Search the Community

After too many challenges away, I'm back. It's been a long, strange trip which has, hopefully, made me a wiser shadow lion... I am building my challenge out of several other small challenges, sort of like challenge "lego bricks." Tiny Habits First, I am using the the five day "Tiny Habits' challenge starting tomorrow to kick things off. I expect to roll these over and build on them as I progress through the four weeks of this challenge. They are tiny, and that's the point. If you aren't already familiar with the concept, you can read more about the theory and method of tiny habits here. I will be following these 3 rules the first week of this challenge. After I turn off my morning alarm, I will do one visualization After I brush my teeth in the evening, I will floss one tooth After I lay down in bed, I will recall one happy memory Vegetarian Challenge Second, I have a goal of eating a vegetarian diet at least 90% of the time by Jan. 1, 2019. I've come to the conclusion that my previous efforts failed because of not really understanding how to keep my macros in healthy balance and get enough of the other nutrients I needed so that I did not crave meat. I'm giving this effort another shot, using this 30 day challenge as a more gradual 60ish day plan. That will overlap nicely with this challenge and next. Just What the Doctor Ordered Third. Recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, I need to use a pressurized airway device at night while I sleep. This condition carries a "compliance" requirement with my health insurance. I am still in the "adaptation" window and doing well, but my competitive streak wants to do REALLY WELL. That, and the doctor put the fear into me with what untreated or poorly treated OSA can lead to. Luckily, they have a "coaching" app that assigns points and let's me see ALL THE DATA! My nerdish side is very motivated by that. This photo of Lion and Safari Park is courtesy of TripAdvisor Photo of a sleeping (and snoring) lioness. Sleeping good; snoring, not. Preparing for the Adventure of a Lifetime Finally, I am easing into a more active exercise routine using some of the ideas from "Tiny Habits' grafted onto some things I was already doing to decrease the amount of sitting I do at work–stretches at my desk, breaks of stair laps or walking or a few bodyweight exercises. I will track these on my spreadsheet and summarize weekly here. This is part of a larger, secret plan I am hatching with a good friend of mine (with whom I have another 30 day health and happiness challenge going). I will gradually reveal details as they coalesce... Hmmm, not such a tiny challenge after all, but neither is it one of the overwhelming Shadowlion challenges of old. Finding my balance with four smallish mini challenges rolled into one larger one. I am still finalizing my point system for the above and will update that in my next post here. Woot! New Nerd Fitness challenge, and my first one as a 60-year-old!!!