J3nn's Three goals for 2019

[J3NN]

About Me:

Spoiler

I’m 44, I’m married, I have an adult daughter who lives at home. We have three cats and a haven for lizards and birds outside. I live in Southern California, between Palm Springs and Los Angeles. I work in the healthcare/academic industry, in marketing and communications (web). My doctor/insurance flag me as obese. I’m sedentary because of my job, but in general, my hobbies also tend towards the sedentary. I love to read, crochet, watch television/movies. I love to hike and take pictures so that’s the one outdoor/active thing I would do all the time if I could. I’m a hockey fan, we have season tickets to our local AHL team.

 

2019 Goals

• Lose 25 lbs by August and keep off for rest of year (goal weight is 183 lbs)
• Complete 1 decluttering/cleaning challenge of minimum 20 minutes per week
• Post 3 times a month on blog and post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter when published

 

Challenge

• Fitness challenge Goal – lose 4.16 lbs
  • 3x week exercise
  • 2 gym plus 1-1hr walk w/podcast OR BWW and Fitness Marshall and stretches
• Nutrition challenge
  • Limit alcohol to 2x week
  • Limit treats/sweets to 1x day (alcohol counts as treat)
  • Employ strategy for cravings – gum, water, healthy snack
  • Explore breakfast/lunch recipes from Mediterranean diet
  • Track in My Fitness Pal if required by Say NOW program (my gym glass)
• LYL challenge
  • Unfilth your habitat - Complete 1 decluttering/cleaning challenge of minimum 20 minutes per week
    • Create and follow cleaning schedule (use Cozi)
    • Work on this min 20 min per week
    • Track boxes of donations and purchase streak (not replacing a “lost” item)
  • Blog - Post 3 times a month on blog and post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter when published
    • Publish 3x month
    • Miscellaneous tasks
      • Move posts from MWGR
      • Cull posts from CH
      • Reread Content Rules
      • Develop commonplace book for ideas
• Work challenge
  • TBD
• Habits   
  • Weigh in (Weekly)
  • Record measurements (monthly)
  • Write (weekly)
  • Purchasing streak
  • Housework
  • Self-care & Hygiene
  • Vitamins, Skincare and Dental
  • Housework before entertainment (reading or crocheting)

 

