Resolutions Follow-Up

I've been doing a fairly poor job of following through on my previously posted resolutions, but I have made a little bit of progress, at least in the realm of my eating habits. I've been off processed foods for over twenty-four hours after gradually phasing them out since Wednesday. I had cold/flu symptoms on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, and I decided it was time to go back on the "Eat to Live" plan and try to eliminate my extra body weight, boost my energy, and bolster my immune system.

When I weighed myself on Wednesday I was at 161.4 pounds, 21.4 pounds above my ideal weight. This means I've gained at least 15 pounds since last spring, and I'm lucky I've only gained that much given my near complete lack of food discipline. The effects on my overall health have undoubtedly been greater than the pounds themselves, especially given the fact this is the fourth time I've had to take off work due to illness since November.

I've been off caffeine since Friday and I haven't had alcohol in at least a week. If I didn't feel like taking a nap, I might go into more detail about what I've been eating, but what I'll tell you for now is I ate two pounds of turnip greens yesterday, I'm eating at least a pound of fresh-fruit sorbet everyday, and my favorite restaurant in Austin right now is Casa De Luz, with the downtown Whole Foods' Greens, Beans, and Grains a close second.

I haven't been working out that much, though I have been to the gym three or four times this month, which is three or four more times than I went the previous two months. I'm putting off education until I'm more financially stable.

I have not read an entire book yet this year, but I'm a chapter away from finishing Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live, and even though it's my third time reading it, I'm still going to count. I didn't stipulate that the fifty had to be new books. With respect to learning Spanish, I had started listening to Spanish-language radio and I bought a few old Spanish textbooks, but I've put any serious study on hold until I've settled into my new diet completely.

There was a Scrabble tournament in Dallas last weekend, but I am not in a position to be traveling for recreational purposes. I also haven't been playing much Scrabble, so I don't have much confidence in my game. I'll check the Scrabble calendar and pick a tournament for later in the year and hopefully get a lot more practice in before then.

Ugh, I just checked the calendar. There was actually a tournament in Austin yesterday. They seem to have them on the last Saturday of every month though, so I'll have my chances.

This post is exhausting me. I'll write updates on the other resolutions when I'm not feeling tired. I did not get enough sleep last night. Maybe I should add a minimum amount of rest to my resolutions list.

Resolutions

This might be more appropriate for my "Stephen Can't Run Good" blog since both this post and that blog deal primarily with goal-setting, but I really prefer the title of this blog in general and I'm trying to stick with putting all my writing on one. So yes, I have some resolutions. I figured that publishing them would make them more likely to stick. As far as I know, I have never actually followed through on a single New Year's resolution in my life. Somehow this has inspired me to be even more unreasonably ambitious in my goals.

Because my resolution ideas are rough and multifarious, I decided I should categorize them. I think twelve is a nice number, as there are twelve months in a year.

Health

• Phase out all processed foods (especially flour, sugar, oil, salt, alcohol, caffeine)
• Work out every day (at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity)
• Strive to maintain a weight of 140 pounds (considered "ideal" by Dr. Fuhrman for my height, and it's the weight I hovered around after I cut out unprocessed foods for a few months early last year)

Academics

• Enroll in ACC program to complete my CDA (Child Development Associate) certificate
• Finish my teacher certification
• Re-take the LSAT and consider applying again for law school

Intellectual

• Read 50 books (I'll really have to find ways to make myself accountable on this one if I have any hope of completing it. I'm starting with Peter Singer's Animal Liberation since I just found it on a bookshelf and it's one I should have read by now.)
• Learn Spanish (My hope would be to learn enough to pass an exam to be a translator.)
• Enter an official Scrabble tournament and win at least one match

Creative

• Write a novel of at least 50,000 words
• Learn to play the guitar (I'm not sure how to define success with this. Maybe someone who plays could give me a more specific modest goal.)
• Paint something I wouldn't be embarrassed to keep in my living room

Athletics

• Increase my bowling average to 200 by the end of the year and lead my team to the playoffs in my league
• Play enough basketball that I wouldn't be afraid to participate in a pick-up game in my neighborhood (Riverside/Montopolis area)
•  Place in a disc golf tournament (There's one every Saturday at Waterloo.)

So that was 15 resolutions. I made them specific and measurable. I was going to write in more detail about these goals, and maybe throw in some other unrelated musings, but I'm tired now.

I can take concrete steps on two of these before bed. I'm not going to eat anything else today (therefore nothing processed) and I'm going to read Animal Liberation as I fall asleep.

I, Stephen Bollich, hereby declare today, January 3, the first day of the year.