FAILFAILFAILFAIL

A look back at 2014...two months later.

On December 31, 2013, I made these "resolutions": 

1. Keep a food diary

2. Keep a spending diary

3. January

     A. Vegan diet Jan. 5-25

     B. Only drink 1X/week

4. Say no more often - even to yourself!

5. Gym at least 3X/week: cardio 3X, arms, legs, abs

6. Read at least one book per month - alternate fiction, non-fiction

7. Start a positivity jar

8. Try something new each month

9. STICK TO MEAL PLAN AND SHOPPING LISTS!

10. AM: News? Vits, supplements

      PM: Moisturize, brush, floss, rinse

11. Write everyday

+ 1 other that I am going to keep private. Gotta save something for myself!

Gosh, I was cute back then. So naive. So innocent. So idealistic. 

I've failed at most of these.

1: I've been using MyFitnessPal almost every day, but I fell off for about a week and I'm about to give up until Monday again. There have been many days when I counted calories, but went way, way, way over my limit, which kind of defeats the purpose. Plus I've gained back half the weight that I lost and I'm on track to gaining the other half, too.

2: I've been pretty good about this since January, although it's easy to forget transactions when I don't get a receipt or when I pay cash (I typically only keep track of ATM withdrawals and debit card usage). However, just because I'm writing down my spending habits doesn't mean I'm sticking to any sort of budget or saving my money. And I certainly haven't been keeping track of credit card purchases. Again, the purpose has been defeated. I'm still counting down the days until the next pay day...sometimes on pay day.

I'm like...

When I should be like...

3. A) We know by now that my vegan experiment was - generally - a success. However, since the Super Bowl, I've had a very hard time being disciplined enough not to cheat - often - when I'm hanging out with friends. I've been more social than usual and dining out more often this month, which increases the challenge. And even when I'm keeping vegan, that doesn't mean I'm keeping within my calorie goals (like last night's 3 vegan tacos, margaritas, and a giant vegan chipwich). 

B) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That lasted until I had a 3-day weekend for Martin Luther King Day. I have a dream that one day craft beer will be low in calories.

Some days after work, I'd think

But I'd resist. And then on Friday, I'd be like

And then, even though I reached my one day quota, on Saturday, I'd say

And then eventually, work days turned into this:

...leading me to this:

4. I haven't really been keeping track of this one. I feel spread very thin, so I'm probably not practicing this one, either. I think the only thing I've said no to is the gym.

5. ...speaking of the gym. I think I've gone 3 times this year. I'm too tired and I feel like I never even get the chance to sit down. Plus, if I don't start on a Monday, the entire week is shot.

6. So far, so good, but I know that I am not going to finish my current read in the next 2 days. UGH. Check off another failure.

7. I contributed to my positivity jar until early February. Most of my notes were stupid and in order to remember where I left off, I'd have to dump them all out and read them. Meh. 

http://jubilantlybeautiful.wordpress.com/

I also started a money jar, although I never made that an "official" resolution. However, when I left my wallet at work, I "borrowed" from the money jar to buy beer and vegan cupcakes. I never paid it back or added more cash and now I owe it $45.

8. Remember when I signed up for a Constitutional Law course at Yale on Courseara? I've deleted every e-mail they've sent me. I don't think I've tried anything new this year, unless foods count. Oh wait, that's kind of a lie. Also, blogging and letting people actually read it is something new. Okay, so I've kind of succeeded at this one.

9. I will never stick to meal plans and shopping lists. First of all, they suck to make. Secondly, meal plans are hard when my days - and my cravings - are unpredictable. Something that tastes delicious on Tuesday may sound unappetizing on Wednesday. And how am I supposed to resist things like cookie dough and marshmallow Oreos? I'm clearly never going to put those on my shopping list, but when they are on sale for 2/$6, they're going in my cart. (Oreos are vegan, BTW).

10. I rarely have time to turn on the news in the morning and I stopped taking vitamins because they were making me nauseated. I will moisturize my face at night when it feels dry, but I somehow missed a nightly brush-floss-rinse session and I never got back into the habit. I fail at hygiene, too. I know, I'm gross. I'm going to be a wrinkly toothless old woman.

11. I had been journaling every night before bed, but it was more like a logbook of my "progress." Then I figured that blogging every day certainly counted as writing. And then I even got lazy with this and I'm not blogging every day. Doing something compulsory every day makes it feel like work and I want to keep this fun.