TLDR

Spoiler

• Lose 25 lbs by August and keep off for rest of year (goal weight is 183 lbs)
  • I want to get my BMI down into the green range by the end of next year, so taking it in small steps, I set the goal to lose 25 lbs this year which would take me from orange to yellow. Then next year I’ll go yellow to green. We have a friend’s wedding in July, so my goal is to lose the bulk of the weight by then and then keep it off for the remainder of the year with good habits.
• Complete 1 decluttering/cleaning challenge of minimum 20 minutes per week
  • My living spaces are largely liveable, my home looks lived in, but if the cops show up and come in (this has happened on two different occasions in my life…one because we witnessed a crime and they interviewed us, and two because we had a break in) they’re not going to call Child Protective Services and declare my home unsanitary. In fact, they’d be likely to join us at the dining table for a card game or on the couch for a hockey game. The kitchen might have a meal’s worth of dishes piled up and the bathroom might be a little unfresh, but it won’t be black with mold. But… when you get into storage, my house is atrocious. Our gym often doubles as a storage facility, our garage has boxes unpacked from two moves ago…the attic as well.  Our bedroom has more boxes because we don’t have an office or craft room set up, so they hold all the stuff we need too often to keep in one of the storage places. Because of this, we find ourselves buying duplicates of things we have in storage somewhere. So my goal here is to go through things and get rid of the items that we will never use again by donating them to people who will. I think there’s also a lot of stored trash… old paper work, broken computers, replaced products from home DIY projects and stuff like that, that I can recycle or just throw away. I don’t really have a tangible goal for the end of the year like I do with the weight loss, so I’m going to track my donations and track how many days I go without buying something I need that I know I have in storage. I’m going to commit to using challenges from sites like Unfilth Your Habitat and FlyLady to give me specific tasks and will do a minimum of 20 minutes on a challenge per week. I will also set up a bare minimum house cleaning schedule and reward myself for doing my housework by letting myself read or crochet.
• Post 3 times a month on blog and post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter when published
  • In 2011 I started my blog, Make the World Go Round. It lasted for six months. In 2014 I started Coachable Heart. It lasted two years. In 2016, Gish (a.k.a. GISHWHES) changed my life.  This group unites each year for one week.  They commit random acts of kindness. They create amazing things. They challenge the status quo with statements like “Death to Normalcy.”  Now, in 2018, I’m inspired to combine the three and go back to work.
    On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 a gunman killed 12 innocent people and himself and wounded more than 20. It was the fourth soft-target, shooting in two weeks. “Soft targets represent simple daily life. People come and go. They expect to be safe as they pick up a cup of coffee, deposit their paychecks, fill prescriptions or grab a bite to eat. Their guards are down.” (https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/08/us/soft-targets-thousand-oaks-bar-shooting/index.html).
    The next night the Los Angeles Kings issued a statement to amplify the message that enough is enough. (more on this to come) It’s time to move beyond thoughts and prayers and do something to change the world we live in.
    With the internet and connectivity being what it is now, people often turn to social media for an escape. That’s okay. We’ve adapted to the times and it’s how we cope. So my hope is to create a digital escape for people, somewhere to feel like they are in the safety of their own home. Somewhere that people can go to get that escape. But also somewhere for people to learn how to engage and make a difference.
    It will take us all to turn the tide. We need activists to dream up a new world. They start the political change that will bring our world back into balance. We also need people to follow the path to this new world. The rest will lead their families, their communities and their social groups to new options. We need to know what those options are.
    Here’s what I hope to accomplish:
    • I plan to highlight some of these options. I’ll even try to remain unbiased.
    • I will find and share amazing things that allow people to see the beauty that still exists in this world.
    • I will provide information about things that I am creating – my own personal way to cope.
    • I will profile charities to show how people are making a difference.
    • I will share ways to cope. Show how to have a different response.
    • I may even encourage you to write to your elected officials.
• Habits
  • I made some progress last year with habits and then I did a serious backslide through the holidays. Lesson learned, if you don’t track it, you don’t do it. So I’m going to track the habits I want to keep working on until they are really habits…

 

Ready to level up!

[Bean Sidhe]

Here to watch you level up. Good luck this challenge.

[karinajean]

happy new year and happy new challenge!

[J3NN]

As inspired by @Bean Sidhe, I'm modifying my challenge to include a list of options of things where I can pick any of them, but I have do some of them. She explained it better

 

I picked three categories, here's my why...

• Level up
  • I am building habits and routines... I do a lot and I want to acknowledge for myself that I am doing things and making slow but steady progress
• Movement
  • I am not good about just moving, I am signed up for a gym class and I will do that because I paid for it and am committed, but I need to get better about moving when I haven't tricked myself into it. So on days I don't have a committed workout I want to do some sort of movement... even if it's only 3-5 minutes.
• Maintenance & Flexibility
  • I have a desk job... therefore I have poor posture... and sitting is the new killing me...I mean smoking. I need to counteract my sitting and become more flexible which will only help my workouts. I need to do two of these stretches every day. I have no idea what their real names are, as I find out, I'll update my list, for now these weird descriptions should be enough to remind me of the poses. I'll know each day where my body needs that stretch, and the hope is of course that I'll do more.

So, here's my starting list, I expect this to morph...

 

This is just an extra thing to track for this challenge... as a reminder and for accountability. I'm not setting it as a goal or giving myself any extra reward.

