JANUARY 2016 Monthly Challenge
retirehappy
Posts: 4,757 Member
Hope everyone is looking forward to the new challenges and rewards to come your way in 2016.
I wanted to make sure I got this up in a timely manner. All the best to all of us in coming year.
I wanted to make sure I got this up in a timely manner. All the best to all of us in coming year.
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My first challenge for the year is going to be adding more iodine to my diet.
My TSH has moved into the High range, not a good thing. So that will be my focus this month. You can not just jump up your iodine intake quickly I am told, so I will add a few a little each week until my next blood test in late Feb.
I find this ironic as I NEVER claimed my weight gains were from a bad thyroid. And now mine IS misbehaving. Nutrition is such a fun new hobby
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retirehappy wrote: »I find this ironic as I NEVER claimed my weight gains were from a bad thyroid. And now mine IS misbehaving. Nutrition is such a fun new hobby
LOL ... I have to agree; it's a never-ending learning curve.
I am IN for the January challenge; I have to make a better effort than I have been over the past few months. I'm going to start with the basics:
(1) Begin the day with Higher Consciousness (prayer, meditation, and/or journaling).
(2) Write down everything I eat.
(3) Exercise daily and record same.
(4) Use EFT or hypnosis daily to aid in maintaining my motivation.
(5) End the day with HC (see #1).
Good luck and good health to one and all in 2016! ~ Kathy
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My one and only challenge for January is to learn to eat smaller portions slowly and several times a day. The COPD doesn't like it when I'm too full. So, no more 3 meals a day for me; I have to figure out a new way to eat.
Good luck to all of us in meeting our goals in 2016!!!0 -
I want more peace in my life: looking at that I am seeing that FBook is constantly showing me bad things happening almost instantly- the election stuff is only going to get worse and I can waste hours on it. So- deep breath- I am getting off of it for Jan at least- a break - I bet the world won't falls apart when I am not watching!0
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The New Year is here! I am excited! Last night hubby and I sat down and reviewed my lists (ok, I made the lists, Capricorns are forever working on a plan lol) for me, for him, and for us. We labeled last year medical catch up and indeed that is what it turned out to be. We have named this year Gratitude and Abundance. What you focus on expands!
The health/physical portion of my goals are as follows
1) I am going to lose 30 lbs this year. There is a whole year stretching ahead of me and that is a mere 3 lbs per month. While that sounds small, I know that the trick lies in the consistency and I will be MORE than happy if I can make it to that total!
2) I am going to focus on eating healthier. DH is a horrible influence when it comes to that! I have now convinced him that vegetables really are a wonderful thing if they are wrapped in smoothies (and am managing to sneak other things into them he is not aware of!). So, for one meal a day we are going to have a smoothie and I am working on recipes that he will drink. So, we are trading in the juicer for the vitamix! One of both our faults is that we fail to eat enough protein, so hopefully this will also help with that!
3) I plan to develop a serious yoga program. I resubscribed to 3 years of Yoga Journal last night and I have a new book called Yoga for Arthritis. I want to do this for my respiratory status, my physical status, and my mental/spiritual development. I have done a little yoga for a long time, but I plan to expand it greatly this year.
4) I am going to continue with 5000 steps a day.
5) I am going to do interval training on my recumbent bike 3x a week.
6) I am going to alternate the stretchy band routine I learned in physical therapy with my bike routine
I have the plan made out and on the front of my frig! I have a notebook and 4X6 cards to help me develop my yoga sequence. I am Capricorn Ready! lol0 -
Oh, and as if I did not ramble on long enough, as far as the diet I am going back to the TDEE. It worked very well for me during the time I was doing it and also go back to the intermittant fasting.0
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Once family who came in to support BIL depart, I'll get back on steps and healthy eating again. I'll come up with a plan to arrange my foods for when our schedule is disrupted. BIL expected surgery last week but now it's to be the 11th.
I've discovered I need a routine planned when my routine is disrupted. :-) It ha been great having visitors, but their meal schedules are radically different than what keeps me well.0 -
retirehappy wrote: »I find this ironic as I NEVER claimed my weight gains were from a bad thyroid. And now mine IS misbehaving. Nutrition is such a fun new hobby
LOL ... I have to agree; it's a never-ending learning curve.
I am IN for the January challenge; I have to make a better effort than I have been over the past few months. I'm going to start with the basics:
(1) Begin the day with Higher Consciousness (prayer, meditation, and/or journaling).
(2) Write down everything I eat.
(3) Exercise daily and record same.
(4) Use EFT or hypnosis daily to aid in maintaining my motivation.
(5) End the day with HC (see #1).
