mom2sjm Posted December 29, 2022 Report Share Posted December 29, 2022 Back story: Former teacher turned SAHM. Then, husband got covid November 2020. Was hospitalized three times, almost died twice and now, two years later deals daily with covid-long haul. OG NF members may remember that my husband (was) an iron man triathlete. At the time covid tried to take him down he was on two competitive cycling teams as well as an active cyclocross enthusiast. Anyway, that's all changed. It looked like he was heading towards retirement which meant, I had to go back to work after 20 years as a SAHM. Luckily my teaching certificate was current, and I have been able to pick up back-to-back leave replacement teaching positions. But since I am having trouble getting hired for a full year contract in my home district (do not want to commute) I decided to go back to school to earn my MEd. I'm ALMOST done. So close. So, so close. But that's been the story of my life for the past couple of years: I'm back to school, again. Both as a teacher, and a student. It's stressful, being a student and, basically, a "first-year" teacher at 54. I'm exhausted. I've gained a ton of weight. My energy is super low. I'm in survival mode. I'm like a deer in the headlights. So why add a challenge into the mix? Accountability. I thought, why not make it a triple shot of school... Back to School NF Challenge Body: Joined the January Whole 30. Starts January 2nd. Will keep a food log of some sort. Mind: We do mindfulness in school, it's part of our curriculum. Bring those lessons home - do some headspace or something mindful. just breathe. at home. everyday. Spirit: Go outside. Take a walk, every day. Appreciate the world around me. Give myself grace to take a break. I'm talking just a walk here. No playing Pokémon Go, no hills/or power walking, just a "look around and appreciate" walk. 6 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted December 29, 2022 Report Share Posted December 29, 2022 Awesome challenge, sympathies on covid slapping you guys hard. 1 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Everstorm Posted December 29, 2022 Report Share Posted December 29, 2022 Ooh, Whole 30! I have always liked the imagery in their "food with no brakes" observation. It's so very true. Good luck with your goals! They seem well chosen to challenge/change and balance you this year 😃 1 Quote Life before Death Strength before Weakness Journey before Destination Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted December 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2022 Back to School Challenge PREP body: I have printed out all the whole 30 things I'll need to get started. I have a shopping list. I have a week one meal plan sketched out. mind: teachers get a free subscription to headspace and how psyched am I to discover that currently there is a set of "breath with headspace and star wars" meditations!?! Check this out, I will. spirit: it'll be a challenge to walk without playing Pokémon Go but my plan is practice "mindful walking" (as we say at school) for 10 minutes and then if I still have the interest, continue to walk and at this point I can play. That way a 10-minute walk might turn into a 20-minute walk and that's a good thing. thank you for checking in on me! T-minus two! Happy NewYear's Eve eve 3 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
TrashcanCarla Posted December 31, 2022 Report Share Posted December 31, 2022 Star Wars themed meditation!? Awesome!!! Sorry to read about your husband's COVID bouts. How awful. Here for you and your goals! Following! 1 Quote Current NF Challenge: X “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.”― Carrie Fisher Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted January 2 Author Report Share Posted January 2 Day 1/35 Body: Dry January started today. Bought veggies for whole30 which starts tomorrow. Prepped journal to record challenge accountability and food log. Mind: Day 1 NF Anti-Challenge. I know, it's weird to start a 6-day "anti-challenge" and a 5-week challenge at the same time but after reading about the anti-challenge I thought it would line up with my mind(fulness) goal. Six days of learning about how to set yourself for success when creating goals and responding to the daily journal prompts is being mindful. in my mind Spirit: 10-min walk downtown this evening enjoying the trees wrapped in white lights. Additional 10 minutes walking back to my car (and playing Pokémon Go). 2 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
TrashcanCarla Posted January 2 Report Share Posted January 2 Yay! Glad you are getting prepped both with veggies and mentally. 1 Quote Current NF Challenge: X “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.”― Carrie Fisher Link to comment
