November Week 4 Group Challenge - What's Important to You?
jessicakrall8
Posts: 5,520 Member
This week, we're going to be tracking several elements of our weight loss/health journey that don't get quite as much attention as weighing in or exercising, but is equally as important. I've added in a little room for individualized choices too because each of us is different and we don't all have the same goals or health plans. So, I've named the Challenge "What's Important to You" and I urge you to give it some thought. On Sunday, pick the three things you want to track for the week. Work to make your plan for the week, then just report in daily and tell us how it's going. Consistency is key and this week's challenge might help you to focus on those areas that are important, but don't always get enough attention.
Remember, this can be nutrition, vitamins, minerals, exercise, self-care, emotional/spiritual health, water intake, limiting certain trigger foods, etc. You can go in a hundred different directions...just give it some thought. You're welcome to create a little tracker spreadsheet or just write a few sentences each day. It's completely up to you...just create the focus, make and follow your plan and then share with the team. As with anything else, you may bring to mind things for someone else that they haven't even considered...or provide much needed motivation to work harder on areas they've ignored. Sharing is caring!
Looking forward to the week. What's important to you?! Can wait to discuss!
Jessica
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Things I track every day:
1. The obvious one - FOOD (monitoring calories, macros, also sodium, fiber & sugar)
2. Hours of Sleep/Sleep Quality
3. Body weight/Body fat
4. Blood Pressure
5. Steps/Miles
Things I do every day:
1. Journal
2. Meditate
-Mica
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For the last couple of weeks, I've been tracking and focusing on a variety of habits and routines, from self-care and health to household tasks and chores. It's with the goal of just improving my life and the roles I play to the people in my life.
I've made a lot of progress, but still have plenty of areas left to work on. So I'm going to give it some thought and decide what I would like to add for this week. I'm excited to do it with the support of this group. Thank you for this challenge, @jessicakrall82 -
Things I track every day:
1. The obvious one - FOOD (monitoring calories, macros, also sodium, fiber & sugar)
2. Hours of Sleep/Sleep Quality
3. Body weight/Body fat
4. Blood Pressure
5. Steps/Miles
Things I do every day:
1. Journal
2. Meditate
-Mica
@micaroo4 Then, given this, I'd pick something that's not on the list...OR something you know you need EXTRA focus on...and then a plan on how you can add to those areas...You're such a great planner!
Jessica0 -
I'm going to be completely vulnerable here and say I am going to track my spending addiction. It's been a devastating problem and I really need to get a handle on it (I am working on it with a therapist). Here's what I am tracking:
- occurrences of unplanned/unnecessary spending
- CPAP machine usage / sleep metrics
- water intake
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I'm going to take inspiration from @trooworld and add spending to my list of things being tracked. It's something I've been thinking of tracking but just haven't got around to yet. My issue is the "it's just $20, it doesn't matter" mindset. But it really adds up. I'm not sure how much because I have been refusing to look deeply into it, but I know I need to get it under control.
Other things I'm going to add to tracking for this week are:
Yoga
Vitamins
Daily skin care routine
Drinking 64 oz of water
Things that I have started tracking a few weeks ago include:
Chores (making bed, doing a load of laundry, 15 min clean at end of day, etc)
Read (at least 10 pages per day)
Journal (at least a line or two reflection at the end of the day).
I also track my food and will track exercise when I start up again (maybe this week).
I have found tracking several aspects of my life has helped me feel more organized and less chaotic. I am quite enjoying it. I have also found that using a physical pen and paper planner is the most effective for me, so I created a binder. I added a page for this week's challenge, using a template I found online
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jessicakrall8 wrote: »Things I track every day:
1. The obvious one - FOOD (monitoring calories, macros, also sodium, fiber & sugar)
2. Hours of Sleep/Sleep Quality
3. Body weight/Body fat
4. Blood Pressure
5. Steps/Miles
Things I do every day:
1. Journal
2. Meditate
-Mica
@micaroo4 Then, given this, I'd pick something that's not on the list...OR something you know you need EXTRA focus on...and then a plan on how you can add to those areas...You're such a great planner!
Jessica
I think for this week I will focus on strength training. Lately I'm not feeling particularly strong, neither physically nor mentally. Tomorrow morning, my plan is to do a strength training workout while Rich is in the shower. That should allow me some uninterrupted time for a 20 minute workout.
