This December I Will...
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themedalist
Posts: 3,212 Member
And Hello December!
For many of us, December is a challenging month to stick with building healthy habits. There are holiday get togethers with friends, family, and co-workers and food is usually the centerpiece. With more events and time commitments, exercise (and sleep!) often get squeezed out, which is a shame because they are both great coping mechanisms for what is often a stressful month.
It's never worked out well for me to just "wait until January". Too much food and too little exercise will result in excess pounds being carried over into 2022 and that's not how I want to start the year. Instead, I'm going to make doubly sure I sleep enough, stay active every day, and and eat mostly healthy foods in reasonable quantities.
What do you want to accomplish this month? How do you want things to be better for you in 2022? What can you do this month that's sustainable for you? What WILL you do now?
Let's make this wrap up month a great one!
🌷Denise & 🌸Maddie
@themedalist & @MadisonMolly2017
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NEWCOMERS:
If you are new to our group, welcome! Please let us know what you will be working on this month and how we can help! A suggestion: set a reminder to check-in periodically with us. Check-in daily, weekly, or as often as works for you, but let us know how you are progressing! We're here to support and encourage you, but if you don't post, we can't cheer you on!
IF YOU ARE NEW TO BUILDING HABITS:
Building new habits is a structured, time-consuming, and repetitive process. It doesn’t just happen overnight. But it’s well worth the effort! Having good eating, exercise, and sleeping habits makes it much easier to lose weight and achieve your other health goals. You won’t have to rely on feeling motivated. You’ll act on your new habits because it’s just what you do. We use the recommended approaches of noted habits experts BJ Fogg, James Clear, Wendy Wood, and Charles Duhigg to guide us through this process.
We have 2 different strategies we recommend. Both are good tools for habit formation, they are just different methods and one might be better suited to you than the other.
METHOD 1: HABIT STACKING
We highly recommend habit stacking as a great way to build a new healthy habit. Simply attach the habit you want to create to a habit you already have using this structure:
AFTER I ________________________
I WILL __________________________
EXAMPLES:
- After I brush my teeth, I will floss one tooth.
- After I drink my afternoon coffee, I will put on my walking shoes.
- After I put away my breakfast dishes, I will prep 3 servings of vegetables for the day.
- After I clean up after dinner, I will plan tomorrow’s dinner & move necessary items from freezer to refrigerator.
- After I weigh myself in the morning, I will drink 2 cups of refreshing, cool water.
- After I start my coffee brewing, I will stand on each leg for 30 seconds.
METHOD 2: HABIT LOOP
Frame your goal along these lines:
1. My goal for this month (This December I will...")
2. The small actions I’ll be taking to accomplish this goal
3. The trigger or cue to remember to do my habit
4. How often will you do your new habit (daily is best if possible)
5. What reward will you immediately give yourself for doing your habit? (Small positive feedbacks reinforce the habit you are trying to build.)
6. What help do you need from us?
7. What does success look like to you at the end of December?
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRACKERS
Since all new habits require lots of repetition to make them stick, we highly recommend you use a habit tracker to log your daily progress.
Tracker Types:
Paper - plenty of free ones or create your own. A simple sheet of paper works! Check out the trackers of @77tes in past months!
Calendar: Denise (@themedalist) uses these. Daily check marks work just fine!
Tracking apps - some are free
Physical - move a marble, paper clip, etc into a jar each day or color code them
Emoji - @TexasGardnr @nebslp & @MadisonMolly2017 are fond of these! Look in prior month’s to see how effective they are!
Whatever helps you celebrate your baby steps and successes will work. But please use a tracker. It makes it more likely you’ll change your behavior and it’s fun to see your progress!
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I’m working today on setting up my tracker and journal for December
1. This December I will do something to prepare for Christmas each day.
2. The small actions I’ll be taking to accomplish this goal - I will order or wrap a present, decorate, do some holiday cooking or work on a gift project.
3. The trigger or cue to remember to do my habit - well, putting it on my tracker reminded me today.
4. How often will you do your new habit - daily!
5. What reward will you immediately give yourself for doing your habit? Sing “Jingle Bells” or some such appropriate song.
6. What help do you need from us? Cheer me on
7. What does success look like to you at the end of December? I’ll enjoy a more peaceful, less hectic holiday season.6 -
I’m focusing on exercise, food, low stress, sleep! All are in a good place atm, but just want to keep them that way!
