Shello's 2023 Roadmap: It's a Lifestyle

[Shello]

It's a Lifestyle

 

 

Welcome to my 2023 roadmap.  I'm Shello.  I've been around here since at least 2014, making improvements, hitting obstacles, and building friendships.  It occurred to me recently when I happen to be confronted with my real age, that I came here expecting to get my life in order before I hit 40 and now am nearing 50 and don't seem to have my life in any more order than before.  I hit the same obstacles year after year, and still seem to lose the same weight over and over again.   Don't get me wrong; improvements have been made.   I have lost plenty of pounds, keeping off 32 permanently (so far). I have become stronger.  I have become wiser.  I've learned how to balance things better.  Even though I easily lose ground  I learn something with every challenge about what works for me and what doesn't.  Even as my life changes and old things stop working I find new ways to cope. 

 

2022 was an experiment with consistency.  It was largely successful but some consistent pitfalls keep holding me back.  2023 is about building on that consistency, clarifying where I faltered and amplifying what works.  What I am really doing is building a lifestyle that supports long term success even in the face of obstacles.  My 2023 roadmap has three components: daily goals that lay the foundation for success, Weekly goals that promote improved health or support my daily goals, and lifestyle hacks to tackle my recurring pitfalls.  

 

 

Dailies

Daily goals are not enough on their own to get me to my goal weight or move me forward to my level 100, but without these daily habits any progress is difficult.   The goal isn't necessarily to do all of these 100% of the time, but doing them most of the time creates a lifestyle.  By the end of the year these should just be things that I do. 

1. Start the day with water (or other approved liquids).   The important part isn't so much drinking water first thing but simply NOT drinking soda first thing.  Once I start drinking diet soda I'm les likely to switch back to water.  Drinking it first ensures I get some decent hydration. 
2. Fast 15 hours.  Fasting 16 would be ideal but I don't feel I need to pay that close attention.  15 hours helps reduce late night snacking, which is usually poor quality,  and reduces unnecessary breakfasts when I'm not actually hungry. 
3. Eat a Freggy.  The goal is more than 1 but there is less impact in the difference between a 4 freggy day and a 5 freggy day as there is between a no freggy day and a 1 freggy day.  
4. Daily Movement.  This should speak for itself.  Do something.  Daily.  But I really struggled to measure this in 2022.  So here's the rule for '23:
   • Any fitnessing that counts towards the weekly goal counts here
   • In the absence of a workout, a Fitbit calorie burn of 2400 is enough so support an active day
   • In the absence of either, a 5 minute fitness snack will suffice.  A fitness snack is a couple minutes of stretching and then a couple minutes of any fitness I feel like doing - squats, planks, a Darebee daily workout, whatever.  
5. Read Daily. This is the foundation for mental fitness.  
6. Tidy 5 minutes (or purge 1 item) - This is the foundation for a healthy environment
7. Log Food (OPTIONAL)  I know logging works and I tend to lose weight better when logging but sometimes I just can't get myself to do it.  The daily goals are designed to help make good choices even when I am not logging.  This goal is optional.  At times I'll activate it and during those times, it is a required daily task.  Otherwise I'll just do it as needed. 
8. Stay under Calorie budget (OPTIONAL).  This goal is obviously only relevant when the prior rule is engaged.  

 

Weeklies

There are two types of weekly goals,  fitness and nutrition.  The nutrition goals are a continuation of last year's habits.  Like the daily goals, doing these tasks weekly encourage better choices overall.  

1. Prepare a Meal Plan.  This includes planning a batch cook but also being aware of potential outings and events that make nutrition difficult.  Meal plans are subject to change but the effort into planning helps prepare for many obstacles.
2. Batch cook.  I typically cook one batch dinner that lasts 3 or so nights.  Having food on hand makes it easier to avoid last minute decisions or highly processed 'easy' meals.  

 

Last year my fitness goal was to achieve 300 days of daily movement.  Some of those days were meant to be fitness and some just needed to keep me from being a couch potato ALL day.  It's becoming a consistent habit (albeit tenuous and less consistent recently) but it's time to increase intensity.  Sometime last year I came across an article with fitness recommendations.  After some research, I've found many health organizations have similar recommendations. The CDC, WHO, American Heart Association, DHHS, NHS all have references to getting at least 150 minutes of moderate cardio a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio.   Many of these also recommend strength training twice a week, and stretching twice a week.  Many of the reported benefits align perfectly with my big Why.

• Lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressue, dementia, and some cancers
• Better sleep
• Improved cognition, including memory, attention, and processing speed 
• less weight gain, obesity, and related chronic illness
• Better bone health and balance with less risk from falls.  
• Fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety
• Better quality of life and sense of overall well-being

My big why (apart from looking good naked) is to age well and maintain mobility, health, mental health, and quality of life in the later years.  I've seen too many people in my family spend their last several years of their lives having a hard time getting around and that will not be me! 

 

          3. 150 minutes cardio

          4. Strength 2x week.  At least 10 minutes each.  Double dipping with cardio is allowed. 

          5. Stretch/yoga 2x week

 

Life Hacks

There are a few pitfalls that are constant struggles.   Despite making better choices weigh loss has continues to elude me.  I can make good choices most of the time but these pitfalls can undo multiple days of good choices.   Part of building my new lifestyle is finding life hacks to help me with these pitfalls.  I still plan to enjoy life but this does not need to be my undoing!  The following are my biggest pitfalls . Every time one of these events occurs, it triggers a life hack.  I don't know what all the life hacks are yet.  If I did, this wouldn't be a problem.  Each time I have to try something to alleviate detrimental effects and document the effectiveness here.  Not all will be successful but  finding the ones that are will help me build that healthy lifestyle I've after.

1. Eating out. Don't even get me started.   This is probably the biggest obstacle.  DDG and I have some ideas for life hacks.  I'm looking forward to trying them.  
2. Food Day at work.  This wasn't an issue for a long time but now I'm gaining a new group that will report to me and they have one monthly and it's always over the top.  I need strategies! 
3. Pizza.  My.Biggest.Weakness.   Ordering pizza or going out is the worst.  We're getting better at having frozen pizza within reason.  
4. Family Visits. The few times a year I get together with family, all habits seem to go out the window.  I need special habits for these occasions. 
5. Holidays.  See family visits but only now there's also cookies.  

 

 

 

 

[deftona]

Woohoo, another year to smash, another Battle Log to track it!

[Shello]

This space reserved to record life hacks. 

 

1. Eating out. 
   1. Ditch the Fries 8/10, great choice if there are great replacement options on the menu
   2. Order light (ish) 6/10, helpful but only in a supplemental way
   3. Go Slow and Check in. 6/10, helpful but only in a supplemental way

   4. Each Only Half 4/10. Very difficult.  

   5. The 8 Fry Rule 9/10 Very Helpful but doesn't address regretful burgers

2. Food Day at work.  
   1. Stick to the Basics 7/10. Moderately helpful but leaves a lot of room for chaos.
3. Pizza.
   1. Just Don't Do it 7/10. Works well but needs to be used sparingly
   2. Pre-portioned 10/10. Works every time. 
   3. Share
4. Family Visits. 
5. Holidays.  
   1. Fast and Freggy.  8/10.  Helpful but results may vary

[Shello]

This space reserved for measurements.

 

I haven't been religious about keeping track of measurements but this year I want to at least record the beginning measurements so I have another tool besides that stupid scale.  I have taken measurements in the past and been up and down.  These numbers seem awful familiar to me.  I'm tired of being in the same place.  Here's to hoping there are new numbers at the end of the year. 

Spoiler

bust 44-1/2

waist 45

hips 51-1/2

biceps 15-1/2

thigh 29

calf 21-1/4

 

 

 

 

[RES]

Here for support and to navigate 2023 alongside you!

[Shello]

Challenge 1 is live!

 

 

[Shello]

On 12/28/2022 at 4:05 PM, deftona said:

Woohoo, another year to smash, another Battle Log to track it!

I'm not sure I've smashed any of them year but maybe this is the one!

 

19 hours ago, RES said:

Here for support and to navigate 2023 alongside you!

Awesome!  Welcome!

[Shello]

Beginning weight for 2023 is 256.2.  I'm so tired of the 250's.  I thought I had busted them but here I am again.   I usually set little tentative goals for myself to gauges where I might be at the end of the year.   This hasn't really been effective in the past but I CAN NOT HELP MYSELF.  This time I'm at least being very conservative.  3 pounds a challenge, with no expectations for the holiday (except maybe just not gain).  That's a 24 pound loss for the year.  That seems perfectly doable.  