Good luck and good health to one and all in 2016! ~ Kathy
Kathy, I love your January challenge. In fact, I love it so much I think I'll do that too! Hope you don't care if I copy you.
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Sharon I so know what you mean about a disrupted routing. My dh is still home from work post surgery and I am ready for him to go back! lol I told him this morning that he needs to start putting on his brace and wearing it a couple of hours a day along with his work boots. He seems to think 2 PT appts a week are fine alone with sitting around watching TV and playing computer games the rest of the time. <Sigh> I am going to MAKE this man want to get out of here!!!
I have noticed over a period of YEARS that just getting back to journaling has a powerful effect and I see thats true. I need to get back on that bike today! I have done a lot of researching about yoga and have developed an initial plan, and ordered what I hope will be a great book. Two days of the routine have left me aching this morning lol. I need to get moving again!0 -
Hi everyone! I'm new to this group. I need to lose 100 pounds. I never thought I'd ever say that, but it's true. My health is suffering because of it, and it's time I did something about it. My goal for this month is to think before I eat, and be good to myself in other ways.0
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Welcome Red. I believe you will find this to be a pretty amazing group. Great way to start your new year!
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Welcome Red, This is a fantastic group of people. They show you how much they care for there own health as well as encouraging you to care about yours !
OK, this is the year~~ I don't know what is so special about my 64th year of life, other than I have seen so much ( as a nurse ) of what obesity can do to one's health, I can not believe I still am carting around 69 lbs. of unwanted, unhealthy, not to mention unsightly FAT
So with that said, I am going to take "baby" steps. Tomorrow I will take 30 minutes and walk extra. I will be working my 12 hours, but I want to add those steps as well.
I'm also going to go to the fitness center in the hospital and purchase a FITBIT HR. I believe that was the one that was suggested to me to get.
I start a 2 week vacation on January 13th. I plan to use that time for some organization in the house and for ME. Get all my tools lined up (esp. the helpful hints from Sharon).
And set out to SLAY AWAY THE FAT. 2016 is my year to get LEAN 0 -
New or Returning I should say - I'm just beginning to verbalize or document my goals for January - but they're exactly like Mxchana above - I liove the term "Higher Consciousness" I've been trying just the same - Although no hypnosis ~ wouldn't mind hearing more about that!
And wondering about TDEE that DREAM-ON mentioned...
Journaling which I hear here as well - is one of my tools to keep focused this month - I think this (losing weight) is more of a mind game than anything else and anything that helps.....
I have probably 60 or 70 lbs to lose but my real goal is to lose 42 by an event on July 17 - do-able - but won't be easy ...
I am trying Intermittent Fasting but doing the 24 hr 2 days a week with careful eating in between -
Hope to visit here daily - Need all the help I can get
My wish that our success is around the corner - but it only comes with hard work today -
Robert Redford was quoted recently as saying "Don't look back - only Forward". I'm living by that mantra - Success is achievable!
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TDEE=Total daily energy expenditure. Here is a handy spreadsheet for figuring that out:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing
You can also just let MFP figure it out, using the guided goals, be sure you are honest about your activity, Most women don't realize how active they are. Older ladies can even under estimate way too much. The idea is to give your body what it needs to work properly and move a bit more, so you don't have to eat 1200 calorie formula type diet. Most people burn 1200 just laying in bed and breathing.0 -
Reporting a bit late, but Sunday is weigh in. Weight same, but still half pound over top of maintenance. BIL was in hospital ER so exercise wasn't what I hoped. Taking food second day and finding salad bar helped with healthier eating, but I found myself hitting the fridge after we'd get back later at night. BIL now due for surgery the 15th, and the house is almost ready for visitors who'll fly in to support him again. WILL.NOT.BUY prepared salads for visitors, no matter what! Mayonnaise in them destroyed my digestive system.0
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Maintaining okay. A tad lower weight this morning. Tallying veg and fruit totals in Notes to make sure vitamin intake is good.
Health of BIL still a concern as they couldn't correct the blockage. We'll know more after he calls the other surgeon, a vascular surgeon, Monday.0 -
Well, I have begun to get my act back together and I would say 5 of 7 days I have hit my goals. HOWEVER I am really frustrated because I have not been able to exercise as intensively as I need to, since I have been babying my back. I think that has to come to an end, because I gained .2 lbs for the week.
I am going back to more cardio and I will continue to do the back exercises. They have helped but I think this is going to take a while. Grrrr...
Sharon, so sorry to hear that your brother-in-law's situation remains precarious.
@mkramarz - the hypnosis program I use, I got through an online course in Daily Om. It's not my favorite, but it's better than nothing.0 -
My challenge was to up my iodine intake.
