Monday, July 12, 2010

Destination #3 - Progress Update

My husband and I try to get together once a month and have a finance 'date'.  We talk about our finances, where we are, our goals, and keep each other motivated and on track to complete the goals we have together.  Of course, we don't always make it once a month, but we finally had a finance date a few weeks ago.  At the meeting before I thought we had set some concrete goals and mapped out a plan, so that was what I had been working on.  At our most recent meeting, I learned that was not the case.

It seems I pushed my own goals and values on my husband and he agreed only to make me happy.  I learned he wasn't 100% on board and that I hadn't listened to him.

I did much better at our most recent meeting.  I listened to him, discovered his goals and we worked together to come up with a new plan.  We are communicating more (and better) since then and I am so glad that we got together.

It turned in to much more than just a financial date.  I learned so much more about him, myself and our relationship.  Not all of the meeting was pretty, there was the occasional raised voice (it was mine, I admit it), but by the end were were closer and are now working together.

I am so lucky to have a patient, kind and loving huband.  I want him to know how much he means to me and that his dreams are important to me too.  I hope that I will be able to show him through word and deed how I feel.  Communication is so necessary to a healthy relationship and it's not something that I am really good at.  So, I will continue working on my communication skills!

We've already planned our next date and I think it will be great!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Destination #2 - Progress Update

I feel pretty good about the progress I've made with Destination #2.  In my original post I briefly mentioned participating in a family Biggest Loser Competition.  We weighed in for the final time recently and I was the Biggest Loser!  By eating healthy and occasionally exercising I lost 26.6 pounds.

Some family members are interested in doing a watered-down version of our competition for the summer.  So, we will take 2 weeks off (I am planning on eating chips, macaroni and cheese and drinking a lot of coke) before starting over.  I don't want to undo any of the hard work I've put in, but there have been some things I've missed.  I am hoping that I will be able to balance some of the foods I've pretty much avoided for the past 5 months and maintain my current weight (or lose some more). 

I still have a long way to go towards a healthier me, but at my journey's end I would like to be able to not avoid foods and eat what I enjoy (in moderation, of course) and maintain a healthy weight.  I think a 2 week hiatus will be a good test to see if the new habits I've developed are easy to maintain and find out what I still need to work on.  I view this as a practice period, and when I get to my goal weight I'll be able to stay there.