Need some help to move on from just logging food to leading an overall healthy lifestyle!

Hi.

I've been around on MFP just logging food for 45 days. Would have had a 45 day streak but i missed a day earlier in the week but i want to get serious now. I have been around in the past but only managed to keep it up for about a week at most, so i think a 45 day logging 'streak' proves that!

Basically, from what i understand, the basic mantra is "eat less/better, move more" and as far as I'm concerned, every movement counts as moving i.e. doing house work, performing daily hygiene tasks(showering, brushing teeth etc.) and, of course, exercising! I feel that health, beauty and fitness all go hand in hand so this will be a very detailed routine.

I am trying to formulate a good daily routine that incorporates a good variety of moving and eating(good food, of course) to put in place once i get a more consistent shift pattern at work at the end of May and i want to hear opinions.

This is a first draft. What i am writing up here is off the top of my head, and depending on opinions, I'll copy and paste into a word doc and print it to put it somewhere I'll see all the time. Right now this is assuming i get put on the same shifts every day so, here goes...

7am - get up
7.01am - loosely tie back hair and put glasses on, dress into workout gear then slip house key into pocket while heading to loo, use loo.
7.05am - head to kitchen and cut and place lemon wedges into infuser bottle and fill with water, go for morning walk/power walk/jog/run(depending on fitness level - will improve as time passes) sipping water as i go.
7.25am - let myself back into house, use loo, head to kitchen, empty infuser bottle and place by sink, have healthy breakfast(ideas?) with a cup of green tea, no milk, sweetened with honey.
7.40am - go to bedroom to return key to it's place, remove shoes, remove outer clothing layers and grab hairbrush, head to bathroom grabbing towels on the way, start the shower then get undressed, undo and brush hair, put hair into bun(when not washing it), put some coconut oil into mouth and start swishing and dry brush body while waiting for water to warm up.
7.45am - get in shower, wash hair(alternate days), wash face, shave(alternate days), wash body, clip nails(weekly), spit oil and turn off water before exiting shower, wrap up hair in towel, dry off body and brush teeth.
8.20am - head back to room, apply moisturiser/talc(weather and season depending), get dressed for work, style hair, and give face a second cleanse before applying makeup.
8.45am - put on work badge, watch, shoes and perfume, pack bag with plain water bottle, healthy lunch(ideas?) and a piece of fruit for a snack on the way home, head to public transport.
9.15am - get on public transport to work.
10.10am - arrive at work, head to staff canteen, have lunch.
11am - start work.
3pm - finish work, grab things from locker, use loo and head to public transport.
3.20pm - get on public transport home and have snack.
4.15pm - arrive home, use loo, head to kitchen with bag, take out water bottle, unscrew lid and place by sink, take myself and bag up to bedroom, remove shoes, work badge and watch, get changed into lounge gear(unless i have an activity planned, then change into activity appropriate clothes)
4.30pm - relax in front of TV/on internet in bedroom or do planned activity
6.30pm - head to kitchen to make and have dinner(ideas?), make and have after-dinner desert then wash up.
8pm - relax in front of TV/on internet in bedroom or do planned activity.
10.30 - head to bathroom and brush teeth, head back to bedroom and remove makeup then cleanse face.
11pm - bed.

As you can see, if the prospective new shifts take shape, i will be somewhat pushed for time.

Thank you in advance for all opinions/ideas etc. :)

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Holy smokes. You plan when you're going to pee?!? This is much too regimented for me. I hope it works for you.

    Good luck!
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    I like my routine too, but not this rigidly. Also do you really need to write down to turn the shower on & off, unscrew the lid of your water bottle and other things that you would do anyway. Maybe just try including activities in between work and meals etc.
  • wsrep
    wsrep Posts: 20 Member
    If you took time to write all that doing daily logging should be nothing for you.
  • KMasz
    KMasz Posts: 2,721 Member
    The last time you use the loo for the day is 4:15pm, I suggest making some time for the loo before heading to bed to avoid any accidents and/or UTIs
  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
    That's not a routine. That's a schedule. A routine is more general, like what order to do things. You are setting yourself up for failure with that. I know I would NEVER be able to stick to that. Some stupid thing like the dog taking too long to find a suitable spot to pee or a kid needing help finding the milk that is "hidden" at eye level in the fridge and I'm off for the rest of the day.

