I will finally move onto to having an actual physical storefront.

After the success of that plan I will begin a new 5 year plan of using everything for the last 5 years to test the ability of the current location to be a success before expanding to a second storefront.

I have big plans for my future and they begin with me having a fresh start in 2021, putting 2020 in the past to hopefully be repressed at some point.