Demeter admitting that the wishful thinking isn't working... she is gonna have to actually work at this :(

[Demeter]

::sigh::

 

Dang it! I have been thinking hard about improving my health and wellbeing. I have been reading articles about it. I downloaded apps. I even bought a fancy pedometer/tracker thingy, but none of those things on their own have produced weight loss or increased fitness. Phooey.

 

So here I am. I got the email about respawning - and I am respawning as we speak...

 

So my main quest is really really important. Back in August 2014, the nurse I see about "lady things" told me I was developing high blood pressure. Well. That was new to me, and shocking news. In my mind, even though I was overweight, I was healthy. I am active, I have an active job (landscaping/landscape maintenance and we have a small farm), we eat lots of veggies, cook at home and rarely eat out... 

 

Looking back I see that I went into a little bit of a tailspin after that revelation. I had picked up my exercising and lost about 15 lbs before I got that diagnosis from the nurse - then instead of continuing on that path, I ... did something else? what? It doesn't even make sense. So whatever, past is past, I am not used to acting illogically but nonetheless I did it, and now I am ready to snap out of it. I am giving myself 5 months to work to bring my blood pressure down with diet and exercise. That is when my next check-up is scheduled. 

 

So that is my Main Quest - do the things that are recommended to lower blood pressure and see if I can't get back to a healthy range.

 

Right now I am at pre-hypertension. I want to live to be old - like ancient, like 105 years old. Or older, lets go science! Make me live a long time! But I am shooting myself in the foot now by damaging my body. One of my hips aches sometimes for pete's sake! I am only in my 40's!!! This will never do.

 

So - supporting goals:

1) Incorporate daily cardio. Work up to the recommended 30 mins a day. Usually this will be walking. If I have a heavy work day I will count that as cardio for that day. I'm watching my UP band and I would like to see my average steps get over 4000 (yes I know 10,000 is what we are supposed to be aiming for but baby steps! I will get there!) (edited to clarify thanks to wk 1 mini-challenge goal setting exercise - walk at least 10 mins a day for first two weeks of challenge, 20 mins a day for 2nd two weeks, 30 mins a day for 3rd two weeks. or replace with other cardio like Just dance if weather is bad. Grade A for meeting goal, B for trying but not quite making it, F for not ever making an effort. Bonus points for doing more!)

 

2) lose weight - that is not a vague goal - I will weigh myself tomorrow and if I weigh less at the end of the challenge I will have hit that goal. Right now I think I weight 220. Increase fruits and veggies, reduce bread. That's the plan. (edited to clarify thanks to wk 1 mini-challenge goal setting exercise - new goal is Increase fruits and veggies and protein, reduce bread. see if that plus increased movement results in weight loss after six weeks. Scoring is A if I nail it - fruits veggies protein... B if I try but dont quite get there or circumstances get weird or something - F if I just blow it and eat a whole load of french bread...)

 

3) reduce stress. I will focus on my home - decluttering, making sure I am checking the calendar, doing what needs to be done with my kids, etc. Key to this plan is giving up social media for a while - just using it to manage events and obligations, not as a way to pass the time. If I need to chat with someone, I will chat with my family in real life for a while. I am very productive online - running and contributing to groups etc. I need to be spending my energy capital on real life. I will only get on facebook with a list of things that have to be done, then do them, then get off. And not every day. A couple of times a week. I have already been doing this for a week and it has been good.  (edited to clarify thanks to wk 1 mini-challenge goal setting exercise - I will work on these three things because they are stressing me out. I will work on de-cluttering through the six week period - getting rid of stuff to the trash or donations... also - I will check my calendar and not let commitments slip up on me. also - I will not go on fb at all without a need to do so and a list of things to accomplish. No browsing to pass the time AT ALL.   I will award a weekly score A if I am super good - get some decluttering done, check my calendar, and stick to my fb plan. B if I slip up a little - F if I blow it entirely, spend all day chatting on random homeschool groups, miss all my appointments and buy a trunk load of stuff at the thrift store then leave it in bags on my dining room table for the whole week.)