• Level up (do 10)
  • Update tracker
  • Update nerd fitness
  • Update goal board
  • List of doom item
  • Process mail
  • Meet Step count goal
  • Drink 100 ounces water
  • Morning vitamins
  • Evening vitamins
  • Do daily chores
  • Write (10 min)
  • Commonplace book
  • Chores before toys
  • Face morning
  • Face night
  • Teeth morning
  • Teeth night
  • Mouth rinse
  • Floss once
• Movement (if no workout, do 1)
  • 20 bodyweight squats
  • 10 push ups
  • 20 walking lunges – 10 each leg
  • 10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug or another weight)
  • 15 second plank
  • 30 jumping jacks
  • Walk with podcast
  • Walk with family
  • Fitness Marshall dance workout
  • Tai chi moves (tbd)
• Maintenance & Flexibility (do 2)
  • Cat & Cow
  • Puppy & extended puppy
  • Plantar fascia extension
  • Roll plantar fascia
  • Neck roll
  • Next stretch pull down to side w/hand (both sides)
  • Chest opener (hands up, hands down, squeeze shoulder blades, hands up, hands down to waist)
  • Interlace squeeze and bend
  • Titanic stretch
  • Ballet stretch
  • Child
  • Cobra
  • Half tortoise
  • Crab on ball (hands over for deeper stretch)
  • Side reach
  • Tall kneeling back arch (Camel)
  • Behind neck tricep stretch
  • Against wall tricep stretch
  • Braced bicep thumbs up to thumbs down
  • Reach out and round back to raised arms
  • Left or Right Twist to raised arms
  • Ear to shoulder, arm out, move arm to adjust
  • Push elbow with hand down spine
  • Cross over arch back, inhale up, exhale arch down
  • Shoulder to ground
  • Chest opener twist on ground
  • Interlaced hands behind back on belly, pull up

[J3NN]

Update

• Fitness challenge Goal – lose 4.16 lbs
  • Lost 1.6 lbs and then gained it all back. :/
  • Gym starts tomorrow
• Nutrition challenge
  • Feeling like I'm on a diet which is something I did NOT want. Shopping and meal planning for this week is already done so I need to make a new plan for next week.
• LYL challenge
  • Unfilth your habitat - Complete 1 decluttering/cleaning challenge of minimum 20 minutes per week
    • Worked in the bathroom this week, felt great, found stuff I thought I'd lost. But feel overwhelmed by how little of a dent the progress I made showed when it was all said and done.
  • Blog - Post 3 times a month on blog and post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter when published
    • Didn't accomplish this last week, need to focus on it this week.

Chart:

	To date	Committed	Reached
Gym 2x week	0	8	0%
Solo workout 1x week	1	4	25%
UFYH Challenge 1x/20 min week	1	5	20%
Blog 3x month	0	3	0%
Weight (Lose 4.16 lbs)	0	-4.16	0%
Alcohol 2x week	2	10	20%
Sweet/Treat 1x day	7	35	20%
Habits
Write	0000	0	0%
Purchasing Streak	7	35	20%
Teeth 2x day	3	35	9%
Face 2x day	6	35	17%
Following chore schedule	3	35	9%
Vitamins	6	35	17%
Chores before Toys	1	35	3%
Bonus
Stretches	1	0	100%
Walk & podcast	1	0	100%
Fitness Marshall	0	0	0%
Tai Chi	0	0	0%
Commonplace book	1	0	100%
My Fitness Pal	0	0	0%

[Blethan]

Hey, looking great!

I know how you feel with spending ages doing stuff but not making a dent...

Have you heard of the Kon Mari system for decluttering? I started working on it back in August (and am still going!). Its taking a loooonnnggg time, but I can already feel my home has improved from it!

 

 

[Bean Sidhe]

Glad the "do something" idea helped. Looks like you are making a good start. I hope it continues for you.

[J3NN]

18 hours ago, Blethan said:

Have you heard of the Kon Mari system for decluttering? I started working on it back in August (and am still going!). Its taking a loooonnnggg time, but I can already feel my home has improved from it!

