My one and only challenge for January is to learn to eat smaller portions slowly and several times a day. The COPD doesn't like it when I'm too full. So, no more 3 meals a day for me; I have to figure out a new way to eat.

Good luck to all of us in meeting our goals in 2016!!!

The New Year is here! I am excited! Last night hubby and I sat down and reviewed my lists (ok, I made the lists, Capricorns are forever working on a plan lol) for me, for him, and for us. We labeled last year medical catch up and indeed that is what it turned out to be. We have named this year Gratitude and Abundance. What you focus on expands!

The health/physical portion of my goals are as follows

1) I am going to lose 30 lbs this year. There is a whole year stretching ahead of me and that is a mere 3 lbs per month. While that sounds small, I know that the trick lies in the consistency and I will be MORE than happy if I can make it to that total!
2) I am going to focus on eating healthier. DH is a horrible influence when it comes to that! I have now convinced him that vegetables really are a wonderful thing if they are wrapped in smoothies (and am managing to sneak other things into them he is not aware of!). So, for one meal a day we are going to have a smoothie and I am working on recipes that he will drink. So, we are trading in the juicer for the vitamix! One of both our faults is that we fail to eat enough protein, so hopefully this will also help with that!
3) I plan to develop a serious yoga program. I resubscribed to 3 years of Yoga Journal last night and I have a new book called Yoga for Arthritis. I want to do this for my respiratory status, my physical status, and my mental/spiritual development. I have done a little yoga for a long time, but I plan to expand it greatly this year.
4) I am going to continue with 5000 steps a day.
5) I am going to do interval training on my recumbent bike 3x a week.
6) I am going to alternate the stretchy band routine I learned in physical therapy with my bike routine

I have the plan made out and on the front of my frig! I have a notebook and 4X6 cards to help me develop my yoga sequence. I am Capricorn Ready! lol

Once family who came in to support BIL depart, I'll get back on steps and healthy eating again. I'll come up with a plan to arrange my foods for when our schedule is disrupted. BIL expected surgery last week but now it's to be the 11th.
I've discovered I need a routine planned when my routine is disrupted. :-) It ha been great having visitors, but their meal schedules are radically different than what keeps me well.

Sharon I so know what you mean about a disrupted routing. My dh is still home from work post surgery and I am ready for him to go back! lol I told him this morning that he needs to start putting on his brace and wearing it a couple of hours a day along with his work boots. He seems to think 2 PT appts a week are fine alone with sitting around watching TV and playing computer games the rest of the time. <Sigh> I am going to MAKE this man want to get out of here!!!

I have noticed over a period of YEARS that just getting back to journaling has a powerful effect and I see thats true. I need to get back on that bike today! I have done a lot of researching about yoga and have developed an initial plan, and ordered what I hope will be a great book. Two days of the routine have left me aching this morning lol. I need to get moving again!

Welcome Red. I believe you will find this to be a pretty amazing group. Great way to start your new year!

HEY, @redzz16 , you've come across a super group. They've helped me so much.

Maintaining okay. A tad lower weight this morning. Tallying veg and fruit totals in Notes to make sure vitamin intake is good.
Health of BIL still a concern as they couldn't correct the blockage. We'll know more after he calls the other surgeon, a vascular surgeon, Monday.

If I could not walk I don't know how I could control my weight. I used to run and dance and do aerobics- now I have a bad knee. Steps are difficult. So I walk outside, on my treadmill - but my foot is acting up

Maybe a bit late, but my challenge for January and throughout 2016 is to shed my bad habits and embrace the new ones, mostly as it relates to food. Specifically, I will log in every day, exercise every day and consume fewer than 1,200 net calories, with a goal of consuming less than half of the carbs I am allocated. You all are so inspiring! Marla

I frequently think about the apologies I owe my home health patients because you just don't know what its like until you are there! My worst sin was saying, well you have your nights and days turned around, just stay up all day when you want sleep and readjust your schedule! Yea right! How much easier said that done! Now I am at that age where I have to work through all the aches and pains and new and old problems! But we keep on keeping on don't we! It's good to have a place were we all understand that!

Sharon, that's great that you have experienced recovery enough to get back on the court!