[Demeter]

OK. I looked at this week's mini quest just now - I think my goals need some work. So here goes:

 

 

Week 1 - Let's Get SMART

 

... What you do need to worry is your challenge.  For this first week you should be focusing on your own quests.  Once you're comfortable with them you can move onto other questions. Your mini quest this week will to really really look at your goals and make sure that they're SMART. 

 

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Attainable/Achievable

R = Realistic/Reasonable

T = Timeous

 

 

So - main goal - work on things that can lower my blood pressure, like diet and exercise, for the next 5 months until my appointment to check blood pressure at the doctor's office. That is good - specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, timeous? I assume this goal is timeous as it is both timely (I need to do it now) and in a good time frame (five months). OK timeous. I think.

 

 

Main goal - good. 

 

 

 

Here are some questions to put your goals to the test:

1. Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)?  Is it reasonable?

2. Do your 3 quests all build towards your main quest in little ways, or are you taking on too much? Do your quests have sub-quests or is it just one thing to focus on?

3. Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them?

4. Are your goals able to be measured and tracked?  What will you use to track them?

5. How are you grading your goals?  Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)?  Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€?

6. What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured?

7. Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Labour Day, Independence Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge?  What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those?

8. Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another?

9. Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set?  If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them?

10. Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest?

Your mini quest: Make sure your goals are definitely SMART.

 

For completing this mini quest you will receive an additional +1WIS at the end of the 6 weeks.

 

OMG I am gonna need some extra time to really overthink my subquest goals Check back in tomorrow

[Rivanariko]

I am right there with you on the being mad that prepartation didn't do the work for me!  I had to cut out social media (at least Facebook) entirely for the duration of the challenge because I finally realized what a time suck it has become!

 

I think your first two goals aren't actually too bad as far as being SMART. You could re-word the first one to be a little more clear as to how long 4000 steps will be acceptable for your cardio, and how you want to go about increasing that over the course of the challenge. You second goal is simple`and measureable, as you stated! Your third goal is the most vague. What specifcally are you going to do to reduce stress, and how will you measure if that's successful? This is a hard one, but very important, so good for you for taking it on! As a teacher, I'm pretty familiar with setting SMART goals, so if I can be of any help, let me know!

[Demeter]

I am right there with you on the being mad that prepartation didn't do the work for me!  I had to cut out social media (at least Facebook) entirely for the duration of the challenge because I finally realized what a time suck it has become!

 

I think your first two goals aren't actually too bad as far as being SMART. You could re-word the first one to be a little more clear as to how long 4000 steps will be acceptable for your cardio, and how you want to go about increasing that over the course of the challenge. You second goal is simple`and measureable, as you stated! Your third goal is the most vague. What specifcally are you going to do to reduce stress, and how will you measure if that's successful? This is a hard one, but very important, so good for you for taking it on! As a teacher, I'm pretty familiar with setting SMART goals, so if I can be of any help, let me know!

 

Oh thanks for the tip! I am seriously thinking about these goals - I woke up thinking about it... HA! I will be asking for help - thanks so much!

[Demeter]

Still going over my goals with an eye to improvement. 

 

So mini-goal 1. get cardio up to 30 mins daily - or 4000 steps 

 - I could do 10 mins a day for first two weeks, 20 mins a day for 2nd two weeks, 30 mins a day for 3rd two weeks. That would be one circuit of a certain walking route - then two circuits - then three circuits.

 

It is definitely realistic - I mean this is not very much activity lol. It is not too much - I am just not doing it...

 

Do I have the time in my schedule... well it seems like I don't but I suspect this is because I am not making this a priority. Steve wrote a blog post about that recently... making fitness/health a priority. Need to read that again and often...

 

Grading plan - an A for completing my goal during each period - B for trying that day but not quite getting there - bonus points for doing more - F for not even trying that day... 

 

Possible problems - weather. Already a problem. Ice storm followed by snow followed by mudpocalypse and it is only day 3. Next week is all rain. Need better shoes and a plan b. Plan b could be playing just dance with kids... but need to clean living room first (see mini goal 3 - declutter)

 

OK I am good with this goal I think -  

 

So far - my grades are F, F, and F ice, snow, mud. Books and pillows all over living room floor. I need to get it together :sheesh:

[Demeter]

ok sub quest #2 - lose weight 

 

really this is not my goal - my goal is to eat better - more veggies and fruits, less bread. I just don't feel up to food logging right now - and I know that I have never been able to lose weight without food logging. so maybe I will log sporadically - but I want to see if I can lose even a little bit by increasing my movement (sub goal #1) and eating better without going nuts and weighing and logging everything. 