These are ALL existing habits that I’ve developed since Jan 2016. Some needed tightening up lately… Slow & steady does win the race.
December Habit Tracking symbols.
>10K steps 🥾
Low calories ⚖️
Protein in range 💪🏻
Sat fat in range 🫀
Sodium in range 🧂
Low stress 🕉
Sleep > 7 hrs 😴
My reward? Knowing that I am placing my all-important health first!
Since I don’t receive Xmas presents really (for a number of reasons), I am letting myself order something for my art practice each week I am successful in December.
I purchased 2 fabric dyeing books as my November reward 😄 I love learning!!
Dec 1 🥾⚖️💪🏻🫀🧂🕉😴
Dec 2
Dec 3
Dec 4
Dec 5
Dec 6
Dec 74 -
December 1 - Ordered a gift for hubby from his favorite online car parts place.
https://youtu.be/3PgNPc-iFW8 3 -
December 2 - I wrapped a gift today for my daughter.
https://youtu.be/57l6dSbVppM 3 -
I’m a bit late checking in for December as I was concentrating on getting my gynae op out of the way. I had the procedure yesterday, and the doctor decided to keep me in overnight on 24 hour bed rest. I should get home this afternoon, all being well.
I have been ticking off small Christmas tasks this week, and was planning to do that for my December ‘I will…’
@77tes - 🥰 your first 2 choices, and your wrapping skills.
@MadisonMolly2017 - It never does any harm to strengthen those base habits.
1. This December I will do something to prepare for Christmas each day.
2. The small actions I’ll be taking to accomplish this goal: I will make or post some Christmas cards; work on organising Christmas Eve/Day schedule; work on a Christmas craft project; buy/wrap a gift
4. The trigger or cue to remember to do my habit - writing my daily planner after my journal entry.
5. How often will you do your new habit - daily!
6. What reward will you immediately give yourself for doing your habit? Watch a Christmas movie or festive TV programme, and fill in the square on my Habit tracker.
7. What help do you need from us? Cheer me on
8. What does success look like to you at the end of December? I will have my Christmas cards posted or delivered and my gifts wrapped before Christmas Eve, which will make for a more relaxed Christmas
Mon 1: Made 3 cards for DSil/DBiL, DN and her wife, and for their 7 year old daughter, and wrapped a present for the child. DSiL/DBiL fly out to visit them in USA on 8th Dec and are collecting these items to take with them. They haven’t been able to go see them since Christmas 2019.
Tue 2: in hospital. I was planning my gift list. We buy small personal gifts to be opened on Christmas Day. This year we are also adopting animals for them through WWF nature charity. They will each receive a cuddly toy of their adopted animal.3 -
Thinking of you Terri and hope your healing progresses fully and well. @TerriRichardson112 💛1
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@TerriRichardson112 I hope you are soon feeling tip top! Good for you getting Christmas prep task completed while you are in hospital.
Day 3 - messaged the folks on my Christmas card list that I know have moved and got their new addresses.
https://youtu.be/c9ps42Frh6Y
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December Focus
I like your habits and approaches @77tes @MadisonMolly2017 and @TerriRichardson112 🌟🌟🌟
What do you want to accomplish this month?
I want to enjoy the month of December. Key to this will be managing my stress levels by strengthening a number of habits.
How do you want things to be better for you in 2022?
I want to continue my weight loss journey in a steady and well managed manner. Part of this will require me to get my sleep in better order.
What can you do this month that's sustainable for you?
😴 Sleep 7+ hours [This is a big challenge for me & it will take a number of actions to cause my success. As a start: no phone in the bedroom; get up at the same time every day; no caffeine after 2:30 pm]
👟 Hit step goal [Harder now that it is icy and cold outside, but achievable if I use the treadmill when necessary to reach my target]
📊 Calories & protein [On month 5 now of tracking everything and keeping to calorie target; protein target has consistently been difficult: every meal must include protein; continue to diversify protein sources]
🎄 Holiday preparations [My work from home office will be converted to a reading & listening room now that I can simply use the home office for my Board and committee work. Perfect timing, as I’d like to re-arrange the living room and we can do while planning where the holiday decorations will go this year. Neighbourhood holiday card and recipe exchange has started — complete three cards each day. Send final packages to family in the mail by Tuesday.
