To-Do List 2011 Update

It's three months into the new year and a new To-Do list, so it's a good time to take stock and see how well I'm doing with my goals:

1. Lose weight. I wanted to lose about 10 lbs by my birthday this month, but that didn't happen. Actually, I barely lost any weight since committing to the goal over three months ago. I've been frustrated with myself because while it felt to me like I was putting in a lot of effort (cooking healthy meals with lots of vegetables, working out three times a week), it seems like it's been so hard to lose anything. 

But I did keep a journal of what I ate throughout the day for three months and I learned some things about myself: 

1) I think it's okay to eat unhealthy food when we eat out. BIG mistake, since food offered at restaurants is some of the most calorie-dense stuff around. 

2) I think it's okay to overindulge on the weekends, since I've "been good" all week. One yummy snack isn't going to hurt, but two full days of overindulgence can (and has) prevented me from losing weight. 

3) I think it's okay to overindulge on special occasions. 

When you put together each scenario where I think it's okay to eat badly or overindulge, it works out to several days a week. When I look at it this way, no wonder I haven't lost weight! Once I realized where I was going wrong, I made some changes to my eating habits that will hopefully produce some results. We'll see where I am in three more months. :)

2. Decrease Internet time. I've been successful with this. I keep my computer off during the day and give myself 15 minutes of "veg-out" time on the Web a day. 

3. Read the whole Bible again. More success here. I started off with the same reading plan I used last year, which takes the reader through the Bible in chronological order, starting at Genesis and ending in Revelation. Recently I changed to a different reading plan which takes the reader through four separate sections of scripture each day. This way, I'll get to read the gospels and wisdom books twice through the year, and the rest of the Bible once.

4. Take part in a Photo-a-Day project). Big fat fail. I stuck with it for eight days, then realized that between taking pictures, uploading then, selecting (the very few) good ones, editing them, and adding them to my Flickr account, it was really interfering with goal #2: Decreasing Internet Time. Also, it wasn't much fun when I had to put so much work into it. In the end I decided that for now, I'll just stick with taking pictures of my cute kids doing cute things and work on my photography skills when I have more time and interest on my hands.

5. Read more good books. Success! Some of the books I've read this year are Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, Intimate Issues, by Linda Dillow, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lews, Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, and I'm currently reading Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. I was given a TON of good books for my birthday. Glancing at the growing stack of To-Be-Read books throughout the day has been great motivation for me to spend more time reading.