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Hola folks. What are some tips that help you stay motivated during the weekends? I’m ‘on it’ Sunday thru Thursdays. But then Fri and Sat come around and I reason that I deserve this treat and that. I’m working on changing this mindset. In the meantime, please share a tip of how you maintain focus during the wknds. Thank you! 🙂1
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@ForLangston , while my situation is probably different than yours right now, when I was behind a desk all week, weekends were tough, because I had zero structure.
I have an Apple Watch and have gone 942 days closing all of my rings. That helped me stay motivated, so maybe a Fitbit or smart watch will help keep you accountable on weekends, if you build up a streak. I don’t know if you count steps, or calories burned, or what, but what’s helped me stay active is having a goal to meet, and my watch helps me maintain accountability. It would suck to lose that streak simply because I just didn’t feel like it, ya know?1 -
Also, I want to share our most recent picture of the kittens, who are growing like weeds!
From left to right? Peaches, Misu and Nori. They all send their love and encouragement ❣️4 -
ForLangston wrote: »Hola folks. What are some tips that help you stay motivated during the weekends? I’m ‘on it’ Sunday thru Thursdays. But then Fri and Sat come around and I reason that I deserve this treat and that. I’m working on changing this mindset. In the meantime, please share a tip of how you maintain focus during the wknds. Thank you! 🙂
I tend to sleep in on the weekends, which allows "inadvertent intermittent fasting" (same total calories in a condensed time frame - the calories I would normally have consumed at breakfast can be re-alloted to dinner-time dessert or bumped up evening snack)
Also .... Treats ARE permitted, so long as they fit your calorie budget . So maybe make a list (on a Tuesday or Wednesday) of "treats" divided into three categories:- things you want to keep in your life, but are able to moderate (for me, that would be a "chocolate fix" via Dark Chocolate Bark Thins and stirring cocoa powder into yogurt
- things that are calorie-costly, yet worth it if reserved for pre-planned pass-worthy events (gourmet chocolate lava-cake at an expensive Steak House restaurant that we only go to once a year .... part of a whole "anniversary experience" package ...
- things that are calorie-costly, used to be categorized as "treats" but don't REEEEEAAAALY seem worth the cost retrospectively any time you do munch mindlessly (generic regular-size chocolate-bar purchases and chocolate-chocolate chip monster muffins from the caff at work just AREN't worth the price) - or tend to be trigger foods for you personally ... or are hard to portion (depending on what it is, we might be able to suggest ways to pre-portion ... which could potentially shift it to Group 1)
Then pre-plan your total weekend intake ahead of time to include ROOM for a treat or two. Anticipate it. Eat it sloooooowwwly and mindfully, and really savour the specialness of it. You are working towards sustainability - a long-term lifestyle that is based on preferences and the occasional perk, not on "denial and deprivation"
2 - things you want to keep in your life, but are able to moderate (for me, that would be a "chocolate fix" via Dark Chocolate Bark Thins and stirring cocoa powder into yogurt
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@ForLangston
~ I tend to pre plan and log my intake to include small moderate treats.
~ I have no banned food, and choose to eat healthy snacks most of the time.
~ I earn extra calories by doing extra exercise.
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My wildflower butterfly / bee / hummingbird friendly front garden (most of the non city-easement lawn!) is stunted from lack of rainfall and intense heat all this spring / summer .... but today we spotted some new buds and blossoms!!
For something refreshing on a hot day, have you ever had fresh mint tea (one of the few that are equally good hot OR cold! with no sugar or anything else added!)
I discovered fresh mint tea in Winchester UK two summers ago. Steep fresh mint leaves (from your garden or you can get it in the herb section of the grocery store) in boiling water. Warning, it will never darken the way 'normal' commercial mint herbal tea OR even Green Tea would.
After it is steeped, remove the mint leaves and either drink a mug hot, or put it in the fridge for a while and enjoy mintted water for the rest of the day.
One other warning .... if you think you might plant your own mint DO put it in a window-box or urn /barrel or some other self-contained ...container. Mint is one of those plants that propagates via runners, so once it is in ground-level it will just keep spreading.2 -
So, I’m writing this with an incredibly heavy heart,
The lone unit secretary job I applied for, that would have kept me where I’ve worked for 19 years was passed over me because I was over qualified. (Yet I’m not over qualified to be pushing beds 32+ hours a week.)
💔😭
I’ve applied to two jobs in my county, outside where I currently work.
