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...

I wasn't active in the forums. But didn't forget the goals I set for myself. Pleased to report that after a few challenges were I dropped out... I finally levelled up again! Summary: 1. Fuel: Breakfast -> Score A 2. Body: 60min Yoga -> Score A 3. Mind: Home stuff -> Score B+ 4. Life: Perfect Day Framework -> Score: B+ Full report here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/58782-chanda-living-the-good-life-i/?p=1380721

Thank you everyone for your welcoming words. Although I was absent from the forums… I did not forget about pursuing my goals. RESULT: On 39 out of 42 possible days I did great... On 3 of the days I reverted back to my old habit of picking up a pretzel and coffee on the way to work. On the other 39 days I either had breakfast at home or prepared a breakfast that I brought with me to work. I had a wide range of foods for breakfast, thus ensuring variety of nutrients for my body to pull from. Score A (4 of 4 attribute points earned: STA +2, CON +2). RESULT: Overall I did a total of 6 hours of yoga. The first 2 weeks I did nothing, but I got better in the last 4 weeks and overall I did a total of 6 hours of yoga. That averages out to 60min per week. Score A (4 of 4 attribute points earned: STR +2, DEX +2). RESULT: After 3 weeks of trying to get started I had not actually started yet. After giving it some thought, I found that the reason for my inactivity was that the tasks prescribed in the “20 days to organise & clean your home†did not align with what my home really needed. So halfway through the challenge I changed this goal to decluttering, cleaning and organizing 20 small areas around the home (selection of activity was based on answering the question “what is bugging me the most right now that I can actually changeâ€). Overall I did 18 out of 20. Score B (3 of 4 attribute points earned: WIS +1, CHA +2). RESULT: I was surprised with my performance in this one. I did great on my morning and evening routines… while I am not yet getting to work by 8am (on average I got to work before 8:15 so its close), I did manage to get the girls to the kindergarden just before 8am every morning and as the weeks went by it got easier. In the evening, dinner/prep for tomorrow/girls in bed is running a lot better. I only got up at 6am a couple of times (one of those was actually on a Saturday and I did 60min of yoga, it was heavenly!). And I only went to bed by 22:30 a handful of times and I still get woken up in the middle of the night by my youngest daughter. Overall I was waking up slightly earlier by the end of the challenge than at the start. Other aspects of the “perfect day†have also run better than in the past. Considering those things and the fact that the evening/morning routines were great, I am going to give myself a pass on the getting up time. Getting up earlier is purely for my own benefit of getting a few things done for myself before the day starts, at the moment I do those in the evening so its not like I am missing out. The spirit of the goal is to shift toward living my “perfect day†on work days and I am a lot closer to that now than I was 6 weeks ago. Score B+ (2 of 3 attribute points earned: WIS +1, CHA +1). Positive changes in each of my 12 areas of focus: I am capable, loving and relaxed: I feel more relaxed. I have daily meaningful contact with my husband and my 2 daughters: I haven’t been tracking this, but I have consciously made an effort to do more activities with my husband and daughters. Looking after my health and appearance is a habit: I had my first ever massage, started applying a face mask once a week, moisturise regularly and even wear some light makeup some days (lipstich and eyeshadow). Our home is organised and decluttered: started a new challenge “1001 steps in 1001 days†and did the first 18 steps. I am organised at work: sorted through a massive pile of paper that had been building up (99% of it was shredded) and got rid of samples I no longer need. Regular contact with family (every 1 to 2 weeks): been sending more emails. Regular contact with friends (monthly): had breakfast with a friend, plus a day long visit from another friend. Perfect day/week is a habit (includes eldest daughter school start): see result from Life goal above I lost 6-7kg: this needs updating since what I actually meant is that I want to be between 56 and 57kg. But I put on 2kg in December. So its actually "I lost 8-9kg". Overall the target may change again as my end goal is to feel good within my skin… so if I run out of fat to lose earlier than that… then I reached the target (I will not sacrifice lean body mass to reach a weight goal). Anyway, I lost 1.3kg in the past 6 weeks. Released 6 CB patterns + hobby business setup. + Blog every 2-4weeks / CB weekly posts: No measurable progress, but I am starting to feel creative and motivated again… which is progress. I don't make a big deal out of everything in life, feel joy and laugh: At the end of each day I’ve been writing down 3 good/positive things about the day and if anything is really bugging me then I write it down also and think of at least 1 thing I can do to change it (this might be an actual action or sometimes a reminder to myself that in the larger scheme of things that thing is not so important). I've caught myself smiling and even laughing a few times. I have dreams for the future: no dreams yet, but I feel a little seed of an urge to learn again… I even signed up and started language lessons. I have been watching TEDx talks to get inspired.Overall I did not push myself hard, I went about my daily business while keeping mindful of the goals I had set for myself. I am pleased with the results. New Level and Attribute points are: Lusitanian Druid, Level 9 STR: 13 | DEX: 15 | STA: 17 | CON: 22 | WIS: 25 | CHA: 25

