This January I Will....
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This January I will exercise more4
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MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »
This January, I will have a staged approach to my goals.
DONE Stage 1: Goal 1: CALORIES 😍
Reason: I need to get used to a lower calorie target per day, I think.
I will focus on keeping my calories under 2,000 for 7 days in a row...
1 ❌ 🥦 3 sweets 2 hi pro bars 2111m
2 😍. 🍓 2 sweets, 1 bar. 1599mg
3 😍. 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 1,899mg
4 😍. 🥦. 1 sweet, 2 hi protein 2152mg
5 😍 🥕. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 2155 mg
6 😍 🥗. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 🧂💕1228
7 ❌ 🥕. 1 sweet 2,317mg
8 😍 🥗. 1 large sweet 🧂💕954
9 😍 🥕. 1 sweet. 🧂💕703
10 😍 🍎. 1 sweet. 1,657mg
11 😍 2. 1 hi pro bar.👍 🧂💕1,091
12. 😍 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 🧂💕1,174
Finally!!!
Blood pressure dropped to Normal 102/75 pulse 70.
SO relieved.
I looked back over the past couple of years to see what I ate prior to an occasional, elevated bp reading. Sure enough, it was a restaurant meal.
I’m highly motivated to eat at home now. “This is no joke!”
Two more days with calories & salt under control (and veg/fruit too.) & I’ll figure out the sweets.
**Adding icons for each fruit/veggie svg**
13 😍🍎🍎🥕Berries🍊🍊6.6 svg
ZERO SWEETS !!! 🧂💕1,095
14 🥰 🍎🍎🥕🥬🌶🍊🍊 6.6 svg
1 sweet 🧂💕1,398 [Switched to protein pacing]
15 🥰1905 🍎27oz (9-10svgs)
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,394
16 🥰 1999 🥬11 servings!! ❤️🎉
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,396
DONE Stage 2: Goal 2: Vegetables/Salads/Berries
Reason: Better health, nutrients, more satisfying meals, fiber... 🥗🥦 🥕 🍓🥒🍅
Eat a minimum of five 3-oz servings of veg/fruit per day. I’ve actually done that each day, so I guess I’ll begin recording this now, but my FOCUS is my calorie goal.
DONE Stage 3: GOAL 3: Decrease Sweets over Time to 1 a day, pre-planned.
Reason: They creep up in number over time. Look at Jan 1 above!!
Eat no more than one sweet item per day. (82% dark chocolate does not count)
I haven’t tried this approach before, but I think it will work.
I’m just recording these now...as veggies/salads will be my goal after calorie goal has been met.
DONE: Reduce salt 🧂 under 1,500
17 🥰 1,830 🥕 9 servings
1 hi pro bar. 🧂💕827mg
110/73 p58
♥️
All 4 goals solidly in place now. BP normal. Scale decreasing gradually. Energy level very good.
In the future...
1. I will not go into free for all mode. It was an experiment. Doesn’t work for my blood pressure. End of story.
2. I will remember that unlike many on here, I am not able to snap back to healthy/calorie deficit eating immediately. It took me about two weeks or more & a health scare (bp) to get serious. We must know ourselves!
I’m clearly a turtle 🐢❣️
18 🥰 1,999 9 svg 🍊
1 hi protein bar, 1 protein bar. 🧂💕1.224
Home-cooked a really nice dinner
Found and loved an easy, delicious, and healthy whitefish recipe❣️
#OneRecipeataTime
19 ALL good
20 ALL good
21 ALL good
4 -
Thanks for all the encouraging words as I continue to wean myself away from sugar. I'm not giving up sweeteners completely, just trying to avoid adding sugar or eating sugar-heavy foods - epecially in the morning -that keep me wanting more as the day goes on. Slowly but surely, I am getting there.3
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1. This January I will daily log my food
2. The small actions I’ll be taking to accomplish this goal: moving MFP app to the main screen of phone
3. The trigger or cue to remember to do my habit: set some alarms on my phone to remind me
4. How often will you do your new habit: daily
5. What reward will you immediately give yourself for doing your habit? icon sent to hubby for encouragement
6. What help do you need from us? Positive support, encouragement
7. What does success look like to you at the end of January? looking back and seeing my log full4 -
leanna_aroha wrote: »leanna_aroha wrote: »This January I will:
- walk/bike 3 times per week for 20 minutes
- complete 3 squat, situp and pushup challenges per week
- log my food daily and stick to 80% oms foods and within 200 of calorie for the day
- weigh in weekly and aim for 0.5-1kg loss a week
How I will reward myself:- check off each item as I go (love my little checklist)
- buy a new pair of walking shoes if I meet 80% of my goals for the month
What will I do if I don't meet one of my goals?- look over past days and remind myself what I have done well
- reschedule it to another day and see if I can make up for it then
- write down what didn't go well, why and how I can change it for the next day/week
Tomorrows my weigh in day, eek. Will see how these goals are working in the second week. I've been drinking water every morning. Which I now realise I have forgotten to add to this months goals. When I wake up I have my water bottle right there, it gives my water habit an early boost, which some days I forget about.
