Thought I better go ahead and get this started for the coming week while I'm thinking about it.
How are you feeling about your work so far on your habits? Mostly positive, I hope! I've been really happy to see some of you shifting your goals as you realize you want to work on something different or in a different way. Just because you started week 1 with a goal doesn't mean you need to finish with it if it isn't working for you!
Isn't it amazing how sometimes a bad habit or routine feels necessary or justified and then, once you get yourself out of it for a few weeks, you realize it really isn't necessary at all? I love that feeling!
Let us hear how you're doing!
Goals: 1. Exercise-Cardio: 2-3 walking or DVD cardio workouts per week. 2. Exercise-Weights/Toning: 1-2 weight plus 1 toning workout per week. 3. Food: Increase veggie servings back to where they were. 4. Behavior: Reduce sweets.
Posts: 7233 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
making peace with my body is up there as one of the hardest things i have ever had to do. i was reading my journal the other day and i read an entry dated back in 2003 "when did i start this war with my body?" so i know, i had awareness back in 2003. it is still a battle.
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
I've never been "friends" with my body. It's betrayed me and disappointed me many times, and I've treated it badly in return. Now I'm finally trying to treat it better, only to have it do a number on me. Sigh. I haven't figured "it" out yet.
****************** “The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.”
I apologise if I sound whiny. I know many people deal with all kinds of medical stuff on a daily basis. I need to get my head around this thing but I'm not quite there yet.
I don't think you sound whiny. Not everyone feels the same way, but I really felt like my body let me down--that it betrayed me, really--when I got a cancer diagnosis. I was really, really upset with "it", as an entirely separate entity. One of the best activities I did was writing it a letter. "I feed you good, I take you to the doctor regularly, and THIS is the thanks I get?"
I can very much relate as well. I do everything I'm supposed to be doing to take good care of myself and I've had major health issues and there have been many times that I've been very angry with my body.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
I apologise if I sound whiny. I know many people deal with all kinds of medical stuff on a daily basis. I need to get my head around this thing but I'm not quite there yet.
I don't think you sound whiny. Not everyone feels the same way, but I really felt like my body let me down--that it betrayed me, really--when I got a cancer diagnosis. I was really, really upset with "it", as an entirely separate entity. One of the best activities I did was writing it a letter. "I feed you good, I take you to the doctor regularly, and THIS is the thanks I get?"
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
I'm feeling resentful about week 3. I was banking calories for the parties and get-to-togethers this weekend and end up partaking in none because of getting sick.
I won't be able to drink alcohol for another 6 days and I'm still on a brat diet. All carb, all the time ; )
Oh well, moving on and getting better!
The side bonus is seeing a number on the scale that I haven't seen in a very, very long time.
As for next week, we are taking dd out for dinner the first day of school (traditional for us) at one of our favorite restaurants and I will indulge there a bit.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
Exercise: 2 walks done, hoping to get #3 in tonight. Food: Food has been off. Less veggies and fruit than I would have liked, but no major pigouts either. Moderation: Yes, I have been moderate. Not abstinent, just moderate. In all honesty, I can't say it's given me very much pleasure. But I think of the calories and so on and then I get on with it.
As for the medical issues... I was told on Friday that I have a leaky heart valve (mitral) and arrhytmias. I had no idea anything was wrong. The dr stressed that this is a minor thing, but it was still quite a surprise. For all we know I could have been born with it.
This is the third medical issue I've had thrown at me this year. (I've already mentioned the reflux and the blood sugars; both of them are under control now.) I'm used to thinking of myself as a basically healthy but very out-of-shape person, so in terms of self-image, these real medical conditions will take some getting used to. (And how ironic that they should surface AFTER I decided to get healthy.)
The good news is that I'm quite healthy in many other ways, according to the lab reports. So I suppose I just need to work harder at becoming healthier and staying that way. Right now that feels like an uphill battle, and yet I feel healthier than in years. Weird...
I apologise if I sound whiny. I know many people deal with all kinds of medical stuff on a daily basis. I need to get my head around this thing but I'm not quite there yet.
****************** “The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.”
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
Originally posted by Nbox: Thus far no major illnesses have been discovered, but they did find a few surprises. (I'm sorry, but I don't feel I can be more specific right now. I might talk about it more later after I process it.) They're running more tests.
Hugs and prayers coming at you, Puck, whatever it is. Please let us know what we can do to help.
Well, I"m about 50/50 this week. I am doing very well on the exercise - changing my attitiude. Even on days that I don't "feel" like going to the gym, I do at least a 1/2 hour of something. We are doing another 5k this weekend - hopefully it will be cooler. I'm still not running a lot on the 5k - mostly walking, but I was faster last time.
However, my eating has not been good. We have been eating out way too much - using exercise as the excuse. So, that's my focus for the next couple of weeks.