📚 Read every day [Doing well in this habit and am on track to complete 80 books this year! This will continue to aid with sleep, stress relief, and as a motivator to get that room converted. My many “to be read” books will be placed on the new book case which will be installed there.
What WILL you do now?
I will use my paper tracker to record my daily progress for each habit and will report in here each Saturday about the previous Saturday to Friday results.
Thanks for your encouragement!
Julie2 -
In December I will…
🎄❄️🤶🌟🧑🏻🎄🌟🤶❄️🎄
🎄❄️🤶DECEMBER 🤶❄️🎄
🎄❄️🤶🌟🧑🏻🎄🌟🤶❄️🎄
1. This December I will do something to prepare for Christmas each day.Got my days mixed up. Must have been the anaesthetic 😂
2. The small actions I’ll be taking to accomplish this goal: I will make or post some Christmas cards; work on organising Christmas Eve/Day schedule; work on a Christmas craft project; buy/wrap a gift
4. The trigger or cue to remember to do my habit - writing my daily planner after my journal entry.
5. How often will you do your new habit - daily!
6. What reward will you immediately give yourself for doing your habit? Watch a Christmas movie or festive TV programme, and fill in the square on my Habit tracker.
7. What help do you need from us? Cheer me on
8. What does success look like to you at the end of December? I will have my Christmas cards posted or delivered and my gifts wrapped before Christmas Eve, which will make for a more relaxed Christmas
Wed 1: Made 3 cards for DSil/DBiL, DN and her wife, and for their 7 year old daughter, and wrapped a present for the child. DSiL/DBiL fly out to visit them in USA on 8th Dec and are collecting these items to take with them. They haven’t been able to go see them since Christmas 2019.
Thu 2: in hospital. I was planning my gift list. We buy small personal gifts to be opened on Christmas Day. This year we are also adopting animals for them through WWF nature charity. They will each receive a cuddly toy of their adopted animal.
Fri 3: Discharged from hospital with strict instructions to do nothing strenuous for a few days. Watched Kirsty Alsopp’s Handmade Christmas, on ITV.
Sat 4: Working on a few more Christmas cards. I use lots of recycled toppers from old cards and embellish them.
3 -
Reporting in December 1-3
December 1 😴👟📊 📚
December 2 😴👟📊 📚
December 3 😴👟📊🎄📚😴 Sleep 7+ hours [This is a big challenge for me & it will take a number of actions to cause my success. As a start: no phone in the bedroom; get up at the same time every day; no caffeine after 2:30 pm]
👟 Hit step goal [Harder now that it is icy and cold outside, but achievable if I use the treadmill when necessary to reach my target]
📊 Calories & protein [On month 5 now of tracking everything and keeping to calorie target; protein target has consistently been difficult: every meal must include protein; continue to diversify protein sources]
🎄 Holiday preparations [My work from home office will be converted to a reading & listening room now that I can simply use the home office for my Board and committee work. Perfect timing, as I’d like to re-arrange the living room and we can do while planning where the holiday decorations will go this year. Neighbourhood holiday card and recipe exchange has started — complete three cards each day. Send final packages to family in the mail by Tuesday.
📚 Read every day [Doing well in this habit and am on track to complete 80 books this year! This will continue to aid with sleep, stress relief, and as a motivator to get that room converted. My many “to be read” books will be placed on the new book case which will be installed there.3 -
MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »I’m focusing on exercise, food, low stress, sleep! All are in a good place atm, but just want to keep them that way!
These are ALL existing habits that I’ve developed since Jan 2016. Some needed tightening up lately… Slow & steady does win the race.
December Habit Tracking symbols.
>10K steps 🥾
Low calories ⚖️
Protein in range 💪🏻
Sat fat in range 🫀
Sodium in range 🧂
Low stress 🕉
Sleep > 7 hrs 😴
My reward? Knowing that I am placing my all-important health first!
Since I don’t receive Xmas presents really (for a number of reasons), I am letting myself order something for my art practice each week I am successful in December.
I purchased 2 fabric dyeing books as my November reward 😄 I love learning!!
Dec 1 🥾⚖️💪🏻🫀🧂🕉😴
Dec 2 🥾⚖️💪🏻🫀🧂🕉😴
Dec 3 🥾⚖️💪🏻🫀⬆️🕉😴
Dec 4 🥾⚖️💪🏻🫀🧂🕉😴
Dec 2 & 4 sodium was *just* okay & led to increased mouth hunger. Dec 3 sodium was high (processed foods) & led to hunger today. I thought for sure my calories would be over, but they weren’t.
