This November: Small Steps for the Win!
themedalist
Posts: 3,218 Member
This month, I'd like to return to a frequent theme of the Building Healthy Habits group: small changes are the building blocks of sustainable healthy habits. A recent doctor's appointment underscored that point for me.
I'm seeing a specialist and he was doing an initial assessment of where I am physically. He commented on my strong upper body strength. That surprised him, he said. He doesn't usually see older women with strong upper body strength. He asked me what exercises I do. I'm sure he was waiting to hear bicep curls and shoulder presses at the gym, but no. I told him that I enjoy boxing in virtual reality using the app, Supernatural. I love it! I find the music I love, I start a workout, get transported to far away exotic locations, and spend 10 or 15 minutes smashing targets and upping my score! It's a great cardio and strength building workout.
My goal is to do Supernatural 4 times a week, 10 or 15 minutes per session. Like My Fitness Pal, it tracks my workout streak, and that motivates me to meet my weekly workout goal. On the surface, it wouldn't seem like an hour or so a week swinging and punching at targets would make much of a difference at all. But I've been doing this routinely since December 2021. I've now done 816 workouts. And that’s what explains the changes in my upper body strength. Small changes, done repeatedly, and given time to show their impact.
I know many of you have similar small changes success stories! Please share them with our group! If you are new to our group and just starting out, what small changes could you implement now that would lead to large noticeable impacts come January, 2025? It's easy to write off the end of the year as, “I'll just start in January” but there is no better time to start than now.
Happy November! Let's make it a great month!
--Denise (@themedalist)
(banner image courtesy @ evgeniya Adobe Stock)
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Replies
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My November goals are to remain the same as my October goals.
3 -
Today was new puppy day at my house, so my routine is going to go through a revision process or a revolution. I know she’ll make a terrific workout buddy although she’s still too little to take much of a walk or meet up with other dogs.
I love the tiny habit plan. It’s been so successful for me. I may take a few days to get my plan formulated.
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Moving forward ……Small steps for the Win!🦃🍂🍁🍄🍃💨🍃🍂🍁🦃
🍄🍂🍁 November 2024 🪺🍁🍂🍄
🦃🍂🍁🍄🍃💨🍃🍂🍁🦃
I am a person who values
the health and fitness of
my body, mind, and spirit
Habits keep me going
when motivation flags.
I had a measure of success in October, so will be continuing with that theme.
A Harvest of Healthy Habits!
This month I will …..
November Focus:
Mindfulness and Positivity through Meditation
Cue: Wake up in the morning
Seeding Habit: 10 minute Meditation
Reward: Starting the day in a positive frame of mind
🧘♀️🧘♀️
I am getting there slowly 😂.
📌Focus ~ Strengthening Solid Habits
Great Oaks from little acorns grow!
Daily Solid Habits:
(Developed over time)💎Right This Minute: Anti procrastination strategyYOU are worth the effort!
💎Just DO it!!!
Morning Routines:
💎Daily Meditation
💎Walk/Make beds/Shiny Sinks
💎Post Sole Mates steps
💎Weigh 130 < 140/log (still working on this one)
💎Monitor %age Fat/Muscle
💎Log CI<CO/Balance macros
💎Herbal tea/supplements
💎Self care
💎Quality time with DH
💎Ablutions/dress/Shiny sinks
💎Breakfast
In between:
💎Intentional exercise > 60 minutes
💎Cardio > 5500 steps
💎Strength > 15 minutes
💎Flex > 15 minutes
💎Active hours > 6
💎Zone minutes > 150 (per week)
💎Declutter > 15 minutes
💎Daily chores
💎paint/draw/write/read
💎Craft/crochet/art
💎General chores
💎Gardening
💎jigsaw/puzzles/TV favourites
💎Meet with friends
💎Quality family time
Evening Routines:
💎Sole Mates evening reminder
💎JGM10Ds/JFT/UAC/Hogwarts
💎Close Fitbit rings/Zone minutes
💎Building Healthy Habits
💎Duolingo Latin
💎Update Women over 50
💎Clutter Sweep
Secondary Focus:
~ Weigh less at the end of the month
30 July: 142.12 Aug: 141.630 Aug: 140.2 ✅
6 Aug: 141.5
8 Aug: 141.4
11 Aug: 141.4
15 Aug: 141.25 Sept: 140.130 Sept: 137.9 ✅
12 Sept: 140.1
15 Sept: 139.1 Almost a whoosh
23 Sept: 138.9
29 Sept: 138.2 🥰 So glad that I am sticking under my maintenance ceiling again.10 Oct: 137.831 Oct: 137.9
16 Oct: 137.8
27 Oct: 138.1
Hovering around 138 lbs, which is 4 lbs down, and back in my maintenance range.
I just need to stay focused through November to prepare for the festive season ahead.
🦋 Terri 🐬
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@77tes soooo cute enjoy your new puppy it won’t be long before they are too big to sit on you but still think of themselves as a lap dog like my buddy….
5 -
November will be a challenging month for me with a number of family gatherings and international travel disrupting my newly formed habits. My goal this month is to maintain my healthy diet and continue to exercise while on the road and with family.1
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Thanks @snowshoe072 ! Your pup is adorable.
We have named our new pup Lucy.
I was correct when I guessed that she would seriously impact my usual routine.
So in honor of Lucy and the theme of the month, I’m going back to tiny habits.
