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Took a bit of a break, and now I'm back with a slightly different focus. I actually think this is going to be a difficult challenge for me, since I'm focusing more on making and breaking habits, which is a type of goal I'm notoriously terrible at. I'm pretty settled in my routine of Crossfit 3x/week, and am doing fairly well at meeting my numbers for ETP, so, while I will likely report on these, they won't be specific goals (some of my goals will be related, though). I will have 1 workout-related goal, related to running, which is also something I'm notoriously terrible at doing (consistently). I'll start all this officially on the 18th (I like my weeks to run Monday-Sunday), but for Zero Week I'll be doing my best to start sticking to these habits (it's going to be a process, so I'll need the practice). I'm debating on if I want to have a reward for being perfect, I like the idea to give me a bit of extra motivation, but I don't know what the reward would be... Breaking Bad (Habits) When I get home from work/the gym, it's very easy for me to eat, then laze in bed for the rest of the evening with the TV on (only sort of watching it) and messing around on the internet. I'm usually fairly exhausted, both physically and mentally, and this is the habit I've fallen into and the one that leads to me not being successful at making new ones. It's just so easy to laze then sleep, and it's not so much that I forget to do the other things I want to do, but that I'm distracted and by the time I think of it it's bed time. I always say I'll do it tomorrow but then the pattern repeats. So, first new rule: the TV can be on, but only while I'm doing something productive (ie. one of the following habits). Second new rule: no internet until I've completed my habits for the day. This means I might not be updating here daily, but I'll do my best. This one will be the key to success for all the others, and probably the hardest of the bunch. New Habit #1 ~ Physio and Stretching/Mobility This is a goal of mine almost every time I make a challenge, and I almost never fail to fail it. I've had ongoing hip issues and have not been dedicated with the physio assigned to me to help fix them, and so can't really judge if it's helping or not. And every time I feel like I'm getting in a good exercise groove, something gets tweaked and I have to take a week off to let it heal, and it's never serious, but it sets me back, more mentally than anything. Daily physio and a maintenance routine will help me keep up with other habits (like running), as it will hopefully remove any excuse to not do it (such as minor injuries and general aches and pains). And waiting until the end of the day when I work the late shift is not an option, at least for the physio aspect, I have plenty of time in the morning. New Habit #2 ~ Meal Prep I sometimes do ok with this, and sometimes not. I've found that I really need to meal prep 2x/week, doing it all on the weekend isn't viable (or rather, doing a whole week at one time isn't viable, things get boring and/or funky by the end of the week and it makes it easy to go off plan). The easiest days to do this are Wednesdays after the gym, and one of the weekend days (or spread it across both). Things I want to focus on are finding/creating dressings and sauces that aren't overly fatty but are very tasty, to liven up my chicken and rice (suggestions welcome), and incorporating more variety into my diet (specifically on the fruit and vegetable front). I also need to get better are packing meals the night before, so I don't have to rush as much in the morning. New Habit #3 ~ Logging Things I have a fitness log to fill out for my police application, and it's easy for me to skip it for a few days then fill in a bunch of days at a time. As long as this is only a few days, it's not that big a deal, but it's better if I log it daily. I log my food in MFP, and am doing fine with that, but it's infinitely easier if I pre-log my day. Having everything logged in ahead of time helps keeps me on track and avoid temptation, and will help with my goal of more variety, since I don't have to try to wing it and hope it fits. So I'll take some time before bed to plan out my day, and make sure I've got at least 1 fruit and/or vegetable in every meal. I should probably log my habits (apart from updating here), even if just with a check mark, to help me keep on track with them. I haven't decided how I want to do that, but I might just make a chart and stick it in my OPP fitness log, which will hopefully remind me to log both things daily. New Habit #4 ~ Sleepy Time Another goal that's perpetually in my challenges and which I perpetually am bad at. Going to bed on time and getting up with the alarm. The former is usually ok most of the time, the later not so much. Getting up on time will be a big one seeing as I now work 3/5 days a week at 8am, and have to have enough time to get ready in the morning. I'm hoping some of the meal prep stuff will help here too, since the more I get done the night before, the less I have to do in my sleep-deprived state in the morning. Workout Goal ~ Running My work schedule is now amenable to doing a workout every day Monday-Friday, so I will do so as much as possible. I now have two 1-9 on-call shifts (in the past one of my on-call shifts was 10-6 which pretty much killed my entire day), so the mornings of those days will be run days (unless I need to schedule an appointment). One of those days I will do the beep test at my gym, and the other I will do a hard 2.5k (1.5mi, which is part of fitness testing at one point). I will continue to do a 'long' run on weekends, keeping it at 5k until my hip starts to behave itself better (hopefully Habit #1 will help with that), then start working up to 10k. Workout Goal ~ Pushups I need to increase my pushup numbers for future police-related testing, so I'm going to start a 100 Pushup program (specifically this one), which will be tentatively done on the same days as I go to crossfit, so Monday-Wednesday-Friday. I haven't decided what to do if I do pushup in that day's workout, but I'll play that by ear depending on the number I do.

