NextChapter

The challenge chapter comes to a sorrowful end, but there's more to this book! I had a week's vacation (in Cozumel!) during the second week, and have yet to recover any health/fitness routines. It was fun to attempt a little Spanish, and I've lost 2 pounds, so not a total fail. I have difficulty in winter and take a little something for Season-Affected Depression. I attended the funeral of a friend last week, and whereas this week hasn't been externally difficult, I have felt drained and empty and exhausted. I've started tracking my food again, and hope to start walking to work (2 1/2 miles) once the weather warms up. Great novels are written one word at a time!

...as I ended another day feeling frustrated for not having a plan to focus on. So here's my plan: 1: 3 days a week, 2 minutes on the elliptical 2: 3 off-days body weight squats and (elevated) push-ups, 10 each 3: 5 days a week, veggies at lunch and dinner. I'll come back at the end of each week to update Level up my life: Build a weekly routine to include art, music, new language, new business, de-cluttering, etc...

I visited my profile last week and discovered that I joined Nerd Fitness six years ago. Six years! And the today-me wishes I could go back to the six-years-ago-me and say, "Start today. Do one thing today, and every day, for your health and fitness - imagine where you will be in six years!" I've had stops and starts, six-week challenges, good intentions and bad choices, and today-me is no better than I was six years ago. The thought of six years passing with no progress hit HARD; so I'm committing to the six-years-from -now-me and I've started doing one thing each day for health and fitness. I was inspired by another rebel who said he stuck two three rules in challenging times: move a mile a day, drink 64 ounces of water a day, and don't eat after 8 (for me, 7 pm). Additionally, I'm tracking intake and blood sugars, but the three rules is my daily minimum. This is my respawn, dedicated to tomorrow-me.

Here's my second week check-in: My 87-year-old father lives with me. Wednesday I called an ambulance; he had a stroke. He is doing well, and is in a physical rehab facility, but this challenge went by the wayside. Fitness - Continue the Academy workouts - I think I got one in last week. Walk 5 minutes every day - Some around the hospital, but spent most time sitting in Dad's room. Monitor blood sugars 3 days per week - Nope. Need a refill on test strips. Nutrition - Salad-based lunch, vegetable at dinner, minimum 5x per week - I didn't track, but I tried to get a salad in at every lunch and dinner. Was mostly successful. Track and monitor food - especially carbs - Nope. Ate salads. Ate some junk, too. Didn't record any of it. Life - Watercolor paint 2 hours per week - Really? After showing a one-pound gain last week, I'm down two - so down one pound from my starting weight. I'll be working towards fitness along with my dad. Ever onward!

Here's my first week check-in: Fitness - Continue the Academy workouts - I missed one A and one B, but back on it as of yesterday. Walk 5 minutes every day - Does doing laundry in the basement count? And my guy is installing lights down there, so I was up and down the stairs a lot this weekend. Otherwise, missed a couple of days. Monitor blood sugars 3 days per week - Done! Nutrition - Salad-based lunch, vegetable at dinner, minimum 5x per week - I had one or the other every day, and 3 days I had both. Track and monitor food - especially carbs - 3 days. Even when I went off the deep end, I kept my numbers. Life - Watercolor paint 2 hours per week - Well, maybe next week... Overall, I feel like I had three good days. I gained weight; did I mention I have 70 pounds to lose? But I'm back to tracking and working out. What I learned this week is: If it's a temptation, don't have it in the house. Never. Just don't. No rationalizations, no excuses. Just stop it. Ever onward!

Update - Beginning I actually started on January 1st, and did very well the first week; I did my workouts, monitored my food (stayed within my daily goal) and my blood sugars, I walked. (I didn't paint, so that will be an added focus this week.) And I GAINED exactly 1 pound. Yeah. I shared some chips and dip with my grandson on Sunday, so I'm going to blame water gain, and forge ahead. Ever onward!

My big WHY involves turning 60(!) next year. I still have a lot of things planned, so I need to be physically able to complete them all! Here are my challenge goals: Fitness - Continue the Academy workouts Walk 5 minutes every day Monitor blood sugars 3 days per week Nutrition - Salad-based lunch, vegetable at dinner, minimum 5x per week Track and monitor food - especially carbs Life - Watercolor paint 2 hours per week I'm not much for checking in, but will attempt to update weekly, and certainly at the end of the challenge. I've attempted too much, too soon, in the past. Just focusing on today.

Returning after a dramatic pause... My major goals are to lose 75 pounds, de-clutter my house, create a few watercolor paintings for future competitions, (and a hundred other things!) My goals for this challenge are: Walk/dance every day - Dance lessons are on Monday, a walk around the block on other days. Limit carbs and monitor blood sugars 4 days of 7. Spend an uninterrupted hour each week sorting through the boxes in the basement. Spend an uninterrupted hour each week working on a watercolor painting.

