Eirlys Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 Pluses from last challenge: No-spend September - I spent approx half of what I did during August Downsides: even with these cut-backs I was spending more than what I should budget for ==> Optimisation required Minuses from last challenge: TV habit has spiralled out of control I am crashing asleep on the sofa/after putting baby to bed I have put on about 6 lbs since starting my new job 4 weeks ago This challenge's plan: Identify where I have been tripping up Work out how to stem the tide Work out any steps to reverse the trend Implement as appropriate Monitor Areas to tackle: Sleep (need more) Sugar (blood sugar levels over the day) Spending (financial + time) And the fourth area I want to devote my challenge to: Son - coming up with plans for better: meals, evening time together, weekend time together Quote Eirlys - Long Time Wood Fairy Druid Current Challenge: S4 (Sleep, Sugar, Spending, Son) Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Done is better than perfect -- Facebook Link to comment
Eirlys Posted October 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Utterly depressing weigh-in/measure-in this evening. I have been feeling humoungously fat all day, these stats prove it! Weight: 61.4 kg (135 lbs) Waist: 28-30 in Bellybutton: 29.5 - 32.5 in Tummy (roundest point) : 35.75 Upper hips: 36.75 Lower hips: 38.75 Bum: 39.5 Thigh (roundest point) : 22.5 Mid-thigh: 18.5 Knee: 14.5 I can't bear feeling this fat so I need to start action IMMEDIATELY. First step is to "get comfortable with being uncomfortable": - if feeling hungry, observe sensation but don't go fetch food - if feeling stressed, find an action to take (possibly involving making a cup of tea) instead of eating; redirect energy towards making progress/taking a quick break away from desk - if feeling bored, work out what needs doing next - remind myself that the sensation of feeling rolls of fat around my tummy/fat thighs is much worse than the vague sensation/desire of 'wanting to eat' A big part of the problem has been the abundance of free food I have had access to via my job since I started it a month ago. In particular, the honey roast nuts. NO HONEY ROAST NUTS THIS WEEK!!! ( ) 1 Quote Eirlys - Long Time Wood Fairy Druid Current Challenge: S4 (Sleep, Sugar, Spending, Son) Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Done is better than perfect -- Facebook Link to comment
mom2sjm Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 You've got some hard goals!! I have three boys. the first were twins and so I remember really trying to make an effort to carve out time for them individually. It was hard. there was just always so much to do . I did drag them with me everywhere on errands but I really struggled with just hanging out and being present, not "doing" something. Eventually I worked it out that in the midst of the chore at home, like say I was folding laundry - I would set a timer for 5 minutes, fold and then set it for another 5 and play. Just dropped the laundry as soon as the timer went off and would then just hang out one of the boys for that 5 minutes. I wouldn't instruct them in anything - just whatever they were doing, I'd join in. I'd repeat that for as long as it took me to finish the laundry. Sometimes the playtime would go longer but I stuck with the 5 minutes for the chores. when I get frustrated or stuck on something I find that getting outside really clears my head. Sometimes I just walk around the block or if I'm inside somewhere just going to a different room for a couple minutes helps. keeping a food log really helps with the snacking. I write down every thing I eat and eventually after a couple of days I'm like "I really don't want to write X down so I'm good." I'm keeping a food log and when i review it at night I can see the good habits (and the bad) and it really does help me make better decisions. Hang in there! Keep us posted 1 Quote mom2sjm Rock Gnome Rebel Level 28 current challenge Link to comment
Eirlys Posted October 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 Hi mom2sjm thanks for posting! Twins - wow! I cannot imagine how much work that must be. Except a LOT!!! Hats off to you A food diary is a good idea. I think I will start doing that. But not for today ;-) I even have heartburn now, down to how much I have eaten today I think the thing with my son is mainly about making sure I don't feel the need to check my mobile phone so much when we're together. I've got my flow of emails down to almost none that would need to disturb me during non-working hours, so I need to break that habit. At the moment it is hard to do any chores as he is 21 months and a little hand will start tugging me if my participation is required (which is most of the time). But I will try to break it up like you suggest, if there's something taking longer than 5 minutes. I should be deactivating my facebook account tomorrow so starting to wean myself back off the internet and checking habit. Facebook winds me up as the people in my newsfeed have opposite political opinions to me and like to express them a lot, so my head is often filled with grumpy thoughts of "what I would really like to say back, but won't" circling around - a complete waste of brainpower & emotional energy!! Have had a stressful week but made headway on some important things nevertheless. Hooray! Quote Eirlys - Long Time Wood Fairy Druid Current Challenge: S4 (Sleep, Sugar, Spending, Son) Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Done is better than perfect -- Facebook Link to comment
Eirlys Posted October 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 Forgot to mention that I had a gym induction at work this week, and the day after (Wed) I went back to the gym in my lunchbreak. Still feeling the DOMS!! Quote Eirlys - Long Time Wood Fairy Druid Current Challenge: S4 (Sleep, Sugar, Spending, Son) Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Done is better than perfect -- Facebook Link to comment
Eirlys Posted October 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 Deactivated my facebook account a couple of days ago and now feeling more detached from the phone checking cycle. It occurred to me that a lot of bad habits crept in when I reactivated it earlier this year. I had blamed them on the appearance of a mouse in the house & the stress that caused me, but on reflection perhaps the facebook aspect compounded things, or was even partly a root cause? Have also started reading a number of parenting books while on my commute. Although they're not saying anything groundbreaking, they have made me realise ways in which I can improve my time with my son. Quote Eirlys - Long Time Wood Fairy Druid Current Challenge: S4 (Sleep, Sugar, Spending, Son) Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Done is better than perfect -- Facebook Link to comment
Eirlys Posted October 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 Rough day and night, thanks to my poor son's pre-molars cutting their way through his gums! About to head to bed (too late again, but at least the house is tidy & clean in the right places). I am very happy in my new job, but yesterday had an in-house headhunter from a massive corporation contact me about an "executive level" role, which was nice to receive all the same. One day I will help bring that glass ceiling crashing down! Quote Eirlys - Long Time Wood Fairy Druid Current Challenge: S4 (Sleep, Sugar, Spending, Son) Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Done is better than perfect -- Facebook Link to comment
Eirlys Posted October 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 My bedtime is still awful. However, I've reduced significantly my sugar intake during the day, and I'm not currently experiencing the constant sugar crashes of a few weeks ago. Scales were showing up 3 or 4 lbs lighter this morning, compared to a week or so ago. I am so proud of my 21-month old son listening to me teaching him road safety skills. He can barely talk but on Tuesday said: "stop! brm-brm? no? no car." which is almost the same as what I say to him every time we get to a road (assuming no cars of course!) Good boy!! 1 Quote Eirlys - Long Time Wood Fairy Druid Current Challenge: S4 (Sleep, Sugar, Spending, Son) Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Done is better than perfect -- Facebook Link to comment
Eirlys Posted October 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Well, my focus in this challenge ended up being spending more quality time with my son, and stopping my blood sugar levels from massive ups & downs during the day. My weight has turned a corner and is a couple of pounds down from its peak. I'm still not happy with how I spend my evenings/TV quotient. Financial spending - it's not out of control but it's higher than I like. I have ideas of how to address this further in the next challenge... Quote Eirlys - Long Time Wood Fairy Druid Current Challenge: S4 (Sleep, Sugar, Spending, Son) Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Done is better than perfect -- Facebook Link to comment
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