Mel
Healthy Habits Challenge Goals: 1.Log food each day to monitor staying at 1300 calories per day. 2. Exercise 4x per week (5x is a bonus)
The miracle isn't that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start. - John "the Penguin" Bingham
Posts: 588 | Location: Nashville | Registered: April 05, 2004
After two major doctor's appointments, I now have even more reasons to really work towards a healthy lifestyle.
Thus far no major illnesses have been discovered, but they did find a few surprises. (I'm sorry, but I don't feel I can be more specific right now. I might talk about it more later after I process it.) They're running more tests.
Anyway, they did strongly urge me to continue exercising, not beacuse it would cure anything but because of all the other health benefits.
So I'm moving from theoretical knowledge to practical application. After I post this, I'm going to put theory into practice: I'm going for a walk.
****************** “The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.”
My week is just off. School started and the new schedule threw me. I've only exercised once so far. In addition, I have two big dr's appointments today and tomorrow, one of which involves no food or drink until early afternoon. That one's today. Needless to say, I don't feel very chirpy going without water in this hot weather.
I hope I can at least get out for a walk tonight.
****************** “The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.”
Down another pound and half today. That is amazing, since I "knew" I would be up because of stress and not eating. We talked a lot about why I don't eat after my WW meeting, and decided I needed to stock pile some healthier lunch or dinners - Lean Cuisine, WW, Healthy Choice, so that I don't have to plan meals, when my brain can't function because of the stress anyway. Sounds good to me, so I'll give it a whirl. Hopefully, I don't have to find out too soon.
It's never too late to get it right.
Posts: 3463 | Location: Central USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
Attention Challenge Folks: I will be back from Ohio late Monday afternoon at the earliest. If one of you would like to start the Week 4 Challenge Journal thread on Sunday or Monday so it's there for the start of the week, please feel free! If not, I will try to get it done Monday night or Tuesday morning.
My time in Ohio will likely be challenging, but not so much from the food perspective.
Goals: 1. Exercise-Cardio: 2-3 walking or DVD cardio workouts per week. 2. Exercise-Weights/Toning: 1-2 weight plus 1 toning workout per week. 3. Food: Increase veggie servings back to where they were. 4. Behavior: Reduce sweets.
Posts: 7233 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
I've had a kind of stressful afternoon with a job evaluation. I really didn't have the time to regroup enough to relax and enjoy my dinner because of the tight timeframe I had to eat & get out to the desk.
But I did manage to recognize that I was going to race through my dinner & that I needed to slow down. I didn't have enough time to stretch out the meal and didn't feel full, but I did recognize that I wasn't really going to. And I was content with what I did have.
I think I'm going to have something to talk about in my journal today.
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
I'm one day into my third week of small bites, eating while sitting, and yesterday got to put the book to the test while having dinner out with my mom & step-dad (both of whom are major stress causers and food pushers).
I've seen a drop on my rd's scale (yeah!) and haven't caught myself eating a bite standing up more than twice a day. I've even taken a few croutons out of my mouth before I bit down on them just to reinforce the point.
I'm still amazed at how much less food I seem to be putting away overall, as I have had to freeze a few extra containers of food recently. I still need to work on giving myself credit for stuff. I just haven't figured out how to reinforce it in a positive way yet.
The no choice cards have been a huge help to me. I have found some creative ways to say no choice recently, ie some non-food applications, that have freed up some nice chunks of reading time. And they are great for that inner toddler voice who is starting to protest less frequently.
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
Dinner portions are going GREAT. I'm plating smaller amounts for both of us, and immediately packing away the leftovers for lunch. That's resulted, a couple of times, in the boyfriend eating lunch for seconds, but that's a risk, I suppose.
Core workouts are going okay, they're still easy to forget. I need to figure out a reminder system for them in the evenings. Regular workouts are getting close to being a habit.
I've found out about the GRE, and I'm going to purchase a study guide for it. I believe my first choice for grad school will be a Master's in Journalism program that's nearby and offers evening/flexible class hours. It's largely a commuter school, so I won't be the only one there who's away from home for the first time
It's not that I want to be a journalist so much as I enjoy investigation and research. The program sounds very much like it would compliment the analytical work I'll eventually progress into at work, and it would get me a better chance at the big-time promotions further down the road.
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
I had a generally on plan week last week. It is helping me so much to make staying on plan a must- not an option- like brushing my teeth or waking up to the alarm.
Today is going to be a day that I have to be strong and in control. I haven't eaten much this weekend, and my body is telling me so. Yet, I know if I eat, I will be physically sick. I will try a shake and see if that works for the moment. I have changed my challenges to things that need to be done inside rather than outside my body. It appears that my mind and emotions are more out of control than anything my body does or doesn't do.
I can.
It's never too late to get it right.
Posts: 3463 | Location: Central USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