I’m really struggling with the extreme change in my reality right now. 😭6 -
@juliemouse83 Let me share what happened to me. You already know that I was in a terrible job for a few years and I quit with no job to go to. So I applied to several places. I never heard back from a few of them. One day I got a phone call out of the blue. It was from a company that I had applied to a year earlier and they didn't call me at that time because I was over qualified for the position I applied for. But they had another position just come up and they wanted to know if I was still interested in coming in to interview for it. This is the company I am currently working for; I started there in 2015. So hang in there and keep applying and moving forward. You never know where and how connections are made. Good luck hun! Life does get better but it may take a bit of time. But if you don't keep trying, you'll stay in the same place. And you know that you need to get out. Don't give up!4
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And yes change can be scary, which is why you wanted to apply within the same company. But look at it differently, change can be exciting and fun. Either way though, the reality is change is different from your current comfort zone. Accept it and try to roll with it. I feel for you. But it can be better. You just won't know until you get there. Work through the stress of it as best as you can. Hugs!3
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@juliemouse83: bummed to hear about your news. Are you interested in speaking to HR at all and explaining that you are willing to take that job irrespective of qualifications? I know these conversations can be difficult, but it may be worth a shot if you choose. Good luck if you do have a conversation with them and continued luck on your job search. Sending you uplifting hugs as you manage this situation.3
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ForLangston wrote: »Hola folks. What are some tips that help you stay motivated during the weekends? I’m ‘on it’ Sunday thru Thursdays. But then Fri and Sat come around and I reason that I deserve this treat and that. I’m working on changing this mindset. In the meantime, please share a tip of how you maintain focus during the wknds. Thank you! 🙂
@ForLangston
My method:
Underlying beliefs that I discovered..
1. There are no bad or good foods...anything ... except trans fats ...can be eaten in such a small portion as to be okay.
2. There are no treats. Calling a food a treat just makes me want it more. A REAL treat food is one that provides what our bodies need to keep us energetic! 🏃🏻♀️ And able to fully live “our one & previous” life!
3. Comfort food does not provide comfort when I step on the scale the next day 🤣
For 1 above... if despite repeated attempts .. I cannot safely limit portion size...I don’t have it in the house. Because, I want to make it easy for me to be a successful maintainer AND I absolutely never want to diet again- EVER!!!!!!””
For 2 above, I really pay attention to:
A. My Mindset when I eat a food...Am I giving it meaning that is not about nutrition...celebratory, de-stressor, relaxation, comfort, boredom reliever etc. I then solve that underlying emotion without food.
B. I also pay attention to how the food tastes. Sometimes I’ve developed an association with a food in the past & my
Mind thinks it’s amazing but when I really focus on taste, I’m like “eh, won’t have this again”
C. And I pay attention to how fast I’m eating it. I eat slowly now. If I’m eating quickly, it usually means I’m not actually hungry.
3. Comfort foods don’t comfort. People do & we can comfort ourselves.
Because of all of the above, I eat the same 7 days a week. We Deserve to be Healthy and to be our Best Selves!!!
I do find it helpful when first changing difficult habits to set up a non-food reward system.
Currently I’m improving my calorie count &
Food quality. I know from past experience it takes me 3 days. So I set up a reward for each day but I can only get them if I am successful for 3 days in a row.
A small art supply: tube of paint, some embroidery floss,
An inexpensive bracelet
Some seeds to plant
Or
A book, etc.
Give yourself time to build baby habit changes - one at a time!2 -
@MadisonMolly2017: thank you so much for your thoughtful insights. I especially love the lines about comfort and what we deserve
UAC is teaching me how to track my habits and behavior towards food. Thanks to you and others for making the time to share these valuable tips!! 2 -
@MadisonMolly2017
You always have such insightful ideas.
I would add:
Many people fail instead of succeed because they trade what they want the MOST for what they want at the MOMENT.
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I realize that not everyone's job tasks lend themselves to this, (if your's doesn't, how about playing "suppose they did" )
Suppose that while Lockdown was required in your area, you were ABLE to keep working from home.
Whatever you do could just as easily continue being done from off-site as from in-the-workplace. (tech connection stable - vid meetings and collaboration has been working )
With required reconfiguring, 100% of the workforce can't physically be in the building at the same time.
Would you CHOOSE to spend part of the week at the office / part off-site or CHOOSE to keep working 100% off site for now?
Which and why?0 -
I realize that not everyone's job tasks lend themselves to this, (if your's doesn't, how about playing "suppose they did" )
Suppose that while Lockdown was required in your area, you were ABLE to keep working from home.
Whatever you do could just as easily continue being done from off-site as from in-the-workplace. (tech connection stable - vid meetings and collaboration has been working )
With required reconfiguring, 100% of the workforce can't physically be in the building at the same time.
Would you CHOOSE to spend part of the week at the office / part off-site or CHOOSE to keep working 100% off site for now?
Which and why?