Wk 3: This past week I have been really slack on the exercise front, but I have logged every day and done a short walk and went swimming with my nephew today which was lots of fun. Might even do it again tomorrow. I have done two days of situps, squats and pushups and lost .7kg this week. So even though I didn't meet all my goals I still think that's pretty amazing. This month it will be 4.3kg lost in total since using mfp again.
I really haven't been using my checklist well, but I will start again tomorrow. One more week to go of January!2 -
I am participating in a 30 day free offer with a well known fitness expert and she talked about the establishment of new habits. Like @the medalist, she said there are 3 parts, the trigger, the action (habit), and the reward. Finding the right reward will make all the difference in the world, according to Mel. She said after awhile, your brain will go from "I should work out" to "I can't wait to get my (whatever you name as your reward". That's been a missing piece for me.
Mel used having a breakfast taco as her reward so when she gets up in the morning, her first thought is on that taco, not that she has to go to the gym to workout. She said science backs that idea of the importance rewards play in establishing habits. I'm still thinking about what I absolutely love to do or eat or read that would be the perfect reward....hmmm, I'm thinking. I have an idea. I'll share later if it works or not!
That's really interesting about the change in attitude from 'should be' doing something to actually wanting to do it for something else. I should re-think some of the rewards I have chosen.2 -
MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »
This January, I will have a staged approach to my goals.
DONE Stage 1: Goal 1: CALORIES 😍
Reason: I need to get used to a lower calorie target per day, I think.
I will focus on keeping my calories under 2,000 for 7 days in a row...
1 ❌ 🥦 3 sweets 2 hi pro bars 2111m
2 😍. 🍓 2 sweets, 1 bar. 1599mg
3 😍. 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 1,899mg
4 😍. 🥦. 1 sweet, 2 hi protein 2152mg
5 😍 🥕. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 2155 mg
6 😍 🥗. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 🧂💕1228
7 ❌ 🥕. 1 sweet 2,317mg
8 😍 🥗. 1 large sweet 🧂💕954
9 😍 🥕. 1 sweet. 🧂💕703
10 😍 🍎. 1 sweet. 1,657mg
11 😍 2. 1 hi pro bar.👍 🧂💕1,091
12. 😍 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 🧂💕1,174
Finally!!!
Blood pressure dropped to Normal 102/75 pulse 70.
SO relieved.
I looked back over the past couple of years to see what I ate prior to an occasional, elevated bp reading. Sure enough, it was a restaurant meal.
I’m highly motivated to eat at home now. “This is no joke!”
Two more days with calories & salt under control (and veg/fruit too.) & I’ll figure out the sweets.
**Adding icons for each fruit/veggie svg**
13 😍🍎🍎🥕Berries🍊🍊6.6 svg
ZERO SWEETS !!! 🧂💕1,095
14 🥰 🍎🍎🥕🥬🌶🍊🍊 6.6 svg
1 sweet 🧂💕1,398 [Switched to protein pacing]
15 🥰1905 🍎27oz (9-10svgs)
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,394
16 🥰 1999 🥬11 servings!! ❤️🎉
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,396
DONE Stage 2: Goal 2: Vegetables/Salads/Berries
Reason: Better health, nutrients, more satisfying meals, fiber... 🥗🥦 🥕 🍓🥒🍅
Eat a minimum of five 3-oz servings of veg/fruit per day. I’ve actually done that each day, so I guess I’ll begin recording this now, but my FOCUS is my calorie goal.
DONE Stage 3: GOAL 3: Decrease Sweets over Time to 1 a day, pre-planned.
Reason: They creep up in number over time. Look at Jan 1 above!!