I have to admit that eating one food Dec 1 that I usually don’t eat led to one Dec 2 (and finishing it Dec 3.) And then to a third food Dec 3. Today was all good but I had to keep from making it a 4thday in a row.
I was *this close* to taking December “off” something I have not done since Jan 2016. Danger! But tonight I sat down with all my notes on what I’d eaten & much to my surprise, my calories were fine, low even. My steps are crazily high.
It’s shocking & humbling to see that after years of maintenance & carefully weighing to the gram, I might have given up over just 4 days. Very shocking.
I truly am like an alcohol w/ that first drink, I’m embarrassed to say, but better to announce it & remember this experience going forwards.
Of course with the extra sodium, and the scale popped up, which didn’t help & made me think I’d eaten too much (I hadn’t.)
“My name’s Maddie, and I need to keep my sodium & refined sugar to low levels in order to be healthy & happy.”
Dec 5
Dec 6
Dec 73 -
Looks like we are off to a great start! December is usually a pretty quiet month around here and it’s great to see what you’ll be focused on this month.
I realized I didn’t post my December focus. I’m going to continue my November action of bringing more light into my life. The “Happy Light” (light therapy lamp) I purchased seems to have a positive impact. I’m more energetic and less frustrated with all the darkness. I use it twice a day, the first thing in the morning with my coffee (the trigger) and then again in the afternoon for about 20 minutes as a pick me up. I also use BitGym in the evening for about 20-30 minutes to “cycle” someplace warm and sunny. Last night it was Donner Lake in California. Just beautiful!
Here’s my December habit tracker:
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December 4 ordered a gift for hubby- sang jingle bells
December 5 -wrapped the gift that arrived toad and ordered a couple more.
My tracker so far
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@jamcnewman mine was a gift from my daughter, but I’m pretty sure she got it from Amazon.
December 6 more ordering and wrapping presents.2 -
Sat 4: working on cards. Bought stamps for cards.
Sun 5: visited elder daughter. Discussed plans for Christmas
Mon 6: day in Belfast, celebrating graduation of grandson with elder daughter.
Tues 7: working on cards
Wed 8: bought some Christmas items while doing weekly shopping this morning2 -
@jamcnewman mine was a gift from my daughter, but I’m pretty sure she got it from Amazon.
December 6 more ordering and wrapping presents.
I found one on Amazon that I love and it is on order now. This will really help me keep focus on multiple habits simultaneously. 💛2 -
Thu 9: embellished some of the cards I had crafted.
Fri 10: Wrote some overseas cards and walked to the postbox to post them
Daily Habits tracked ✅4 -
@77tes, & @TerriRichardson112, I’m glad you are focusing this month on holiday preparations. Getting things done is a great way to reduce stress. And @jamcnewman and @MadisonMolly2017, bolstering the good habits you already have as a way to reduce stress and enjoy the season more is a terrific plan!
Although my stated focus this month is on bringing more light into my life on a daily basis, I’m also very focused on stress reduction. Stress does seem to be a real part of the season. My daughter and future son-in-law are visiting next week and I am super excited. But I was very stressed about the food since I’m a very basic cook. And then I realized there’s a woman in my town who is a very accomplished cook and after her kids grew up she decided she needed to feed her neighbors. And that’s what she does! I’ve ordered two complete dinners from her and they will be delicious. She’s delivering them next Sunday and all I have to do is pop them in the oven. How great is that?
The daily light sessions have been so helpful. I definitely feel better. More energized and less annoyed with all the darkness. Next week BitGym releases a new tour and it’s to Rio de Janeiro. I can’t wait to go! There’s plenty of sun there!
Here’s my habit tracker so far:
I’ve also started exploring adult coloring books as another stress reducer. I’m using the app Pigment and I really like it. Haven’t decided if I want to get a subscription yet or not. For now, I’m just using the free version and it does have a lot of capabilities. Here’s a couple of my pages. It’s a lot of fun!
Enjoy your Sunday and the new week!4 -
I did some stress relief- dancing at the St. Nicholas Ball. I ordered my costume from Etsy rather than make it. I did make the belt, though.
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