Beautiful Behaviors -- August 2017

2

Replies

  • lifestyle70
    lifestyle70 Posts: 126 Member
    Hello everyone, Chris here from Washington State. I love the idea of this thread! My goals are to keep things simple: find a way to keep moving doing things I enjoy (playing basketball, 2-3 mile runs where I spend time reflecting, etc.), make good food choices (no diets, not avoiding, limit overeating, etc.) and find joy in the day-to-day, minute-to-minute experiences. My hope is to create daily habits around eating, sleeping, exercise to provide the energy to make each day count! (and that even includes the lazy days when motivation is low - I am ok with that too!)
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
    @kathskelly53 - I love the linen closet idea. I did that about 3 months ago, and it still is pleasing! Enjoy your music!

    @lifestyle70 hi Chris! What a great goal! Self care is not always about the numbers
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
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  • jessiquoi
    jessiquoi Posts: 400 Member
    @aleahurst i love that!

    hi, everyone. i've been reading but not posting. i'm struggling terribly. it seems like i just can't keep my motivation up for more than a few days at a time. today i go food shopping and i'll buy only healthy foods, and i'll be great for a while. then something clicks and turns off and i fall off the wagon. it's been this way all my life, and that's why i started this thread. i'm tired of being angry and upset with myself.

    yesterday i had a lovely time with three of my girlfriends. we took an art class and then went to a healthy lunch. i had a delicious salad. i need more of this kind of social activity to keep me happy and motivated. i haven't been feeling well for so long that i kind of became a hermit. no more of that! we vowed yesterday to have more of these kind of outings. i'm usually the instigator, and nobody else took the ball and ran with it while i was feeling poorly. i'm definitely motivated to become social director again, and we're planning to go to a wine festival next month.

    i hope you all have a beautiful sunday full of gorgeous behaviors!

    feel well,
    jess
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    This week I have a seminar for work! (can you imagine people sitting and talking about nothing but bread all day? That's what it'll be and It'll be fascinating... lol) Crossing my fingers for some samples of new kinds! I've also made plans to go out with one of my friends for dinner before she goes away to college again! I think we're going to go to panera. It's delicious and has plenty of healthy options!

    Tonight my family and I are hosting a party for my dad's department. We were at the grocery store until 11 pm last night deciding what to get so we wouldn't need to face the sunday grocery store traffic. I suggested a baked potato bar, and he thought it was a great idea! (I'm looking forward to the leftovers too- I'm a sucker for baked potatoes piled high!)

    Going to try and lift weights more this week, and make sure I hit my calorie goals!

    I hope your Sundays are refreshing!!
  • lifestyle70
    lifestyle70 Posts: 126 Member
    Productive Sunday today! Managed some work around the house and outside. I spent this evening planning out the week. Scheduled my exercise (type, day and time). I am also making integrating some mindfulness exercises into my week a focus. Looking forward to trying some new things and working towards the goals I have set.

    Have a wonderful week!
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
    edited August 2017
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    The following is a blog entry from bemorewithless.com. Good stuff. My most difficult task is that of creating boundaries. Maybe a time limit on internet use would be a suitable boundary????!!! Idk.

    1. Take a walk. Don’t measure your speed or distance, just walk and connect with the outdoors, and with your heart and soul.

    2. Call someone who makes you smile. Even if you haven’t talked for awhile, call someone who you enjoy connecting with, someone who lifts you up when you hear their voice.

    3. Send a care package. Put a small package of goodies together for someone. Often thinking about someone else is the perfect way to get out of your head and back on track.

    4. Change your measuring system. If you are overwhelmed with busyness or to-dos and tend to measure your day or your worth by how much you get done, try measuring more by what’s in your heart and less by what’s on your list.

    5. Create boundaries. When we create boundaries around things that distract us from what matters, our engagement in things we care about becomes boundless.

    6. Simplify. When you are overwhelmed, stressed, or tired, the solution is almost always … less. Get rid of something, lots of somethings.

    7. Be inspired. Find books, blogs, and other sources of inspiration to help you get back on track. If simplifying is part of getting back on track, you’ll find great inspiration in Minimalism: A Documentary about the Important Things.

