5 Ways To Achieve Your #3YearGoals

5 Ways To Achieve Your #3YearGoals

When I first introduced the topic of contraception and my #3YearGoals back in March, I was so pleasantly surprised at all the positive feedback I received from you guys either here on the blog, on Instagram or in person. That’s why I think this campaign has been so successful – because it speaks the truth. As women, we have to deal with the pressures of being equal citizens in the workplace as well as our more tradition role as mothers, and most importantly, the getting enough time to feed our souls. How do you do it all? 

The answer: PLANNING!

Of course, a plan is only there to keep you on track. If the opportunity to move to Spain should arise or you fall in love, or both, don’t reject it just because it wasn’t part of your plan! Did you ever think that by opening ourselves up to the possibilities of ambition we actually invite opportunities into our lives? I firmly believe that! I mean, things haven’t been going for me as planned for a while – and I couldn’t be happier! LOL.

OK, so here are 5 tips you should consider when making a plan to achieve your #3YearGoals:

  1. Write your goals down, and more importantly, READ them every single day. Add to the list. You have the power to create your own life.
  2. Share your goals. Tell someone you love about your goals and get them excited about it! When you achieve something it’s always nice to have that person who has been cheering you on the whole time.
  3. Do something. Just pick one thing on your list and start to put it into action. It’s fun to think about goals but it’s even more fun to actually do something. Do something!!!!
  4. Identify the demons, put them in a box, and throw away the key. Nothing in life is easy breezy – there are going to be obstacles in your way. Take some time to identify what those obstacles might be and how you’re going to overcome them. Stay positive!
  5. Talk to a professional. I’m always talking to healthcare professionals from doctors to psychologists about my life plans. A psychologist helps you not to become a different person, but to accept the person you truly are and learn to love that person. A family doctor or OBGYN is also key at this stage in your life. You want to be having conversations about the future – your doctor can give you the best advice about contraception – not your girlfriends. (If I listened to my girlfriends I would probably have 3 kids by now with their pull-out and do the jig five times around the room or you can’t get pregnant if you’re on your period or if you don’t orgasm, shoddy birth control methods). Head to www.birthcontrolfore.ca for more info on this!

If you’re too busy to book in an appointment with your family doctor anytime soon, don’t worry. I’ve asked a healthcare professional, Dr. Palmay, a few of my own questions for the purpose of this post. Here’s what Dr. Palmay has to say about contraception and how to plan your #3YearGoals:

Justine: What is one of the biggest myths surrounding birth control?

Dr. Palmay: All birth control is equally as effective

Canadians have unprecedented choices in birth control options, which can make things confusing.  Most patients in Canada use the combined birth control pill, however are likely not aware that the pills is not the most effective form of pregnancy factors (due to missed pills, taking pills late and other extraneous factors that may decrease compliance).  Consider other non-daily options such as a patch, ring or IUD and ask your primary care physician about the effectiveness of each. You will be surprised!

J: Someone once told me that women who are on the pill for a long time have a lower chance of conceiving when they get off it. True or false?

Dr. P:  False

As a doctor who has a young female practice, I am constantly asked if being on hormones for a long duration will affect future fertility.  Understandably, wanting to have a child is a huge area of concern for a patient population who chooses to conceive later in life, but hormonal birth control does not affect fertility in the least.  Speak to your health care provider regarding your fertility questions and to recommend when to stop your birth control prior to attempting to conceive.

J: Is it OK to skip your period by taking your birth control continuously? How often can you do this? Are their other options?

Dr. P: Yes.  I often have discussions with patients about this. Not one answer exists for each patient and it depends on that type of birth control you are using.  We have some pills that only give women a period four times a year!   If you plan to skip your period for a specific event (e.g wedding, vacation), it is essential to plan ahead.  Speak to your health care provider regarding options available to you.

J: Do you think women are embarrassed to ask their doctors about going on the pill?

Dr. P: Statistics tell us that this is the case, which breaks my heart!  A wonderful study sponsored by Bayer (Truth Report) proved that most millennials are getting their health information, including birth control, from the internet and often from unreliable sources. What is even more striking is that the women interviewed in the study admitted that they knew that the information wasn’t credible!   I try my best to open up the discussion about birth control with every sexually active woman I know, but I am sure that I forget to do so some of the time!   My advice to all women is to advocate for you and know that there are no stupid questions. If you feel that you can’t open the discussion with your health care provider, it’s time to find somebody new!

