With 2014 coming to a close, it’s time to take a look back and see how successful I was in hitting my weight loss, wellness and fitness goals. Image courtesy of Stuart Miles and Freedigitalphoto.net.

It’s the time of the year where people start making resolutions and taking stock of their weight and health. Well, when it comes to weight loss, I prefer setting measurable goals.

The beauty of setting personal goals is that you don’t have to wait until New Year’s Day to make or revise them. As you evolve, so do your goals.

In January 2014 I set some specific weight loss, fitness, beauty and wellness goals. And every so often I re-evaluated those goals to improve habits, recalibrate expectations or make adjustments to my food and exercise plans.

So before it’s in with the new goals, let’s take a look at the old and how 2014 panned out for me.

Welcome to Onederland!

WEIGHT LOSS GOAL

Weight Loss Goal: Loose 97 lbs. and hit goal
Dec 31, 2013 – 239 lbs.
Dec. 31, 2014 – 195 lbs.
Grade: A

That puts my total weight loss at 130 lbs. or 40% of my starting body weight. Hot damn!

I know this may surprise some of you, but when it comes to weight loss I lean towards setting overly aggressive (some might say unrealistic) goals. So once a quarter as I measured my goals, I’d make adjustments (with tail humbly pressed between my legs).

So while I didn’t reach my goal, I’m still down 44 frickin’ pounds!

That is something to celebrate. I didn’t give up after a very big plateau. Yes, I lost my focus from time to time, but I just pushed through those tough times. The old me would have given up at the first sign of trouble. Plus it wasn’t pretty, but I kicked, scratched and clawed my way to Onederland. How cool is that!?!

I haven’t weighed 195 lbs. since freshman year of college. My periods are finally normal. I haven’t felt this great since…well I can’t remember when I’ve felt this healthy. So was 2014 a success on the weight loss front? Hell yeah!

Building strength was a big goal for 2014.

FITNESS GOALS

Fitness Goal 1: Run A 5K
Grade: B+

Sure I didn’t run a 5K this year, but not for lack of trying. Thanks to my knee injury, I had to stop my training. I give myself the B+ because I trained consistently, registered for two races, and smartly stopped training when I got injured. While sidelined, I did my research on running techniques, proper shoes and gear. This fat girl wants to run. And in 2015 I will what I want.

Fitness Goal 2: Lower my body fat by 10%
Grade: A

Dec 31, 2013 – 44%
Dec. 31, 2014 – 37%

I didn’t hit my goal, so why the A grade? For the same reasons I gave on my weight loss. ‘Nuff said.

Fitness Goal 3: Complete 30-Day Push-Up Challenge by March
Grade: A-

Completed. So why the A-? I did modified push ups.  Next up, regular push ups.

Fitness Goal 4: Go on 3-day bike tour of Virginia wine country
Grade: F

Didn’t happen…just too damn ambitious. A more realistic goal — try riding a non-stationary bike a few times a week.

Fitness Goal 5: Get Stronger
Grade: B

• Bench-press 50 lbs. – Success!
• Leg press 140 lbs. – Fail! Thanks to the knee injury I can do 95 lbs.
• Unmodified Push-Ups (25) – I can do 17 in a row.
• Unmodified Plank (2 minutes) – Close. I can hold the position for 85 seconds.

Fitness Goal 5: Start training for 2015 Tough Mudder
Grade: B

Started training in August. Stopped due to injury.

Which of these am I no longer taking? In 2014 I bid adieu to my blood pressure pills. Yep, I’m officially medication free, baby!

WELLNESS GOALS

Wellness Goal 1: Stop taking blood pressure pills.
Grade: A+

Doctor took me off my pills on March 27, 2014! I am medication free!

Wellness Goal 2: Get enough sleep
Grade: C

This is a work in progress. I’ve recently discovered the more active I am during the day, my insomnia goes away.

Wellness Goal 3: Consistently take vitamins
Grade: C-

This was a toughy but I finished the year strong. Since November I haven’t missed a day. But my lazy mouse tendencies prevented me from working on this sooner.

Wellness Goal 4: Start crossing off items on my Healthy Bucket List
Grade: TBD

I get an A for actually doing a healthy bucket list. I added this goal late in the year. So 2015 I start working on this in earnest.

Wellness Goal 5: No iPhone, iPad or computer after 9:00 p.m.
Grade: F-

Ugh! Why can’t I just walk away! I need to work on this for 2015.

Closing Observation
Holy cow did I set a lot of goals or what? This list doesn’t even include the results of my Everyday Beauty or Personal Goals (coming later today). Talk about a mile wide and inch deep. It’s hard to foster kick-ass habits when I’m a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

As you’ll see tomorrow, I’m paring down my goals.  In 2015 I focus on the essentials.