TrashcanCarla Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 Good morning! How are you doing? 1 Quote Current NF Challenge: X “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.”― Carrie Fisher Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted January 3 Author Report Share Posted January 3 Day 2/35 body: started whole30 today. not supposed to step on a scale for 30 days but I did step on one yesterday. 160lbs is my starting weight. ideally, before the start of the next school year I'd like to be back down to 130lbs. but for this challenge, it'd be nice to go down 5 pounds? we'll see... mind: breathing breaks with yoda (headspace) as well as reflecting on day two journal prompt for NFAntiChallenge. spirit: drove my youngest back to school today (WWU in Bellingham WA) so while not a dedicated walk there was much walking around downtown as we ran errands and then the walking back and forth to my car/to the dorm to get him settled back in after the winter break at home. 1 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
Everstorm Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 1 hour ago, mom2sjm said: 160lbs is my starting weight. ideally, before the start of the next school year I'd like to be back down to 130lbs. but for this challenge, it'd be nice to go down 5 pounds? we'll see.. We have very, very similar goals, although I think I have decided to take 2 years to get to 130 (or below), and just get to 140 by fall. I am trying this new, slower approach to see if I can make it stick this time 🙈 2 Quote Life before Death Strength before Weakness Journey before Destination Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted January 6 Author Report Share Posted January 6 Day 5/35 Ugh. Already had to restart my whole30 goals. I made it two days before having a coke! It's my go-to drink when I'm stressed and yesterday, I was stressed out after a doctor's appointment. First time ever in my life where I was told that I needed to lose weight. A doctor's order!! I mean I KNOW I'm overweight but to be told a health issue I'm experiencing is weight related was a new experience for me. Not fun. But okay. It's an ORDER not just a wish on my part. So I gotta be serious now. body: no coke, no alcohol. ate all the whole foods today. wrote everything down in my journal. mind: today's anti-challenge talk was great, the focus was on our "inner critic" which I spent some quality time reflecting on in my journal. spirit: because of the doctor's order I'm aiming for a daily walk of 15 minutes followed immediately by 10 minutes walking while playing pokemon go. That way I'll walk at a minimum for 25 minutes. these are the goals for the rest of this week and then I'll reassess if I need to. 2 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
Skywalker Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Doctors orders just adds a little more weight (pun intented) to you own intention. I'm back to school on Monday, but it's summer holidays here in OZ so I've got a few weeks of 'teacher/pupil free' time in IT. I actually look forward to it 😉 1 Quote Skywalker Progress woot: Skywalker's success Character Profile: Skywalker Blog: Just Get Moving Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it! Link to comment
TrashcanCarla Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 9 hours ago, mom2sjm said: First time ever in my life where I was told that I needed to lose weight. A doctor's order!! I mean I KNOW I'm overweight but to be told a health issue I'm experiencing is weight related was a new experience for me. Not fun. But okay. It's an ORDER not just a wish on my part. So I gotta be serious now. That kind of sucks. If it works as motivation to help you do what you were already intending to do then I guess it's okay? I'd be feeling all of the feelings. Glad you're ok. 1 Quote Current NF Challenge: X “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.”― Carrie Fisher Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted January 8 Author Report Share Posted January 8 yeah. gonna change my "whole 30" plan to "quit eating shitty food" plan. it's not that I can't do it, I have done it before. three times actually, so I know I CAN do it. it turns out, I just don't want to. how come? I'm tired of feeling crummy when I eat something non-compliant. for example, last night my husband made his super yummy turkey chili. I had a bowl but didn't enjoy the experience as much as I should have because I was mad at myself for having a bowl in the first place (because of the beans, and probably now that I think about it, the tomato sauce). It's not like I've been doing terrible. Had one coke and then restarted. Had sauce poured all over my salmon fillet that I wasn't expecting because that's not the way I remember it being served (this was yesterday at IKEA) and then the chili last night. I could restart today and that was my intention and then I just felt really tired about it and I didn't want that to lead me down the path of all or nothing. So I'm stepping away from my judge-y whole30 brain and towards a kinder, gentler "eat less shitty food" brain. Things I'll keep from whole30 prep - do not step on the scale, go with whole30 approved products I've already purchased to avoid sneaky sugars, no alcohol, and no soda. Once upon a time I did the whole30 to figure out if I have any intolerance to foods. I don't. So I don't have anything to gain from doing a whole30, in terms of learning about foods I may have an intolerance for. There is ALOT to gain though - better sleep, less anxiety, less bloating, feeling better about food, etc. Can I accomplish this being whole30 adjacent? I guess we'll find out. 2 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 I like the plan of being kinder and gentler, and keeping what works for you in the Whole 30. The last couple of years you've had some major stressors, and so you don't need to put food guilt on top of that. 2 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