Eat no more than one sweet item per day. (82% dark chocolate does not count)
I haven’t tried this approach before, but I think it will work.
I’m just recording these now...as veggies/salads will be my goal after calorie goal has been met.
DONE: Reduce salt 🧂 under 1,500
17 🥰 1,830 🥕 9 servings
1 hi pro bar. 🧂💕827mg
110/73 p58
♥️
All 4 goals solidly in place now. BP normal. Scale decreasing gradually. Energy level very good.
In the future...
1. I will not go into free for all mode. It was an experiment. Doesn’t work for my blood pressure. End of story.
2. I will remember that unlike many on here, I am not able to snap back to healthy/calorie deficit eating immediately. It took me about two weeks or more & a health scare (bp) to get serious. We must know ourselves!
I’m clearly a turtle 🐢❣️
18 🥰 1,999 9 svg 🍊
1 hi protein bar, 1 protein bar. 🧂💕1.224
Home-cooked a really nice dinner
Found and loved an easy, delicious, and healthy whitefish recipe❣️
#OneRecipeataTime
19 ALL good
20 ALL good
21 ALL good
1/22 to 1/24 ALL GOOD
Still on vacation (with no eating out)
Tempted to eat out tomorrow
So...
I’m going to use @nebslp’s info on rewards...
If I eat at the rental home tomorrow, I can purchase a beautiful rich pink sweater.
Time to get some clothes that fit - at my 9 month maintenance mark!!2 -
[quote="77tes;c-44590476"]
1. This January I will practice intermittent fast 12-14 hours and reduce my carbs to around 100.
2. The small actions I’ll be taking to accomplish this goal: No food after dinner.
3. The trigger or cue to remember to do my habit: Brush my teeth after dinner
4. How often will you do your new habit:daily
5. What reward will you immediately give yourself for doing your habit? Pat myself on the back and fist pump
6. What help do you need from us? Giving me a place for accountability and encouragement
7. What does success look like to you at the end of January? I will be ready to tackle busy schedule that starts in February with this habit firmly established.
[/quote]
I’ve been doing well on intermittent fasting. However, last night was the ball, so my eating window extended to 2am 🤣
The dresses are finished, so I can take a break from sewing for a bit. 😴 Here are the final results. My granddaughters had an amazing time at the ball, and as much as I enjoy the ball every year, this one was even better!
6 -
So my logging went sideways for the last week. I really don’t deal with change well at all. I had the grandkids overnight both this weekend and last (different families) and there a few snow days thrown in there last week as well. Minimal logging probably means a major gain but I’m afraid to get on the scale😆. Maybe the “Just Dance”ing and snow shoveling will have offset the gain a little. It’s Monday and weather forecast is good so maybe I can redeem myself this week.3
-
@77tes Simply gorgeous! I am so happy for you & the girls❣️
@nebslp I completely understand how things can go awry as our routines get disrupted. But we can use the “building habits” approach for these other situations!!
Ie: what might a “Weekend w/ Grandma” look like?!! How can you insure your success?
Best,
Maddie2 -
This January, I will have a staged approach to my goals.
DONE Stage 1: Goal 1: CALORIES 😍
Reason: I need to get used to a lower calorie target per day, I think.
I will focus on keeping my calories under 2,000 for 7 days in a row...
1 ❌ 🥦 3 sweets 2 hi pro bars 2111m
2 😍. 🍓 2 sweets, 1 bar. 1599mg
3 😍. 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 1,899mg
4 😍. 🥦. 1 sweet, 2 hi protein 2152mg
5 😍 🥕. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 2155 mg
6 😍 🥗. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 🧂💕1228
7 ❌ 🥕. 1 sweet 2,317mg
8 😍 🥗. 1 large sweet 🧂💕954
9 😍 🥕. 1 sweet. 🧂💕703
10 😍 🍎. 1 sweet. 1,657mg
11 😍 2. 1 hi pro bar.👍 🧂💕1,091
12. 😍 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 🧂💕1,174
Finally!!!
Blood pressure dropped to Normal 102/75 pulse 70.
SO relieved.
I looked back over the past couple of years to see what I ate prior to an occasional, elevated bp reading. Sure enough, it was a restaurant meal.
I’m highly motivated to eat at home now. “This is no joke!”
Two more days with calories & salt under control (and veg/fruit too.) & I’ll figure out the sweets.