[Shello]

Weigh in this week after a week going out for dinner 4 times and I managed to lose a pound.  Unfortunately that's still 257.4 because I gained 2 pounds the first week of the challenge.  But it's also encouraging that life hacks help.  Going out to each 4 times in a week usually means gaining at least 4 pounds.  

[Shello]

Challenge 1 is complete and in the books!  See the statistics copied from the challenge wrap up.  

 

Challenge Statistics 

 

Dailies

Start the day with H20 - 94%

Fast 15 hours - 82%

Eat a Freggy - 91%

 Move daily - 64%

Ready daily - 100%

Tidy daily - 70%

        This is fairly pleasing.  Moving and tidying daily are the clear disappointments.  

 

Weeklies

Meal planning and batch cooking - 100%

 

150 minutes cardio weekly - 40%.  I average 60 minutes weekly.  

Strength workout 2x/week - 40%

Stretch/Yogay 2x/week - 40% 

          Wow.  That was amazingly consistent.  At least I have a good baseline for the year.  Now all I have to do is improve on it.  

 

Life Hacks

9 life hacks were attempted over the course of this challenge, with varying results.  In the end, they all help to some degree so it's never a bad idea to resort to one of these.  I had planned to implement one more life hack for my birthday night pizza.  I figure getting a pizza and sharing will guarantee you can't go over the allotted amount.  However, I was indecisive about pizza flavors so I'm likely making 2 of them. Sharing doesn't really work that well with an excess of pizza.  But I'm adding it to the list for later use.   

• Eating out. 
  1. Ditch the Fries 8/10, great choice if there are great replacement options on the menu
  2. Order light (ish) 6/10, helpful but only in a supplemental way
  3. Go Slow and Check in. 6/10, helpful but only in a supplemental way

  4. Eat Only Half 4/10. Very difficult.  

  5. The 8 Fry Rule 9/10 Very Helpful but doesn't address regretful burgers

• Food Day at work.  
  1. Stick to the Basics 7/10. Moderately helpful but leaves a lot of room for chaos.
• Pizza.
  1. Just Don't Do it 7/10. Works well but needs to be used sparingly
  2. Pre-portioned 10/10. Works every time. 
  3. Share. Currently untested
• Family Visits. 
• Holidays.  
  1. Fast and Freggy.  8/10.  Helpful but results may vary

[Shello]

Final weigh in for challenge 1 is in.   And..... the final result is...

 

 

 

a loss of 0.2 pounds.  😆

 

Challenge 2 has to be better because our Beach, Bayou, and BBQ family trip is coming up at the end of the challenge and there is no room to gain anymore.  I feel pretty confident though that this challenge is set up to tackle some weak areas identified in the first challenge.  

 

 

[AwayLifter]

What’s a freggy? Google didnt lighten me.

[Shello]

6 minutes ago, AwayLifter said:

What’s a freggy? Google didnt lighten me.

Its my short hand for FRuits and vEGGIES

[Shello]

On 2/6/2023 at 10:53 AM, Shello said:

Final weigh in for challenge 1 is in.   And..... the final result is...

 

 

 

a loss of 0.2 pounds.  😆

 

Challenge 2 has to be better because our Beach, Bayou, and BBQ family trip is coming up at the end of the challenge and there is no room to gain anymore.  I feel pretty confident though that this challenge is set up to tackle some weak areas identified in the first challenge.  

 

 

Challenge 2 is complete and I did at least do better than the first challenge with a total loss of 1.6 pounds.  No where near what I was hoping and not enough to prepare for vacation.  Post vacation weigh in was up 5.8 so I'm starting this challenge higher than I've been all year.  I think higher than all of last year too.  So it's time to get back to the grind.

 

 

[Shello]

Vacation was a lot of fun.  I'm just going to use this space to journal some of the highlights so I have it somewhere.  Enjoy it or skip it.  It's up to you. 

 

Day 1 Saturday - Fly down to the Gulf

Layover in Chicago.  Hit an airport diner for breakfast.  Decent food, passive aggressive staff.  

