Daily Post March 25
Tracked Yes
Under Calorie Yes
Water 114oz
Steps 9099
Exercise 20min Inc Dance Fit

I chose a shorter dance video because I knew I wanted to do some work on the sale items and didn't want my legs to be sore. I got all the kids' books tagged now. It feels great to be done with at least one category of everything I need to go through.

Welcome to all the new people! Anyone feel free to add me as a friend!

Thank you for the welcome! My name is Shawna and I live in the middle of the woods in Northeastern PA with the love of my life. I am a Holistic Healthcare practitioner, Well Life Coach and numerous other things. I want to open a Holistic Health care spa/retreat but feel I cannot because of my weight. There is a part of me that knows I am "keeping" myself safe from having to start my business by not losing the weight...so, here I am. I am excited to join the challenge and support group!

@Megan_smartiepants1970

8,500 steps
35 minutes, 9 miles, moderate effort

@beautyofdreams
Oh my, that’s awful. I’m so sorry for your loss. You’ve experienced so much loss, and you’re still coming here and posting. You clearly have some amazing resilience to help you through these dark times.

Good question about the SMART goal setting. I think the thing to remember is it has to be attainable, and attainable for you. So, if timelines can be tough for you, it’s a matter of identifying what you think will work based on who you are and what makes you tick. As you're thinking about what is attainable for you, I recommend using the analogy of eating an apple. How successful will you be at eating the apple if you put the entire apple in your mouth at once? You won’t be! That’s not attainable. Instead, think about tackling it in smaller chunks. So one bite at a time. That way, you're way more likely to actually eat that whole apple in the end. Like, I have a big goal of getting to 220 pounds. That's like 145 pounds away! Holy crap that's overwhelming. Even setting goals around losing a certain amount of weight is dangerous, because our body may have a mind of it's own, and we may not get that goal. So, SMART goals can be about anything and best to think about what you really have control over! For example drinking water, minimizing screen time, exercise, healthy eating, thinking positive etc. It’s also important to not judge yourself. For example, I was drinking 72 ounces of water a day, and I know a person is ‘supposed’ to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but that’s just not attainable for me right now. So what is? I thought about it, and decided I would start (small bite of apple) with 48 ounces a day. Here are some examples of SMART goals related to managing stress/healthier lifestyle:

• I will eat a healthy breakfast 3 work days per week.
• I will be active for 30 minutes twice per week.
• Everyday I will think about one positive thing that happened that day.
• I will be in my bed with lights out by 10PM four nights per week.
• I will get 4,000 steps per day, 3 days a week.
• I will limit screen time week nights by turning off my devices by 8PM.

Start small, because success breeds success. Make goals that challenge you a bit, but they’re not so tough you may not succeed.

I hope this helps!

@rwood566
Welcome to the team. You have such an inspiring journey so far! I’m looking forward to hearing about your ongoing journey!

@shawnamee1
Also welcome to our team! I’ve always been curious about what a Holistic Healthcare practitioner and life coach do. Good for you for recognizing your goals, and what barriers you need to remove to attain your goals.

@Megan_smartiepants1970
3/25 Steps 10,419

Yesterday and today, I had very productive work days, which I attribute to leaving my cell in another room in my house. I've been feeling frustrated with myself not getting as much work done as I'd like, and I've been feeling distracted for awhile. I know mental health, specifically not great mental health, can have an impact on concentration and focus, so I've been trying to be gentle with myself these last few months when it's been so hard. BUT, it's been 4 months and I'm ready to make some changes.

So, new SMART goal for me:
On work days, I will leave my cell phone in my bedroom and only access it when it rings or during my breaks.

I also went to the dollar store tonight to purchase the things I need to create accountability jars. I'm using these jars to visually track my progress. Once it's all set up, I'll take a photo!

