Tag Archives: Personal Goals

Exercise, Food, The Numbers, Weekly Round-up

Round Up – Days 15-36 (July16 – Aug 5)

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I’m like a lot of you.  Lots of initial enthusiasm and then when life rears its head back and roars . . . well, my goals take a big back seat.

Plus, if I’m not right on top of things, I have a tendency to let things drift.  Basically, I’m lazy in certain aspects of my life.  Not all of them (even if I like to accuse myself of being totally lazy, it’s not true.)

So between drift and life stuff, here I am.  Three weeks after my last post.

Here are the numbers from the beginning, so it can be a bit clearer:

Date                 Weight        +/-            Overall +/-

7/1/14              252.7
7/8/14             247.8          -4.9               -4.9
7/15/14            246.1           -1.7                -6.6
7/22/14           248.3          +2.2                -4.4
7/29/14           247.1           -1.2                -5.6
8/5/14             247.4          + .3                 -5.3

 

Date                Body Fat        +/-          Overall +/-

7/1/14             107.9
7/8/14            104.9             -3.0              -3.0
7/15/14           104.3             –  .6              -3.6
7/22/14          105.6            +1.3                -2.3
7/29/14          103.9             -1.7              -4.0
8/5/14            104.3            +  .4              -3.6

 

Date                BMI               +/-            Overall +/-

7/1/14              42.0
7/8/14             41.2             –  .8                 –  .8
7/15/14            41.0             –  .2                 -1.0
7/22/14           41.3              + .3                 –  .7
7/29/14           41.1             –  .2                 –  .9
8/5/14             41.2             + .1                  –  .8

So what to make of these numbers.  Overall, I’ve lost some weight and most of it’s been body fat.  That’s good news.  Not a lot of weight and that’s because my diet is still fairly up and down.  Doing better with eating more fruits and veggies, but I still have my indulgences like once-a-week ice cream.  Yes, it’s time to either cut it out completely or at least for a while.  I’m almost there and that would help, no doubt.

I think the exercise is the key here, though.  The week ending 7/22 where I have a gain that’s more than just a blip on the screen – I didn’t work out hardly at all.

So for me – yes, my diet needs to be tweaked here and there and modified, but the key take-away for myself is that vigorous exercise three times a week plus the daily walking the other days is necessary to lose that week.

As to other goals – I’ll post something soon on those.  Some are doing better, definitely – Spanish has finally ramped up and I’ve been reading a fair amount.  Other things – not so much.

So I am back and I’m fine.  Like I said, life stuff can take the front seat for periods of time, but as habits are built and put in place, I’m hoping that the autopilot will kick in and I won’t revert to a sense of inner chaos in the face of life’s challenges.  I think that’s the point of this exercise for me.

So . . . as they say . . . ONWARD!

Inspiration

Putting it in Perspective

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I’m not through with my first week yet . . . but have already felt like a failure on several of my BHA goals.  Maybe they’re too big, hairy and audacious?

I don’t think so.

I think that it takes some time to develop new habits and rituals.  Some of these goals will be much easier than others, I know this.  Today I was writing in my journal and facing down my negativity.  I have a feeling I’ll be doing this a lot over the next year.

This is first week negativity – the “I should be totally perfect my first week at all this stuff” . . . even though I haven’t tried to do this many new things in one week.

Perfection is unrealistic.

Progress, however, is do-able.  I’m aiming for progress every day.  I don’t expect to hit 100% on every goal every day, or every week.  There are plenty of things that can get in the way – I could get ill, I might have a family emergency, or who knows what?

However, even if the worst happens, if it’s survivable, I can keep up with these goals at least to some extent.  I believe this, and that’s my promise to myself.  But I know I may drop below the standards some days or weeks.

That’s why accountability in this forum is so important to me.  Without it, I can just drift along and let things fall apart, which is what I’ve always done in the past.

Thanks for reading this – and I’ll keep everything in perspective today.

Yes, it’s July 4th (here in the U.S. a biggish holiday!) and we have some family stuff including hot dogs and chips and beer for some (not for me).  I’m sure I’ll enjoy the food in moderation.  I mainly plan on enjoying the people, especially seeing my two-year-old granddaughter.  She’s a cutie pie (aren’t all little girls?).

Have a wonderful holiday if you’re in the U.S. today – and stay safe.

 

 

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Countdown

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I’m counting down to July 1.  Writing this a few days ahead.

The primary goal of the blog is accountability.  What I’m trying to figure out is whether or not I can take consistent action to a better me and I will do that by being accountable to both me and you on this site.

Honesty.

Openness.

Willingness.

In 12-step programs (which I heartily endorse), these are considered the three traits one needs to recover from addictions and compulsions.

As I mentioned in my About Page, my plan is to be brutally honest in my information conveyed here.  Since I’m a real person, I’ll maintain a bit of anonymity by posting using my middle name, Suzanne (or Suzie.)

And along with being honest, I will also be open with you – what is working and what isn’t.  What I’m annoyed by, afraid of, thrilled by.  The good, the bad, and the (hopefully for not too long) “ugly.”  I will also be open to your suggestions and at least give them a listen, even if, ultimately they aren’t for me.

Lastly, I’m doing this partially as an exercise in willingness.  When we’re stuck as can happen to any of us, we’re instructed to seek out (or pray for) the willingness to be willing.  This isn’t said as a circular argument that leads nowhere, but rather is meant that sometimes we just have to be willing to entertain a new possibility to get past the stuck point and begin to move again.

Even though I endorse 12-step programs and have sat in various rooms over the years (and yes, I’m familiar enough with 12-step philosophy to borrow heavily from it occasionally), this isn’t a blog that is about 12-step per se.   They work for many people, but every goal I have isn’t necessarily going to necessitate going to a meeting.  Maybe in some cases, I’ll feel the need, but for now, I don’t.  So if you’re concerned about this blog being an online meeting somehow, nope, you don’t need to be.

How I’m hoping this blog will work is that I’ll keep track on a daily basis and post a round-up of the week probably over the weekend.  Or at least within a few days of the 7-day period.

As to some of the numbers:

  • I’ll be weighing once a week
  • I’ll be taking measurements once a month
  • I’ll be taking pictures and posting them probably less often
  • I’ll be posting blood sugar, blood pressure and other blood test results on an occasional basis, or when something changes of significance.

I suspect I’ll also have other posts that are more about how I feel about making these changes; “life” issues that I have; and things that I cannot begin to imagine at the moment.