NY153

Hello everyone! Haven't been here for a while, but it was time to continue, so here I am. Glad to be back in this great, supporting community. Good luck everyone for your challenges! [Insert awesome gif here, that I did not have time to find...]

I haven't been here for a while, but it seems like I have arrived now just in time. A couple of weeks ago I started a new short-course/training/school, and it requires way more studying than I originally thought. So basically, I haven't done anything beside studying in the past seven weeks. I was already making great progress before the course started, and now it is gone. I am back to poor eating habits, dumping all the responsibilities of the dog and household on my husband. (Though, he hasn't even complained once, he is extremely supportive, and I am really grateful for him.) In addition, I haven't done any sort of exercise in weeks, even though before the course I managed to run almost 5K, which was a huge achievement to me, but I cannot do that anymore. While this course I am doing is very important to me, hopefully it will open new possibilities and I will be able to find a job I like. I don't want to put other aspects of my life on hold, I feel like I need to find balance. So here I am! If you got this far, and managed to read through my ramblings, than thanks and welcome in my thread! My very modest, hope to be doable quest for this challenge: Fitness: Go running at least once a week (time and distance does not matter) Do yoga/stretching at least 3x a week (for at least 10 min each time) Diet: Have a healthy, filling breakfast every weekdays Lifestyle: Say one positive thing each day in front of the mirror in the morning Go to bed by 23:00 at least five times a week At least 2 min meditation/relaxation at least 3x a week

@Vibrantella, @PunchTonic Thank you for both of you the encouragement. I got your posts via email and it ment a lot. It reminded me to focus on my motto and be happy for the small successes. Sorry, I could not answer previously, I was on a business trip with a crazy schedule. My third week did not turned out as well as I hoped so, but I won't complain. Here are the achievements of the week: went to run three times. This made me realized that running become a habit. Most of the days, I don't need to talk myself into it, just check my calendar, keep in mind that tomorrow is a running day and the next day I get up and just go, even when I don't really feel like it. Well the real test is next week when I have to get up earlier in order to squeeze in running, because I have to get to work by 9 (instead of 10ish...). But I am optimistic. Made a lot of progress on my paper, and it is almost finished. And here are the less then glorious, but still ok numbers: Fitness quests: Stick to my 10K training plan (3x running/week) - 3/3 Stretch/do yoga every day (7x/week) - 3/7 extra points possible for strength training - none Diet quests: Eat only home-cooked meal at least 6x/week - 2/4 (I was away for 3 days, it was impossible to eat homecooked meal) Limit sweets/snacks to 2/day + 1 healthy, home-made snack - 5/7 Level up life quests: go to bed 10 min earlier each week for a months (by 22:20, 22:10, 22:00, 21:50 on first to forth week, respectively) - 1/7 say one positive thing to myself each morning in front of the mirror - 4/7 when I did not see the post-it to remind me, I completely forgot.. finish a course on edX - I had to prioritize, so I probably won't finish it, but I am making progress when I can squeeze in submit the paper I am working on - this won't happen either, but I still hope I will be done with at least the first draft.

I think you should experiment. (You might have already.) Based on my experience, it is really hard to get up early when you don't actually have to, so I always make a task for the morning (yoga, strength training, clean the flat for 20 min, etc.) to make sure I get up on non-running days. So making a goal for every day that is appealing enough might help, and if running is not it, I think you should try out other goals. Let us know how it is working out for you.

Quick W2 report: In short, it was a complete catastrophe. I didn't accomplish any of my goals, didn't pay attention to my food, exercise, and sleeping habits. Basically, I went back to my old, reality avoiding, TV addict, lazy old self. Here are the numbers: (I ignored my challenge so much that I forgot to record almost anything...) Fitness quests: Stick to my 10K training plan (3x running/week) - 1/3 Stretch/do yoga every day (7x/week) - 3/7 extra points possible for strength training - none Diet quests: Eat only home-cooked meal at least 6x/week - 2/6 Limit sweets/snacks to 2/day + 1 healthy, home-made snack - 2/7 Level up life quests: go to bed 10 min earlier each week for a months (by 22:20, 22:10, 22:00, 21:50 on first to forth week, respectively) - 2/7 say one positive thing to myself each morning in front of the mirror - 7/7 go to a hiking/biking tour - we went for a short hike finish a course on edX - haven't even made progress submit the paper I am working on - it must be a success, I have no other option, but doesn't look good so far. W3 looks better so far. I have already run twice, yesterday went to bed in time, and I am really determined to finish the first draft of my paper today. I have a feeling that when it is done, everything will get back to normal, and I will be able to focus on my other goals. Right now the paper has to be the priority at any cost.

