Goal Setting and Assignments

My Sister and I have been going to a Diabetes workshop the last two weeks and have 4 more weeks to go. Each week we get a home work assignment. For this assignment we are to think of a goal that we would like to set for the upcoming week. This goal needs to be something not only achievable, but also action specific. And the following questions need to be answered: What? How much? When? How often? We also need to state our confidence level of a 7 or above.

My first goal -

What? to keep a food journal.

 How much? for a majority of my meals.

When? as soon after meal or by the end of the day.

How often? at least 5 days of the week.

The reason I choose this goal is because I wanted to see what I was eating and to be able to see if I needed to add more variety.

Well I gained some important insights from this assignment. First I learned that I did need to make sure to add a bit more variety and add things like beans and a few different veggies. I was also reminded of the importance of making healthy choices.

The surprising thing I learned actually happened yesterday morning. My battery went out on Sunday and so on Monday my son was going to take me to Walmart to get a new battery(by the way - a money saving tip - we went to Auto Zone first and the battery would have been almost 200.00. I got one at Walmart for $120.00. So shop around) Anyway it turned out that he was going to get here earlier than I had anticipated and so I ended up having to get a bowl of cereal(not a healthy breakfast for sure and you will see why soon) After we got back from getting the battery. It seemed like gradually I felt more depressed and discouraged than usual. Since I have hurt my knee I have had to take it easy - which means not doing my exercise program. I have been handling it pretty well- except yesterday it really seemed to get me down. I felt emotionally raw.
Just a plug for exercising- some awesome benefits that I have noticed and have missed.
*Exercising helps you sleep better
*Exercising helps your bodily functions happen more regularly, if you know what I mean
*Exercising gives you endorphins and helps you be happier and have a more positive outlook
*Exercise also helps you lose weight easier when paired with a healthy lifestyle

As the day progressed - I felt more discouraged, sad and down. I had a much harder time picking healthy things to eat and ate more than I needed to. This morning as I was trying to figure out why yesterday had been such a rough day for me - I then remembered that I had only eaten cereal for breakfast. Normally I eat at least 2-3 servings of fruit, some steel cut oats, homemade wheat toast, and a handful of almonds. This is a much more substantial meal and lasts a much longer time. In fact, in my diabetic workshop last week we had learned that when you eat cereal and milk - it is a whole lot of carbs and not the kind of thing that works well with your blood sugar. SO I now realize that I need to make sure that I eat a healthier breakfast- it really makes a difference for the rest of the day. This was a reminder on a small scale - but what I would like to remember and want you all to remember is that when we live a healthier lifestyle - we feel better - our bodies feel better. When we don't - we suffer. And all of those unhealthy things as much as they may appeal to our appetites will not help us feel better- in fact, it is quite the opposite. So if you want some of those not so healthy things- maybe just allow yourself something special after you have eaten a good meal. So that the healthy things you are eating way out weigh the unhealthy things. I know I am going to be doing a better job of making sure that I get good meals. I handle the entire day better when I do. :O)