I had been using sea salt without iodine added, so I have filled all my shakers with sea salt with iodine. Been eating some fish which is high in iodine. More prunes (who knew they were a good source of iodine??), yogurt, and eggs.
I have to be careful as you shouldn't get overly much iodine either. It is a challenge because there isn't a ton of info on iodine since it is not required on the food labels, I did find a list of sources giving the mcgs and % of daily values and have been adding those items to my diet.
Kathy, please be careful with your back, .2 is a very small amount and could just be related to water retention. If you get overly vigorous too soon, you could really hurt yourself. Can you add more walking for the cardio? It is gentle but effective, might take longer than an aerobic workout for cardio but it does work just fine and injury is less likely.0 -
Joell, actually walking irritates the sciatica... The longer I walk, the worse it hurts. I don't know why, but this has been my experience... and one of my biggest challenges. But the strengthening exercises I have been doing, and yoga poses, are giving me some improvement so I am hoping to be able to increase my walking soon. Swim class felt pretty good this a.m. Oh yes, my acupuncturist has begun adding electrical stimulation to the needles and we'll see if that helps.
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If I could not walk I don't know how I could control my weight. I used to run and dance and do aerobics- now I have a bad knee. Steps are difficult. So I walk outside, on my treadmill - but my foot is acting up0
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Well, I have begun to get my act back together and I would say 5 of 7 days I have hit my goals. HOWEVER I am really frustrated because I have not been able to exercise as intensively as I need to, since I have been babying my back. I think that has to come to an end, because I gained .2 lbs for the week.
I am going back to more cardio and I will continue to do the back exercises. They have helped but I think this is going to take a while. Grrrr...
Sharon, so sorry to hear that your brother-in-law's situation remains precarious.
@mkramarz - the hypnosis program I use, I got through an online course in Daily Om. It's not my favorite, but it's better than nothing.
I hear you! If I could not walk I would be in trouble- I am only 5'0 - that plus my age gives me 1280 maintainence calories! If I didn't walk I would barley eat! My knee is bad and my foot is swelling but I walk through the pain. I am not sure that is a good thing but what is the alternative? The pool here is closed till Memorial Day0 -
Maybe a bit late, but my challenge for January and throughout 2016 is to shed my bad habits and embrace the new ones, mostly as it relates to food. Specifically, I will log in every day, exercise every day and consume fewer than 1,200 net calories, with a goal of consuming less than half of the carbs I am allocated. You all are so inspiring! Marla0
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Joell, actually walking irritates the sciatica... The longer I walk, the worse it hurts. I don't know why, but this has been my experience... and one of my biggest challenges. But the strengthening exercises I have been doing, and yoga poses, are giving me some improvement so I am hoping to be able to increase my walking soon. Swim class felt pretty good this a.m. Oh yes, my acupuncturist has begun adding electrical stimulation to the needles and we'll see if that helps.
Kathy, sciatica can be so painful. My husband gets it from time to time. He takes short walks and does yoga to stretch everything out properly. I hope would think swimming would be good and it is a great way to burn some calories.
I have friends who swear by acupuncture, hope that treatment helps.0 -
I frequently think about the apologies I owe my home health patients because you just don't know what its like until you are there! My worst sin was saying, well you have your nights and days turned around, just stay up all day when you want sleep and readjust your schedule! Yea right! How much easier said that done! Now I am at that age where I have to work through all the aches and pains and new and old problems! But we keep on keeping on don't we! It's good to have a place were we all understand that!
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I have been following through with my support plan and it is working. At LONG last I have an actual release of weight to report for the week: 3.6 pounds. That in spite of the fact that I was traveling two days and didn't meet my exercise goal for the week as a result. It seems like it just all came off "whoosh" ... Which happens from time to time. Very weird, but I'll take it.
Sciatica is getting much better because of those exercises!0 -
I have been consuming the needed iodine. I can't know who successful I have been in altering my TSH number til I get retested towards the end of Feb. but I think the results should show up.
This month has been about tweaking micro nutrients for me. I have also been trying to be more accurate in measuring, there always seems to be room for improvement in that area.
I hope everyone else is making progress, the month will soon be over. I will be posting the Feb. challenge soon, I am going to be traveling a bit and want to make sure everything is up and ready for you.0 -
I'm working on reducing stress, because that's a binge trigger, which I succumbed to this weekend. Today we got to play tennis! Yay! The physical therapy exercises have so much improved my foot and ankle, and I feel confident with my balance. Double Yay!
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Sharon, that's great that you have experienced recovery enough to get back on the court!
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