A brief report on my October goals. I DID make progress, but I by no means achieved perfection, or even my very moderate weight loss goal. Part of this was due to crazy work hours (I had FOUR days where I worked either all night, or had midnight to 3 a.m. meetings to attend. Plus 7 out-of- town/overnight travel days)

OCTOBER GOALS RESULTS
1. Lose 4 pounds by the end of October – Not achieved. I did make progress and I am now 2 pounds lower than when I started.
2. Keep regular and routine exercise – I DID THIS!
3. Go to the gym at least 2x per week -- I improved gym attendance but did not make it there 2x per week. October average slightly over 1x per week (up from zero in the prior 3 months)
4. Control overeating; log all food intake in my journal. -- I did MUCH better at controlling overeating, but I lapsed from this approx. 15% of the time. I logged food most of the time (dates where I was unable achieve this were work/travel related)
5. Break the afternoon snack habit -- MUCH improved. I have had occasional snacks but I have SWITCHED from unhealthy coffee shop/empty calorie snacks to fruit.
6. Limit alcohol. 2 drinks per week maximum. Work toward 1 drink. -- ACHIEVED
7. Limit eating out to social or work occasions. No eating out strictly for convenience. GREATLY improved (think I ate out 2-3 times, compared to 15+ the month before. Cooked at home at least twice as much as in prior month)
8. Get enough sleep even when working long hours. (I admit I resorted to asking my doctor for medication to help with sleeping during this tough period of very long work hours/very irregular schedule. This helped a lot. I have still been very short of sleep on occasion).

NOVEMBER GOALS
Well, I thought November would finally be the month where my work would slow down and I can get a more regular schedule and catch up on sleep and health and fitness. Wrong. My co-worker will be gone for the entire month and I have been assigned to cover her assignment as well as my own.

I STILL should be able make progress and improve. Here are my NOVEMBER GOALS!
1. Loss 4 pounds by December 2.
2. Keep regular and routine exercise.
3. Go to the gym at least 2x per week through November 18. (I leave on vacation November 18 – one week in California, and ten days in GUATEMALA!! WOO HOO! I’ll keep exercising but can’t expect to have access to a gym. I’ll be walking through Mayan ruins instead)
4. Control overeating; log all food intake in my journal or on SP logger.
5. Break the afternoon snack habit
6. Limit alcohol. 2 drinks per week maximum; 1 drink per week preferred.
7. Moderation at Thanksgiving and when traveling. Make healthy choices whenever possible – but still enjoy the new foods when traveling to a foreign country.
8. Continue to work on improved sleep. Cut down on sleep medication: 50% dose for one week; then stop regular use. Use only when necessary (goal no more than 2x per week)