Chanda steps into the forrest clearing. She breaths a sigh of relief. She is home. She is alive. Now is the time to regenerate. Now is the time to grow stronger. Now is the time to live. 2014 was not the best of years for me or my family. If we were talking wine, the vintage of 2014 wouldn't be worth bottling. 2015 is likely to bring more upheaval to our lives. I need to be able to grow stronger and still enjoy life while dealing with all the challenges life throws our way. I turn 42 in 2015. We all know 42 is the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything" . By the time I turn 42, I hope to have figured out what it means to me to be living the good life. I made a 12 point list which comes pretty close to what it means to me at the moment, it also has a couple of more objective goals of things I would like to achieve by then. This list is not final and it will be adjusted as I figure it out throughout the year. 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 lost 6-7kg 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. Obviously this will take sometime. Plus its been awhile since I completed a challenge. For the next 6 weeks, I plan to: 1 Fuel: First things first, my goal is to get a good start to each day... so I will be eating a good breakfast in the morning. 2 Body: After months of inactivity I need to start gently moving again. Yoga at least 60min per week.3 Mind: Messy House = Messy Mind... Do the "20 days to organise & clean your home" tasks. 4 Life: Continue shifting into living my "perfect day" on work days. On non-work days, I will not track but will aim to not deviate by more than a couple of hours. This I call: Phase 1: The frameworkMy Morning 6:00-6:45 (yoga?/mindfulness?/breakfast/get ready)Morning routine 6:45-8:00 (girls up and ready, clear the decks, lunch prep, drop off and go to work)Evening routine 17:30-20:30 (dinner, clear the decks, tomorrow prep, girls in bed)My bed time 22:30Attribute points will be worked out at the end of the challenge based on where I see the most improvement/benefit. “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.†Aristotle

If the challenge below looks familiar, thats because it is... I am going to do the same challenge I set myself last time again with some minor modifications (edits shown in green or crossed out). Why? Because I am looking for more consistent performance and also because it is working for me. In order to fulfil my need to bring some order into my day to day while still enjoying life, I need to: accept myself, slow down, simplify, accept that "Good is Good enough" and be kind to myself. Why? Because back in March I had a nasty surprise when I discovered I was on the verge of reaching burnout for the second time in my life. Thanks to my high demand job, motherhood, being a perfectionist who likes to do things quickly and my own sense of responsibility, I have been using up more energy than I am regaining during my down time... My reserves are on empty. I'lll spare you the details except to say, there are a number of actions I am taking to turn things around. Some of these I incorporated into this challenge. I am not re-inventing the wheel, a lot of it is the same old stuff... just with a different focus and expectations. Main Quest:To slow down and smell the roses. 1. Fuel: Eat smaller portions, more vegetables, less "mindless snacks". With some luck consistency I will loose a little weight by reducing the snacking, if not... maintaining is good too. Tracking: Daily rating: Great, Good, Goof. 2. Move: Four sessions per week (more is OK). Since I have a 5 km race at the end of July, these should ideally be 2 runs or hill walks and 2 yoga sessions but I'll take whatever my heart leads me to do. Tracking: Weekly average workout count: Great = 5-4, Good = 3-1, Goof = 0. 3. ScheduleRest: 1. Shift get up time to 6:30AM weekdays and 7:30AM (or earlier) weekends, while still getting 7 to 8 hours sleep. Currently average is 7:30AM weekdays/8:30AM weekends. Shift by 10-15min per week. 2. Whenever possible, arrive at the office by 8AM and leave the office by 2PM. This is part of a larger plan to re-arrange my day so I can manage work and being a mother. Tracking: Daily rating: Great, Good, Goof. Life Quest: 4. Doing: The No Procrastination Challenge on weekdays (optional on weekends). Follow Leo's approach, except instead of the "No wine" penalty, its "No TV series" "spend time doing something fun" reward for being good. And instead of "reading and meditating", doing the NF challenge activities time organising&decluttering my desk is the first item on the 3 most important tasks (MIT) list. Tracking: Daily rating: Great=3MITs , Good=2-1, Goof=0. Diet/Fitness Side Quest: 5. Being: This is a mental fitness quest. Follow Weeks 2 to 7 of the 8 week Mindfulness program. Tracking: Daily rating: Great, Good, Goof. Scoring: For each of the 5 goals an overall rating of Great/Good/Goof is worth 3/2/0 attribute points, giving a total of 15 points. I will decide on what actual attributes I allocate based on where I feel the benefit/improvement was greatest at the end of the challenge. I level up if I earn 7 or more attribute points. Number of earned attribute points will also determine final challenge score... A to F based on 15 to 0. You may have noticed I am being very lenient with my scoring. It is part of training myself to accept that being good is good enough... I don't need to do it all and be perfect. Deep down I really want to earn all 15 attribute points. I challenged myself to set the level up border as low as I dare to go as a lesson that not everything needs to be perfect. I almost went with 8 attribute points as my level up border. In the end I reluctantly decided on 7. This was hard because 8 is more than half of 15, which in my mind is a clear "pass"... while 7 is slightly less than half of 15, it feels like a lot like a fail. Yet... arent "2 Goods and 1 Great" good enough? I think they are... and that is a 7 according to my scoring scheme! “Smile, breathe and go slowly.â€Thích Nhất Hạnh