J: To get personal, I am thirty years old and I would like to have a baby in 3 or 4 years from now. I’ve been on birth control most of my adult life but I recently stopped because I hated taking a pill every day at the same time, and I always forgot to take it. Plus, I’m scared that taking birth control might lower my chances of getting pregnant later. However, I still need some form of contraception that is safe and doesn’t require me to think about it all the time. What would you recommend in terms of a plan of action? And how much time do I need to realistically plan ahead for in order to get pregnant?

Dr. P: All great questions and some that I answer regularly in my practice.

Firstly, birth control use DOES NOT cause infertility.   As a doctor who has a young female practice, I am constantly asked if being on hormones for a long duration will affect future fertility.  Understandably, wanting to have a child is a huge area of concern for a patient population who chooses to conceive later in life, but hormonal birth control does not affect fertility in the least. 

If you can’t remember to take a pill the same time every day, explore other non-daily long acting birth control options. The ring, patch and IUS eliminate the stress of being married to taking your pill the same time every day.

I generally recommend speaking to your doctor 6 to 12 months prior to starting to conceive. Make sure your pap is updated and basic bloodwork (CBC, TSH, b12, ferritin) are all normal. Remember that the test of fertility is trying and there is not one single blood test that can determine if you are fertile.

J: What are some of the benefits of being on birth control?

-cycle regulation (because NOBODY likes a surprise period when wearing white pants!)

-makes periods less painful

-makes periods lighter and as a result, can help prevent iron deficiency

-minimizes mood related PMS symptoms

-acne control

***

I’d love to know what some of your #3YearGoals are and if you have any experience with other types of birth control other than the pill (which is the only experience I have). Leave a comment below and let’s talk about it! I hope you feel like this is a safe place where we can talk about being super women! xoxo J

 

 

 

This post was sponsored by birthcontrolforme.ca, however the opinions on the topic are my own.

10 Comments

  1. May 17, 2016 / 12:34 pm

    My #3yeargoal is to buy a home in the city instead of renting (which feels like a pipe dream but I’m going to try writing it down and reading it everyday as you recommend–we need all the help we can get! :)

    As for birth control, my friend swears by her IUD but they make me squeamish.

    • Justine Iaboni
      May 17, 2016 / 12:38 pm

      OMG two of my friends got IUDs recently. One says it was fine, the other said it was the worst experience of her life LOL. IDK

      I think the home goal is an amazing one to have, and you’re right, the market is CRAY! But you never know what will happen. If you believe it, you will achieve it! xoxoxo J

  2. Jocellyn
    May 18, 2016 / 8:13 am

    I’m 4 months sober, and after a few years of daily, heavy, drinking i am learning to take each day at a time. It’s so easy for me to get stuck in my head and obsess over the little details (analysis paralysis), which I’ve learned is pretty common with fellow alcoholics. Thinking long term gets me stuck up there, and sadly does me no favors.

    So, for once in my life, as strange as it seems, I’m only planning one day at a time, so my goals are really abstract. In 3 years I hope to still be sober. I hope to be content. I hope to be wherever I’m supposed to be, regardless of whether it’s in a home I bought, across the ocean, or with a partner Or alone! Preferably not in jail, though ?

    The one thing in pretty stinking sure of is still being on my arm implant birth control. Lasts for 3 years (I’m due in March of ’17), I have no periods, and I only gained a few pounds on it ? Wins all around.

    • Justine Iaboni
      May 18, 2016 / 8:33 am

      Hey Jocellyn,

      Thanks so much for being so candid. Thank you for sharing that with me and everyone here! You are such a brave person. And I think that totally speaks to one aspect of how to achieve goals – by being accountable, by sharing. There is much more work as you’ve alluded to here that goes on internally when nobody else is around or when nobody else seems to care. You’re amazing and I’m sure the years to come will be some of the best of your life!

      ARM IMPLANT BIRTH CONTROL THOUGH? What the heck is that? Sounds like some weird Sci-Fi thing. Ah wait, I’ve heard of this like a few years ago that they were gonna do microchip BC. It actually became a thing eh? Is it expensive? Painful?