We were actually polled on this last week, looking towards Sept. I chose 100% off-site for now.- I am working more efficiently at home (I have an "office" that is a room upstairs, not the kitchen or diningroom table)
- I have no reason to deal with the physical records room right now (so no "partial-tasks needing presence")
- I am 3.5 years away from retirement (no little / school-age kiddlets to work / schedule around and need a break from)
- this is helping me not think of "at work acquaintances as main social contact - which they won't be once I actually retire)
- I have low level well controlled respiratory issues that make me somewhat more vulnrable, so why go to a "not-home enclosed space" for hours at a time every day when I don't HAVE to?
Even if I DIDN'T have the last bit at all - I would probably opt for 100% off-site for now - with today's tech off-site doesn't HAVE to mean "never leave the house".....2 -
I realize that not everyone's job tasks lend themselves to this, (if your's doesn't, how about playing "suppose they did" )
Suppose that while Lockdown was required in your area, you were ABLE to keep working from home.
Whatever you do could just as easily continue being done from off-site as from in-the-workplace. (tech connection stable - vid meetings and collaboration has been working )
With required reconfiguring, 100% of the workforce can't physically be in the building at the same time.
Would you CHOOSE to spend part of the week at the office / part off-site or CHOOSE to keep working 100% off site for now?
Which and why?
I would stay 100% home. My pets are there, spouse is there, would save on commute time (although that's not long, currently) save on fuel, wear and tear on vehicles, etc. I would probably have fewer interruptions working from home, as well. In fact, I'm going to start looking at remote work options, since I'm job searching, anyway. In the milder months, I could move my office to the outdoor space and the comfort factor would be really nice, as well.1 -
juliemouse83 wrote: »I realize that not everyone's job tasks lend themselves to this, (if your's doesn't, how about playing "suppose they did" )
Suppose that while Lockdown was required in your area, you were ABLE to keep working from home.
Whatever you do could just as easily continue being done from off-site as from in-the-workplace. (tech connection stable - vid meetings and collaboration has been working )
With required reconfiguring, 100% of the workforce can't physically be in the building at the same time.
Would you CHOOSE to spend part of the week at the office / part off-site or CHOOSE to keep working 100% off site for now?
Which and why?
I would stay 100% home. My pets are there, spouse is there, would save on commute time (although that's not long, currently) save on fuel, wear and tear on vehicles, etc. I would probably have fewer interruptions working from home, as well. In fact, I'm going to start looking at remote work options, since I'm job searching, anyway. In the milder months, I could move my office to the outdoor space and the comfort factor would be really nice, as well.
My BIL does major IT server-systems support - "working from home" since March has been "working from cottage outside Perth" (we got a photo of "dock's in ... now, how do I set up my workstation there?' (dog is sprawled in sun at end of the dock). Another BIL "works from home" from HIS cottage in Northern Algonquin Park via satellite internet connection.2 -
TerriRichardson112 wrote: »@MadisonMolly2017
You always have such insightful ideas.
I would add:
Many people fail instead of succeed because they trade what they want the MOST for what they want at the MOMENT.
@TerriRichardson112
Thank you so much. I’m very glad we’ve been fellow travelers on this journey. I find you very inspiring!
And yes, I totally agree.
I used to frame that as “don’t let short term Wants trump long term Needs”
But I listen to something other day that was talking about situations that might be troubling us, and they would say OK what feelings does is bring up for you. it was a list of items.
I was pretty proud of myself for having a few feelings: good things about this would be X and bad things Y, etc.
Then the person ran through the list again and Said “ just say pleasant or unpleasant as we are only two options.” After each item.
I wasn’t sold on it until they explained that it keeps the mind from worrying and worrying and trying to figure out every detail of a situation.
So when my food got a little crazy recently I ask myself well which is it For “being normal BMI & fit”?
Pleasant or Unpleasant?
I ran through the long term benefits & the curtailed short term wants & the result by a landslide was...(drumroll)...
PLEASANT
So ok that means cut back a few calories for a bit. Decision made. 😄
And it’s been the Easiest & Fastest course correction back to that place of “Effortless Mindset “ ever for me.
Pleasant or Unpleasant?
Be well, my friend!2 -
Hi Everyone,
Yesterday I got MFP and my spreadsheet all up to date and set to start tracking everything and pumped up to start eating healthy. Then my folks wanted to go out to dinner with me and my son. I didn't even try to count the calories on the chicken fettuccine alfredo and yummy garlic bread. So my first lesson to learn is to be flexible, and not throw in the towel and give up. Life happens and I need to adjust and continue to keep on moving forward.
I am so glad to see UAC still active! I am looking forward to getting to know everyone as I learn to have a healthy lifestyle. Happy Friday everyone! 4
