Beautiful Behaviors - January 2017

ThisTimeItSticks

Thanks for the welcome! My SMART goal is to eat 8-10 pieces of fruit or vegetables each day; saying this I have a few other daily goals and healthy habits I'm trying to instill at the minute

jessiquoi

I'm glad you like the SMART goal reference. here's a little more information about setting SMART goals.

S - Specific goes hand in hand with M - Measurable. I want to drink 80 oz of water is measurable, so you know for sure if you succeed or not. "more water" is not... how would you know for sure your meaning of success? A- Achievable is very important... I could say I want to drink 380 oz of water per day, and I know darn well that is NOT achievable, so it's not a SMART goal. R - Relevant means, is this goal relevant to your desired end state? I could set for my goal "I want to pet one elephant by next Tuesday", but this has nothing to do with my desire to lose weight, so who cares? and T - Time-bound means that you must set a target date for your goal. "I want to drink 80 oz of water." by when? next Tuesday? lol

I think that taking the time to set some SMART goals is a sure-fire way to set a realistic approach to success. As a certified life coach, I could write reams about setting good goals! I wish I was as good at achieving mine as I am explaining them to others. sigh.

jessiquoi

treating myself to a small glass of kahlua, and saying "ahhhhhhhhhh!" at the end of a long day. have a lovely evening, all!

aleahurst

FYI, from SFGate:

Being shivering cold definitely burns more calories than being just a little cold. Shivering can burn around 100 calories in 15 minutes. The muscles secrete a hormone called irisin that stimulates heat production from white and brown fat cells stored in the body.

jessiquoi

Lea, thanks for the info about shivering! good to know that being cold has SOME benefits.

Good morning, all! I'm having a rough morning. Although I had planned to wait for one month until I got back on the scale, I got on this morning after only one week, and to my surprise and intense dismay, i went up 1/2 lb. I was pretty sure I was going to show a loss of 2 or 3 lbs, because i have been working SO HARD. I feel much better physically compared to before starting, so I'm trying hard to focus on that and not stay depressed. I do tend to get over things fast as a rule and not dwell, but I'm still waiting for that to kick in. My face is sad.

I am going to try to find my measuring cups and spoons in the boxes today. The only thing I can think of is that I'm not tracking my food accurately. You would think after a gazillion years of tracking food one would be excellent at guesstimating. I guess not. sigh.

Cheer me up! Tell me something wonderful that's happened to you in the last few days. I will celebrate your happiness until mine returns.

have a beautiful day,
jess

paigern82

Lea - yup - last snow here in Polk County was in 1977 and I remember making miniature snowmen!!! LOL.

@dlm4mom - yes - I confess - I did do a bit of dancing - had to to keep warm!!

@ThisTimeItSticks - welcome aboard!

Jess - so funny - I teach nursnig students about SMART goals when they are writing their patient care plans!!! Kahula is so good - sounds wonderful on a cold day in my coffee!! And life is full of ups and downs....you will be on track soon. Remember that your cortisol levels are up a bit from the stress!

So a little story about me - I'm a nurse practitioner and have been teaching nursing school and running the RN to BSN program at a local college for the past 3 years. Due to a convoluted process, I left the teaching side and came over to the other side of campus to run the Student Health Center as a full time nurse practitioner. And, although I love the practice and seeing patients, I miss teaching more than I can say. I feel like there is a little hole inside that needs to be filled. SO...I am teaching part time starting yesterday - so excited! I definitely have to move back into teaching full time - it is my calling - and practicing part time.

SMART Goal today: To drink a minimum of 72 oz of water today.

Paige

jessiquoi

Paige, congrats on getting your teaching gig going, it's wonderful to do what you love!

My SMART goals for today are to stay within 100 calories of my allotment, to move at least 2500 steps, and to drink 64 oz of water. That's 4 fills of my 16 oz bottle, and i'm still on the first, so i better get sipping!

aleahurst

Lea's rule #33: Always give your body 5 days between drinking any alcoholic beverage and stepping on a scale. You will occasionally need the relaxation that comes with alcohol, but it does create a temporary state reflecting weight gain.

