This DECEMBER I WILL….

MadisonMolly2017
MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,157 Member
edited December 2022 in Social Groups
8yvmar6ahzhk.png





And Hello December! (repost of last December's post by our lovely @themedalist)

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


🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁


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!

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁
«13

Replies

  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    Not sure yet what my specific target (non UAC) will be ... or maybe it will be best if I make "SIGN ON MFP (DAILY)" and "LOG ALL FOOD INTAKE (DAILY)" my focus for Dec. (sorry - I know block caps are the e-equivalent of shouting)

    IF I logged in (which means I at least started the pre-log before work) : 💚 This tells me *and you-all* that I have (a) SIGNED IN before work [and (b) while signed in, kicked off my "Go for the Green" game for the day - can I juggle the ci vs co info for the day to wind up with my Total Remaining "in the green"? = whether I end the day in the red or in the green is irrelevant for THIS thread]

    IF, at the end of the day (or next morning, looking back) I LOGGED ALL FOOD (regardless of whether I ended up with Remaining in the green or the red) the 💚 will be changed for a 🤩.

    Dec 1

    💚-2-3-4-5-6-7
    8-9-19-11-12-13-14
    15-16-17-18-19-20-21
    22-23-24-25-26-27-28
    29-30-31
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,157 Member
    BMcC9 wrote: »
    Not sure yet what my specific target (non UAC) will be ... or maybe it will be best if I make "SIGN ON MFP (DAILY)" and "LOG ALL FOOD INTAKE (DAILY)" my focus for Dec. (sorry - I know block caps are the e-equivalent of shouting)

    IF I logged in (which means I at least started the pre-log before work) : 💚 This tells me *and you-all* that I have (a) SIGNED IN before work [and (b) while signed in, kicked off my "Go for the Green" game for the day - can I juggle the ci vs co info for the day to wind up with my Total Remaining "in the green"? = whether I end the day in the red or in the green is irrelevant for THIS thread]

    IF, at the end of the day (or next morning, looking back) I LOGGED ALL FOOD (regardless of whether I ended up with Remaining in the green or the red) the 💚 will be changed for a 🤩.

    Dec 1

    💚-2-3-4-5-6-7
    8-9-19-11-12-13-14
    15-16-17-18-19-20-21
    22-23-24-25-26-27-28
    29-30-31

    Sounds like a great plan @BMcC9! Thanks for getting us started!

  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,157 Member
    Irun4my4 wrote: »
    Hello, new here (WW refugee LOL). I am recovering from salivary gland cancer (surgery 6/30 to remove and they also took 8" of my fibula to build me a new jaw, which impacts my exercise/fitness; then 30 radiation treatments that took away sense of taste and smell for 3+ months). Worst "diet" ever - have lost 41 lbs since surgery. Long term goal is to maintain at least 80% of the weight loss. Short term - well, I ran/walked a half marathon 2 weeks before surgery. I would like to run the same marathon in 2023. Can't quite RUN yet but am doing PT and working on it.

    ANYWAY - This December I will:
    -have at least 20 mins of intentional exercise/movement every day
    -track food daily
    -plan a day or more ahead when exactly during the day I will do my exercise (I WFH full time so have to plan around meetings etc.)

    Thank you @MadisonMolly2017 and @themedalist for creating this group!

    I am sorry for your health issues, but your goals sound like great ways to insure your success!

    🎉
    Maddie
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,157 Member
    KacyCarpe wrote: »
    Hello, December! Hello, fellow goal setters!

    November was a success for me.

    1. This December I will... work on hanging.
    2. The small actions I’ll be taking to accomplish this goal: Hang for a few seconds when I go downstairs.
    3. The trigger or cue to remember to do my habit: When I pass through the downstairs door frame.
    4. How often will you do your new habit: 2-4 times per day
    5. What reward will you immediately give yourself? Log time in journal to record progress.
    6. What does success look like to you? Being able to hang for several seconds at a time.

    I will also continue with my ongoing goals:
    1. Overriding Goal: Keep working the system and don't add too much too soon.
    2. Overriding Question: Will this choice help me become the person I want to become?
    3. Find and implement 1% improvements to the four pillars: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress reduction
    4. Work towards that full set of push-ups!!

