What I Learned in Year One Part 3

Retail therapy is not actually therapeutic.

I used to shop for pleasure, but I now realize it was the same kind of instantaneous pleasure I got from eating an entire bag on mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. It felt euphoric for a bit and I loved everything I bought, but then the guilt would settle in and I would start to worry about the debt I had added to my credit cards and wonder how I was going to pay the bills.

A whole year with no credit cards and I never once had that feeling (about shopping, the peanut butter cups are still an issue). Everything I bought over the year (and believe me I still shopped) I paid for with cash, either budgeted or gift money, and I did not once feel guilty about anything.

Also, shopping is now a real treat. I plan for my shopping outings and try to make the most out of them. They are no longer binge shopping trips.

It is hard to isolate the things that happened this past year that have lead to my overall better sense of contentment, but this is definitely one of them.

What I Learned in Year One Part 2

I cannot eliminate entire foods from my diet, no matter how bad they are for me.


I went over 5 months without eating anything deep-fried, and I was disappointed in myself for falling off the fried wagon, but it is truly unreasonable to imagine not eating certain things ever again.

I wish I could give up candy as there are many more delicious dessert delicacies I would rather waste my calories on, but I just cannot seem to do it.

I did succeed in finding a few dessert-type items that were less destructive than others (fat free pudding, York peppermint patties and ginger snaps) to satisfy an every day need.

Any successes in cutting out a bad diet staple out there?

What I Learned in Year One Part 1

I learned a lot about myself this past year, this week I will revisit a few of the big things in hopes of reviving my success.

I made some big changes in my life last year, but I learned in the past couple of months that all those changes are useless if I am not faithful in writing it all down.

Starting today I am back to a food and budget journal and will attempt to log all calories and spending. It will definitely be harder this time around as my life is so much busier than it was at this time last year.

Last year I used Fit Day online for my food journal and did all budget recording on an Excel spreadsheet. If anyone has any cool new user-friendly websites or apps please send them along!

Year 2: Electric Boogaloo

I know, I know, I promised to blog more often back in June and it is now nearly September, I am terrible. For years I have wanted a new job, those of you that know me are well aware of that.

I got an incredibly challenging new job in May and while I love it, it has completely taken over my life and messed with my diet and my budget.

I am working 16 hour days and traveling a ton, so I eat whatever I want and have $800 in expenses due in reimbursement which is messing with my carefully balanced budget.

I do not see this schedule slowing down, so now the challenge is how to find time to work out and how best to plan for healthy eating options instead of constant take out and frozen meals. I also have to cut back so I can save a little extra to make these business expenses less of a burden.

It has been just over a year since I started this blog, time really does fly. Year 2 will be a re-visioning of the plan, fitting it to my new life and trying not to run myself into the ground at every level. Hang on, it is going to be a bumpy ride!