Everstorm Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 I think if you already know you don't have food sensitivities, Whole 30 adjacent is probably good enough for seeing health benefits. And so much less stressful (more health benefits!) 2 Quote Life before Death Strength before Weakness Journey before Destination Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted January 12 Author Report Share Posted January 12 Day 12/35 body better attitude after going whole30 adjacent. no coke in 7 days, no alcohol in 11 (and counting!). don't miss the alcohol. can't tell if I'm still craving coke. I'm putting in caffeinated crystal light mix into my water so maybe that is helping. mind been doing the headspaces sessions on stress management. joined inktober so I can do some drawings in my journal that I wouldn't normally do. maybe the prompts for the drawings will get me thinking about things in life and I can do some journaling. spirit back on track with the daily walking. I decided that I need to pick up a found object on my walk and then once my collection gets interesting, see if I can assemble something out of the lot. keeping on the lookout for found objects is helping me to stay present in the moment. other notes: picked up a NF accountability buddy for my MEd program - the plan is to check in with each other on how things are going with our programs as well as share something we did to "de-stress" that week. been working in an hour or so of organizing into my day. I need to be sure to have finished my day's class work though because I actually LOVE to organize and can go down the rabbit hole for sure if I'm not careful! 1 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
Everstorm Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 39 minutes ago, mom2sjm said: joined inktober Yay! Have you seen the NF Inktober thread? Quote Life before Death Strength before Weakness Journey before Destination Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted February 3 Author Report Share Posted February 3 Dang. I gave up on myself. *sighs* 1 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
Everstorm Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 There is slways next challenge to do better. Where do you feel things went sideways? 1 Quote Life before Death Strength before Weakness Journey before Destination Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 I do not think anyone , who at 54 goes back to school, so she can help support her family is failing. I think you are being really hard on yourself. Maybe instead of trying to change everything, pick one small thing and work on it? 1 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted February 8 Author Report Share Posted February 8 On 2/3/2023 at 3:03 PM, Everstorm said: There is always next challenge to do better. Where do you feel things went sideways? Not sure. I just got tired I think. School is alot. Husband is retiring for medical reasons so there is some pressure to secure a teaching job so we keep having really awesome insurance. I feel like maybe I got caught up in the new years resolution mode when really I only have the bandwidth for school. I do need to lose some weight though for my hernia. I had to schedule a follow up appointment with my doctor (in march) and she's going to be expecting progress so I will jump in on that next challenge with just that goal in mind. 3 pounds. a baby step... 2 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted February 8 Author Report Share Posted February 8 On 2/4/2023 at 10:08 AM, Elastigirl said: I do not think anyone , who at 54 goes back to school, so she can help support her family is failing. I think you are being really hard on yourself. Maybe instead of trying to change everything, pick one small thing and work on it? I usually am pretty hard on myself - you nailed it! Picking one thing to work on? Good advice! Going to focus on losing three pounds in February. I know it's not alot, but it's a baby step. I need to lose 20 pounds (doctor's order!) in 6 months so that's my one and done focus. Stay tuned 1 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
Everstorm Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 School is definitely a lot and it consumes a lot of bandwidth. Your new plan sounds much more reasonable. Quote Life before Death Strength before Weakness Journey before Destination Link to comment
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