Jess - you are doing great! Stay calm and stick with your plan.

Paige - I knew you were a born encourager when I read your first post, you and Jess both have the gift of encouraging! Great to hear you are returning to teaching. It sounds like a match.

@ThisTimeItSticks, how is the veggie/fruit goal going? I was wondering how you are measuring the "pieces". One large banana could count as two pieces of fruit for someone like my mom (who only eats half at a time). But me? Nope. The whole banana is inhaled. I've tried to slow myself down with raw carrots, not the baby ones, but whole carrots that take a while to consume. What are you finding is true about yourself?

woznube7

Paige-- I have realized that "teaching" and/or children are my calling as well. Love that you're able to do what you love and still practice on the side! I am still waiting for my call back, but have a few more opportunities lined up if it doesn't work out!

Jess -- .5 will be gone in no time. You are dealing with a lot (and being a rockstar at that). So it's better than being up 2 or 3lbs! The fact that you are still positive while feeling not very positive is a NSV. This helps me.. because you all knew I was having a few rough WEEKS! Go for gold!

Lea -- I need to do some more shivering, hehe!! No more turning on the heater at work!

My SMART goals for today:
Eat within the allotted calories (still TOO LAX about this yet)
Do an exercise video
Put away laundry and dishes (because when I clean, I feel better!)

aleahurst

It appears my post was truncated by my emoticons.

Today I have written down my foods for 11 days! I would like this to become a habit.

Today, Wednesday:
1. Visualize healing
2. Pray and journal
3. Check on one neighbor
4. Continue to write down foods
5. Clean house KonMarie style

Peace and calm to all who come here to read.

Lea

jessiquoi

of course, Lea, i had to google KonMari style cleaning! i'm a flylady fan myself, but i may get marie's books, because man, i can use all the help i can get in housekeeping. it's not a natural talent for me.

aleahurst

And I had to Google flylady! I might sign up.

I've adapted KonMarie to my own style. Decluttering is a spiritual journey, shoot, life is a spiritual journey! KonMarie says to hold each item in your home up to your heart, if it sparks joy, keep it, otherwise thank it for its service and discard it. Lea says to hold each item up to your heart and decide whether it honors God and your fellow man. If it contains dishonor, by all means let it go. Yesterday I threw out a set of shelves built by my ex husband. I wasn't thrilled with the shelves because we disagreed on how to build them, and as usual, he did it his way. It began falling apart and I had to fix it. My heart said, "Those shelves tell you not to forgive. Get rid of them and forgive your ex".

So, I did.

There was a lot of junk on those shelves, which I piled on the bed. Now, I have to go through everything and decide.

One item at a time.

May each of you who read here find joy in your day.

Lea

sunnysunny88

Morning guys (it's morning here anyway)! Just came across a really great article from an ex- fat shamer, I'm going to post it on the main forum just thought I'd post it here first, it's really eye opening and encouraging

http://www.weightymatters.ca/2017/01/a-must-read-guest-posting-apology.html?m=1

BeautifullyBroken50

Hi....this is a beautiful thread.....Namaste

aleahurst

@BeautifulDestruction67, Namaste.

Libby, So neat that you know your calling! Believe me, adults who love children are greatly needed in the world.

I did okay today, but tuckered out early due to needing oxygen and not wanting to put it on. I found money while cleaning, and some fish manure. You never know about my house!

Good night all!

jessiquoi

Good morning, all!

@BeautifulDestruction67, Namaste!

Hi, Sunny! Thanks for sharing the article, it was a great read.

Lea, practically everything I own is in a box, and has been for about 8 months. I'm sure I need NONE of it, but I do want some of it. I look forward to having closets and cabinets in the nearish future so I can start going through them and decluttering.

Libby, how'd you do on your SMART goals yesterday? I only reached 1 out of 3. BUT...

I got on the scale this morning and it showed a 2.1 lb loss instead of the .5 lb gain it showed yesterday. YAY me! So I've decided that I'm going back to my old habit of weighing daily for a while at least. I am getting stressed out by not weighing! Isn't that weird? I really believe it's better NOT to be dependent on the scale as the sole provider of feedback on my progress, and I realized it wasn't...I was getting feedback from the way I felt too. I knew yesterday when I got on the scale I was feeling better than I had been, and that it was the result of my effort to build beautiful habits. Maybe I'll be able to let go of the scale a bit later on, but for now, I'm going to be looking at it more days than not.

