Super_Lili

So I'll try to follow your good example and come here often! At least to get me started It was a good day: I managed to hide to... work. It was so quiet where I was, no interruption or anything, I did a lot of the outstanding stuff that made me anxious last week and now I feel better. Funny how you sometimes have to not show up at your workplace to do your own work Bonus: I did not feel completely drained when I came home tonight and so I was able to do a couple of chores that I did not have the energy to do this weekend. Not having to interact with people all the time is a blessing for introverts Lunch - Min. 3x/w: 0 Exercise - Min. 2x/w: 0 Meditate - Min. 4x/w: 1 No alcohol - Min. 6x/w: 1

I really like your goals! And you know how to make them fun with your quests Start small, do your best and don't beat yourself up about it if you have trouble getting there at first! That's also what I'm telling myself And don't forget us Rebels are stronger together! *** OK, so I posted this before seeing your post on your first week! Good job, @Quarkle!!

Reporting on W1 of C2. Crazy week like I haven't had in a few months. I also contributed to the stress by becoming anxious realizing September is starting this week and I'm already so late in my projects at work while new things keep coming up. Add to this a couple of work-related event involving alcohol, and there you go, I forgot how to deal with everything and went back to my old bad habits. The only positive thing, again, is that I did not let go of everything, - I just did not meet any goal this week, but not by far. And even though I'm reaaaaally not proud of myself, I'm still here. So W2 starts tomorrow and I'll try hard to make it better. When I started the challenge, I thought I would report once a week, but maybe it would help to come here more often to keep me grounded, and motivated. Hope everyone has a great week

@deathbyshiny: Great goals! And thank you for sharing the link to the Darabee program: I had never heard of it. It seems perfect for the "truly beginners" (like me!) and I'll keep it in mind if my new fitness program is to hard for me. Good luck in your challenge and keep us posted!

YEAH!

@Femineer: Now it's my turn to look at your challenge! I think it's cool that you recognize what kind of system will motivate you (points). Does a certain amount of points gives you some kind of bonus? I mean, not necessarily something that costs money, It can just be something out of the ordinary or a little something that brings you joy As you know, I'm also a newbie (I almost wrote "zombie" :P) so I don't have a tracking tool yet. I still haven't finish Steve's book, but I wanted to start changing some of my habits right away. I guess I'll develop my "character" as well as a way to gamify my quest and find a tracking system eventually. For now, the less pressure I put on myself about this, the better! Baby steps, 'cos I have an "all-or-nothing" personality when it comes to changing my life... I'm starting to follow you, your plan (and attitude) are inspiring Good luck with your first challenge!

@Femineer: I understand what you say! In my previous challenge, my goal was 1x/week alone (I like my glass(es) of wine in the evening ;)) or 2x/week with people, because I often have work-related occasions involving alcohol, on top of my personal, social life. But I realized a couple of months ago that it was too much and that I was often drinking just... because it was there (again: bad habit). That reason is definitely not good enough So that's in part why I have this goal. I have already slowed down on work-related events in the last few weeks and I can still enjoy a family dinner or an evening with friends. However, if I know I have a big work-related event where drinks will flow freely, I intend to plan accordingly during the next challenge and make it my "1x/week". Even though I'll probably have some slip-ups, I'm already doing muuuuch better than I was a few months ago. Don't hesitate to poke me if you need some support! I'm not an expert of any kind, even though I know quite a bit about cravings Good luck! You can do it!

So I guess there are way to exercise (walk) without even noticing it! My biggest obstacle is the time it takes. But I remember when I used to walk (almost) everywhere and couldn't see myself taking a cab and yet, I was never late! Again, I guess it has to become part of your routine and that's what I'm trying to do now I'm glad you have all those opportunities to enjoy the outdoors and move a lot

Wow! Isn't this encouraging! Thanks, IRL 3.5 Monk: I'll keep this in mind when I feel discouragement creeping in!

Thanks Myrdinn! I've just ordered P90 through Amazon and I should receive it just in time for the new challenge! I'm not a big BB fan, but I thought this would give me structure to start exercising again, even though I don't plan on following their crazy 6 days/week schedule or jumping up and down on my neighbours' heads The goal is to make exercise part of my life again. I still walk quite a lot (not having a car), but even though I did not put it in my challenge goals, I also plan on increasing my walking time. Eventually, I'll do the NF routine, but I guess I'm just not there yet! I see you live in London: do you find that living in a big city is a good opportunity to walk a lot or are you (like me, ahem) addicted to cabs?

