Happiness Loading....

[Wolfy]

I know I am coming a bit late to this month's challenge party, but better late than never! I've done the challenges half-heartedly on and off over the past year, and think it's time to get serious about ***MYSELF*** and my own happiness. I have two toddlers (one just turned 3 yesterday and other is 1.5 years) who are VERY active. My spouse is a stay-at-home dad for the past 3 years and has finally reached a point where he feels he simply cannot do it anymore. He is bipolar among other issues and is not handling the terrible twos very well lol! I work nights at a local hotel and take care of the boys during the day so hubby can relax and decompress. I get maybe 3-5 hours of sleep on a good night and am always caring for someone else: hubby, kids, dad with dementia, mom who is recuperating from triple bypass, mother in law battling cancer... So yeah, basically I am lucky to get a moment to take a 5 minute shower and taking care of myself has really hit the back burner HARD. 

 

I have reached a point where for my own sake I have to focus on MY happiness and MY goals for MYSELF. It makes me very uncomfortable even writing this. It makes me feel selfish, but darn it I deserve to be taken care of too. So here is my goals for this challenge to hopefully slowly begin some self healing. Each goal is 30 points (10 per week) and the final 10 for overall evaluation about how I FEEL I have done. 

 

ENHANCE THE CALM      (30 points total, 10 weekly if met)

I have noticed that my patience is pretty much non existent at this point. I get so easily frustrated and disheartened. I yell at the boys when they have really done nothing to warrant my ire. So in response, I KNOW I need to calm the *bleep* down and learn to breathe. I will do this by learning a new yoga pose each week. I've always wanted to learn yoga and have never given myself the opportunity and feel like it's time. I will also strive to work on stretching and breathing techniques. (if anyone has any links that would be helpful, I need all the help I can get!)

 

• I will spend a minimum of 30 minutes a day practicing my new yoga pose, breathing exercises, stretching, meditation.
• Any of these count and can be broken up into smaller chunks of time as needed. 

 

FEED MY BODY LIKE I LOVE IT     (30 points total, 10 weekly if met)

I KNOW what I SHOULD be eating in order to be healthy and reach my goal weight. I've lost 50# since October 2015, but as with a lot, I put in on the back burner and go for whatever is more convenient at the time. My job ends at midnight and I cannot have anything with me to eat (weird job rule that I DONT agree with at all BTW). By the time I get out of work I'm FAMISHED and to be brutally honest I end up getting a burger from some fast food place.  I also end up chugging caffeine filled (diet) sodas and energy drinks. Horror-bad right? Yeah, I know. Duuuuude. But otherwise I generally feel I might fall over while standing from fatigue. So I think it's time to just cut the proverbial umbilical cord and get myself back on track. The caffeine withdrawal is going to SUCK and I know it. But I am admittedly an "all or nothing" type person, so i'm going cold turkey. As a way to help out a little, I will allow myself coffee so that I am still a fully functioning(ish) person.

 

I'm also going to strive to meet my calorie intake though MyFitnessPal. If anyone wants to friend me, my nick is "tehshortone" I have like 3 MFP friends, so I would LOVE to have some more support! With eating I either am so busy that I eat way under (like 400 calories in a whole day) or waaaaaay over (like 2500 in a day). So finding balance right now is my main goal. Not worrying about a certain number of carbs or protein or whatever. I think that was my downfall previously, because I took on so much I overwhelmed myself. Limit it to what I KNOW I can / need to achieve. 

 

• Meet MyFitnessPal calorie goal daily. Log everything. Make friends.
• Cut out all sodas and energy drinks. Stick SOLEY to water, coffee (when I NEED caffeine), and teas. Strive for 8 cups of water a day.

 

STRENGTHEN MY BODY     (30 points total, 10 weekly if met)

I am a weakling. I am not afraid to admit I have a hard time lifting my 40# son. My belly is big, my upper arms are wings of flab, and my boobs have really started to show my age (x.X). It is time that I start gaining some muscle and tone up my body, darn it! So here it is, SQUATS. I suck with "do x number of squats for x sets." I end up getting disheartened if I feel like I didn't do well enough. Thus, I am taking my spouse's advice and am going to stick to a few exercises I like and literally just do them until my muscle can't anymore. Every other day for my arm exercises, but every day for squats. 

 

• Do squats, lots and lots of squats. Every day. Don't be lazy! Fit it in whenever I can a few at a time.
• Do my arm exercises until my arms fall off (every other day). 

[Stronkey Kong]

 

Hi! 

 

I understand how x reps for x sets can suck...

 

But,

 

Make sure that whatever your reps are to leave one or two in the tank as they say. Going to absolute failure can be bad for recovery.

[Lydiechan]

On 2/22/2017 at 7:24 PM, CraftyHeathen said:

I have reached a point where for my own sake I have to focus on MY happiness and MY goals for MYSELF. It makes me very uncomfortable even writing this.

 

You can't fill someone else's cup if your own is empty.  

 

If you have trouble finding 30 minute blocks to do your daily items, break it into 15's or 10's.  Try to get your family involved, too.  Make it a game for the kids: "Whoever can sit like this the longest wins a hug!"  Of course, everyone will get hugs for trying...

 

On 2/22/2017 at 7:24 PM, CraftyHeathen said:

But I am admittedly an "all or nothing" type person, so i'm going cold turkey.

 

Speaking of cups...and I'm the same way.  I have a hard time with moderation.  I've actually quit soda (twice) and haven't had it regularly since about 2010.  My recommendation is not just to cut it out, but to replace it with something better.  I use unsweetened tea (thought I started with any kind of tea).  That way you don't have to think about the "what" when it comes to getting yourself a drink.  If you just say, "No soda," without replacing it, then you have to make a decision, and that's usually where it breaks down.

 

If you don't like tea, try lemonade, Hi-C, or something like that instead.  Once you've cut the carbonation umbilical cord, it's a lot easier to deal with the sugar addiction separately.

 

I like your goals!  Remember, it's okay to stop and take a deep breath, even if someone is telling you they need an answer right now.

[Wolfy]

On 3/1/2017 at 10:24 AM, Lydiechan said:

 

You can't fill someone else's cup if your own is empty.  

 

If you have trouble finding 30 minute blocks to do your daily items, break it into 15's or 10's.  Try to get your family involved, too.  Make it a game for the kids: "Whoever can sit like this the longest wins a hug!"  Of course, everyone will get hugs for trying...

 

 

Speaking of cups...and I'm the same way.  I have a hard time with moderation.  I've actually quit soda (twice) and haven't had it regularly since about 2010.  My recommendation is not just to cut it out, but to replace it with something better.  I use unsweetened tea (thought I started with any kind of tea).  That way you don't have to think about the "what" when it comes to getting yourself a drink.  If you just say, "No soda," without replacing it, then you have to make a decision, and that's usually where it breaks down.

 

If you don't like tea, try lemonade, Hi-C, or something like that instead.  Once you've cut the carbonation umbilical cord, it's a lot easier to deal with the sugar addiction separately.

 

I like your goals!  Remember, it's okay to stop and take a deep breath, even if someone is telling you they need an answer right now.

 Awesome Advice! thank you so much! I think having a replacement for the soda is just what i need. For now I think coffee when i NEED some caffeine and unsweet tea otherwise. 

 

On 2/23/2017 at 7:54 PM, Curl Brogo said:

 

Hi! 

 

I understand how x reps for x sets can suck...

 

But,

 

Make sure that whatever your reps are to leave one or two in the tank as they say. Going to absolute failure can be bad for recovery.

Thank you, that is also very very helpful!