In my recent end-of-2011 wrap up blog post ( aka replacement for Christmas letters / cards) I commented on the year that was, saying I was relieved it was soon to be over as there’d been minimal good and a fair bit of ‘bad’

I achieved SOME of the goals I set for myself, but as the year wore on, I felt more jaded and less-enthused about almost everything. While I can’t guarantee I won’t end this coming year the same way, I thought it prudent to START the year with some goals, both  short and long term. I’ll try to make them SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and with a timeframe) and check in at the end of every month to update on my progress.

Weight
1. I  will lose 5kg (11lbs) by the end of January. At least.
2. I will lose 10kg by the end of March. At least.
3. I will lose 15kg by the end of June. At least.
4. I will achieve my goal weight (yet to be determined) and maintain that weight by the end of 2012.

Fitness
1. I will settle into a sustainable exercise routine, with a minimum of three days of cardiovascular exercise each week and complemented by strength training.
I refuse to set detailed targets as my exercise is going pretty well and I’m prone to obsessing. Also I find others’ posts detailing weights they are lifting and times they are running a bit eyeroll-worthy. I apologise to those who do this because I know that it’s just a foible of my own, but for non-runners or those not wanting to weight-lift, it requires some skim-reading (as the weights / times mean nothing to me). I’m rethinking my learn to run program after a consultation with an exercise physiologist (fellow blogger, Liz) who suggested exercise I feel more comfortable with (group classes, ie. more Zumba etc) rather than exercise I spend all day dreading (ie. learning to run!). My little gym doesn’t offer a lot of alternatives, so a before-I-return-to-work task is to suss out nearby exercise classes, for which I’ll have to pay extra… but that’s okay. If I enjoy it, it’s worth it.

Food and alcohol
1. I will reduce my intake of vanilla diet coke from 1 January, with occasional bottles allowed on weekends or as a mid-week ‘treat’.
2. I will reduce my alcohol intake ensuring I am alcohol-free during the working week (unless there’s an outing planned) and including any weekend alcohol in my calorie allowances.
3. I will track calories consumed and expended DAILY.

Writing and blogging
1. Within one month (by the end of January) I’ll have done SOMETHING about transferring my blogs to my own domain names. (Worked out how to do it myself or contracted someone to do it for me!)
2. Within three months I’ll have revitalised both of my blogs – with new web designs etc.
I’m struggling a little at the moment on the blogging front. I received a negative comment on a blog post a couple of days ago and it really freaked me out. I realise I deserved it, but I guess it’s one thing for me to say I’m fucked in the head, but another thing when it comes from a stranger (although they have every right to do so as I realise that by blogging, I open myself up to it). Perhaps I need to ‘share’ a bit less. Perhaps I need to resist being a bit coy and cute (obviously erroneously thinking I’m being funny!). Perhaps I need to write more about the good and gloss over the ‘bad’.  Nevertheless, I’ve learned my lesson.

Blogging for me is about the writing. Not about ‘content’. During my consultation with Liz (mentioned above) we discussed our love of blogging. I commented on the dearth of blogs which had evolved as part of the weight loss program in which I’ve been participating. I think it’s great people are writing.

I’ve always loved writing. That’s why I blog. I don’t have a ‘novel’ in me. I don’t like short stories. Or poetry. I don’t write to share exercise or diet advice. Obviously! As although I know a bit about it after 30 years of dieting (many-a-diet, weight loss programs, losing and gaining 20+kg again and again and dietitians etc), I’m obviously no fucking good at it.

Some bloggers blog about things they are expert in… offering advice or recommendations. I write because I love writing. And at the moment, my writing is taking the form of blogging. Someone on my weight loss program recently asked if I would keep blogging when the program finished. I explained to them that this blog started a year before I started the program. And… my OTHER blog started 18 months before that. In fact, I’m kinda embarrassed I’ve been blogging so long with so little to show for it. Others have popped up and have a myriad of followers and fans, whereas… for the first 8 or so months of this blog, I only had a hit or two a month – so loath I was to self-promote. And yet, each time I discovered that someone had read it I was thrilled. SOMEONE HAD READ MY WRITING!

But I still lack confidence on the writing front. Even when it comes to my other (public) blog… I put a link on my (real) Facebook page and then later cringe wondering who the hell I think I am… that others would be interested in my musings. This more-anonymous blog has been SO much more freeing. Although I get a tad nervous about sharing my thoughts and feelings with the universe… (which obviously backfired recently), my nervousness is mostly about being judged for the way I string my words together.

Work and life
1. ONCE I reach double digits (on the scales) I will again considering a dating program (or similar). It’s been quite a few years since I last had a couple of dates (uneventful and unsuccessful as they were) and I’m tired of being single in a world of couples and families.
2. If I am offered an extension in my current job, I will broach the idea of a 4 day working week… allowing me more time for my writing. I won’t offer to do more hours in the four days, because what I’m proposing is a work-life balance issue. Rather I will live with the pay-cut and rearrange my lifestyle around it.
I’ve never had a break from work. Even now, I’m a single homeowner with a mortgage, and have always been, so less money is scary. But, I hope 2012 offers me time to reconsider my life goals. A child of my own is no longer an option (and a partner continues to be unlikely) so I have to wonder what I’m working towards.

So there you have it. Not quite as SMART as I’d been hoping… the project manager in me is a tad concerned about the measurability of some of those goals… but they are what they are. Essentially I just want to have more fun. I mean, there’s supposed to be ‘some’ fun to be had, isn’t there?

We’re a bit ahead of (most of) the rest of the world here in Oz, so I’m signing off for 2011 and hoping that 2012 is a bit less tumultuous and a bit more fulfilling. Happy New Year and thanks for visiting!