I made a list of things to do this weekend, and I certainly feel more and more motivated to do different things in my life. Like, even things around my house. I'm a little worried though... I'm finally feeling myself climb out of the dark, but the news is talking about a possible/probable 3rd wave, and now it's a race of getting the vaccine in people's arms. Anyhow, I'm f-ing tired of isolating alone in my house, and the light at the end of the tunnel is dimming. 🤷 Either way though, I generally feel like I can weather the storms way better now than I have in the past. I've been 'plateauing' or staying the same during this storm, whereas in the past, storms would result in huge weight gains. So, that's really positive.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

@shawnamee1
Welcome to the team!

@TheresaM787
Great workout! You are inspiring me on the bike!

@red1185
Great steps!

@heatherbluebell
That is the best explanation of smart goals I have ever heard. Thanks! It is so important to be gentle without ourselves. It was the best thing my dietitian ever told me. I am so excited to see your accountability jars. I may have to steal your idea if it is okay. Keep looking at the positives. You are right you could have gained or even gave up. It is a testament to your strength.

@iradi8
That is so good that you use the step challenge for motivation. Your steps are awesome!

rwood566 wrote: »

a bit about myself...i'm 56, forced unemployment due to my weight. i'm hoping to be able to work again this year. i haven't been able to work since 2008. i was housebound for 1 1/2 years because i couldn't walk to go anywhere and i couldn't fit into our cars. 2 years and 6 days ago i started getting help from the veteran's hospital by being put on home-based care. on my first weigh in i was 566.4 lbs. it took me 6 months to lose my first 30 lbs partly because i was replacing bad habits with only slightly bad habits. things started really clicking for me in Oct 2019 and i have been losing 10-12 lbs a month since. i started "walking" - really waddling like a duck - in sept 2019 and my first one was 300 feet that took 4 1/2 minutes and 279 footsteps. i'm up to 3-4 miles a few times a week but i've had to cut back now due to low b.p. i'm currently 340 lbs. luckily i have decent weather for outside activity since i live in san diego.

Hi @rwood156 - Thank you for sharing more about yourself and your life. Your situation sounds really challenging, but that is amazing that you have lost so much weight and are now down to 340. WOW! That is a lot of weight lost and I bet it has been a real journey. Your story is very inspiring! That you could turn things around like that is trully amazing. So happy to have you as part of our team. Your goal is within reach and you can do it! Welcome and looking forward to having you on our team!

Friday’s check in
Daily Goals
✅Steps 8,707
✅Sleep

Weekly Goals
Weights 2x/wk: ✔️
✅Bike 3x/wk✔️✔️✔️
✅Walk 5x/wk: ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️

It was so nice to go to the coffee group yesterday. It ran longer than I thought it would so it ran into my exercise time. I got the bike done and I did 21 minutes. My granddaughter called and wanted me to go to the mall with them so I didn’t get to the weights. I walked around the courtyard outside while I was waiting for them and walked for almost 15 minutes. My daughter is never on time. I was in terrible pain last night from all the walking. I am still sore this morning. At least all my steps worked off the calories for the intermission food.

We are off grocery shopping in a few minutes and if I am not hurting too much when we get back I will do weights this afternoon. The grandkids are here for the entire weekend so I hate leaving them too much.

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!


@Megan_smartiepants1970
Steps
8,707

Bike
20 minutes moderate
1 minute cool down

@lindamtuck2018 - WOW Linda! You are really kicking butt with your goals this week. That is great you can meet in person for coffee! I'm super duper jealous! You are doing so great at reaching your goals! It's just wonderful! Great job!!!!

Steps 10,492

Had a relaxing day then had date night with my hubby. We went out to dinner so rare these days and especially with no kids. I did a quick dog walk during the day and a 10 min stretching video.

@cesse47 gray job sticking with it? And oh what a year it has been! I can’t wait to get vaccinated hopefully next month for me!

Red1185
PW: 163.2
CW: 163.8
SW: 179.6

I’m going the wrong way. This is the second week in a row I’ve been up in my weight.
I check my weight periodically through the week, and even though I know water, sodium, TOM, etc effect my weight: I got up to 166. I was not pleased seeing that number on the scale. I want to stay positive, but it’s really hard when I see that.