    If it’s time for you to get back on track, don’t waste time beating yourself up for falling off in the first place. It happens to all of us. Instead, stand up, dust yourself off, and choose one simple way to get back on track. You’ve got this.
  • str8bowbabe
    str8bowbabe Posts: 712 Member
    Hello ladies! I know I have been missing...very busy time for me at work and will be until about April or May. I guess I have never really intruded myself...I am Kristene from southern Indiana. I am back at it again. Started a new running program. Lifting is a struggle right now. Just trying to get some kind of routine going with cardio and strength. Eating well that is where I always struggle. My husband and I are thinking about a cruise in Jan to Cancun so really want to shed some weight. Trying to get my mind set for it. Eating is always the problem. Oh well back to work. My beautiful behavior for today...take the day off from working out and spend the night cuddling with my hubby.
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
    So sorry! My posts have been large!

    Okay. Big smiles at @woznube7 !!!!! @katadx - way to go with the weights!!! @lifestyle70 - making time for what you really want wooooo!!! Yes!

    Oh. I. Like. This.
    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    The best behavior I've learned to help me achieve my goals, is to not let other people's negativity and doubts get to me. To remember that I am doing this for me, not them.

    <3<3<3@jessiquoi!!!!!

    I'm going to the pulmonary doc today with my assessment that my illness is autoimmune. Then to lunch with a friend. First the icky stuff, then the treat! I'll choose a well balanced, low cal treat, and savor the conversation!

    Love to all.

    Lea
  • PKM0515
    PKM0515 Posts: 3,089 Member
    @aleahurst, loved your "7 Simple Ways..." post. So much useful and relevant information there!

    Thanks so much for posting it! :)
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
    Awwww that's such a beautiful end to the day Kristene!
    Thank you SaraKim! It really spoke to me as well.

    There was a torrential rain in Arkansas today. My neighbor lost a big tree and it hit our fence, and then our shed, which I have been wanting gone. So, yay! The ugly shed goes! Of course, I get a work out, carrying the huge tree (after it's cut) to the street.

  • gillykh
    gillykh Posts: 22 Member
    jessiquoi wrote: »
    @aleahurst i love that!

    hi, everyone. i've been reading but not posting. i'm struggling terribly. it seems like i just can't keep my motivation up for more than a few days at a time. today i go food shopping and i'll buy only healthy foods, and i'll be great for a while. then something clicks and turns off and i fall off the wagon. it's been this way all my life, and that's why i started this thread. i'm tired of being angry and upset with myself.

    yesterday i had a lovely time with three of my girlfriends. we took an art class and then went to a healthy lunch. i had a delicious salad. i need more of this kind of social activity to keep me happy and motivated. i haven't been feeling well for so long that i kind of became a hermit. no more of that! we vowed yesterday to have more of these kind of outings. i'm usually the instigator, and nobody else took the ball and ran with it while i was feeling poorly. i'm definitely motivated to become social director again, and we're planning to go to a wine festival next month.

    i hope you all have a beautiful sunday full of gorgeous behaviors!

    feel well,
    jess

    I can relate so much that it makes me sad. I listened to someone speak a few weeks back about the difference between satisfaction and contentment. One thought that stuck with me was that satisfaction is about the physical, contentment is about the...mental, spirit, whatever you want to call it. I'm turning these ideas over and over in my mind (not in the exhausting way that it sounds), and trying to let them sink down deep. I had to literally play a game with my mind last night to not eat everything in sight.

    I hear you, I feel the emotion come through in your post, and I empathize. And I'm rooting for you to keep wrestling with what is best for you. I hope you can throw all those other ideas out when you decide what Jess needs. <3
  • gillykh
    gillykh Posts: 22 Member
    VeronicaA76 wrote: »
    The best behavior I've learned to help me achieve my goals, is to not let other people's negativity and doubts get to me. To remember that I am doing this for me, not them.

    Too true, I've been looking closely at this as well. Thank you for sharing.
  • gillykh
    gillykh Posts: 22 Member
    edited August 2017
    Hi All,

    I hope August is going well for you all. We are preparing for our trip to WA next week, so keeping my nose to the grindstone as much as possible this week.

    I was talking with a friend at church over the weekend, and I told him I keep feeling this surge of frustration when my friends ask me to go to the gym with them, or tout "THE gym" as the fix for everything. I don't know why it should bother me that other people have different priorities. I realized during that conversation that I can't keep splitting my focus all the time and succeed. For those who can do it all, congratulations! You've mastered the art of life better than I. But I have 100 pounds I really need to lose, so I need focus.