Landed in Pensacola, grabbed a car (took forever) and drove to Gulf Shores.  Stopped at Florabama on recommendation.  Not impressed.  

Checked in at condo.  Lovely place.  4 outdoor pools, we can see the beach and the gulf from our balcony. Extravagant jacuzzi room.  Brief stop at the beach and then dressed for dinner.

We went to The Hangout for dinner.  Spring break scene.  Huge dining area open to the outside.  Giant sand pit outside, bubble foam pit every hour, live band, other various outdoor games.  I had a chicken po'boy for dinner.  

 

Day 2 Sunday - Beach day

Slept in but Peach and I are still up first.  We ran into town for some groceries then snacked on the balcony watching the waves.  I had a granola bar and yogurt.  Once everyone was up we packed sandwiches and chips for lunch at the beach.  Riptide warning and red flags.  We still got in the water but did not go very far.  We stayed closer to the beach as most others.  I didn't stay in long and sat on lounge chairs with Qbert hoping to soak in some sun.  Unfortunately it was overcast and started to sprinkle.  We watched the clouds roll in and out and watched the oil rigs out in the gulf disappear and reappear depending on the clouds.   It started to pour.  The girls stayed in the water and Qbert and I huddled under an umbrella to wait it out.   Once we heard thunder the girls got out of the water and Qbert went back to the condo.   After lunch it was time to clean up and relax in the condo.  

 

We had tickets for a dolphin sighting cruise back in town.  That was a lot of fun.  We saw dolphins right away and toured the bay.  Tons of extremely expensive houses.  What must their other homes looks like if this is what their beach house looks like?  What do they do for a living.  Ah, according to the captain celebrities have houses out there.  It's a private island with no paparazzi.  Taylor Swift owns one of those houses.   We were all starving after the tour but picked a place to eat all the way back near the condo.  It was quite busy too and we had a long wait.  Food was great though.  We had trouble deciding and wanted to try everything.  I ordered a pizza to share but then the kids all ordered an entree to share too.  Peach's besty got a wood fired chicken alfredo.  It was in the smallest dish and seemed like a kids meal.  Our server comped it.  Pizza was good, my drink was strong, chicken alfredo was not that great.  Qbert had an amazing burger.  

 

Day 3 Monday - Off to Nola

Cold day, but clear skies.  It was in the 50's.  Peach still wanted to get in the ocean because she loves it and doesn't want to leave.   Her and I head to the beach before everyone else is up.  She chickened out because it was cold and just got her feet wet.  But we sat and enjoyed the waves.  I will really miss it. 

Everyone was pretty much packed already so we were able to get on the road at a decent time.   We got checked into our place in the irish channel, very near the garden district.  Our place was very unique.  It was a typical shotgun house.  The front room had a couch for Qbert to sleep on, then a parlor with a desk and some seating we were afraid to sit on.  Behind that was the kitchen, then the back hallway with the bathroom and a loft above it and the bedroom in the back.   The place was very quaint and well put together.  However, the first night I heard some creature outside my bedroom scratching and whining.  My bed was right up against the wall and I was afraid to go to sleep until very late.  

First night we decided to head down to the French Quarter to find some food.  We ended up on Bourbon street.  It seems like the only street lit up enough to walk safely.  Lots of homeless and various debauchery going on around us.   Most places were 21 and over so grabbed food from a walk up place.  There are plenty of places to grab fried chicken, po'boys, and pizza by the slice.  We got some pizza and Peach got some chicken alfredo.  It was very good.  I also grabbed some gator bites and honey biscuits.  Biscuits were very good, gator bites not so much.  

 

Day 4 Tuesday - Explore Nola

We had plenty of leftovers that we had been acquiring so we had that for breakfast.  I had a half sandwich with some cheese and some chips and then some of the chicken alfredo.   Once the girls were ready we went out and walked around the garden district.  I did see Anne Rice's old house that she mentioned in the Mayfair Witches. 