      Do tell!

      xo
      J

      • Jocellyn
        May 18, 2016 / 11:15 am

        Thank you for your kind words!

        But, the arm implant. It is a bit weird! There are 2 versions and they’re called implanon and nexplon (one has progestin the other doesn’t.)I never heard about them until I had to switch off a certain kind of pill that I’d been on since I was 16. I went to a Planned Parenthood and they’re known for being laid back and cool so it’s no surprise they suggested it. I could see a family practitioner not being as forth coming with alternative methods.

        The numbing shot is bit painful, but the insertion isn’t. Removal I’m sure will be the same. If you have health insurance it’s free, and even if you don’t it’s only $500-700 and that lasts 3 years. Compare that to people who have non-generic pills AND health insurance who can pay upwards of $90 per month, that’s a huge steal if it works for your body. Yeahhhh U.S. Healthcare system…

  3. May 18, 2016 / 2:10 pm

    My #3yeargoal plan is to enjoy life more, be happy and appreciate the moments! I’m pretty young and the other I cane to the realization that I have just existing as opposed to living and sad as it my seem, it made me break down and put a lot of things into perspective! I have also battled with failed relationships which have in no way helped my self esteem issues in the past but I think I am better now and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as I can.

    As for birth control, I have never been on any, not even the pills and I am one of those girls that took the “weird pull-out and do the jig five times around the room” advice from their gfs mostly because I was scared of anything BC. I think as I’m growing older, it’s time to have a rethink on that.

    P.S I’m a new reader on here and I absolutely love your blog!

    • Justine Iaboni
      May 18, 2016 / 5:47 pm

      Hey Alma,

      Thanks so much for sharing your goals here and for stopping by the blog! I’m so glad you love it :)

      We all go through moments where it seems like everything around us is falling apart (I just had a brief moment of that this afternoon, actually). It’s part of life. I think the most important thing, though, is in fact to be able to examine how you’re living life. Are you happy? Are you just numb and going through the motions? It can be painful to realize that you didn’t take care of yourself or put yourself first in a certain situation in your past (be it relationships or career, etc). But don’t beat yourself up over it. Life is too short! I’m glad to hear that you’re moving upwards and getting some confidence back.

      As for failed relationships, I’ve had my share, too. At the end of the day, I realized that even though the relationship failed, it was an opportunity to learn something new about myself. Like that I stay in things way too long – but you know what? That’s actually a good quality. It means I don’t give up easily and put a lot of pride into everything that I do. Even when it hurts.

      There are so many BC options out there as I’m learning too. Jocellyn (the commenter above) actually has micro-chip BC! That’s wild. I say talk to your doctor and find something that works for you. It’s not so scary once you get used to it. I was on the pill for over 10 years. But now I think I’m leaning towards an IUD until I’m ready to have kids.

      Have a lovely evening! xoxo J

  4. Sarah
    May 18, 2016 / 10:39 pm

    Love, love, love this post! Mostly because I went off the pill in January after being on it for almost 10 years…. !!! I actually wanted to try hormone free and see if that would affect how I feel. I’ve heard the pill impacts your sex drive so I was interested to see what the outcome might be. I noticed immediately that my skin broke out and I was super moody (hello 16 again, not fun) but that balanced out shortly after. All in all everything else remained normal ( including my period, sex drive ect. ) which was reassuring somehow. I think I’ll probably stay off the pill given my #3yearsgoals might include littles soon …..but as a previous post comment said, very much love day-by-day too! XO

    • Justine Iaboni
      May 19, 2016 / 6:14 pm

      Hey Sarah! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your personal story. I love that! It’s so nice to know that there are other women out there that I’ve never met, but have experienced similar things. I was a LOONEY TOON when I first got off the pill. It was an emotional rollercoaster. One minute I would be crying. The next I would be laughing. Then I would be yelling…. My poor boyfriend.

      Things have balanced out for me, too. I might still get the IUD – depends on price I think. It would be nice not to have my period for a while, as I write this, on my first day of my cycle. RAWR. Hope to chat with you again soon here! xoxo J

  5. July 19, 2016 / 4:08 am

    This design is wicked! You most certainly know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almaHt…soHa!) Great job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

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