Glucose monitoring has been sporadic - mostly in the morning. And I'm hovering around 100-110, so I'm pleased with that. Had one night where it dropped to 63, and I tend to over-compensate with food to bring it up, and then my sugars are too high in the morning. Today I'm frustrated, and I don't handle frustration well. I HATE HATE HATE the cold, and the ice, and the darkness. No exercise this week, because I'm not going out in this weather any more than I have to. I'm frustrated with my pointless job, frustrated with my "romantic" relationship, frustrated with my living situation. I don't feel powerless; I'm only a little overwhelmed; but I have this constant restlessness churning inside WITHOUT DIRECTION. And I have dealt with this for years. I've finished reading Steve's book and it's wonderful, but when he asks you to picture yourself at Level 50, I can't. I don't know what that looks like. I don't KNOW what I want to be when I grow up, and I'm nearing retirement. Everything I once wanted to do doesn't seem worth the effort (or I've already done it), and NOTHING seems worth making a sacrifice for. I had hoped for feedback on this site, but I guess a person has to spend HOURS posting before there's any sense of camaraderie, and I already spend 40 hours a week at work on the computer. It's neither healthy, nor do I desire, to spend any more. I have my whiteboard sketched out with this challenge and the next. I'll keep on towards my immediate goals; I'll keep up with Steve's blogs. But I don't see any point in posting here anymore.

Did I mention I hate cold weather? I find myself looking forward to my daily walk, which is a REALLY BIG CHANGE for me. I pull into the drive after work, lock the car, and walk to the end of the block and back. It takes about five minutes. I've been eyeing the other end of the block, which would double my walking time, but being a weather wimp, it will have to wait until the temperatures are above freezing. I have improved my monitoring, and last week my fasting sugars were below 100 - YAY! That happened during the last challenge, too. It would never have happened, nor would I even KNOW about it, if not for these challenges. My goals seem small, but the things I'm learning about myself are enormous. I'm ending this week feeling down, though, because my diet - the 80% determiner of health - is still bad. I have a good day or two, but one slip-up and I throw in the towel for the entire day - and I stop tracking my food for the day. I suspect the problem is exactly that. I need to track everything, ESPECIALLY on the bad days. That will be my focus this week.

Hello, Adventurers! I'm NextChapter, a firm believer in serendipity - and I believe it happens most when you're traveling! I'm 56 years old, a beach-lover trapped in Kansas. My work as a reporting specialist in a Tech Ops group limits the amount of time I can get away, but I find an ocean at least once a year. I'm cruising at the end of February! Something outside of my comfort zone.. I'll have to give it some thought.. I love dancing (West Coast swing) and riding a bicycle. I have a lot of hiking in my future (Olympic peninsula), so I'm needing to put some miles on my hiking boots! It's nice to meet everyone!

Sounds like a great start! I used to put sugar in my tea - drank gallons of sweet tea in much younger days! I started cutting back a little at a time, and now I can't handle sweet tea at all - I prefer it unsweetened. I know about the dietary dangers of going out with friends - it's my weak spot. Good job holding your own. The next day I would guess that you felt better than your friends! Ever onward!

Kudos to you for conquering the closet! Cleaning closets are the bottom-of-the-list, last-and-most-hated, do-I-have-to? chores! Big win for you!! An epic walk is in my future. Since I've started walking immediately after work (before coming into the house), I'm looking forward to it more each day. Can't wait until the weather is more favorable. Good luck in the bathroom... will be waiting for a report from behind enemy lines!!

Thanks for all the encouraging words! My week started strong, and then the temperature dropped. Rain, cold, wind. Did I mention cold? I hate, hate, HATE cold weather! Yes, Supreme Weather-Wimp, right here!! My plan is to take a 5 minute walk as soon as I get out of my car when I get home from work. It works really well, and I'm ENJOYING it... until the cold swept in! But the weather is looking reasonable this week, so I'm optimistic. I had a dentist appointment (two extractions!) and a party, both at the end of the week, so my eating plan was thrown off. I've managed a strong C grade for my first week, and I'm still in the battle! I have difficulty setting up rewards for milestones.. but after giving them some thought I figured out my bicycle needs some attention before the weather is favorable, so I'm rewarding myself with bike "luggage" racks and baskets as I go along. I do love riding a bicycle. Hope everyone is on and strong! Can't wait for Steve's book to arrive!

Good luck on the challenge!! Years ago I read that if you want to motivate yourself to clean house (yuck), pretend someone you want to impress is coming over in 20 minutes. I've modified that over the years and now use this method: I determine how much time I want to spend cleaning (say, 2 hours), and divide that up across the number of rooms/areas that need cleaned (120 minutes / 6 rooms = 20 minutes per room) Then I set a timer and race myself. It also allows for what type of cleaning I'll be doing (level 1: general pickup and dishes; level 2: level 1 + sweeping, vacuuming and dusting; level 3: spring cleaning type stuff, ovens, emptying closets, etc.) In 20 minutes you can generally do level 1 and some level 2. The important thing is setting the timer. It sets the pace, keeps me focused, reminds me if I've gotten distracted. I tend to overestimate how long a chore will take, so the timer introduces reality. My daughter uses this method at her house now.