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Nice race! The positive thinking is an interesting idea. If it really takes 3 positive thoughts to balance 1 negative thought, I wonder how much easier life would be if I thought the positive thought first. Hmmmm. Deep thoughts for the early morning. You posted some recipes a while back. I tried the orecchiette pasta with broccoli sauce, and it’s a keeper. I know it was supposed to be veggies, but it might be even better with bacon crumbles next time

The leaves are beautiful here. One of my favorite parts about living in Pennsylvania. This week is going great! I attribute it to setting such tiny goals, but I’m managing to log my food and exercise a little every day. One observation for the week. I visited Sensory Friendly Storytime another library in my library system, and it was so much better to sit on the floor. I have set mobility goals before, but I have new motivation to try again.

Can’t go wrong with the sweet potato hash...or with having more fun than expected. Sounds great!

I'm not particularly into vegetarian cooking, but cozy fall dinners sound amazing. It has been a long time since I tried something new, and lots of those recipes look appealing to me. I'm putting "orecchiette pasta with broccoli sauce" on next week's menu. It will be an adventure to see how my family reacts.

I love this part of your challenge the best! So optimistic...but realistic because your goals are smart. How was your first week?

Thanks for asking. I had a great weekend with the boy scouts. I stayed warm (or warm enough) in a freezing cold tent for two nights. We hiked eleven miles on pretty easy paths, and I didn't fall too far behind. We finished off our trip with indoor skydiving which was a blast! It was wonderful being with my son on a trip like this one. This is his first year with the older boys, and I hope we have many more great adventures. Here is a quick photo of the hike through the lovely hillsides of Valley Forge on a beautiful, sunny day. My goals are looking pretty good. I am giving myself a pass on the weekend, so I've logged food and exercised every day. I did have to stretch the exercise rule so that I could double-up on one day and count it for two. Seems fair to me! Here I am checking in again, so that keeps my accountability on track. And my 11 mile hike helped me log 33 thousand steps on Saturday. Now my average monthly step count back up above 10 thousand. This week is back to normal for me, so it will be important to keep goals in front of me. They are small this challenge, but they are very important. Baby steps to get back to where I was in my healthiest challenge...and then beyond.

A little late but I finished up week one. Cold weather tent camping, keeping up with younger hikers, and indoor sky diving. None of it was particularly easy, but all of it was satisfying. I’m glad I stretched out of my comfort zone.

Thanks, Xena. And thanks for nudging me back into the challenge threads. Hi, Terra. It’s good to see you! I always feel lucky to celebrate my anniversary. 19 years is a long time! Ah, Salinger. It’s good to see you. I better go read your thread. There is always so much going on in your journey! Oops. I’ve already lost sight of five words. I was afraid I wouldn’t have time for more. Thanks for your kind words. Your five words are encouraging! Goals are going well so far. I do need to make up yesterday’s exercise, but the thrill of a new challenge has helped me exercise more when I don’t feel like doing it. Baby steps are good right now! I’m feeling Ranger-like today as I pack for a camping trip. The boy scouts are going to Valley Forge near Philadelphia for some historical hiking and orienteering. Usually, my husband goes on these trips, but it is finally my turn. Now I just need to keep my wits about me so that I enjoy...and not just survive...the experience.

I’m in for a scary weekend. The boy scouts are going indoor skydiving, and somehow I’m signed up for the “high flight” option. Crazy! I might be even more scared about keeping up with a bunch of teenage knees on our 10 mile orienteering/hiking adventure. Or about tent camping in 35 degree fahrenheit (1.7 degrees centigrade). Good thing I’m a Ranger!

Good to see you, Elastigirl! I love that a perfect anniversary date with my husband still consists of a hike, dinner, and a book store. We celebrated 19 years this week, and our hike was a lovely one on a golden hillside:

Five words or less challenge.  1. Log my food on paper. 2. Five minutes exercise every day. 3. Check in twice a week. Ongoing: 10,000 step monthly average. Post a hike every month. Serve fruit with dinner often. Mini stretches throughout the day. Time to be accountable again! Sidenote: Five words is so terse. There is rhythm typing it. Wait, is this hai - ku?

Oops I'm living in the past. Moving this to the current challenge.

Thanks for the nudge, @Xena I may give a real live challenge a go. Good thing it’s still week zero. I have some time together some thoughts about new goals.