Good luck, @Rilla

Here I am for a second round, after a really short first challenge as a newbie. Even though I did not reach all my goals in the first one, I learned a lot and it did make me feel better. Some of my die-hard habits are still here, but some other are surprisingly being replaced by healthier ones. I say 'surprinsingly' because, a couple of months ago, I would not have thought I could even do it. Being part of the Rebellion helps me tremendously This time I'm aiming at goals that are challenging because it requires some efforts to change my routine, but that are still doable: Bring my lunch to work min. 3 x / week Drink alcohol max. 1 x / week Exercise min. 2 x / week Meditate for min. 5 minutes, min. 4 x / week Exercise and meditation are both new things for me and I hope it will help me deal with stress and who knows, help me sleep better Looking forward to start next month's challenge with my fellow Rebels!

Wow, you are a warrior! Kudos for your determination. I'm glad you have a professional trainer to support you in your Quest to get better. I hope you get better every day, but with an attitude (and a plan) like this, I'm sure you will

@Darth Yoga: You're right on target You are totally right, I also need to shift to the 'troubleshooting and repeat' mindset! This is what gives results in the long run, because then what you do becomes your life, and not just a phase. And bringing myself down never helped me achieved anything Today, at lunch time, I took a few minutes to think about the next challenge. Funny thing, I thought of my goals differently, as they should not revolutionize my world, but just help me get better habits. So I wrote them down and then... scale them back a bit, so that I feel comfortable and confident I could achieve them. So your coach story made me smile See you in next challenge's section! I wish you the best for next four weeks

Thanks, Vibrantella! I must say, the last weeks have been an eye-opener and this gives me motivation to do better in the next challenge. Small steps, they say... I have to change my "all-or-nothing" mentality and embrace any small victory Thanks for being here!

Thanks for the encouragement, lemonbird!

I understand how going to bed early can be difficult, but you seem very determined to do it! And I bet adding yoga to your routine will help. Good luck with your whole challenge

Have fun in your first challenge!

I'm very impressed that you reversed your T2 diabetes and lowered your BMI that much in the last months! Great goals and fun times ahead!

This challenge's last week was not a very good one for me. It seems I did not achieve any of my goals, but at least I know why and can do better in the future. Stress is a biggie. When I'm stressed out, I eat carelessly and I don't sleep well at all. I don't sleep enough, so I get up late and take a cab to go to work. I get home later than usual, so tired (but still wired) that I don't do anything, including dinner or next day's lunch. Then I'm tempted to have a glass of wine (or 2-3-4...) to alleviate the stress and help me sleep. Which of course doesn't work too well. Believe it or not, it's the first time that I realize how much all this is so interconnected. I guess I really ought to target the stress, how I'm dealing with it and the importance it takes up in my life. So to finish on a positive note, I just ordered a DVD fitness program to help me start exercising. I believe this will help decrease the negative effects of stress and get me more energized in the morning. Also, at the end of this challenge, I can still say that I did better in the last three weeks than I did in the last three years Something encouraging is that I'm here instead of having given up, which I did oh so many times before! Thanks for being here, Rebels

So this is the end of the second week. I did not do as well as I did on the first one, but I'm still proud of myself, especially with not drinking any alcohol this week and dining out only once. You would have told me that I'd do that a month ago and I would have sighed with despair As for bringing my lunch, I only did it once (today): I wasn't feeling too well last weekend so I was not able to go shopping for food and prepare the meal in advance. I realized how important it is to prepare food on the weekend because I definitely lack time and energy to do it on weeknights. As for taking cabs, it'll always be the hardest part of the challenge: I realized I don't always take them because I'm lazy, but also because I'm in a hurry or in a thunderstorm or carrying heavy things, etc. However, I am much more careful and don't take them as frequently as I did, before my challenge. I'm already feeling better after two weeks and I think I even lost weight. My goal is first to change my bad habits, then focus on weight loss - but it's nice to know I can drop a few pounds just by modifying my lifestyle

Thank you Jonny!

Thanks, bker, for the detailed explanation! Happy that we are sharing this experience, Myrdinn! Thanks Vibrantella! And I believe I will continue to post here for the time being

Hello @Briniel ! I was just browsing through members' logs and I luckily clicked on yours. I have to say, I may have found something here that could change my life (!): bullet journaling. Believe it or not, I had never heard about it before, so out of curiosity, I've been googling it and now I have been watching videos about it for almost an hour! I can't wait to try it out this weekend Thank you!

Yes, good job, Aynon! You did not give up and made it!