Sorry for the radio silence. I had a really busy weekend. You are being really kind, and super supportive, thank you very much! <3 Oh, and the dog image just made my day. Yes, I think I am good for now regarding the adjusting to darkness. We'll see by the end of the challenge. Week 1 update: Overall it was a great week. Fitness quests: Stick to my 10K training plan (3x running/week) - 3/3 Stretch/do yoga every day (7x/week) - 7/7 extra points possible for strength training (1 point/ training) - no extra points Diet quests: Eat only home-cooked meal at least 6x/week - 5/6 Limit sweets/snacks to 2/day + 1 healthy, home-made snack 7 x 4 points possible - 7/7 - Never exceed my maximum amount, and I even had a few days when I didn't eat any processed snack, only fruit. Level up life quests: go to bed 10 min earlier each week for a months (by 22:20, 22:10, 22:00, 21:50 on first to forth week, respectively) - 7/7 - This is actually the main focus of my challenge. Right now I have a pretty flexible schedule, but it is about to change in two weeks, so I really have to get used to getting up early and for that I need to be sleeping by as early as possible. say one positive thing to myself each morning in front of the mirror - 7/7 - As I said, I am focusing on general nice things not positive things about myself, so it is getting easier. Though, I don't really see the point of it yet. Browsing motivational quotes on Pinterest seems way more beneficial. go to a hiking/biking tour - 100% - We went to 76 km long (bike) round-tour with my husband. Unfortunatelly, after we stopped for lunch (hence failing my eat home-made lunch quest), my bones in contact weet the saddle were so sore that I only managed to bike a few more kms. So I could not finish the roundtour, but still managed to bike 50 kms, just with a few short stops. finish a course on edX - made progress. submit the paper I am working on - many things are about to change, so I really should finish it before my life gets exponentially more complicated. On an intellectual level I know it, but still, I keep procrastinating. Haven't made any progress yet... I have to make it the focus of this week.

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate the offer, but I Don't want to waste your time doing research on this. Well I think sleeping in my running clothes would be too uncomfortable, but putting them together in the bathroom works fine. Switching on the light is not an option because I don't want to wake up either my husband or our dog. But I actually I love the sunrise, so it might be a good motivation. I've been adjusting my bedtime/get up time earlier and earlier gradually for the past couple of weeks, and I got used to it. So I hope it will be the same with the darkness. I think I just have to focus on the thought that sunrise is beautiful.

Yes, I might need a head torch, thanks for the tip, @blackwidowwannabe and @Koaladle. Though, I run in a relatively well lit area so I didn't really mean the visibility issue, more like the psychological effect of starting the day before the Sun comes up. But I guess I just had to tough it out. I still have a couple up weeks to strengthen my morning running habit before it becomes an issue.

Your last post was very moving. I wish I could offer some non-cliche wisdom, but I can't. I'm just here to offer you a virtual hug and I hope you are or will be feeling better soon.

It's ambitious indeed, but seems very well thought out. Best of luck with changing your lifestyle, I'm rooting for you!

Thanks for the suggestion, I will think about it. I had to wake up super-early today, so right now crawling back into bed is the only thing I can think of. Thanks for the link, I was looking for it. I will definitely step by to see how you are doing. Having someone to drag you and competitive nature always helps. Is it working, are you getting better than her? Thanks for popping in and for the advice. Fortunately, it is not that cold that I need gloves. But in the late fall and winter the temperature tends to drop to 0 or subzero (°C), so I will try this. I just wish someone would have a great trip against the dark. Hopefully I will be able to adjust to the cold, but I am afraid losing all my motivation when I supposed to get up, but it is still dark outside. Maybe some bright, sunny posters with motivational quotes will help.

it seems like even though you did not meet all of your goals, you figured out how to continue and improve. That's great, congrats! Have you started a new official challenge?

I love your stories. And it seems like you had a great start on your challenge. Keep it up!

I am collecting the quotes on Pinterest, but I guess it won't hurt to print out a couple and post them everywhere. Maybe it will motivate my hubby as well on a subconscious level. Consolation prize sounds good, but there is a quest on NFA which requires a 100% grade on a challenge, and I REALLY want to mark that complete, so I am aiming for that! But on a more realistic note, I will check out the juice bar for inspiration on the consolation prize. I was ment to ask what you ment by a Harry Potter medal, but in the meantime I found your post about Hogwarts Running Club. They look awesome! Some of the members here on the NF Forum organized an unofficial Annual NF Virtual Run. Have you heard about it? Unfortunately, I missed it, but they designed a cool logo and T-shirts, so I hope they will organize it next year too. Good luck on your major re-do, I hope everything will go well for you! I always admire (and a bit envy...) people who can just go and do exercise for the fun of it. I've grown to love running and the effect it has on my body and health, but I still need a considerable amount of willpower to get out of bed and leave the house. The training plan keeps me accountable and makes me see the improvement. I heard a lot about Zombies!Run, but never actually tried it. I hope it will help you to achieve your goals! Good luck! On a side note: My warm running clothes were great today morning! They will be even better when the temperature drops a couple of degrees more.

I really enjoyed your posts, loved the gifs and images. Unfortunately, I did not have time to read them all. It seems like you have your own system. Is it a calendar based system, but in stead of using red sharpies you give yourself stickers for the completed tasks? How does it work exactly? Are you also participating in the official 4WC or just using your own system? I hope you are feeling better. Keep up the good work!