**Adding icons for each fruit/veggie svg**
13 😍🍎🍎🥕Berries🍊🍊6.6 svg
ZERO SWEETS !!! 🧂💕1,095
14 🥰 🍎🍎🥕🥬🌶🍊🍊 6.6 svg
1 sweet 🧂💕1,398 [Switched to protein pacing]
15 🥰1905 🍎27oz (9-10svgs)
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,394
16 🥰 1999 🥬11 servings!! ❤️🎉
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,396
DONE Stage 2: Goal 2: Vegetables/Salads/Berries
Reason: Better health, nutrients, more satisfying meals, fiber... 🥗🥦 🥕 🍓🥒🍅
Eat a minimum of five 3-oz servings of veg/fruit per day. I’ve actually done that each day, so I guess I’ll begin recording this now, but my FOCUS is my calorie goal.
DONE Stage 3: GOAL 3: Decrease Sweets over Time to 1 a day, pre-planned.
Reason: They creep up in number over time. Look at Jan 1 above!!
Eat no more than one sweet item per day. (82% dark chocolate does not count)
I haven’t tried this approach before, but I think it will work.
I’m just recording these now...as veggies/salads will be my goal after calorie goal has been met.
DONE: Reduce salt 🧂 under 1,500
17 🥰 1,830 🥕 9 servings
1 hi pro bar. 🧂💕827mg
110/73 p58
♥️
All 4 goals solidly in place now. BP normal. Scale decreasing gradually. Energy level very good.
In the future...
1. I will not go into free for all mode. It was an experiment. Doesn’t work for my blood pressure. End of story.
2. I will remember that unlike many on here, I am not able to snap back to healthy/calorie deficit eating immediately. It took me about two weeks or more & a health scare (bp) to get serious. We must know ourselves!
I’m clearly a turtle 🐢❣️[/quote]
18 🥰 1,999 9 svg 🍊
1 hi protein bar, 1 protein bar. 🧂💕1.224
Home-cooked a really nice dinner
Found and loved an easy, delicious, and healthy whitefish recipe❣️
#OneRecipeataTime[/quote]
19 ALL good
20 ALL good
21 ALL good
[/quote]
1/22 to 1/24 ALL GOOD
Still on vacation (with no eating out)
Tempted to eat out tomorrow
So...
I’m going to use @nebslp’s info on rewards...
If I eat at the rental home tomorrow, I can purchase a beautiful rich pink sweater.
Time to get some clothes that fit - at my 9 month maintenance mark!![/quote]
1/25 ALL GOOD
1/26 I ended up eating moderately at a Mexican (tapas) place A) I ate a handful of almonds so I would not over order
I had exercised vigorously AND swam for 20+ minutes C) I began to feel Really Full, so I stopped & took home leftovers.
So I don’t get the sweater, but I will lose weight based on my calories eaten for the day!!!! Good job!
1/27 Fatigue of 4 days intense social &
Lack of sleep caught up with me.
Ate out lunch. Under calories, but rapidly fell back into my eating out habits.
So, making good progress, but I’m certainly not adept at the eating out/vacation thing yet. Giving myself a year
but I do call this a success! 1 -
walk4today wrote: »Thanks for all the encouraging words as I continue to wean myself away from sugar. I'm not giving up sweeteners completely, just trying to avoid adding sugar or eating sugar-heavy foods - epecially in the morning -that keep me wanting more as the day goes on. Slowly but surely, I am getting there.
@walk4today, sugar is so hard to give up! I think your gradual approach is very smart! You are doing great!2 -
leanna_aroha wrote: »I am participating in a 30 day free offer with a well known fitness expert and she talked about the establishment of new habits. Like @the medalist, she said there are 3 parts, the trigger, the action (habit), and the reward. Finding the right reward will make all the difference in the world, according to Mel. She said after awhile, your brain will go from "I should work out" to "I can't wait to get my (whatever you name as your reward". That's been a missing piece for me.
Mel used having a breakfast taco as her reward so when she gets up in the morning, her first thought is on that taco, not that she has to go to the gym to workout. She said science backs that idea of the importance rewards play in establishing habits. I'm still thinking about what I absolutely love to do or eat or read that would be the perfect reward....hmmm, I'm thinking. I have an idea. I'll share later if it works or not!
That's really interesting about the change in attitude from 'should be' doing something to actually wanting to do it for something else. I should re-think some of the rewards I have chosen.
