CleverGirl

So, I've clearly not done well at keeping track of my goals this past week. Truth be told, I've not done a great job of following them either. Instead of getting depressed and giving up, I re-set the numbers (and changed one of the goals). No point in quitting the challenge before it even officially begins! With that in mind...I'll see you all tomorrow!

I do tutoring two days a week at the library. I also read a lot, so I am constantly at the library picking up new books and returning old ones!

Goal One: I walked to the library and back. Goal Two: 8 cups of water were consumed. Goal Three: 2 cans Diet Pepsi, chocolate protein shake, banana, breakfast bar, four beef & bean chimichangas, microwave diet meal, apple Goal Four: spent some time colouring in my Doctor Who colouring book

It is! It's very complex, and all the pages are awesome Doctor Who themed pictures! Sunbelt breakfast bars. I also use Nature Valley protein bars. Both really help me get through my first job. Yeah, I don't know if I'll be able to keep my package handler job once the school year starts up again. I figure it's best not to rely on the workout I get there!

7/12/16 Goal One: I walked to the library and back. Goal Two: I drank 8 cups of water. Goal Three: chocolate protein shake, banana, ice cream cone, 3 breakfast bars, 1 protein bar, diet microwave meal, 3 frozen burritos, 2 cans of Diet Pepsi, 1 can of Fresca, a glass of wine, apple Goal Four: worked on my Doctor Who colouring book

7/11/16 Goal One: I walked down to the library and back (approximately 1 miles). Goal Two: I failed this goal (I forgot all about it). Goal Three: chocolate protein shake and banana; breakfast bar; hay stack (tortilla chips, taco meat, beans, rice, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, and lime juice); 2 Diet Pepsi's; microwave diet meal (fettucini with broccoli); bag of crispy pea pods Goal Four: I failed this goal as well.

Those look like to great goals! May the Schwartz be with you!

Long-Term Goal: Lose 81.4 lbs, resulting in reaching my goal weight of 140 lbs. Additional Long-Term Goal: Live a healthier life, both mentally and physically. Challenge One: Begin by setting up a firm foundation for this new life that will ultimately help me reach my goal weight. Goal One: Engage in some type of additional physical activity on a daily basis. I specifically stated "additional" activity because my second job is incredibly physically demanding. However, I don't want to rely solely on that when it may not be a permanent fixture in my life. The easiest way to get some additional activity in will be to go for a daily walk, but I will not limit myself to a specific activity to fulfill this goal. That way I can count things, such as taking my kids geocaching in the mountains, walking to the library with a bag of books, etc... 26-28 days = A 22-25 days = B 18-21 days = C 12-17 days = D 1-11 days = F Goal Two: Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water on a daily basis. Most days, this should be incredibly easy to do. I go through almost 6 cups of water during my shift at FedEx. I may want to up this in the future, to include more water on days when I work at FedEx. However, for now I'm just establishing that base. 26-28 days = A 22-25 days = B 18-21 days = C 12-17 days = D 1-11 days = F Goal Three: Keep track of all the food and drink I consume. Although I will, most likely, be trying to eat healthier, I really want to start off by just giving myself a full month of being aware of what I put in my mouth. There are so many different fads and diets and ways of eating. Nothing I have tried has ever worked for me before, so this month I'm just sticking with being aware of my consumption. Goal Three: No dessert-like food. I changed this goal because I simply never remember to write down what I eat when I eat it, and then I can't remember when it's time to report it! However, dessert-like food is my big downfall. So, simply cutting out this food will be super helpful for me! 26-28 days = A 22-25 days = B 18-21 days = C 12-17 days = D 1-11 days = F Life Goal: Do something creative on a daily basis. This can be anything, as long as it's purpose is primarily creative. I can work on a novel, do some work on my cross stitch. colour in my colouring book, draw in my sketchbook, or even just go on a walk and take photographs! I enjoy doing creative things, but I often make excuses because my life is so busy. This goal is designed to force me to slow down and take some time to do the things that I enjoy doing. 26-28 days = A 22-25 days = B 18-21 days = C 12-17 days = D 1-11 days = F Rewards: All grades will be combined and rewards shall be handed out based on the cumulative grade received. F = No Rewards D = No Rewards C = Lush Bath Bomb B = Lush Bath Bomb + Item from Hot Topic A = Lush Bath Bomb + Item from Hot Topic + New Board Game (or Card Game)