Well, it took a while to finally get that scout hike in, but here are the wild turkeys I saw on the trail. It took two hikes to plan this outing, and one hike with the scouts to make it all worthwhile. I love hiking with enthusiastic kids!

A timely reminder: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. *sigh* The cross fit gym tried to sell me something I didn’t want for a ridiculous price. I’m not sure what my new plan is besides avoiding emotional eating because I feel disappointed. Maybe a nice long walk instead.

I'm afraid I hit the panic point on the scale, so I guess I'm going for a full-blown intervention instead of just gently stress-relief strategies this challenge. In 15 minutes, I'm heading to a "consultation" with the cross fit gym that moved into my old happy-place gym down the street. I can't tell yet if they are mighty salespeople marketing a ridiculously expensive program, or if they are running a real deal that will help me. Either way, cross-fit is on my epic quest. I have always wanted to at least check it out. My greatest fear is that their claim of "we scale all our workouts" won't include accommodating someone with painful, arthritic knees. But I have to break the circle somehow. Right now I exercise less because of pain. I eat more because I've given up. If I exercise more I will feel more healthy and eat less. At least that's the current plan! Here is a 2nd September hike to share. I'm looking forward to going camping with the scouts next weekend, so there will be a 3rd hike soon. We've been having beautiful fall days here in Central Pennsylvania.

My teen is in trouble, and I am eating all the things. I need to get ahold of emotional eating. So I guess that’s my one goal for the next challenge. Find 10 non-food alternatives for stress-relief and practice them.

I never quite got back into the before-bed stretching habit after vacation, so I guess goal #1 failed midway through the last challenge. I am thinking I need smaller chunks of stretching throughout the day, and maybe moving the bigger stretching/strength burst back to the morning when I have energy. It’s hard to believe it’s time for another challenge to begin! It’s a good thing Tank keeps posting to the FB Ranger group to remind me. Cute, baby, too! But I digress. Goals 2 and 3 stuck. I did finish reading the cooking book for #2. The salt chapter might be the one that stuck the most. I will season more mindfully in the future. I also have been successful starting a new Sunday brunch tradition for #3. I like it because I eat healthier, less expensively, and the family cooks together. Here’s my September hike on one of my favorite local trails.

On vacation. Loving being active. I’ve kept up with stretching either nightly or with yoga. The hiking/biking paths in Denver are so inviting. I’ve explored them daily since I am always the first one awake. August hiking photo below. The Rockies are amazing!

Checking in for the week. I stretched 5/7 days plus a yoga video on one of the non-stretching days. That just leaves one day I really missed. The best part is that I’m looking forward to my nightly stretch. It’s calming and helps me relax.

Hello. I’m glad I found this thread even if I’m jumping in a little late. I could use a little accountability with my mobility goal. I’m trying to make a habit of stretching every night before bed.

Exercise at night has been really helpful. Stretching is a good way to wind down, and I remind myself that they feel good! Pushups are just a touch of strength, and I feel good starting small so they become a healthy habit.

I tried a recipe Harriet recommended from the Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat website: https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/fat/benedettas-ragu I am seeing a long road ahead of me. It seemed like the food should have been amazing...especially since I spent a long time fussing over it. The meal WAS good. Somehow it was a bit too rich for me to enjoy. Adjusting recipes to taste is going to take a lot of practice!

Thank you! It looks delicious. The cinnamon, nutmeg, and citrus zest are really interesting ingredients. I bet I will love this.

Since I skipped last challenge, I figure I may as well start at week zero of the next one. 1. Stretch and 5 pushups while listening to suzuki sonatinas every night before bed. 2. Read/listen to “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat”. Complete the book by end of challenge. 3. Sunday brunch at home instead of eating out (except for week of vacation). Looking forward to an August hike in Denver, Colorado. Piano is fun. I took over my son’s lessons for the summer while he “takes a break” and decides if he’s ready to retire for good. Knee is feeling better, but I’m still going to see the doctor and maybe get a cortisone shot. Arthritis is no fun. Makes me question my Intuitive Eating strategies, too. If I weighed less, my knees would not have to work so hard. IE has helped me with emotional eating, and I’ve stopped gaining weight back. But it’s not helping me get back to a healthy weight...yet.