    All of that to say, part of my beautiful behavior for August is to not only let myself off the hook for not being a workout/gym person right now, but I let others off the hook for being a workout/gym person right now. I have to do what's the right thing for me, and I know myself. I need to focus on food habits first, and for a while. I'll find my way back to the gym, I'm sure. But right now, I have to work on the food part. We have two vacations coming up in the next two months, so it's sure to be a challenge of it's very own. :)

    -Amy
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
    I've been playing DDR in the mornings for half an hour before work. I loved that game as a kid and like it even more now. I can't run, but I can jump around on the mat as long as I'm careful. :)
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
    Oh my. I woke up in the night. Sick, nauseated, and hungry! Geesh. So I fixed a quick bland pancake (heaping half cup spelt flour, pinch baking soda, tablespoon of dry milk, egg, water). Then poured coconut oil into the pan. What was I thinking? I was estimating a tablespoon of oil, but it was closer to 3. Well. The high fat pancake and ibuprofen put me back to sleep for a good long time. There goes a third of my day's calories!

    And I'm hungry again.

    My beautiful behavior for the day will be finding a set of measuring spoons that appeal to me emotionally. Something lovely, or something that tugs my heart strings. Something that says oh look! You can feel good by having pretty things to look at. Maybe a wooden set because I like wood.

    Yeah.

    Love to all.

    Lea
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
    @Kullerva - Is DDR one of those dance videos? That seems pretty fun if it is!

    My update... I redid my calorie limits on MFP. I had noticed that I was eating approximately 200 calories over my limit. So, a few months back, I raised my limit by 200 calories. Then I was eating about 200 calories over that limit. So, I raised it again. Aha! A pattern emerges!

    Finally. It appears I have an inward rebellion against numbers! This time, I set my calorie limit at 200 BELOW what it should be. We'll see how this goes!

    My lovely wooden measuring spoons are on a slow boat from somewhere.

    I love my body and that love is why I am dieting.

    Some really good ideas in Amy's post! Let it go.

    Love to all.

    Lea
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    edited August 2017
    Hello everyone! This week I kinda shook things up. Tuesday afternoon I got home from work and relaxed for awhile. I got kinda bored, and remembered a free Fit Camp that the owner of the protein shake bar I went to earlier last week was hosting. She told me to come Tuesday night! I was feeling tired but I kinda said "screw it" and laced up and left. It was raining, but a great experience! I had never been to a camp like that before with instructors. We did a lot of circuit stuff, (burpees, bear crawl, sprint up and around the hill, more burpees, etc) and then we did core things! I felt really good that I was able to do it all. I've never done 'organized' fitness stuff before. I tend to be a lone wolf in the gym, but my mind felt very clear and stress free! I think I may try to attend more events like that in the future, or even join a class!

    ETA: I have never been covered in more grass and mud in my life! lol :)

    I also decided to side with my wallet over protein powders. The Herbalife products tasted excellent, but when I am able to go into GNC and plunk down a 20$ for a tub of natural stevia sweetened powder (with more servings I may add) I'm gonna be swayed to that. I got 2 tubs bogo 50% off and tried strawberry this time, and its awesome! I also got 6 expired buff bake cookies for 6$ and froze them to have for breakfasts (or dessert.. :) ) I felt guilty for spending the money but I try to remind myself that these things help me maintain my health and weight and are a good thing to purchase.

    My plan to weight lift at home more consistently hasn't gone as well as I'd hoped. I've been leaning towards the elliptical more. Part could be due to me being eager to get into the gym at my college (only two weeks till I can join at the student price!) and mostly due to the soreness from tuesday's fit camp. I'm hoping next week or even tommorow will yield more motivation.

    @aleahurst That is a wonderful reaffirmation. More people need to make that same positive connection to healthy eating and dieting! In the end, it should be out of love!

    @gillykh working on things in parts is an awesome idea. Taking on too much at once could lead to burn out! I hope your part working with food goes well!

  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
    Yesterday went okay, but not quite what I wanted.

    I'm tweaking this beautiful behavior low stress concept a little, because I have been inconsistent with water consumption. At first, I had four water glasses that "felt" just right. I broke one. The cat broke one. Now, I'm not drinking as much water! Really!

    My son buys kombucha in glass bottles, which I also just love to wash up and use for water. I may ask him to save four of them for me. :) Then I can store them on the door of the fridge and have a day's worth of cold water ready to go!

    The idea of having good feeling water glasses may appeal to other people who enjoy having visual stimulants that help them to behave themselves.