    Try starting by just adding things to your current routine. When I started out a little under 2 years and over 90 pounds ago I just got up 20-30 minutes earlier so I could walk on my treadmill while watching a TV show on the DVR or Netflix. Once that became a daily habit, it wasn't long before I was getting up earlier to watch longer shows or maybe a whole movie (with laundry breaks) on the weekends. If I had started with my current routine of lifting & running 5-8 hours a week (while continuing to "binge-walk" Netflix!) I wouldn't have lasted the first week.

    Keep it simple. Add things gradually and don't be afraid to try something different if it's not working for you.
  • gemmajenkins90
    gemmajenkins90 Posts: 18 Member
    Woah ok, i said it was a first draft, and i usually write in a lot more detail the first time round as it saves questions later on. I've seen people ask about similar things and they are very vague and it results in loads of questions such as "at what time do you perform x and y activities?" etc.
    Of course i go to the loo more often that that, but where it is stated are the main times that i know about, and at the end of the routine with my last loo visit being 4pm, obviously i go between then and bedtime, usually while I'm in the bathroom before i brush my teeth.
    You lot should be thankful that i didn't include washing my hands at the times that i do so :D
  • WJS_jeepster
    WJS_jeepster Posts: 224 Member
    I would suggest building in a little more slush into the schedule. It seems so tight that a few minutes extra at any stage would mess up the rest of the day and feel like failure.

    We have a rule of thumb here at work that I try to incorporate into life too...take any estimate of how long something is going to take and multiply by three and use that.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    All I'd do is commit to getting some sort of exercise before dinner.

    You can get your streak back here: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/login_counter_reset_request
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    edited April 2016
    Holy smokes. You plan when you're going to pee?!? This is much too regimented for me. I hope it works for you.

    Good luck!

    I agree. That's intense.

    You are setting yourself up to be very miserable if you fail at this. Just take it one day at a time and make lifestyle changes gradually. This isn't a race and you have to make it very realistic in terms of living this way for the rest of your life. And I definitely would not count brushing your teeth and brushing your hair as activity for the day. The only time you put anything down for exercise is if you sweat or at the very least get exhausted doing it. If you do housework and you work up a sweat then by all means track it but I highly doubt you sweat or get a little exhausted showering or brushing your teeth. I think you need to be a little more realistic with some of this. Good luck to you!
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    wsrep wrote: »
    If you took time to write all that doing daily logging should be nothing for you.

    :D:D
  • celadontea
    celadontea Posts: 335 Member
    edited April 2016
    I would start adding in some exercise. Maybe just 30 minutes with a video could fit into your evening at first?:) There's lots of workouts on youtube.

    Edit: Sorry I saw you go on a morning jog. Maybe stretching or a strength workout to be precise.
  • gemmajenkins90
    gemmajenkins90 Posts: 18 Member
    Well, either way, thank you all for your input.
    I didn't realise i would get this many replied to be honest!
    I'm going to paste that into a word doc and play around with it to make it a lot more 'general' and report back :)
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Get up earlier and exercise more in the morning. Then go to bed earlier, nothing good on TV anyway. The rest of the day is your call.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I would suggest building in a little more slush into the schedule. It seems so tight that a few minutes extra at any stage would mess up the rest of the day and feel like failure.

    We have a rule of thumb here at work that I try to incorporate into life too...take any estimate of how long something is going to take and multiply by three and use that.

    Yes, studies show people fail miserably at time estimates. The Planning Fallacy is illustrated deliciously in Chapter 6 of fanfic Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality http://hpmor.com/chapter/6
  • gemmajenkins90
    gemmajenkins90 Posts: 18 Member
    Just so you all know, this isn't something I'm planning on enforcing right down to the last letter starting 7am sharp tomorrow morning.
    I already shower every morning when i get up anyway, it's just waiting for my shift pattern to change, then before I do anything else, I'll take some time to see how time pans out either side of my shifts.
    I need to actually do the walk/power walk/jog/run round the block to actually see how long it takes.
    My shifts aren't guaranteed to be at that time either, it could be earlier, or it could be later.
    I could still be able to gain or lose time either side of the shifts yet.

    Put basically though, the plan is for my days to go something like this eventually:

    get up.
    exercise.
    breakfast.
    shower.
    get ready for and go to work(and lunch).
    home.
    dinner.
    down time.
    bed.

    :)