Yes, I tried that system for a while last year, it just didn't resonate with me. I saw there's a show on Netflix now though so I'm curious to check that out. Have you seen it?

[Bean Sidhe]

Hows it going @J3NN

[Blethan]

On 1/9/2019 at 3:44 PM, J3NN said:

Yes, I tried that system for a while last year, it just didn't resonate with me. I saw there's a show on Netflix now though so I'm curious to check that out. Have you seen it?

No! I had no idea it existed, will have to check it now. 

[J3NN]

I didn’t go to work again yesterday, last week I missed Tuesday and Thursday... I'm back today, we'll see if I can make it two in a row tomorrow..

 

So, last Tuesday I went back to the gym. My Navy instructor is gone, he finally got orders…is that what they call it when they go to BUDS? Anyway… he’s gone, so my old instructor was back in leading us. It was the first class so it was supposed to be easy. But it wasn’t easy, she gave us a full work out. I hadn’t done a real workout since Nov 12. So I guess it was too much for me, even though I thought I was taking it easy. Somehow I strained my diaphragm muscle. It’s still hurting and it’s been a week. So I’ve been advised to contact my doctor and I’m going to miss the gym and in fact I may be dropping out completely for this session.

 

Mentally I am just ill prepared to handle this. I’ve been dealing with something or other since we got back from Hawaii in the end of August. First I had Plantar Fasciitis. Then I did something to my neck/back over Thanksgiving. Then I banged up my little toe and thought I broke it. Now this. All while fighting to keep the plantar fasciitis at bay. I have been sick multiple times… fevers, congestion, aches and pains, etc. I guess it’s not that amazing how some sort of constant ailment for nearly four months will wear you down.

 

Not to mention in this time, I got a new boss, applied for and failed to get a new job, and with my boss’s boss going out on Maternity leave have lost any oversight, and no one seems to care if I show up to work, do my job or get anything done at all.

 

My house is a cluttered mess, our kitchen was supposed to be the start of fixing all that, and instead there was issue after issue and it isn’t finished, won’t be done until at least the end of the month, and parts of it may have to be redone completely. Thinking of packing up everything to get new flooring installed is frankly beyond overwhelming.

 

Right now I’m at the point where if I make it out of bed and manage to accomplish anything, including just showing up at work.. I’m calling that a good day.

 

Sorry for whining and complaining, but I think I needed to get it off my chest. I don’t know what to do, so I’m just doing what I can to survive right now. :/

 

I'm revamping my challenge to just do some things... without making it worse. So that's where I'm at.

 

[Bean Sidhe]

@J3NN

 

I am so sorry that things have been so rough lately. I can totally understand that feeling of just "What next?" and it making it hard to get out of bed. I totally think a challenge revamp would be a good idea and sometimes, it can feel better to take the bit of control and say I will do 3 or X or something. Trust me, that is where I am at.

As far as whining/complaining. You are fine, we all have those moments. I know you have read my challenges and I have had the same moments. sometimes being able to go "why me" can actually help since you can finally voice what you are thinking and that is okay too.

 

I am here to support you and I know you will do great with however you revamp it. Sometimes being able to do something can make it feel like you are still in control of something, even if nothing else is.

*hugs* Here to cheer you on or listen if  you need someone to talk to.

[J3NN]

4 hours ago, Bean Sidhe said:

Sometimes being able to do something can make it feel like you are still in control of something, even if nothing else is.

This, definitely.

 

I actually slept better last night and it's made a world of difference in my mood. I think perhaps my body is finally healing and I may be turning the corner. We'll see.

 

I've decided to switch gym classes and goals. I'm going to go once a week instead of two, and it will be a machine based class, not circuit training. So that will help both my foot and my need to ease back in.

 

My doc thinks I just overdid the workout and that I will be okay, but advised that if I still feel bad Monday I need to make an appointment.