The habit I'd love MOST to break is the one that leads me to make poor choices (overeating, having a second drink, going back to bed instead of the gym, etc) when I am depressed. Last night I had a big bag of popcorn all to myself and a glass of Kahlua before I went to bed, and it was all because of that gain I saw on the scale in the morning. It didn't help that John was out for the evening and I had nothing to distract me except the television. I am going to spend some time thinking of a plan to combat this, breaking it down into tiny pieces and see if I can put it back together in a more productive way.

What's the one habit you would like most to BREAK?

have a beautiful day,
jess

aleahurst

Good morning (deep inhale), Libby, Jess, Paige, @ThisTimeItSticks, @dlm4mom, @sunnysunny88, @BeautifulDestruction67!!

What's the one habit you would most like to BREAK?

Being continually nervous. I'm mildly autistic. Nervousness is part of my disorder. And, I don't like it!

Peace and love to all.

Lea

jessiquoi

Lea, do you think that something that is part of your disorder is a habit that's breakable, or a fact that you have to learn how to manage?

I suffer from anxiety, to the point where several months ago, I couldn't drive. I'm better now... most days... and it happened because I was steered from trying to get rid of the anxiety to learning how to manage it. I'm learning more and more how to focus my attention from the future (cause of anxiety) to the present. it's a challenge and a chore, and it's working for me. I only bring this up because I don't want you to set a goal that's not ACHIEVABLE, ie getting rid of the nerves. success may lie in learning behaviors that allow you to function around the nervousness until it becomes a habit. just a thought, not at all a judgement .

woznube7

@BeautifulDestruction67, Namaste!!

Lea - Ever since I was able to stay home by myself in school, I was able to babysit. So it has always been within me!! I just decided to branch out, but when you know, you just know! Yay for money, but the fish manure made me laugh!! I hope you are feeling better... USE the oxygen, you'll be glad when you don't have to use it so much later on!!!!!

Jess -- I was 0-3 for my SMART goals YAY for having a 2.1 loss! What a great rebound. If I weigh myself every day, i'll get obsessed, again. So I am planning on weighing in again, Feb. 1st. I can tell that I haven't made much progress, but I am also extremely bloated, yet! I did unload/reload dishwasher, make some chili (had chili mac for dinner) and made some cookies... but I ended up overeating. Which I also realized I had CLASS and forgot about it until class was already an hour in (it was the first day). WHOOPS. I set a reminder on my phone for future weeks and this will also help me to be more cautious about food!!

So one of my habits to BREAK is also to stop making poor choices. Overeating has especially been an issue this week (some of it I know is due to my period and also stress at work). I need to stick to a plan, as well as make a plan!

Seems like when I am busy, I do not eat as much/think about food as much. Sounds silly... like an obvious answer, but it's really something that is a challenge for me. I really need to get to the gym and move, after work. I want to be home w/my kitties this week, just because they are still recovering and i'm already gone most of the day! They have been not near as naughty and more snuggly though. This makes me just want to cuddle with them!

One of my references told me they gave me a "stellar" review and it sounded to them like I was the final candidate. So I shall know either tonight or tomorrow. One of my co-workers is also looking... so I may be taking care of my "free" days as well.. if everything works out. And if it's before Jan 31... i'll be able to sign up for the health care that the site offers. Cross fingers! I am praying, and thinking positive thoughts only! Come what may!

Tonight I have to work.

Goals and SMART for today:
Drink 5 water bottles
Stay under allotted calories
Make a meal for lunch tomorrow

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

jessiquoi

Libby, I hear you about getting obsessed with weighing daily. that's the reason I decided to weigh only monthly, but the stress of not knowing is just as bad to me. I think that, for a while, I will weigh daily while my journey is still young and I will be losing weight a little quicker. once I start to stabilize, i'll try to cut back. YAY for the stellar review! keeping my fingers crossed for you!!!!!