I think if the reward is strong enough if might be enough to kick-start a new habit that's in the "I should do this" and not in the "I want to do this" category. But everything I've read suggests that it's really hard to adopt a new habit if we fundamentally don't want to do. We're just not good at sticking with things long term that we just don't want to do. But usually, after you get into the swing of things, there's rewards that didn't exist at first. Take exercise. It's hard to start exercising if you're not accustomed to it. But stick with it and over time you'll start to feel better. And that becomes a very powerful reward. Sounds like a great class, @nebslp!
I'd be curious if people can stick with something they don't like doing just because of the awesome reward if they don't derive other intrinsic rewards from doing the habit. What do you all think?3 -
@77tes, I love the dresses and you three look gorgeous! Something your granddaughters will always remember!2
-
@themedalist
Great question.
Once or twice I’ve used a small reward to jumpstart a new habit, but that’s over 4 years
I tell myself being healthier is enough of a reward.
In teaching, rewards could help in very beginning say for math facts (no longer than 2 weeks), but as you said, the joy of solving problems more quickly or achieving something difficult needs to take over!0 -
This January, I will have a staged approach to my goals.
DONE Stage 1: Goal 1: CALORIES 😍
Reason: I need to get used to a lower calorie target per day, I think.
I will focus on keeping my calories under 2,000 for 7 days in a row...
1 ❌ 🥦 3 sweets 2 hi pro bars 2111m
2 😍. 🍓 2 sweets, 1 bar. 1599mg
3 😍. 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 1,899mg
4 😍. 🥦. 1 sweet, 2 hi protein 2152mg
5 😍 🥕. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 2155 mg
6 😍 🥗. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 🧂💕1228
7 ❌ 🥕. 1 sweet 2,317mg
8 😍 🥗. 1 large sweet 🧂💕954
9 😍 🥕. 1 sweet. 🧂💕703
10 😍 🍎. 1 sweet. 1,657mg
11 😍 2. 1 hi pro bar.👍 🧂💕1,091
12. 😍 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 🧂💕1,174
Finally!!!
Blood pressure dropped to Normal 102/75 pulse 70.
SO relieved.
I looked back over the past couple of years to see what I ate prior to an occasional, elevated bp reading. Sure enough, it was a restaurant meal.
I’m highly motivated to eat at home now. “This is no joke!”
Two more days with calories & salt under control (and veg/fruit too.) & I’ll figure out the sweets.
**Adding icons for each fruit/veggie svg**
13 😍🍎🍎🥕Berries🍊🍊6.6 svg
ZERO SWEETS !!! 🧂💕1,095
14 🥰 🍎🍎🥕🥬🌶🍊🍊 6.6 svg
1 sweet 🧂💕1,398 [Switched to protein pacing]
15 🥰1905 🍎27oz (9-10svgs)
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,394
16 🥰 1999 🥬11 servings!! ❤️🎉
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,396
DONE Stage 2: Goal 2: Vegetables/Salads/Berries
Reason: Better health, nutrients, more satisfying meals, fiber... 🥗🥦 🥕 🍓🥒🍅
Eat a minimum of five 3-oz servings of veg/fruit per day. I’ve actually done that each day, so I guess I’ll begin recording this now, but my FOCUS is my calorie goal.
DONE Stage 3: GOAL 3: Decrease Sweets over Time to 1 a day, pre-planned.
Reason: They creep up in number over time. Look at Jan 1 above!!
Eat no more than one sweet item per day. (82% dark chocolate does not count)
I haven’t tried this approach before, but I think it will work.
I’m just recording these now...as veggies/salads will be my goal after calorie goal has been met.
DONE: Reduce salt 🧂 under 1,500
17 🥰 1,830 🥕 9 servings
1 hi pro bar. 🧂💕827mg
110/73 p58
♥️
All 4 goals solidly in place now. BP normal. Scale decreasing gradually. Energy level very good.
In the future...
1. I will not go into free for all mode. It was an experiment. Doesn’t work for my blood pressure. End of story.
2. I will remember that unlike many on here, I am not able to snap back to healthy/calorie deficit eating immediately. It took me about two weeks or more & a health scare (bp) to get serious. We must know ourselves!
I’m clearly a turtle 🐢❣️[/quote]
18 🥰 1,999 9 svg 🍊
1 hi protein bar, 1 protein bar. 🧂💕1.224
Home-cooked a really nice dinner
Found and loved an easy, delicious, and healthy whitefish recipe❣️
#OneRecipeataTime[/quote]
19 ALL good
20 ALL good
21 ALL good
[/quote]
1/22 to 1/24 ALL GOOD
Still on vacation (with no eating out)
Tempted to eat out tomorrow
So...