10 minutes of walking, biking, rebounding, or dancing
10 squats
10 pushups
Track food
Stay within calories
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Still focusing on my October goals exercise, mindful eating and getting it done.2
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My week has gone fairly well nutrition wise, brought my protein intake up, and still kept within my total caloric goals while losing a pound. Getting closer to the sub 200lb weight every day (currently 203lbs), which is my goal for November. Wishing everyone a great weekend!0
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10 minutes of walking, biking, rebounding, or dancing
10 squats
10 pushups
Track food
Stay within calories
My tiny habits have been helping. Although I didn’t do my squats and pushups one day, I stuck with the others. I’ve got a few walks in, two strength workouts, an evening of dancing and today I even did some yoga while keeping an eye on the puppy.
Overall, a win for a whirlwind week with our sweet Little Tasmanian Devil. No sleep though. 🥱
Who would call such a sweetheart a devil?!
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Good week walked twice today focused once on fast pace walking no spinning but that’s ok. Prepped food for dinners until Wednesday.2
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I paid with yesterday’s fast paced walk knees are sore and tender today so I supplemented with a standing yoga I found on my peloton app along with some tai chi and stretching. Good food choices now to get through with no snacks.2
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There's no time like the present! I am at a stand still in weight loss so I decided I need to make some changes. This month I will practice more higher intensity workouts. Walking just isn't enough for me and riding my stationary bike should not be too comfortable. I exercise 6 days a week, but I think a higher intensity will make me stronger and feel better.
I had a heart attack a year ago but I didn't feel anything wrong with me. So I'm still feeling pretty good, I just really to move on and focus on my fitness improvements. I eat very healthy but it's difficult to change what I eat when I'm limited because of so many allergies and other health requirements.
I log my progress here in my diary. I don't count calories because I eat small meals throughout the day and almost never snack at night.
So for me, physical fitness additions and improvements will be better for me. I need to be careful because I was in a car accident and hurt my back. It never ends, huh?
~Resa1 -
Making good progress with my fitness level, but really need to work on my metabolism and flexibility. BTW, my actual age is 66.
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Good food choices even some ice cream 😊 movement each day walking at lunch this week and meditation. Trying not to have an excuse but the knees are still screaming may not walk tomorrow possibly a spin ride would be better.1
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Moving forward ……Small steps for the Win!🦃🍂🍁🍄🍃💨🍃🍂🍁🦃
🍄🍂🍁 November 2024 🪺🍁🍂🍄
🦃🍂🍁🍄🍃💨🍃🍂🍁🦃
I am a person who values
the health and fitness of
my body, mind, and spirit
Habits keep me going
when motivation flags.
I had a measure of success in October, so will be continuing with that theme.
A Harvest of Healthy Habits!
This month I will …..
November Focus:
Mindfulness and Positivity through Meditation
Cue: Wake up in the morning
Seeding Habit: 10 minute Meditation
Reward: Starting the day in a positive frame of mind
🧘♀️🧘♀️🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️
🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️
🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️
I am getting there slowly 😂.
📌Focus ~ Strengthening Solid Habits
Great Oaks from little acorns grow!
Daily Solid Habits:
(Developed over time)💎Right This Minute: Anti procrastination strategyYOU are worth the effort!
💎Just DO it!!!
Morning Routines:
💎Daily Meditation
💎Walk/Make beds/Shiny Sinks
💎Post Sole Mates steps
💎Weigh 130 < 140/log (still working on this one)
💎Monitor %age Fat/Muscle
💎Log CI<CO/Balance macros
💎Herbal tea/supplements
💎Self care
💎Quality time with DH
💎Ablutions/dress/Shiny sinks
💎Breakfast
In between:
💎Intentional exercise > 60 minutes
💎Cardio > 5500 steps
💎Strength > 15 minutes
💎Flex > 15 minutes
💎Active hours > 6
💎Zone minutes > 150 (per week)
💎Declutter > 15 minutes
💎Daily chores
💎paint/draw/write/read
💎Craft/crochet/art
💎General chores
💎Gardening
💎jigsaw/puzzles/TV favourites
💎Meet with friends
💎Quality family time
Evening Routines:
💎Sole Mates evening reminder
💎JGM10Ds/JFT/UAC/Hogwarts
💎Close Fitbit rings/Zone minutes
💎Building Healthy Habits
💎Duolingo Latin
💎Update Women over 50
💎Clutter Sweep
Secondary Focus:
~ Weigh less at the end of the month
30 July: 142.12 Aug: 141.630 Aug: 140.2 ✅
6 Aug: 141.5
8 Aug: 141.4
11 Aug: 141.4
15 Aug: 141.25 Sept: 140.130 Sept: 137.9 ✅
12 Sept: 140.1
15 Sept: 139.1 Almost a whoosh
23 Sept: 138.9
29 Sept: 138.2 🥰 So glad that I am sticking under my maintenance ceiling again.10 Oct: 137.831 Oct: 137.9
16 Oct: 137.8
27 Oct: 138.1
17 Nov: 137.9
Hovering around 138 lbs, which is 4 lbs down, and back in my maintenance range.
I just need to stay focused through November to prepare for the festive season ahead.
🦋 Terri 🐬
1 -
I’ve been doing okay getting some exercise in when the puppy is out in the backyard and I’m keeping an eye on her. I can do a dumbbell workout but not cardio since I’m likely to step on her. She’s always underfoot.
I’m still pretty tired because she needs to go out at night.
@Interbeing , I love the graph! That’s so cool!
@snowshoe072, if the walks hurt your knees, spinning is a great alternative although I bet it won’t fit in your lunch hour.
@TerriRichardson112 , you never cease to inspire me!1 -
Hooray! 😃 I got a yoga workout in! The first time since our little Tasmanian Devil moved in.
Last night’s wildness after a run to the vet to get a bee stinger removed from her paw. It was a rough day and required an extra long nap afterwards, but she was all better by bed time.
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@77tes Good one but if I am working from home I can spin at lunch time!! I did my spin the past couple of days the knees are feeling better I have been using KT tape.
I keep making good choices and moving forward.0
