A Rocky Start

So, yeah. Where have I been? Not on this blog apparently.

I would like to blame my recent illness/infection which has made me think less about food/exercise and finances and more about how my head feels like it's going to explode. Even so, I have been taking some steps in the right direction.

I haven't been exercising because, well, I'm sick and just climbing the stairs at work makes me feel weak and out of breath. Sad, yes. But tonight I'm going to try to do some yoga. I've yet to break out the Wii Fit, so that's my goal this evening. Fun + Exercise = Win!

I no longer carry any credit cards. You read that right. They are tucked away someplace inaccessible so even if I can't resist the urge, I will have no means of following through on it. Hopefully by doing this I will regain some of my former willpower.

My savings account has been closed. That might be viewed as a bad thing, but actually I lost more money than I saved with that account. Every time I had to dip in it or the balance got low, they charged me an "account maintenance fee." I unfortunately had to take out $100 of the $106 I had remaining in the account to pay bills and the bank happily took the rest of it. It wasn't even at a $0 balance for a day before they closed the account. Since I was planning on doing it anyway, it didn't bother me. What does bother me is that for every penny I earned in interest from that account, they took $3. Not kidding. New plan? The old mason jar trick. Just like the credit cards, I can't use it if I don't have access to it. So, if I'm at Walmart and the money that I need for that DVD is stashed at home, I can't buy the DVD. Woohoo!

For me, this journey is all about regaining willpower. I used to have the strongest will in the world. No one could sway me from my course. And then I moved in with my then-boyfriend, now-husband and things got a lot more difficult. Before I knew it, I was in over my head. Adulthood has a way of doing that sometimes.

Goals for today:

Drink 8 glasses of water.

Work out (yoga).

Eat a nutritious dinner.

Track calories on Livestrong.com.

A Brief Introduction

Hi, my name is Brandi and I've never been very good  at talking about myself. I am, however, a bit obsessed with goal-making, especially when it comes to health and finances. Thus, the purpose of this blog is so I can share my goals with other people and perhaps offer advice (as well as receive some) on this journey to physical and financial wellness.

You've noticed the name of this blog is "Stealthy Living." I've named it this because I'm not one who is really good about sticking to a plan when it comes to eating healthy or budgeting. I'm a cheater, really. So I have to fool myself. I also have to fool my husband (whose idea of a balanced meal involves lots of red meat and very little else). I don't claim to be an expert, but I've done a lot of dieting (with success) and I've found that little changes can make a big difference. I'm applying that idea to my life as of today, Sept. 27, 2010.

Here are my goals:

• Pay off all credit card debt by February 2012.
• Lose 10 pounds or 2 inches from my waistline (I'll take either) by January 2011.
• Slowly weed out processed foods (like chips, cookies, and other junk).
• Have at least one vegetable and one fruit with every meal. 
• Limit alcohol intake to three beverages per week (or less).
• Apply for Grad School Fall 2012. (Either for a MAT or Counselor's license)
• Pay off student loans by February 2013 (this depends on whether I actually make it back to school).
• Save money that was going towards credit cards to buy a house in 2014.

That sounds pretty good to me. If you would like to join me in some goal-making, please feel free to share. Also, if you have some advice you'd like to offer, e-mail me and we'll arrange a guest post.

Here's to Stealthy Living!