Scaring the pants off myself to lose weight
I am in serious need for some inspiration, motivation or scare tactics to get me back into the healthy eating and regular exercise thang.
(Although, given Sydney’s humidity this month, how am I expected to do anything more than sit in front of the fan and complain about the humidity?)
I popped along to see Dr Joe last weekend and he’s happy with my overall weightloss (I weighed in at 85.5, meaning I’ve lost 9kg since August last year, when I was 94.5). Even though there’s a European scare over the fat pills I’m currently taking (and a fake Aussie ban, one I’ve been wanting to rant about for AGES), Joe has continued prescribing Reductil and given me another 5 nutritionist sessions for the year.
I’m too scared to go back to seeing Traci just yet!
One thing Joe mentioned – and finally explained in a way that I understood – is that the body finds it easier to burn sugars than fats. So by having sugary treats or sugar in your coffee, your body will prefer to go for the sugars, instead of the fat you’re so desperate to get rid of. But by reducing your sugar intake, your body will be forced to burn the fat. HA! Take that, lard. The information makes sense, but it was the first time the theory was explained in a way that my poor brain understood. Lightbulb!
But I still hadn’t been motivated to exercise or do more than attempt to curb my fat-people food. Usually buying something will motivate me, like new sneakers (not needed), or a new fitness/food iPhone app (again, not needed), or a Wii game (definitely not needed, though I want a dancing one!)
Then I heard the news of the Singapore study by the University of Minnesota over the course of 14 years has found that soft drinks may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Fudge. Cancer is pretty common in my family, too. Suddenly Coke and V isn’t tasting as great when I drink it. Partial win?
Then last night I watched Jamie Oliver’s TED talk from earlier this month:
While it’s focused on obesity in America, it hit pretty close to home about sugary and processed foods. My family has never very good at knowing what was healthy, and it’s already carried on to the next generation of my family. But there’s something in Jamie’s delivery in this speech that really got me. I was actually feeling pretty crabby for about an hour after watching it, just to show how powerful it is. It’s also Jamie out of his element; he’s not being a git, he’s taking deep breaths and using palm cards.
Anyone got anything scary to help motivate me?
Sharing my budget spreadsheet for #febusave
I’m a bit of a nutjob for spreadsheets.
I don’t know why.
But I like having my budget all lined up, accounted for, colour coded and formulae inserted.
Here’s a pie chart of the basics of my budget:
And here’s an overview of my budget spreadsheet:
I have one personal credit card and another that is shared with the fiancé. We’ve found the shared credit card has made life so much easier when dealing with things like electricity bills, groceries, insurance, etc. We pay off equal amounts each fortnight. We manage our salaries independently, cause we’re independent like that! We still have a ‘family meeting’ if we want to buy something big (like a sewing machine, or a new bike), but that’s more out of courtesy than being on a short leash.
I’m in charge of paying off my car loan while Dan’s in charge of improving our house deposit and paying for our interwebs bill. I put away the equivalent fortnightly amounts for regular bills like electricity, car registration and servicing, prescriptions, vet bills, etc into my ING Direct account to hold until I need it.
I chose not to get private health cover before I hit 31, but I do put away the equivalent amount into a separate ING Direct account that I have specifically for glasses, podiatrist sessions and whatever-else-hasn’t-happened-to-me-yet. I’m incredibly lucky that I have Dr Joe as my GP; he’s got me on a health care plan that gets me free dental for another two years and five visits a year to Traci, my nutritionist.
I keep track of the difference between what I earn now and what I earned 3-4 years ago and use that difference as a guide for what I can comfortably save each fortnight. This year I’m trying to add a bit more to it, roughly the equivalent of my old personal loan repayment.
I give myself a supply for ‘entertainment’ purposes (read into that as you wish!) and a bit extra cash, because not everyone is capable of keeping to an exact budget, right?
The fortnight just finished was a bit tight for the first attempt at this new, tightened budget. But I did do things like get my hair coloured and buy papercraft supplies from Spotlight (all for a good cause, I promise!). Hopefully this fortnight will be a bit easier since I’ll be keeping a closer eye on how I spend my moola.