I’m going to use @nebslp’s info on rewards...
If I eat at the rental home tomorrow, I can purchase a beautiful rich pink sweater.
Time to get some clothes that fit - at my 9 month maintenance mark!![/quote]
1/25 ALL GOOD
1/26 I ended up eating moderately at a Mexican (tapas) place A) I ate a handful of almonds so I would not over order I had exercised vigorously AND swam for 20+ minutes C) I began to feel Really Full, so I stopped & took home leftovers.
So I don’t get the sweater, but I will lose weight based on my calories eaten for the day!!!! Good job!
1/27 Fatigue of 4 days intense social &
Lack of sleep caught up with me.
Ate out lunch. Under calories, but rapidly fell back into my eating out habits.
So, making good progress, but I’m certainly not adept at the eating out/vacation thing yet. Giving myself a year but I do call this a success![/quote]
1/28 Interesting. Second vacation I did well on the trip, but not the next day at home.
Over by 90 calories
Learned something. PLAN my day of food for first day back at home!!!
1/29
1/30
1/310 -
I've only missed 4 days of my January goal! I'll definitely take it! I already know what I want my February challenge to be! I'm glad that I am making this board a priority this year.
We got this guys!3 -
themedalist wrote: »leanna_aroha wrote: »I am participating in a 30 day free offer with a well known fitness expert and she talked about the establishment of new habits. Like @the medalist, she said there are 3 parts, the trigger, the action (habit), and the reward. Finding the right reward will make all the difference in the world, according to Mel. She said after awhile, your brain will go from "I should work out" to "I can't wait to get my (whatever you name as your reward". That's been a missing piece for me.
Mel used having a breakfast taco as her reward so when she gets up in the morning, her first thought is on that taco, not that she has to go to the gym to workout. She said science backs that idea of the importance rewards play in establishing habits. I'm still thinking about what I absolutely love to do or eat or read that would be the perfect reward....hmmm, I'm thinking. I have an idea. I'll share later if it works or not!
That's really interesting about the change in attitude from 'should be' doing something to actually wanting to do it for something else. I should re-think some of the rewards I have chosen.
I think if the reward is strong enough if might be enough to kick-start a new habit that's in the "I should do this" and not in the "I want to do this" category. But everything I've read suggests that it's really hard to adopt a new habit if we fundamentally don't want to do. We're just not good at sticking with things long term that we just don't want to do. But usually, after you get into the swing of things, there's rewards that didn't exist at first. Take exercise. It's hard to start exercising if you're not accustomed to it. But stick with it and over time you'll start to feel better. And that becomes a very powerful reward. Sounds like a great class, @nebslp!
I'd be curious if people can stick with something they don't like doing just because of the awesome reward if they don't derive other intrinsic rewards from doing the habit. What do you all think?
Its an interesting topic. Basically, non-essential incentives help in the short term to change a behaviour but not in maintaining it long term if there is no intrinsic value in the behaviour itself or the outcome of that behaviour/habit. It also depends on competing choices that can pop up at different times. The value we put on something may change if something more valuable comes along, so we do need to keep adjusting things, changing our goals, making sure we know why we are doing something and what the possible consequences/benefits of that may be. My little change this month has been in my taste buds. One unhealthy meal I used to love now makes me feel sick and I didn’t enjoy it at all. So my healthy food choices this month which were motivated by non essential rewards has had a long lasting effect in one little area In this case I won’t be avoiding it or choosing something healthy because of a reward rather it will be because I don’t like it anymore. Which brings up avoidance as a motivation for doing things as well, a little different to rewards but can be just as effective. 2 -
This January, I will have a staged approach to my goals.
DONE Stage 1: Goal 1: CALORIES 😍
Reason: I need to get used to a lower calorie target per day, I think.
I will focus on keeping my calories under 2,000 for 7 days in a row...