Hey everyone. So, I've been pretty bummed out about my progress, or lack thereof. Recently I've started a challenge strong, then something happens and complete derails me. It's frustrating. I'M GOING TO GET BACK INTO THE GAME DAMNIT!!! I need to do better. Albeit, I'm still doing a lot better than I was a year ago. What I've been doing hasn't been working. I'm starting over from square 1. I'm making super simple goals and going to build on them as things move forward. I'm in this for the long haul, not the immediate. I need to keep in mind what my goals are and remind myself why I want to accomplish them. I need to find my determination again. This time I'm going for the Lord of the Rings theme. Frodo started off as a simple hobbit, lazing around, eating all the time... but by the end he went through so much and became a much stronger hobbit in the end. That's my goal! Progress! Goals for the end of 2017: Here is an update on my progress towards my 2017 goals: Some of them I'm going in the right direction, some of them I am not. I'm going to work harder to improve this challenge. Goals for this Challenge: Goal 1: Say no to second breakfast: No more than 2 variances per week I'm going for this one again. I didn't succeed last time. I have to learn how to say 'no' to second breakfast! This is the most important goal for me this challenge. I can't outrun my fork. I HAVE to get back on track with eating healthy. I've already meal prepped for this week, so I'm starting off strong! Goal 2: Battle the Nazgul: Work out 3 times per week Ok, last challenge this fell through. This is going to be the same as before. I still kept looking at it as 'going to the gym' for working out. This time I'm really going to focus on the 30 minutes of working out. I think part of the problem is my trainer keeps putting me on work outs that take an hour and a half just to do the weight lifting... then he wants me to do 30 minutes of cardio. This is for 3 days/week. I don't want to work out 2 hours a day, 4 days a week right now. That's too much for me to handle, especially while I'm in school. I'm going to have to just do my own thing I think. In October, I'm going to cancel my trainer sessions. I don't think it's worth the money for me anymore. I think I've learned enough on my own for me to take that next step in controlling my own workouts. I would LOVE input from everyone on workouts to do. I'm wanting to lose weight and get healthy. I'm not looking to become a power lifter (at least not right now). I want to get more energy, lose weight, and live a healthier life! Thoughts? Goal 3: Walk to Mordor: get at least 7,000 steps a day 4 times per week Time to get moving again! Gotta get those steps in to throw the ring into mount doom! I didn't do well on this last challenge, so this challenge I'm going to try and make it a little easier. My goal is to do 7,000 steps 4x/week. Let's see if I can manage that. If I can, I'll bump it up to 5x per week. It's about improvement! Goal 3: Fellowship of the RhiaWolfe: Check in at least 4x/week Even with my busy schedule, I need to check in with you guys and my accountabilibuddies at least 4x per week. I need support. I need to talk to you guys. Keep me honest, guys!