One month is in the books! I feel like I’ve done so much and made lots of progress but my goals are no closer to being realized…. Maybe that’s a good thing? I’ve been reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and the author said a couple things I’ve taken to heart. The first is, don’t create goals, create systems. His point was that systems for becoming better are longer lasting than setting goals. Once you reach those goals, there are no more reasons to continue working. I can attest to this as I went on salad/no carb diets for Coachella a couple times already. I lost of a lot of weight within a few months but I never maintained that level for long. I always went back to my normal lifestyle. The second point I’ve taken away is, even if you didn’t achieve your goals, that’s better than doing nothing. I used to be incredibly cynical about New Year’s resolutions and I thought there was no point in starting a resolution because you were so statistically likely to fail. However, even going to the gym once when you otherwise wouldn’t is still an improvement. And small improvements like that can add up over time.
Weight in January
I basically have made no progress on my original goal. My weight continues to hover around 180 lbs. I think this is okay. I haven’t really made a conscious effort to diet either. Many of you have said that weight isn’t the end all be all and I’m coming around to that idea. It may be more important to establish healthy habits. If I stick to those, my weight will sort itself out eventually.
Exercise in January
Because I want to focus on weight less, I’m adding another metric to my reporting, my daily exercise! Working out is something I knew I enjoyed and I have reminded myself of that this month. In January, I actively exercised for 19.5 hours, whether that be going go the gym or doing Muay Thai. It has become something that I look forward to every day and I feel anxious if I do not go. If nothing else, I have begun creating this good habit.
Meal Spend in January
Damn, my $400 spend goal got completely crushed. We missed by 100%.The official total is $800.65 for January. But even if I didn’t accomplish my goal, it’s still better than nothing! My average meal spend last year per month was $1416.67. That is a 44% reduction in meal spending! I could make adjustments, like taking away the money I spent on per diem, or dividing the meals with Hiro in half. But I think including them is more reflective of real life. I have a long way to go still but it mostly boils down to planning ahead. If I don’t have something in the fridge already and it’s late, you know I’m just going to buy something.
Accomplishments in January
Outside of my normal E(ating)&E(xercise) goals, I wanted to document what I’ve been doing in general as a motivation in other areas of my life as well.
- Started this Chuology blog!
- Found a new house to rent in Silver Spring
- Completed my Georgia Tech Online Masters of Analytics application
- Completed the 3rd course in my Systems Engineering MIT certification
- Finished reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Haiari
- Finished reading WTF? by Tim O’Reilly
- Finished reading Atomic Habits by James Clear
Failures in January
- The Kombucha website/social media never got off the ground. I’ve been making kombucha and I wanted to try and document my process as something fun but I couldn’t really think of much content and I lost motivation. I find these personal blog posts a lot more fun to do so I might bring kombucha into here some time.
Surprises in January
- Learned a new chicken recipe that is now my go to for chicken. Check it out here (https://chuology.com/2019/01/20/ee-this-isnt-how-i-go/)
- Learned how to make Chashu pork
- Bought a knife sharpening block, it’s fun!
Moving Forward
- I think my eating goals are the most obvious areas for improvement. In my first post, I said that I didn’t want to focus on new recipes and I thought it would burn me out. However, I’ve actually found it fun to discover new recipes when I make time for it. Moving forward, I’m going to try a new recipe every week. Let me know if you have any go to dishes that would be fun to try!
- I have been avoiding meal prep for some reason. I think it’s time to embrace it because there really are days during the week where it’s so much easier to pop something out of the fridge instead of starting from scratch. I’m hoping this will reduce that amount that I eat out as well. Moving forward, I’m going to decide on a new recipe on Saturday, and go out and buy ingredients and cook the meals on Sunday.
- I’ve really been enjoying exercising again and there is no downside to going more often. I’m already paying $127 for Muay Thai every month, gah. Moreover, there are convenient ways to exercise no matter where I am. If I am in New York, there’s a planet fitness gym a block away that I have been paying for since last year. If I am on travel, there’s always going to be a gym in the hotel. Moving forward, I’m going to go to actively exercise 6 times a week, up from 4 times a week originally.
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