We debated taking the trolley down to the French Quarter again but we had a walking tour booked and would need dinner somewhere and didn't want to be without the car and have to walk more than we were able to.   That was probably a mistake.  We walked the shops on the edge of the French Quarter, tried to get some beignets, shopped the French Market.  We ran out of time and had to catch up with our walking tour.  It was a true crime, voodoo, and vampires tour.  We all enjoyed it.  We got a recommendation for dinner.  We didn't want to be on Bourbon street but it was still in the french quarter.  It probably would have been best but we were running out of time on the parking fee and had already spent $43 on it.  We decided to get to the car and find someplace that had an actual parking lot.  That was a failure.  We grabbed Raising Cane's and ate at the airbnb.  We were all pleased enough with that.  

 

Day 5 Wednesday - Swamp Tour

We had to check out in the morning so we got all packed up and had to drive down to the bayou.  We didn't have time to stop for food but we must have grabbed something before we left.  I don't remember now.   The tour was a lot of fun.  We got to see a number of alligators, swamps, bayous, and some of the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Ida.  Our tour guide also had a baby alligator on the boat that got passed around.  I took a selfie with it.  The kids were all quite impressed and had a blast.  We grabbed Jimmy Johns on our way back into town.  We decided to stop again at the French Market to finish looking at what we wanted to the other day and we got beignets.  

We got a bit of a late start leaving town.  We had what I thought was a 5 hour drive to Houston but it came up as 6 hours.  We stopped at a Waffle House or a late night dinner on the road.  We love Waffle House and always try to make a point to hit it once on vacation.  It did not disappoint.  We got the Houston late but it was just a layover so we checked into our hotel and got right back on the road. 

 

Day 6 Thursday - San Antonio

The drive into San Antionio wasn't terrible but there is a lot of traffic on interstates in TX and there never seems to be a break, even between cities.  We got in around lunch time.  We had a list of foods we wanted to try so we stopped for puffy tacos for lunch.   They were not amazing but good.  The kids were less impressed but they are picky.  We had just a little bit of time to kill before we could check into our airbnb so Peach found some murals near our place.  We stopped for some pics and to explore and then arrived at our airbnb just as the owner was leaving.  We were very impressed with our airbnb.  It was spacious and beautifully decorated.  There were games and a firepit.  After some exploring and relaxing, we got ready to head out for some sightseeing.   We planned to do the Riverwalk cruise, walk around a bit, and then grab some food to bring back to our place to play games and sit by the fire.  

The riverwalk cruise was nice enough.  Not a very informational tour guide but it was an enjoyable tour.  We noteced a few things we wanted to see once we started walking around and of course there was a mall.  The girls wanted to check out a few stores in the mall so Qbert and I walked to check out the Alamo.  It was closed so we could only see it from the outside but I don't think we missed much.  It was a pretty warm day, not warm for Texas but warmer than I've seen since last fall, and we were doing a lot of walking.  I was getting tired and cranky and felt like maybe a migraine was brewing.  We stopped at the Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream and sat down for a rest.  That helped.  

Before heading back to our airbnb we stopped for food.  BBQ was on the list of foods to try but the girls didn't want it.  We stopped to get them wood fired pizza and then Qbert and I stopped at Smoke BBQ sky bar for some Texas brisket.  Qbert just got brisket with some sides, I got the baked potato with brisket.  It did not disappoint and was the best brisket I've ever had.   Qbert got a fire started and we ate out on the patio and sat by the fire for some time.   We only had the one night so everyone used the fancy shower and then w got packed up to be ready in the morning.   

 

Day 7 Friday - On to Oklahoma City

The last food on our list to try was breakfast tacos and we found a place that had breakfast tacos AND donuts so we had to go there.  We even got to meet up with Tank there.  We had been trying to meet up the day before but our tight schedule was making it difficult.   Luckily breakfast worked out and we were able to meet up with Tank and Little Bit.  It was lovely, as were the breakfast tacos.  Peach was not adequately impressed with the donuts so we also stopped at Voodoo Donuts downtown.  They were much fancier.  Both were good.  

 

The rest of the day was spent driving.  We had intended to drive 6 hours to Oklahoma City and spend a little bit of time there.  But I am convinced that Texas doesn't know how to use interstates properly.  There were a couple of accidents which slowed traffic but even when there weren't any accidents or incidents the traffic would suddenly brake for no good reason and we'd be going very slow.  I was only able to use my cruise control a few times and always for less than a few minutes before there was some random braking and near stopping.  They also don't move merge over to the right lanes when they are not passing.  Tank did warn me and encouraged me to take a different highway.  I typically avoid 2 lane highways like the plaque because I hate passing on them.  But it would have been much better.  I shoulda listened to Tank.   We did make our final food stop for dinner in Dallas and hit Whataburger.  I had high hopes but we weren't really impressed.  