    New improvements:
    1. Picked a workout program.
    2. Bought a premium subscription to a tracking app on Cyber Monday.
    3. Agreed with hubby to go to the gym M-W-F. We will go regardless, even if all we do is just a few minutes of stretching.


    @KacyCarpe
    Congratulations on a strong November!

    Your plans are sound & I loved your
    expression of your on-going goals!

    Thanks for being here-inspiring us in many ways!

    💕
    Maddie
  • texasgardnr
    texasgardnr Posts: 2,617 Member
    It almost seems impossible that this is already the last month of 2022 🐧. Thank you to @themedalist & @MadisonMolly2017 for this group. I am very grateful for this special place to learn and improve how we habitually do things day by day. (Which turn into years at what seems to be a blink or two.)

    My first goal/habit this month is to daily do intentional walking/ exercise/ NEAT activities 💖, and to track in the same way as I did in November.

    December walking/ exercise/ extra NEAT activities:💖 (rest day💤)

    💖-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
    11-12-13-14-15-16-17
    18-19-20-21-22-23-24
    ⭐-26-27-28-29-30-🎉

    My second goal/habit this month is to continue to draw colorful flowers on my workout calendar, as well as to track here the days that I do something intentional toward maintaining and also preventing my long time friend "paper tiger 🐯" from finding places to play or hide in.

    December paper tiger:🐯 (planned day off😄)

    🐯-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
    11-12-13-14-15-16-17
    18-19-20-21-22-23-24
    ⭐-26-27-28-29-30-🎉

    :flowerforyou:🦋
  • KacyCarpe
    KacyCarpe Posts: 495 Member
    It almost seems impossible that this is already the last month of 2022 🐧. Thank you to @themedalist & @MadisonMolly2017 for this group. I am very grateful for this special place to learn and improve how we habitually do things day by day. (Which turn into years at what seems to be a blink or two.)

    I agree on all counts!! 🙂
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    Dec 1

    IF I logged in (which means I at least started the pre-log before work) : 💚 This tells me *and you-all* that I have (a) SIGNED IN before work [and (b) while signed in, kicked off my "Go for the Green" game for the day - can I juggle the ci vs co info for the day to wind up with my Total Remaining "in the green"? = whether I end the day in the red or in the green is irrelevant for THIS thread]

    IF, at the end of the day (or next morning, looking back) I LOGGED ALL FOOD (regardless of whether I ended up with Remaining in the green or the red) the 💚 will be changed for a 🤩.

    Dec 1

    🤩-💚-2-3-4-5-6-7
    8-9-19-11-12-13-14
    15-16-17-18-19-20-21
    22-23-24-25-26-27-28
    29-30-31

  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,157 Member
    BMcC9 wrote: »
    Dec 1

    IF I logged in (which means I at least started the pre-log before work) : 💚 This tells me *and you-all* that I have (a) SIGNED IN before work [and (b) while signed in, kicked off my "Go for the Green" game for the day - can I juggle the ci vs co info for the day to wind up with my Total Remaining "in the green"? = whether I end the day in the red or in the green is irrelevant for THIS thread]

    IF, at the end of the day (or next morning, looking back) I LOGGED ALL FOOD (regardless of whether I ended up with Remaining in the green or the red) the 💚 will be changed for a 🤩.

    Dec 1

    🤩-💚-2-3-4-5-6-7
    8-9-19-11-12-13-14
    15-16-17-18-19-20-21
    22-23-24-25-26-27-28
    29-30-31
    @BMcC9 Yay, great job!!

  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 19,145 Member
    edited December 2022
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🎅🏻🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄 DECEMBER 🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🎅🏻🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶
    November went well.
    Not planning any new habit this month. My focus is to stick with my solid habits, while enjoying modest indulgences. Last month, I managed to drop several lbs to combat the tendency to bounce up over the festive season. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

    Daily Solid Habits:
    💚💚
    Modest indulgences
    (calories staying in the green)
    🎉🎉

    Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
  • donna25trinity
    donna25trinity Posts: 3,192 Member
    Thinking about Dec goals/habits. Share with u once I know wat they are! Xo
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 4,414 Member
    I am active and committed to my health and well-being. Every day in December, I will do either a strength training session or an aerobic treadmill walk.