 

Now, I just need to revamp my grid so I'm not looking at the old stuff and feeling like a drop-out/failure.

Thanks @Bean Sidhe

[J3NN]

Okay, here's my new challenge:

• Goals
  • Gym 1x week (3 total)
  • Solo workout 1x week (3 total)
  • UFYH Challenge 1x/20 min week (5 total)
  • Blog 3x month (3 total)
  • Weight (Lose 4.16 lbs)
• Get things done (daily goals)
  • Level up - Do 10
    • Update tracker
    • Update nerd fitness
    • Update goal board
    • List of doom item
    • Process mail
    • Meet Step count goal
    • Drink 80 ounces water
    • Morning vitamins
    • Evening vitamins
    • Do daily chores
    • Write (10 min)
    • Commonplace book
    • Chores before toys
    • Face morning
    • Face night
    • Teeth morning
    • Teeth night
    • Mouth rinse
    • Floss once
  • Movement – do 1
    • 20 bodyweight squats
    • 10 push ups
    • 20 walking lunges – 10 each leg
    • 10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug or another weight)
    • 15 second plank
    • 30 jumping jacks
    • Walk with podcast
    • Walk with family
    • Fitness Marshall dance workout
    • Tai chi moves (tbd)
  • Maintenance & Flexibility – do 2
    • Cat & Cow
    • Puppy & extended puppy
    • Plantar fascia extension
    • Roll plantar fascia
    • Neck roll
    • Next stretch pull down to side w/hand (both sides)
    • Chest opener (hands up, hands down, squeeze shoulder blades, hands up, hands down to waist)
    • Interlace squeeze and bend
    • Titanic stretch
    • Ballet stretch
    • Child
    • Cobra
    • Half tortoise
    • Crab on ball (hands over for deeper stretch)
    • Side reach
    • Tall kneeling back arch (Camel)
    • Behind neck tricep stretch
    • Against wall tricep stretch
    • Braced bicep thumbs up to thumbs down
    • Reach out and round back to raised arms
    • Left or Right Twist to raised arms
    • Ear to shoulder, arm out, move arm to adjust
    • Push elbow with hand down spine
    • Cross over arch back, inhale up, exhale arch down
    • Shoulder to ground
    • Chest opener twist on ground
    • Interlaced hands behind back on belly, pull up

 

[J3NN]

So, Wednesday I did it! I accomplished what I needed to do, got all my boxes, did all the things.

 

Yesterday was a bad day at work and I didn't get the things. 

 

Baby steps I guess.

[J3NN]

Okay, this new style of "do the things" challenge is working to get me back in my habits. I'm not 100% yet, but I'm doing way better.

 

The best news is that as of Friday I started feeling good again. All I can think is that I sprained a muscle in my diaphragm and it was like when you sneeze or cough with a broken rib. So glad it was just a little something and that I'm over it. Tonight I'll be back at the gym, assuming they're open since it's a holiday.

 

I did focused cleaning in the master bathroom and everything is sparkly and shiny, so that was super nice to wake up to.

 

My weight isn't doing great... I was done 2.4 of 4.1, but as of this morning I'm up .6 lbs. So, wrong direction there, not sure what accounted for it either which is always frustrating.

 

I'm not quite up to getting my movement in, but I'm getting better with my chores and stretches, so that's very good.

 

All in all, forward progress and better spirits. So grateful for that.

[Bean Sidhe]

J3NN - I am glad to hear the new box system is working. Sometimes you just have to admit "life is a bit weird" and do what you can. I am also glad that you are feeling better. Keep moving forward. You got this.

[Butternut]

Dude, J3NN, it sounds like your making leaps and bounds with your goals!

 

Weight is a silly thing.  Have you thought about focusing on accomplishments instead of weight loss goals? 

 

Just a thought! It really helped me with my weight lose journey.   I was obessed with my weight, until I read  a blog from Mark Sisson about choosing accomplishments instead of body goals.