 

so - A if I nail it - fruits veggies protein... B if I try but dont quite get there or circumstances get weird or something - F if I just blow it and eat a whole load of french bread...

 

ok whew better!

[Demeter]

And for yesterday - I am changing my exercise grade to a B! I had an aha moment - it was late, I was folding laundry, and thinking well how am I going to ever do this if I let day after day go by and dont take the walk I know I needed to take, blah blah blah. 

 

and I realized the day was not over.

 

so I did some sets of squats while I was folding laundry and it wasn't the 10 minute walk I had intended but it was SOMETHING!!!

 

B! maybe B+!

[Demeter]

and for today - again I was talking to myself, in my mind, how am I going to have time for my walk when I get home (I was out shopping) and what shoes am I going to wear (knee deep in muddy snowy slush at my house) and I had another aha moment. I was walking around wal-mart pushing a grocery cart loaded down for my son's 11th birthday party tomorrow. So I thought - hmmm I bet I already did 10 mins worth of walking today... and then I thought - NO! no excuses - so I just pushed my cart around the perimeter of the huge store for 10 mins HA! and then I finished my shopping. 

 

HA! An A! for cardio and I got over 6500 steps today

[Demeter]

supporting goal or sub-quest 3 - reducing stress

 

I will work on de-cluttering through the six week period - getting rid of stuff to the trash or donations... because my house is stressing me out and I know it will be easier to keep orderly if we have less stuff- also my kids are not little any more, and we are slowly but surely getting rid of little kid stuff and transitioning into a household of big kids/teens. I like it, but it is a change and there is a lot of little kids stuff that needs to go!

 

also - I will check my calendar and not let commitments slip up on me  

 

also - I will not go on fb at all without a need to do so and a list of things to accomplish. No browsing to pass the time AT ALL. I will not go on every day unless some dire thing is happening - I will check in 2 or 3 times a week with the events that I already scheduled and my breastfeeding support group that I help out (I am a la leche leader) and I will put that on the list! So far this has been working great. I do check other social media more often  - ie instagram but it is not the time suck that fb is. 

 

so I will make a note of this stuff in my journal for the challenge and I will award a weekly score A if I am super good - get some decluttering done, check my calendar, and stick to my fb plan. B if I slip up a little - F if I blow it entirely, spend all day chatting on random homeschool groups, miss all my appointments and buy a trunk load of stuff at the thrift store then leave it in bags on my dining room table for the whole week.

[Demeter]

supporting goal or sub-quest 3 - reducing stress

 

btw this is going well so far - I took 3 bags to donation center today  - sent a bunch of cardboard boxes to the trash (why do they pile up?) so yay!

 

fb - deleting the app but keeping messenger is working well - I can still communicate when needed but I have to get on pc to check stuff on fb - makes it more intentional. I can't post pics as easily but I need to just make myself figure out a way to cope with that - because turning fb into a tool is too important - I have to use it so I better figure out how.

 

calendar -  been checking!

[Demeter]

Good activity day - I didn't want to because - again - cold wet muddy etc - but I walked anyway for ten minutes, and I hit my 4000 step goal

[Footsore Rambler]

Good going! Excellent job figuring out how to fit your exercise into your available time.

[Blaidd]

you had a good start, how's the rest of the challenge coming along?

 

You might notice that someone has added a tag to your post.  This is not to box you into a corner but rather because your goals or lifestyle have links to the guild you've been tagged and we'd like to bring you to the attention of one of their guild ambassadors. These ambassadors will be able to offer you advice, encouragement and support on your goals.  You don't even have to wait around for them to come introduce themselves to you, you are more than welcome to pop into the Adventurers' board and introduce yourself to the guildies there. I am also around to answer any questions that you might have so do not hesitate to PM me.

 

Good Luck with your challenge

AB xx