    Week of December 1-7
    1 🚶‍♀️ 🏋️‍♀️
    2 🚶‍♀️
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    Week of December 8-14
    Week of December 15-21
    Week of December 22-28
    Week of December 29-31
    [/quote]
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    Dec 3

    IF I logged in (which means I at least started the pre-log before work) : 💚 This tells me *and you-all* that I have (a) SIGNED IN before work [and (b) while signed in, kicked off my "Go for the Green" game for the day - can I juggle the ci vs co info for the day to wind up with my Total Remaining "in the green"? = whether I end the day in the red or in the green is irrelevant for THIS thread]

    IF, at the end of the day (or next morning, looking back) I LOGGED ALL FOOD (regardless of whether I ended up with Remaining in the green or the red) the 💚 will be changed for a 🤩.

    Dec 3

    🤩-🤩-🤩-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15
    16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-29-30-31

    (I am also using the "December 2022 Plans and Posts" thread to promote the habit of "showed up to exercise")
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    7dy7a1d4g9xv.jpg
  • texasgardnr
    texasgardnr Posts: 2,617 Member
    I enjoyed reading everyone's posts and looking at the various tracking methods. Nicely done y'all 💖.
    Enjoy the weekend!

    @BMcC9 thank you 🌷 for posting James Clear's visual about "Consistency before Intensity".

    My first goal/habit this month is to daily do intentional walking/ exercise/ NEAT activities 💖, and to track in the same way as I did in November.

    December walking/ exercise/ extra NEAT activities:💖 (rest day💤)

    💖-💖-💖
    💤-5-6-7-8-9-10
    11-12-13-14-15-16-17
    18-19-20-21-22-23-24
    ⭐-26-27-28-29-30-🎉

    My second goal/habit this month is to continue to draw colorful flowers on my workout calendar, as well as to track here the days that I do something intentional toward maintaining and also preventing my long time friend "paper tiger 🐯" from finding places to play or hide in.

    December paper tiger:🐯 (planned day off😄)

    🐯-🐯-🐯
    😄-5-6-7-8-9-10
    11-12-13-14-15-16-17
    18-19-20-21-22-23-24
    ⭐-26-27-28-29-30-🎉

    :flowerforyou:🦋
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 4,414 Member
    I am active and committed to my health and well-being. Every day in December, I will do either a strength training session or an aerobic treadmill walk.

    Week of December 1-7
    1 🚶‍♀️ 🏋️‍♀️
    2 🚶‍♀️
    3 🚶‍♀️
    4
    5
    6
    7
    Week of December 8-14
    Week of December 15-21
    Week of December 22-28
    Week of December 29-31
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    edited December 2022
    IF I logged in (which means I at least started the pre-log before work) : 💚 This tells me *and you-all* that I have (a) SIGNED IN before work [and (b) while signed in, kicked off my "Go for the Green" game for the day - can I juggle the ci vs co info for the day to wind up with my Total Remaining "in the green"? = whether I end the day in the red or in the green is irrelevant for THIS thread]

    IF, at the end of the day (or next morning, looking back) I LOGGED ALL FOOD (regardless of whether I ended up with Remaining in the green or the red) the 💚 will be changed for a 🤩.

    Dec 4

    🤩-🤩-🤩-💚-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15
    16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-29-30-31

    (I am also using the "December 2022 Plans and Posts" thread to promote the habit of "showed up to exercise")

  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 4,414 Member
    I am active and committed to my health and well-being. Every day in December, I will do either a strength training session or an aerobic treadmill walk.