1 ❌ 🥦 3 sweets 2 hi pro bars 2111m
2 😍. 🍓 2 sweets, 1 bar. 1599mg
3 😍. 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 1,899mg
4 😍. 🥦. 1 sweet, 2 hi protein 2152mg
5 😍 🥕. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 2155 mg
6 😍 🥗. 1 sweet, 1 bar. 🧂💕1228
7 ❌ 🥕. 1 sweet 2,317mg
8 😍 🥗. 1 large sweet 🧂💕954
9 😍 🥕. 1 sweet. 🧂💕703
10 😍 🍎. 1 sweet. 1,657mg
11 😍 2. 1 hi pro bar.👍 🧂💕1,091
12. 😍 🥗 1 sweet, 1 bar 🧂💕1,174
Finally!!!
Blood pressure dropped to Normal 102/75 pulse 70.
SO relieved.
I looked back over the past couple of years to see what I ate prior to an occasional, elevated bp reading. Sure enough, it was a restaurant meal.
I’m highly motivated to eat at home now. “This is no joke!”
Two more days with calories & salt under control (and veg/fruit too.) & I’ll figure out the sweets.
**Adding icons for each fruit/veggie svg**
13 😍🍎🍎🥕Berries🍊🍊6.6 svg
ZERO SWEETS !!! 🧂💕1,095
14 🥰 🍎🍎🥕🥬🌶🍊🍊 6.6 svg
1 sweet 🧂💕1,398 [Switched to protein pacing]
15 🥰1905 🍎27oz (9-10svgs)
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,394
16 🥰 1999 🥬11 servings!! ❤️🎉
1 small sweet, 1 hi pro bar, 🧂💕1,396
DONE Stage 2: Goal 2: Vegetables/Salads/Berries
Reason: Better health, nutrients, more satisfying meals, fiber... 🥗🥦 🥕 🍓🥒🍅
Eat a minimum of five 3-oz servings of veg/fruit per day. I’ve actually done that each day, so I guess I’ll begin recording this now, but my FOCUS is my calorie goal.
DONE Stage 3: GOAL 3: Decrease Sweets over Time to 1 a day, pre-planned.
Reason: They creep up in number over time. Look at Jan 1 above!!
Eat no more than one sweet item per day. (82% dark chocolate does not count)
I haven’t tried this approach before, but I think it will work.
I’m just recording these now...as veggies/salads will be my goal after calorie goal has been met.
DONE: Reduce salt 🧂 under 1,500
17 🥰 1,830 🥕 9 servings
1 hi pro bar. 🧂💕827mg
110/73 p58
♥️
All 4 goals solidly in place now. BP normal. Scale decreasing gradually. Energy level very good.
In the future...
1. I will not go into free for all mode. It was an experiment. Doesn’t work for my blood pressure. End of story.
2. I will remember that unlike many on here, I am not able to snap back to healthy/calorie deficit eating immediately. It took me about two weeks or more & a health scare (bp) to get serious. We must know ourselves!
I’m clearly a turtle 🐢❣️[/quote]
18 🥰 1,999 9 svg 🍊
1 hi protein bar, 1 protein bar. 🧂💕1.224
Home-cooked a really nice dinner
Found and loved an easy, delicious, and healthy whitefish recipe❣️
#OneRecipeataTime[/quote]
19 ALL good
20 ALL good
21 ALL good
[/quote]
1/22 to 1/24 ALL GOOD
Still on vacation (with no eating out)
Tempted to eat out tomorrow
So...
I’m going to use @nebslp’s info on rewards...
If I eat at the rental home tomorrow, I can purchase a beautiful rich pink sweater.
Time to get some clothes that fit - at my 9 month maintenance mark!![/quote]
1/25 ALL GOOD
1/26 I ended up eating moderately at a Mexican (tapas) place A) I ate a handful of almonds so I would not over order I had exercised vigorously AND swam for 20+ minutes C) I began to feel Really Full, so I stopped & took home leftovers.
So I don’t get the sweater, but I will lose weight based on my calories eaten for the day!!!! Good job!
1/27 Fatigue of 4 days intense social &
Lack of sleep caught up with me.
Ate out lunch. Under calories, but rapidly fell back into my eating out habits.
So, making good progress, but I’m certainly not adept at the eating out/vacation thing yet. Giving myself a year but I do call this a success![/quote]
1/28 Interesting. Second vacation I did well on the trip, but not the next day at home.
Over by 90 calories
Learned something. PLAN my day of food for first day back at home!!!
1/29 ALL Good
1/30 calories✅ sodium up ate healthy lunch out
1/31calories✅ sodium up, ate healthy lunch out
Learning processed foods have a ton of salt
A great month - thank you !2