Thank you everyone for your kind words. Its been a hard 7 weeks for me and my family. I never got back to the forums, but I did have my goals in mind during the challenge period. Some days it was all that kept me from falling apart, specially during the first week. I just never tracked any of what I did formally. Considering the circumstances I'm not going to beat myself up over not tracking stuff... I was in survival mode. Here is how I rate my performance for this challenge: 1. Fuel: There was some heavy snacking at some points but for the most part I did not over do it and my portions were same or smaller than usual. I started off with 63.5kg and last week I was 63.3kg. So I maintained my weight. I did "Good". 2. Move: I went for several runs and did yoga several times. Not as much as I would like but I would say I averaged between 1 and 2 times per week. Thats another "Good". 3. Rest: By the last week of the challenge I was getting up at 6:30AM on week days. Thats another "Good". 4. Doing: There were many days when I did not formally set MITs. But. except for a week when I did pretty much nothing, most days I did get the more important stuff done. Over the past 3 weeks there has been a noticeable reduction in my procrastination. I'll rate this one as another "Good". 5. Being: Got stuck at week 3 and never progressed further. This one was a "Goof". This makes if 4 Goods, at 2 points each thats 8 points which means that I level up. Old signature info: Lusitanian Druid, Level 7 STR: 12 | DEX: 12 | STA: 15 | CON: 18 | WIS: 20 | CHA: 19 New signature info: Lusitanian Druid, Level 8 STR: 12 | DEX: 12 | STA: 15 | CON: 20 | WIS: 23 | CHA: 22 Overall I am satisfied that I did the best I could do under the circumstances. I'll go as fas as saying that I have had a huge "growth spurt" emotionally and in terms of will power.

I saw your signature... Thats how I knew to use the line. I will need to check out Pessoa. I am Portuguese but have been living outside of Portugal most of my life. My written portuguese is terrible, so reading some well written stuff may actually help!

Don't apologise! I think its awesome that you are here and being so welcoming of everyone. I see in your signature you are the Druid Ambassador. Thank you! Thank you Heidi. I will have to be extra supportive of myself in the next few weeks. I do not know how I will manage, I found out this morning my father passed away last night. I am flying out tonight to be with my mother and brothers for a week. It is entirely possible that I will drop out of the challenge at least for the first week.

I'd never even heard of clubbells before! Yoga in general the way its practiced these days by most people in the western world is very much about the physical side of things, so it is only natural that such new practices show up. That was just beautiful to watch... clubbell or not. I hope to one day be able to move like that!

Boa Sorte! Vai valer a pena!

Thanks. I've been a Druid since my first challenge... this is home. Just skipped the last couple of challenges and dropped out of a couple before that. It feels good to be back with a new attitude! The scoring is something I changed radically this time around... some of my past scoring systems would have been worthy of NASA tracking its space missions.