Chanda

Love it! Well done on learning something really important about yourself and to be honest about how we humans react to ignoring some of our needs. I too end up over eating when I try to deny myself certain foods... and I too have learned to relax the control over what I eat. Its one of the reasons for my "Fuel" goal, instead of saying no snacking or less deep fried foods or no giant piles of carbs, I am saying eat more vegetables and fruit. Nothing is being eliminated... but by default some will be replaced. Hint for slowing down how you eat: try to eat things that require you to "work". For example, instead of already shelled nuts... get nuts that you need to crack open to eat. Same with fruit. Sitting down to peel and cut a piece of fruit as you eat it or cracking a nut at a time... is a lot more mindful than getting them ready then eating them (or pulling them out of a bag). I had this insight when I remembered how my grandparents (all 4 of them did this) would savour nuts/fruit as a snack. The act of shelling/pealing/cutting slowed down their eating. I started doing this and its become a regular event... and when I pull out the nut cracker or start pealing a mandarin my girls magically show up for a snack. I am told that chewing a few extra times and/or putting the fork down between mouthfuls can also help slow you down. It worked for me when I had to learn to slow down my eating... growing up with 3 brothers one learns to eat quickly. Enjoy your meals!

Nice challenge! Lots of stuff to do and keep track of... but as you are working on the same goals over a year probably realistic. I too am up to round 2 of my year long set of challenges. I look forward to seeing how you go!

What a great idea for learning about your craving triggers! I look forward to seeing how you go... Great first couple of days already!!!

Welcome! Great goals! And allowing yourself a treat now and then is part of living a balanced life. Well done on learning that lesson! I too am doing stuff for my home as part of my challenge. Fellow Flybaby here... although I no longer follow as strictly, I learned a lot about creating my routines and staying consistent and being kind to myself from FlyLady.

Good luck... It does sound like a lot of things to keep track of daily, but if you make it all into a nice routine/ritual it may well work well!

Welcome back to the Druids. Very interesting stuff about the water... never heard about it, but its something I might look into in the future. I did Tai Chi Yang style long form for many years. Stopped when I got pregnant with my first daughter and never restarted... but its something I will do again. Maybe in Autumn. Anyway its nice to have a Tai Chi practitioner around.

Thanks. Those goals have evolved over many years... and will continue to evolve I am sure. For me at least I tend to isolate myself from family and friends when I start running low on energy or am depressed. Ironically its one of the worst things to do under that situation... Which is why I added those to items to my goals as a reminder. The re-numbering is automatic because I formatted that text as a "numbered list". No magic.

Don't worry your secret is safe with me... Welcome to the Druids!

Welcome to the Druids! Great goals. I specially like your Life Quest. And your celebration plans... sound great. I might need to consider some kind of celebration plans for myself. I would recommend you double check what your calorie level should be... 1200-1500 sounds a bit low for the level of exercise you are listing and your height/weight. Main concern is that you end up loosing lean body mass and not fat. Eventually you will plateau and your body goes into starvation mode (it becomes a fat storing machine!). The calculator below is great because you can calculate what your calorie target is at your goal weight and activity level. If you eat at that level, you loose weight slower but what you loose is mostly fat. I've used it and lost 10kg/22lbs of fat in 9months without loosing any of my lean body mass, I am only 5'3" and I was eating 1800cals per day and exercising less than you. http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/ Anyway, its just a suggestion... anytime I see people eating under 1500 calories and exercising as you I worry about what its doing to their metabolism and lean body mass. Ultimately you do what works for you.

Your goals 1 to 4 are similar to mine. We come from different approaches trying to reach the same results... good luck. Stay consistent! Loved the video... not sure I can do half those poses... but soon. I too would love to do a one handed hand stand.

As a fellow desk jokey... I hear you on the flexibility. I to am working on the hamstrings. I was going to comment on your scoring of A, B and then nothing but an F. Thats a bit harsh in my experience... sometimes a C or D is well earned, specially if life throws a curve ball our way. I once was an A or nothing kinda girl myself, now I am a lot kinder on myself and somehow I am actually making more progress and enjoy life a lot more. Anyway, as you are going for the bonus all A, I can see how not having the option to fall back on a C is motivating. Oh look at that... I commented anyway. Welcome and enjoy your time with the Druids!

Chanda takes a deep breath. She is ready for the next step. Here I am for round 2 of Living the Good Life!!! From the last challenge I confirmed that I need to be kind with myself in order to regain my resilience. I learned that its only by going slowly that I build and maintain solid habits that benefit my life. My main quest remains the same... I just reworded the weight loss part. Main Quest: 42 or “Living the Good Life†I am capable, loving and relaxed. I have daily meaningful contact with my husband and my 2 daughters Looking after my health and appearance is a habit Our home is organised and decluttered I am organised at work Regular contact with family (every 1 to 2 weeks) Regular contact with friends (monthly) Perfect day/week is a habit (includes eldest daughter school start) I feel good in my body (lost up to 9kg of fat with minimal to no lean mass loss) Released 6 CB patterns + hobby business setup. + Blog every 2-4weeks / CB weekly posts I don't make a big deal out of everything in life, feel joy and laugh. I have dreams for the future. Over the next 6 weeks, I shall continue gradually taking small steps to live well: 1 Fuel: Bring some diversity and colour into my diet. Eat at least 4 to 5 fruit/vegetables per day (4 points). 2 Body: Mainly yoga and maybe some run-walks do an average of 90min per week (3 points) 3 Mind: Messy House = Messy Mind. Complete 50 steps... small projects to improve our home (4 points) 4 Life: Continue shifting into living my "perfect day" on normal days. This I call: Phase 2: Solid Middle (4points) My Morning: Work Days (WD): up 6:00-6:45 (yoga?/mindfulness?/breakfast/get ready). Non-WD: up before 8:30.Morning routine: WD: 6:45-8:00 (girls up and ready, clear the decks, lunch prep, drop off and go to work). Non-WD: breakfast by 9:30.Afternoon routine: WD: Tue-Fri 13:30-14:30 (stop work/leave the office). Mondays are long days for the next 12 weeks, so go for a walk around my worksite. Non-WD: Sat-Sun: have quiet time with the family after lunch. Evening routine 17:30-20:30 (dinner, clear the decks, tomorrow prep, girls in bed)My bed time WD: 22:30 Non-WD: before midnight During weeks 4 and 5 I will have a business trip and a week of holiday... The trips might present a challenge, but I will adjust as needed. Attribute points will be worked out at the end of the challenge based on where I see the most improvement/benefit. “Smile, breath and go slowly.†Teích Nhât Hanh

I am so sorry to read about your loss. It sounds like your grandmother was an amazing woman from your description. Those are characteristics which so many people underestimate these days. You'll do her memory honour by learning from her example.

I've done the 1 raisin mindfulness exercise. I haven't eaten another since... Its just too much hard work to look at/smell/feel/eat a raisin that slowly! And if you've been good and put away the packet of raisins in the kitchen cupboards then walked elsewhere to eat that raisin, there is no way you are getting up for another serving of 1 raisin. Come to think of it I should do that with all my snacks. Now seriously, for the past 4 weeks my family and I have been eating our way through a packet of jelly beans (100g 3.5ounce). Once or twice a week if/when someone remembers we each get 5 jelly beans after dinner... and we try to guess the flavours. We all have great fun, savour the favourite flavours and no one even thinks of having more.

Awesome about the job! The rest will take care of itself...