I have tried that, and it did work quite well. Unfortunately, within the past year I have switched jobs (shorter commute, but hefty pay cut) and my wife had to quit her lucrative job due to health reasons. She's working again, but we still only have between $80 and $100 a week for groceries for all of us (the two of us, plus three kids). So, buying the ingredients to prep is not really possible at the moment. The microwave meals are the best compromise I can come up with. Yesterday started out good, but spiraled out of control. I did go for a walk of about a mile and a half. I ate a health microwave meal for lunch. I then ended up eating a bag of Ghiradelli mini chocolates and 3.4 of a bag of sour cream and onion chips. Dinner was haystacks (tortilla chips, taco meat, beans, rice, olives, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and lime juice). I did eat less at dinner than I usually do. I did make myself sit down and really think about what I had eaten and what might have been the reasons that I ate what I did. I think it was the tracking I had started doing. Focusing on the calories and the nutritional content was not a good idea for me. I think I am ok with looking at that stuff at the store, when I'm initially purchasing things, but when I do it at home it becomes overwhelming. So, from here on out, I will be posting only what I eat and drink, without the extra info. Today I have the usual 4th of July gathering at my parents' house. I'm not going to stress over what I eat there, but I will write it down. I will also have a healthy breakfast and dinner.

Lunch will be one of those "diet" microwave meals. I enjoy the way they taste, plus I really hate cooking. Lunch is the worst meal of the day for me. I need something relatively substantial, but I just don't have the money to buy stuff to prep a good lunch meal (plus, I really hate prepping and cooking food).

Hello! I'm CleverGirl! I'm a wife, mother of 3, and I work as a school psychologist full-time and a package handler for FedEx part-time. I have recently had four different doctors (my PCP, a cardiologist, a nephrologist, and an ENT) tell me that I need to lose weight. Now, I've tried losing weight in the past, and I seem to suck at it. So, I'm hoping that creating this Battle Log will give me some accountability. The plan is to post everything I eat or drink each day, any exercise/activity I do each day (for now, going to work on days I'm at FedEx will count as exercise since I spend my shift slinging packages and my body is clearly not used to this level of activity yet), as well as noting any medical issues that may or may not crop up. Day One: 7/3/16 Breakfast: one vanilla protein shake (100 calories, 2.5g fat, 3g carbs, 0g sugar, 15g protein); one medium banana (105 calories, 0g fat, 27g carbs, 14g sugar, 1g protein) Snack: 2 caramel corn rice cakes (100 calories, 0g fat, 22g carbs, 6g sugar, 1g protein) Daily Totals Calories: 305 Fat: 2.5 grams Carbs: 52 grams Sugar: 20 grams Protein: 17 grams

Thanks, everyone! Yesterday went pretty well! I brushed my teeth in the morning, I drank one 32 oz. bottle of water. I've found that my new water bottle I got from work is perfect. It's fits nicely in my hand, and the squeeze top makes it hard to chug water. That means I end up sipping at it more, instead of trying to gulp it all down in one go and ending up with my stomach feeling bloated! I walked a mile total (half a mile to my parents' house and half a mile back). I also managed to squeeze in 10 minutes of writing at the very end of the day!

Ok, so the last week was kind of a washout. It was the last official wee of work (although I will be going in to the office 4 out of the 5 days next week). I have taken a hard look at my goals, and I think that they are simply too ambitious at this point. So, here are my re-vamped goals for the remainder of this challenge: 1) Go for a walk of at least 1 mile every day. This will help me start focusing on doing some kind of intentional movement on a daily basis. 2) Drink at least 1 big water bottle (32 oz) every day. Right now, I drink little to no water daily. I need to start building that up. 3) Brush my teeth every morning. This is one step in my morning routine, and it will help me get ready to add more steps. 4) Write something, anything, for at least 5 minutes daily. This will help me get in the habit of writing. Eventually, I would like to extend that time, but for now I just need to establish the daily habit.

Sunday was a bust. I always forget that Sunday is the starting day now instead of Monday. I'm kind of feeling like there's really no point in even continuing at this point.Ugh! I absolutely hate feeling so incredibly unmotivated! It really doesn't help that my work schedule is absolutely insane at this point. I'm not entirely certain when to fit in any sort of workout since I have a ton of extra tutoring I'm doing after work for the rest of this week.

Ok, guys, I need some help! (This is QengpuBenal, by the way...I felt it was time for a name change.) I have been sucking at these challenges ever since the format changed. I screw up one day (or one week) and my brain insists that there is no point in trying to jump back on the wagon because there's simply not enough time. I've tried doing challenges with other groups. I've tried making my goals super simple. Nothing seems to be working! Anyone have advice, tips, or tricks?