My August goals are:

[ ] Pay sister back $800
[ ] Contribute any snowflakes/extras to EF - Build $200 in EF
[ ] Bring lunch to work every day - I am usually pretty good about this
[ ] Don't gamble
[ ] Follow zero-based budget and send everything over to CCs
[ ] Walk 4x/week
[ ] Go to the gym 4x/week

I get a free subscription to Weight Watchers through my workplace. I have attempted to do Weight Watchers in the past, and have discovered that keeping track of everything I eat and counting points is just not a sustainable sort of lifestyle for me – I always give up because it is too time consuming. Also, I don’t know how much I buy into their philosophy of using a formula for point-tracking that does not take into account a bunch of personal factors that impact weight and health. Since WW is the #1 weight loss program in the world, I assume that this works for many many people out there –just not for me. However, I do like the part of WW where you have to go in and get weighed every week – it keeps you sort of accountable in a way when someone is weighing you in each week. So, although I don’t count points, I do weigh in each week. I occasionally attend meetings too.

I attended a meeting this past weekend where the leader said that when you start getting in control of one part of your life, you start getting in control of other parts as well. She said that as people lose weight and start getting closer to their goal weight, they also tend to get more in control of things such as finances. Following this theory, the converse must be true as well – if you are more in control of finances, you also are more in control of weight-loss and health. I must try this out and see if it works for me.

In reading blogs on SA, I see that lots of the savers on here also have weight-loss goals. And it appears that being frugal and budgeting is also conducive to healthier eating habits such as eating at home, making food from scratch, avoiding expensive junk foods, and reducing impulsive food purchases. I am currently healthy overall (at my last doctor’s visit), but I am overweight and at risk for many things including diabetes (which runs in my family). My doctor has advised me to exercise more and lose more weight. But I hate exercising. However, according to the theory of the WW leader, I will find it easier to work towards the weight loss goals if I use the momentum from the personal finance management goals. So, I am going to use this as a forum to also log progress towards weight management. Also, ultimately losing weight will probably also help me save money on medical bills and can be viewed as a financial goal as well. Wish me luck! I would also appreciate any advice/feedback from other SA bloggers who tackle both goals at once.