-Mica2 -
1) This week I would like to focus on limiting the mindless snacking, I don't need it and it is making me feel guilty after. Lately it is got a bit out of control.
2) It is usually starting as a stress reaction so I guess I need to avoid being stressed which is easier said than done
3) I haven't been great at meal planning (and sticking to it) lately so I think if I get a few quick lunches batch prepared it would help2 -
This week, I will focus on:
1. Protein
2. Water intake and
3. Continuing to walk in small increments inside.
Jessica1 -
I'm a bit late joining the challenge but I want to stay on track as after my good loss last week I had a weekend on my own & gave into temptation & also didn't go out much as I fell on the ice on Saturday.
So this week I want to continue with
1) Increasing my vegetable & fruit intake.
How ? By including them with every meal
2) Track my steps & increase my steps to reach my goal of 15,000 daily steps.
How ? By going out walking more times in a day.Walking indoors & doing indoor walking / dance workouts on u tube.
3) Drink more water.
How ? Drink 300ml before each meal.Take a water bottle out when walking.2 -
I am tracking:
- occurrences of unplanned/unnecessary spending - I bought a couple of inexpensive Christmas ornaments and greeting card. Not the end of the world as one of the ornaments was a gift as was the card.
- CPAP machine usage / sleep metrics - used for 4 hours. This is better than the past few nights. I am just starting out using it so it is not expected to do a full 8 hours yet.
- water intake - oh dear, not good: 20 oz
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I checked off all of my items yesterday. I also put some thought in how I can make these additions more permanent. I'm trying to use habit stacking as much as possible.
-yoga: I'm going to do it during the kids' nap time, after I eat and complete my nap time chores
-vitamins: take along with my medication I take every morning. Such an easy addition. Why do I have problems following through with it consistently?
-skin care: include in my morning and bedtime routine, after I brush my teeth
-64 oz water: fill up my 64 oz water bottle and drink it all throughout the day.
- track expenses: Write down everything that I spend, as soon as I can after spending. Where? What? How much?
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jessicakrall8 wrote: »This week, I will focus on:
1. Protein
2. Water intake and
3. Continuing to walk in small increments inside.
Jessica
Sunday:
1. I had 99.4 oz of protein...a little over my goal, which is rare...I never realized how much protein is in cottage cheese, just a half cup! Amazing!
2. My water intake for the day was 75 oz...not bad but needs to be a little higher...
3. I walked one time yesterday, nearly a half mile...so want to push myself, but don't want to set my knee back with all the progress that I've made. Still, with working around the house and all else I accomplished yesterday, I had 6,892 steps for the day.
Hope you all had a great day!
Jessica3 -
1) no mindless snacking: today was a good day, I made a brownie with my 10 year old and had a portion, but I went for a walk before so I didn't go over my calories
2) limit stress: I was off from work so that definitely helps. I had to take my son to his music exam but he was feeling quite relaxed about it, and the running I did this evening was relaxing
3) meal prep: I start work at 6:30 so breakfast is made and ready to take to work tomorrow to have at 9am, I will pack a couple of rice cakes to have as a snack in work and I have some tuna mayo mixed and a salad prepared for lunch for when I get home after 2pm. I took a homemade soup out of the freezer for tea and will have it with boiled eggs (and a brownie) I will let you know how that goes3 -
One of the things I'm focused on lately is getting enough protein. Knowing how much protein one needs can be challenging to figure out, because there are a lot of opinions on that subject. In any case, I've made protein shakes and protein bars a part of my diet for some time since it seems the only way for me to get enough.
More recently, I tried some protein chips, and a few days ago I was looking online to find more products because I had run out. During that search, it occurred to me that maybe all these protein snacks wasn't the best way to get my protein.
Some of the protein snacks I've relied on:- Zone Perfect Protein Bars (not as easy to find as they used to be)
- Power Crunch Protein Bars
- WonderSlim Protein Wafer Bars
- Lenny's and Larry's Protein Cookies (conveniently sold at my gym)
- Legendary Protein Chips (also available at my gym)
- Quest Protein Chips
What I've realized is that instead of buying relatively expensive protein bars, cookies and chips, I could just eat pink salmon, tuna and chicken, all high in protein while being lower in fat and carbs. So I made a batch of salmon patties, and I've been eating those instead. I had one today between my Aquafit class and my Silver Strength class. (I need to give the next batch more flavor, but otherwise they're great and just as convenient.)