    Thank you @katadx ! In fact it's good to feel that way. BTW, I love being covered in mud and grass! Sounds like exhilarating fun!

    I love my body and that is why I am dieting.

    Love to all. Lea
  • lifestyle70
    lifestyle70 Posts: 126 Member
    Hello all! Some things I learned this week as I reflect back:

    1. I feel totally different (in an awesome way) when I drink enough water during the day and am hydrated
    2. Early morning runs with the right music puts me in a relaxed, reflective and motivated state of mind.
    3. Struggled to bounce back after a long day at work - the tiredness lingered for a few days - something I am going to focus on (specifically, best ways to recover quicker)
    4. The more I think through my day planning specific things to accomplish and then being specific when I will do them, the more likely I am to get them done.
    5. When I remind myself to be present throughout the day or check in with myself (how are you feeling, what are you feeling, slow down and look around) the world feels like a bigger place and I have a more overall positive feeling about things

    As I wind down this week and begin to look at next week, hopefully will build off of what I have learned and make next week the most awesome week ever!

    And remember: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."
    — FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,286 MFP Moderator
    I love this idea @jessiquoi - Thanks for this thread. :) Self-care is something I've long struggled with and like you I am trying to stop beating myself up over things... It'd be nice if we extended ourselves the same compassion and understanding we extend to others, right?

    Today I'm hanging with my men (2 young gentlemen and my husband), and attending a wedding. When we get home tonight, I'm going to curl up with a book and drink chai, I think. I'll do my best to make good food choices, but its a day of love (wedding) so I'm going to love myself either way. :)

    You guys are awesome. :)
  • mowgwan
    mowgwan Posts: 7 Member
    Hello everyone. Self care is so important for so many reasons. I work to try and keep a healthy balance with a stressful new job (I love it, but it is stressful), maintaining good eating habits, and having quality personal time with friends and family. Life gets so crazy sometimes. Today I worked out with my boyfriend and then we enjoyed a dip in the pool in the evening. Feeling very relaxed. We plan to cook together tomorrow to prep for the week. Enjoy the quality time together, and the stress reduction of piping for the work week.
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
    Today is Good.
    Ate Smart. Check.
    Got Active. Check.
    Drank Water....
    Hold on....
    Check.
    Fed my senses with outdoor activity. Check!

    Woooo
    Ah!

    Goodnight and love to all.

    Lea
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    Hello!

    This weekend was a mixed bag. Saturday I was kinda groggy and tired. Feeling burnt out. But sunday, I went to church with my mom and immediately afterwards we did a 3.5 mile hike! She has leg inflammation and ankle problems, but found out during a vacation that some exercise in good sneakers can actually help. We made it all the way up to the weather station for our region! My mom did so well. She's not used to much exercise but she was willing to jump in and come with me! Afterwards, we went to panera bread and enjoyed some huge salads with a little french bread. Perfect day!

    That perfect sunday gave me momentum for a (dare I say) good monday! Work went by quickly. We got an electronic veggie slicer to test for our owners (if it goes well and saves money/labor we will expand it to all their other stores) and it is so quick and easy to use! I just hope it doesn't mean my hours will be cut... But it was cool either way! We were busy and I glided to the end of my full shift. I got home, hit the elliptical and then ate my seafood salad for lunch! I also made my mom and I cauliflower fried rice. I mixed in a little turmeric and paprika to hopefully help her leg inflammation. It turned out super well (especially drowned in sriracha!) I will definitely be making it again. I now find myself under my calorie goal that I need to hit too. I may table the cals for tommorow and have a big peanut butter banana sandwich for breakfast to get there. I still have a hard time with the concept of banking calories, but it is silly of me to think that they 'expire' at midnight. How ridiculous to believe that my body resets at a particular hour. It is much more complex than that.

    Blessings on everyone's start to the week! Keep the ball rolling!
  • velocity60
    velocity60 Posts: 83 Member
    What a lovely idea for a thread ! Thank You for starting it . I know I'm finding you late in August but I can tell I will be deep into the posts to catch up . Thanks again for all of this wonderful positive inspiration! & now something to make you all smile. My calorie share partner Bella 2egkf44n5gx5.jpg
  • lifestyle70
    lifestyle70 Posts: 126 Member
    "Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back. Learn to create your own opportunities." -Sophia Amoruso-
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
    @aleahurst DDR is a dance *game*, actually. I'm progressing on it, but I'm still on Novice and it kicks my butt. So much fun, though...
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