(I just realised that this doesn’t even cover my business finances. But in a nutshell, I don’t spend what I make until after I pay the tax bill and I pay for anything I need out of my normal funds and claim it against my ABN. Seemed to work last financial year, so am trying it again this year.)
Ha! Even flickr knows of my love of all things Obama
Particularly, Obama in relation to the words
- Happiness
- Hope (bit obvious, that one)
- Smile
- Love (Love is a bit strong, though…)
- Happy
- Joy
The Spreadsheet Nazi’s challenge for #febusave
I have a #febusave confession to make.
There’s been a lot of #febusave fluff showing how many people are giving up their takeaway coffee during #febusave. Or how many people aren’t driving their car to work. Or how many people aren’t expanding their shoe collection for a WHOLE MONTH.
Of the list of sacrifices on offer, there are the ones that have no relevance to me (I don’t buy coffee), and there are ones that are absolute no-go zones (no way am I giving up driving to work and doubling my travel time in my v. fuel efficient car!).
So I’ve been trying to work out what I can do for #febusave to make an impact on my spending habits. I already put away a chunk of money each fortnight and I’m working to pay off my car loan ahead of schedule.
But it’s occurred to me; that while I have a colourful spreadsheet that has been lovingly cared for, I don’t know if the amount I allocate to each of my little sections is a true representation of my actual spend.
So I’m going to track my cash flow like I’m running the office petty cash tin. I’m going to write down every dollar I spend/transfer/etc for my next pay run (which, luckily for my ADD-inclined head, starts tomorrow!)
I’ve got a pen and notepad in my handbag (they’re always in there, but) and I’m ready to go!
Oh god, this is going to be ugly, isn’t it?
My sewing books
Unsurprisingly, my sewing adventures have come to a grinding halt!
It’s hard to find the time to sit down and get right into it in between the office job, home jobs, freelance work and life in general.
But I have *heaps* of inspiration sitting right next to me:
The Complete Book of Sewing — bought this on Fern’s recommendation!
The Sewing Book and the Complete Book of Sewing are technically quite similar in being like a sewing text book. But the way techniques are explained are quite different and makes for interesting reading.
Simple Sewing and Sew! are both gorgeous books! I keep finding myself drooling over the different projects.
All I need to do is find the time to go from inspiration to reality. Hmm, I can has a few more hours in my day?
Sharing my money history for #febusave
Then
- When I was growing up, I wasn’t taught how to deal with money. Whatever money I earned by working, claiming Austudy or taking from mum’s wallet, I spent it
- Within about three months of working full-time (about two months after I finished the HSC), I got my first credit card
- The first thing I properly saved up for was in 2000 (when I was 22) when I saved up $300 to buy a stereo from Grace Bros
- In 2001 I managed to save a whole $3,500, motivated by Dan and I planning to move in together. But we moved into a $320/week house that was too expensive for our crappy income and we eventually moved in with his mum instead
- I ended up having THREE personal loans. One was the outstanding loan for my first car (which had since become a credit card consolidation loan), the second was my holiday loan (I’d saved for the flights, but not the rest), and the third loan was for my new car
Now
- If I spend up on my credit card, I’m better able to pay it off (though I do have lapses)
- I’ve got ING Direct accounts to get higher interest on my savings
- I’ve paid off two loans ahead of schedule (one so early that the bank tried to slug extra fees with my final repayment)
- I’m down to one loan that’s due to be paid off by the end of the year, though I’m saving up to pay it off sooner
- I chose not to get private health cover, so have a separate ING Direct account and save the equivalent amount each pay. I tend to spend it if I have a bigger than usual credit card bill, but I’m improving
- I have kept a budget (a very colourful one) for a good couple of years that I have taken up a notch for 2010 and #febusave
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that I’ve improved out of sight in the last few years. But I still find it too easy to stop my auto transfers and spend money. I also have a coke habit (the canned version) and can easily throw money away on useless crap.
For #febusave, my goal is to better control my spending, hone in on my budget and set definite goals for paying off my car, having a rainy day fund (like the ones mentioned in #febusave’s money confidence survey) and finally starting to contribute to our savings for our first mortgage.
