SansSerif

So much for regular updates! Somehow I forgot to update this often as I should .. but that's all good! Because overall, I have great news for an update! I've maintained my goal of pushing 15,000+ steps and won my company's "health and fitness" competition! More significantly, I finally found a great new job and will soon be moving to New York. After I cash in my unused vacation days, I expect my debt to be fully paid off! Though we shall wait and see how that plays out in Manhattan .. Lots of exciting news, but hopefully I'll have a chance to update about reaching my other goals!

Late update! So these weeks have been a huge up-down. I was pretty bummed about losing out on two jobs I was applying for (one of which I probably had no business applying for anyways), so my fitness and general health took a turn for the worse. Since then, I've stepped up my game to get back to an average of 15,000 steps per day. Also trying to eat healthier - though that can be hard on a budget! Also, I somehow managed to corner myself into an interview in Brazilian Portuguese next week .. a language I haven't really spoken in two years. We'll see how that goes.

Again, an average of about 14,000 steps this past week. But I had to take a few days off because I pulled a muscle in my neck/back. So far, I'm on track for a higher daily step count this week with my daily jog around the Presidio. I've lost about 5 pounds since I started, which is 33% of my goal. I'm looking to get down to 155 and then start building muscle mass.

Thanks Guzzi. I can't thank you enough for your consistent and thoughtful support throughout my journey. It's also time for my weekly update. As expected, I averaged just under 13,000 steps/day last week. This is actually not too bad, especially considering I skipped out on my daily jogs for most of the week. My mood is better, despite absolutely bombing one of my skills assessment interviews a few hours ago. The skills assessment was a surprisingly rigorous 3 hour exam. It featured dumb logic questions like: if there are five numbered marbles in a bag, and all odd marbles are green, and marble 4 is blue, how do you end world hunger (or something like that). I think I did the worst on the maths part which had a lot of grade school era train in one direction and from the other when do they meet type questions I hadn't dealt with for years. OH WELL. I've favorited a few more jobs on my schools career page, so hopefully those processes will be free of tricky-questions. Also looking forward to investing more in my health this week.

Apparently imageshack.us doesn't allow free uploads anymore so I am out looking for a new image hosting site. But I thought I'd give a more detailed update for this week's check-in: So you'll have to take my word on this, but last week I averaged just over 17,000 steps per day. But this week, unfortunately, will probably average much fewer ~9,000. It's no surprise since I have been feeling unusually down the past few days. The job I thought I had screwed up did end up getting back to me (so much for unjustified paranoia!), and I even passed the initial phone screen and will be taking my skills assessment early next week. I also found a really interesting job in infrastructure investment (funding public projects like highways, bridges, and hospitals) that I'll be applying for this weekend. So I should be feeling really good, but reality just isn't meshing with my expectations. But on a more positive note, I'll be able to pay down another $500 in credit card debt this month. That puts me at $1,500 outstanding, and should be on track to be debt-free by June. Much thanks to the good people at Chase bank who let me get away with irresponsible spending at 0% interest. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by next check-in. We'll just have to see!

17,000 steps this past week! Much fewer per day this week .. but am also giving myself a break. I am still anxious for additional interviews this next week, but am hoping to be able to prepare myself for them.

Sooo it turns out that I responded to one of the phone screens with the wrong name (i.e. Hi [insert completely wrong name here],) ... I didn't notice and send a follow-up until later that day. And they haven't replied since. Total face palm moment, especially since it was for a job I was somewhat interested in. Woo hoo ....

Thanks for your continued support Guzzi! I really appreciate it. it's also time for my weekly check-in: I'm almost at 2 alcohol-free weeks, and I'm really feeling the benefits. No more waking up super (only kind of) groggy, and I have loads more energy. I still have moments when depressing thoughts of my past mistakes come flooding back - tempting me to take the edge off with a glass of wine or more - but I'm working on occupying myself with other things. I also realized quitting alcohol has made me hyper-sensitive to any setback, no matter how small. If I get minor criticism at work, for example, I feel like breaking down. Hopefully I'll straighten things out soon enough. My daily walks have put me way above my target of 15,000 steps per day - I'm closer to 16,000 now. Next month, I want to up it even more to about 17,000 steps a day (or half a million per month), but I also want to maximize the benefit of each step. It's not so impressive if all my steps come from walking to the kitchen and back. I also think it's time to focus on strength training. I'm not a big fan of gyms (especially since the ones nearest to my apartment have rates at $120+ per month), so I'll mainly do some push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups every day. I'll be quite content if I can get to 10 pull-ups in a row. Finally, some good news on the job front! I'll be doing a couple of phone screens next week, so I'll have to brush up on my interview/case technique. Onwards, SansSerif

So this looking for a new job thing is getting to me. Not to sound naive, but who knew job searching could be so frustrating?? Employers, I would much prefer a "you suck, sorry" note than radio silence.

About $175 per month excluding alcohol for just me. Less when I travel for work.

Looks like you're losing a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Stay on it!

That quote really speaks to me, because when I started my battle log I was thinking the exact same thing! Sounds like you have a great plan in place, and do keep us updated.

So it's a bit early for my weekly check-in, but I thought I'd give a quick update anyways. Good news: After a week of cutting out alcohol entirely, I've lost a ton of water weight and generally feel less bloated. Woohoo! Bad news: Losing all that water weight has revealed how much FAT I've gained over this past year. D: I know it's fat because it feels way more dense than the water weight I've been carrying for a while. So, with this somewhat shocking discovery, I think it's time to step up my daily step goal now rather than later - to 15,000 steps a day. I'm also taking milk thistle supplements to hopefully undo some of the damage I've incurred on my poor liver. I still feel really lethargic, but I make it a point to get out for my daily run. Right now they're more like my daily jog/walk, but I'm looking to build my stamina in the coming weeks. It's been a bit frustrating sharing my weight loss goal with others, because I definitely fall on the "skinny fat" side of the spectrum. I get a lot of rolled eyes and comments about how if I lost any more weight I'd probably float away. As somewhat encouraging/supportive that might seem, it's really not the case - my health stats (e.g., BP, blood sugar, and so on) tell a different story. And if this stubborn belly is any indication, I have a long way to go.

I'm definitely a night person, so that means I struggle to get up even at 8am on weekdays. On weekends, it's closer to noon - or maybe 11 if I want to get a head start on the day. It's frustrating because I feel like I'm the most alert around midnight, or when I try to go to sleep to get a handle on my weird sleep cycle.

Hey sounds like you had an awesome week! Keep it up, esp. with the motorcycle thing. I definitely miss having my own.