 

We did  make it to Oklahoma City but the thing we had planned was a downtown river walk thing and we realized it was St patty's day.  We got in late too so we figured that wouldn't be a great stop.  I was getting tired and we had planned to drive another couple hours before stopping.  I couldn't do both but we couldn't skip doing something in Oklahoma so we found some more murals.  We feel like Oklahoma got cheated by the Texas traffic.  It technically counts and we can cross Oklahoma off the list but we'd like to get back and do it properly.   We made it another hour and a half and stopped for the night right at the Oklahoma/Kansas border.  

 

Day 8 Saturday - Drive home!

Since we were able to make it a little further past OKC, we figured we'd be able to make it all the way home and avoid another night at a hotel.  We stuck to fast food and eating in the car.  We ended up eating completely off schedule and eating randomly.  The kids had McDonald's and I was able to wait.  But we were on a toll road and were limited to food choices on the way.  I ended up getting dunkin donuts and eating my leftover donuts from Voodoo donuts.  As a result lunch was late and we got jimmy johns again.  I waited until getting home for dinner and we just ordered pizza. 

 

Overall it was a great trip.  As usual, we planned to do too much and came home exhausted.  This time at least we slowed down at the beginning of the vacation but there was a lot if driving.  We could have stretched it out but once it was close we just wanted to be home and not stay over another night.  We only have 18 states left to hit to get to them all and we can't do that by not doing a lot each trip.  Food choices degraded at the end of the trip and we spent more time in the car so I'm sure this contributed to the vacation weight gain.  

 

[Shello]

Well I guess I haven't visited here in quite some time.  I have still been working towards these goals..  I didn't get any nearer to my goal weigh but I'd say I've successfully moved closer to this being my lifestyle - with the exception of tidying daily.   

 

Dailies

Daily goals are not enough on their own to get me to my goal weight or move me forward to my level 100, but without these daily habits any progress is difficult.   The goal isn't necessarily to do all of these 100% of the time, but doing them most of the time creates a lifestyle.  By the end of the year these should just be things that I do. 

 

 

I resorted to logging food near the end of the year but switched to a new app.  This has helped tremendously and I will again continue to do so for the time being.   Other than tidying, these feel like solid habits now.  I do have some reservations on the daily movement.  I'm not sure I trust my Fitbit anymore.  My daily average has been higher.  Is that because I am more active during the day or because I got a new Fitbit?   I AM busier during the the work day but not sure it's enough to account for the new baseline.  But, based on the measurements available, this definitely improved over the year.  

 

Weeklies

 

Improvements were seen here too.  Joining a gym and getting a trainer helped a lot.  Hurting my back didn't help at all but I'm ready to get back to the gym after the new year.   These definitely don't feel like habit yet and even when they do, they are the first habits to break when life throws a curveball.  Definitely not my lifestyle yet framing the benefits of this in the manner I did for 2023 helped keep the WHY in front of me.  More to work on for 2024's roadmap.  

 

Life Hacks

 

There are a few pitfalls that are constant struggles.   Despite making better choices weigh loss has continues to elude me.  I can make good choices most of the time but these pitfalls can undo multiple days of good choices.   Part of building my new lifestyle is finding life hacks to help me with these pitfalls.  I still plan to enjoy life but this does not need to be my undoing!  The following are my biggest pitfalls . Every time one of these events occurs, it triggers a life hack.  I don't know what all the life hacks are yet.  If I did, this wouldn't be a problem.  Each time I have to try something to alleviate detrimental effects and document the effectiveness here.  Not all will be successful but  finding the ones that are will help me build that healthy lifestyle I've after.

 

 

Life hacks are my friend.  Some worked better than others and several I've used repeatedly.  I sometimes forget about resorting to any life hacks in these situations; but on occasion it's just happened naturally.  I'd say that's a step to making these part of my lifestyle.  I do feel I have options for the tricky situations.  I just need to make the effort to think about which plan works for each situation and don't accidentally just face plant a ton of food.  

(MAPAWA = Make a plate and walk away)