New Years Resolutions

Last year I surprisingly followed through with my resolution of losing over 100 pounds. I'm quite certain I was able to accomplish this by not setting some ridiculous unattainable goal that I wasn't even in the ball park of reaching. I simply told myself I was going to eat the foods I loved, and cut back. Seems pretty simple right? Well, walla, a year later and 100 pounds gone. All because I was rational with myself.

I see so many people making these goals that are hardly in their reach. I'm a dreamer, so of course I believe hardly anything is impossible, but I'm not naive to the fact that some things just probably are not going to happen. Whenever New Years rolls around, I see people who despise the gym dedicating themselves to going five times a week. I hear people who love fast food and soda like mwah, swear off it for a year. It's all fine and dandy for a week or two...But it's just not sustainable. I like to keep my goals within reach so I can actually attain them and feel accomplished at the end of the day. Throughout meeting this goal, I've grown to know myself and my limits a lot more, so I definitely think that's helping me with making my current New Years Resolutions. They're actually more like mini-goals.

• Resolution Numero Uno:
  Find a way to obtain more money for school.
  
  It's been a bitch for me to find any money for school. My family is middle class, so I can't really get any benefits. Last time I checked, my mom literally only made a grand over the FAFSA limit. They gave me a grant last year of 300 dollars. Thanks for covering a book and a T-shirt. *Rolls Eyes* I'm going to have to find a way to pursue my degree without grants. Scholarships are an option, but I'm leaning more towards loans. My mom would have to cosign since I'm under 25, and she's extremely leery about the whole loan option, but I need to get through school. I really don't want to work right now, I want to learn. I have such a passion for learning. I love every minute of it. I miss everything about school....Even the homework and dreaded BlackBoard. I have enough money in bonds to go for one class January 23rd, so I'm excited about that...I just need to find a way to get even more money to continue classes.

• Resolution Numero Dos
  Maintain the Weight Loss
  
  Believe it or not, I'm less worried about this goal. Everyone gets all hyped up about maintaining their weight after losing it like it's some new project they need to perfect. I guess it would be if I had of gone on one of those fad diets. Then again, I wouldn't have gotten this far. Luckily, I created a new lifestyle for myself, so I don't really have to change anything that I've been doing in the past two years to maintain the weight loss. I eat 1500 calories per day now, weigh in everyday, and just watch what I eat. With maintaining comes the same exact process except eating 200 calories more or so. A lot of people have the mentality of, "I lost the weight, pig out time!" I know that's not the case. I've created such a sustainable lifestyle for myself that there is not much I need to change in order to keep the weight off. That's definitely why they say it's all about lifestyle changes and not diets...Because you not only lose the weight at a consistent pace, but you keep it off afterwards. Not one bone in my body has any desire to go back to the way I was eating before, since I still allow myself to have anything I want. I still eat fast food, I still eat take out, I still eat greasy and sweet foods...I just monitor it.