I’ll be posting monthly check-ins on my 2023 Goals. This is check-in #11!
Take care of my health
TW: this one is particularly whiny about weight and mentions binge eating
I’ve felt ashamed of not making more weight loss progress in the second half of the year and then sharing it here in my monthly update, but I know you all don’t judge me or particularly care so… get out of your head, Kim. Also, I don’t “have” to share anything I don’t want to (I won’t track this here in 2024), and weight shouldn’t be (and isn’t) my only focus! But it is my main metric in this section so… I get in my head.
All that being said, this was another month where I felt out of control with my eating. And I don’t mean I had too many sweets or overate, I mean binge eating. It was disappointing to have so many struggles with it this month, when I had been doing well throughout most of the year. The most disappointing part is I cannot figure out the trigger*, other than having less structure in my life than in the earlier part of the year because of travel. I need to rewire my brain. And I need to give myself grace that I won’t unlearn 22+ years of bad habits in one. Come on, Kim.
The numbers: .9% loss for the month, 21.19% loss for the year.
I ran, walked, biked, and took strength classes at WWM this month. I had two therapy sessions, one massage, and one (good!) INR appointment. I journaled. I prioritized getting enough sleep when I could. I painted a bit more.
I will end this section on a positive! I’m excited to fit in my favorite orange winter coat again (third photo above)!
*Most research says restriction leads to bingeing, but I don’t think I am very restrictive beyond my vegan diet (for ethical reasons) and trying not to wolf down LOTS of sweets every day. Maybe I need a professional outside perspective on that though.
Spend less
(mostly tracking my two vices – sending packages and getting Starbucks)
I’m back to shipping birthday and holiday gifts, and there will be more shipping in December. I spent $10.61 and $8.81 on shipping birthday gifts to friends in the US, and $23.04 and $35.26 on shipping holiday gifts to friends in Australia. $77.72 total
January: $248.76
February: $81
March: $72.54
April: $44.40
May: $37.37
June: $99.47
July: $15.09
August: $48.86
September: $32.35
October: $0
November: $77.72
Total: $757.56
Last year: $1740
I started buying more holiday gifts this month. I’m not even going to calculate what I spent! Follow me for more financial advice, ha ha.
I went to Starbucks on 11/11 with Val and Tiff (and we used a gift card from my snis, thank you!), 11/15 at my office with coworkers, and 11/29 when I was in the office, but by myself.
Continue to purge things I don’t use from the house
I took two bags to Goodwill on the 20th.
Visit a new state with Steven
We visited two new states in October – Maine and New Hampshire!
Maine Day 1
Maine Day 2
Maine Day 3
Maine/New Hampshire Day 4
Maine Day 5
Hide a rock a day for the year
Still doing it! Just one more month, woo hoo! I think documenting this every day has put me off of documentation. Maybe that is why I didn’t take any pictures or videos at my rock class (and I really didn’t want to take any video for reels when I was in California this month). This year has really steered me away from social media. At least, the social media that takes a lot of work.
Hey Kim, I don’t know what your weight loss history is, but yes it slows over time. I also don’t know if you’re affected by seasonal depression, but just saying that the last few months of the year are not the most productive time for a lot of people. Sure there’s no harm in checking in with a professional but the crystal ball that I’m looking at says more of the same for December with a renewed focus in January. Of course you don’t have to share anything that you don’t want to yada yada and oh geez you’re still losing weight plus the “double digits that do not start with a one” loss this year. You got this girl! Plus the orange coat is cute.
Here’s to doing something every day and not documenting it;-) Or just doing something that you love a lot but not necessarily every day. I never really noticed painted rocks before reading your blog and I love it when I come across them in random places now.
Thank you for always being a much welcomed voice of reason. I appreciate you! I truly do and can’t express how much I do in words. My history is one of yo-yoing and normal eating with binge cycles so I have a huge underlying fear of going back to “binge all the time” Kim. Sigh. But you are right! This is a tough time of year! And I bet your crystal ball is right. Thanks for always cheering me on, and thanks re: my coat!
Yes!!! I am thankful that exercise got me to that point, honestly. And I am glad you see painted rocks now. Yay!!!
It’s been a hard month for me food wise too. It’s cold and dark and I’ve had a bunch of stressful stuff going on, and I always turn to food. And then once I start, it’s hard to stop! Thank you for being so honest and sharing your struggles.
You’re welcome! And I am sorry you are struggling too. How are things going now?
Weight fluctuates not just weekly but seasonally so don’t beat yourself up.. you’ve made such great progress this year and I am sure you’ll get back on track soon. It’s not always a linear journey.
I am super-impressed with the progression of your other goals. Way to go.
Thanks, I appreciate you!
I have really enjoyed your montages of hiding all the rocks. I always marvel that you go so many places – if it were me attempting to do that, all of the rocks would be at the library or the park near my house! You go so many places! I do get that it’s exhausting and you’re relieved to be at the end of the project, though.
I don’t usually talk about weight or body image (because who am I to tell anyone anything?!), but I think more than 20% loss over the year shows real consistency and a trend in the right direction and I 100% think you should be proud of yourself!
Thanks so much for saying that! A lot of them are the same places but I try to show different parts LOL.
Thank you <3 <3 <3
Have you talked to your therapist about bingeing? Or maybe a nutritionist could help! Or maybe it’s just the season – which is fine! This season may just be a harder one for you and you just have to ride the wave. And you’ll get back to it in January – I know you will!
I have! I think I need to talk to a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. Or yes, a nutritionist!
And I do feel like I am getting out of that season, thankfully! Hopefully I didn’t jinx myself just now typing that.
Wow. Just wow. You have lost 1/5 of your weight at the start of last year! And look at the smile on your face in the (yay) orange coat picture. It’s hard this time of year – my goodness, there’s no LIGHT out there – but you are doing amazing things, in my opinion.
Thank you so so much! I appreciate it! Less than 10 days until the winter solstice!