    Week of December 1-7
    1 🚶‍♀️ 🏋️‍♀️
    2 🚶‍♀️
    3 🚶‍♀️
    4 🚶‍♀️
    5
    6
    7
    Week of December 8-14
    Week of December 15-21
    Week of December 22-28
    Week of December 29-31
  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 19,145 Member
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🎅🏻🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄 DECEMBER 🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🎅🏻🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶

    My focus this month is to practice my solid habits, while enjoying modest indulgences. Last month, I managed to drop several lbs to combat the tendency to bounce up over the festive season. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

    Daily Solid Habits:
    💚💚💚💚
    Modest indulgences
    (calories staying in the green)
    🎉🎉🎉🎉


    Where there’s a will, there’s a way!


  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    IF I logged in (which means I at least started the pre-log before work) : 💚 This tells me *and you-all* that I have (a) SIGNED IN before work [and (b) while signed in, kicked off my "Go for the Green" game for the day - can I juggle the ci vs co info for the day to wind up with my Total Remaining "in the green"? = whether I end the day in the red or in the green is irrelevant for THIS thread]

    IF, at the end of the day (or next morning, looking back) I LOGGED ALL FOOD (regardless of whether I ended up with Remaining in the green or the red) the 💚 will be changed for a 🤩.

    Dec 4

    🤩-🤩-🤩-🤩-💚-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15
    16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-29-30-31

    (I am also using the "December 2022 Plans and Posts" thread to promote the habit of "showed up to exercise")

  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 19,145 Member
    edited December 2022
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🎅🏻🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄 DECEMBER 🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶
    🤶🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🎅🏻🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🤶

    My focus this month is to practice my solid habits, while enjoying modest indulgences. Last month, I managed to drop several lbs to combat the tendency to bounce up over the festive season. Long May that continue. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

    Daily Solid Habits:
    💚💚💚💚💚💚
    Modest indulgences
    (calories staying in the green)
    🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉


    Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 4,414 Member
    edited December 2022
    I am active and committed to my health and well-being. Every day in December, I will do either a strength training session or an aerobic treadmill walk.

    December 5 - did two short outdoor walks (break in the deep freeze gave us a brief milder weather respite). Very busy day with phone visits with family and friends celebrating our daughter’s engagement this past weekend! 💍

    Week of December 1-7
    1 🚶‍♀️ 🏋️‍♀️
    2 🚶‍♀️
    3 🚶‍♀️
    4 🚶‍♀️
    5 🫶🏻
    6
    7
    Week of December 8-14
    Week of December 15-21
    Week of December 22-28
    Week of December 29-31
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 4,414 Member
    I am active and committed to my health and well-being. Every day in December, I will do either a strength training session or an aerobic treadmill walk.

    December 6 - 70 minutes weight training at the gym. Did my first 30 second plank! 🥳 Included a 20+ minute quick paced walk on the treadmill.

    Week of December 1-7
    1 🚶‍♀️ 🏋️‍♀️
    2 🚶‍♀️
    3 🚶‍♀️
    4 🚶‍♀️
    5 🫶🏻
    6 🚶‍♀️🏋️‍♀️
    7
    Week of December 8-14
    Week of December 15-21
    Week of December 22-28
    Week of December 29-31
  • BMcC9
    BMcC9 Posts: 4,451 Member
    IF I logged in (which means I at least started the pre-log before work) : 💚 This tells me *and you-all* that I have (a) SIGNED IN before work [and (b) while signed in, kicked off my "Go for the Green" game for the day - can I juggle the ci vs co info for the day to wind up with my Total Remaining "in the green"? = whether I end the day in the red or in the green is irrelevant for THIS thread]

    IF, at the end of the day (or next morning, looking back) I LOGGED ALL FOOD (regardless of whether I ended up with Remaining in the green or the red) the 💚 will be changed for a 🤩.

    Dec 5-6

    🤩-🤩-🤩-🤩-🤩-💚-💚-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15
    16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-29-30-31

    At least with my plan as-is, I get a PLUS for "signing in (and MOSTLY logging everything ... didn't measure or even acknowledge the potato chips - the ACKNOWLEDGED mint oreo cookies had already put me over)

    Yesterday was my first regular long-term Day On Site. Back at Home-office today, then return to On Site tomorrow. For the next 12.5 month, twice a week on site will be my norm after 2.75 YEARS of 100% home-office.

    (I am also using the "December 2022 Plans and Posts" thread to promote the habit of "showed up to exercise")