So my plan is to begin making salmon, tuna and chicken patties to eat instead of the higher fat/carb snacks I've been eating. Just look at the ratios of protein, fat and carbs in these 3 foods from Costco:- pink salmon: 150 calories; Protein 31.9 grams; fat 2.8 grams; carbs 0 grams
- albacore tuna: 150 calories; Protein 33.2 grams; fat 2.4 grams; carbs 0 grams
- canned chicken breast: 150 calories; Protein 32.5 grams; fat 2.5 grams; carbs 0 grams
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Monday:
1. 81 grams of protein today...very close to the 87g goal
2. 70 oz of water today...
3. Walked .56 of a mile today...got over 5,000 steps...getting it back up there...
Loved what you said about protein @frankwbrown ...love my air fryer chicken tenderloins, patties and baked chicken in the oven as well. I made a big batch of baked chicken on Sunday and all this week, will have a piece or two with a veggie each evening...I wrote yesterday that I was surprised that cottage cheese, has a good amount of protein in it...just a half cup!
Jessica3 -
@jessicakrall8
I never liked cottage cheese as a child, but I've been thinking I should give it another try, specifically because it's a good source of protein. I might need to consume it as an ingredient though. 😉
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I managed to add veggies to each meal yesterday.
Breakfast was omelette with cabbage leftover from the night before & sweet potato.
Lunch was a turkey breast salad with avocado, tomatoes,lettuce,peppers & unsalted nuts & mixed seeds.
Dinner was sirloin steak with cabbage & leeks & boiled potatoes.
My steps were over 11,000 didn't make it to 15,000.
My water intake was a bit below too.
@frankwbrown good choice of protein meals.Some protein bars & shakes have alot of sugar in them too.The same with some high protein yoghurts & drinks from some supermarkets.I always check the labels.
I struggle to eat fat free cottage cheese on its own.I add grated lemon zest & juice to mine or pineapple,apple or strawberries.4 -
Tuesday tracking:
Yoga: yes, about 20 minutes.
Vitamins: yes
Skin care: yes
64 oz water: yes- after tracking for a couple of days, I'm realizing that I probably have been drinking more than 64 oz recently just without tracking. I'm getting through the 64 by early afternoon, without much effort. I'm easily getting through 100 oz by the end of the day.
Track spending: yes
Just to add to the cottage cheese discussion: my husband likes to put hot sauce in his when he's trying to increase protein. I've also seen lots of recipes on Pinterest that incorporate cottage cheese so you're not just eating it straight, but unfortunately I don't remember any of them right now, or have really tried any to see if they are any good.3 -
I love cottage cheese! It's got a lot of sodium though, so be careful.0
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frankwbrown wrote: »@jessicakrall8
I never liked cottage cheese as a child, but I've been thinking I should give it another try, specifically because it's a good source of protein. I might need to consume it as an ingredient though. 😉
Some people like it over fruit of some kind...pears, peaches, etc...when I was little my mom always sprinkled it with just a little Lawry's Seasoned Salt and that's how I like it...I just didn't realize it had protein...it's kinda nice as a side to whatever I'm eating...baked chicken, a sandwich, etc...
Jessica0 -
Well 1) no mindless snacking and 2) limit stress were not good today. There is usually 5 of us working in my kitchen, today one called in sick and another one had to go help out in another kitchen who was short-staffed. My boss was stressed, we were all stressed and working really hard to get everything ready on time. So I got home and had chocolate 🥴 and my plan for food 3) food prep got derailed
So tomorrow I will do better. I will try to ignore the stress, bring breakfast and lunch at work, and go for a run when I get home before picking the kids up (if I am not inside the house, I cannot eat the food in my cupboards)
@frankwbrown I like having boiled eggs ready in the fridge too, it's full of protein and easy to grab when there is not much time to eat
@jessicakrall8 I will put cottage cheese on my shopping list. It is nice with a little bit of cinnamon sprinled on top too2 -
Tuesday
I caught the train into town to do some shopping.I certainly hit my step count at over 17,000 steps.
Eating was difficult as I had to eat on the go.I got a tuna & sweetcorn sandwich so had a bit of veggies.
For dinner I just had fish & carrots & potatoes as I went out in the evening too.
I did have a pecan twist croissant when I got home a staggering 352 calories !!! I will be avoiding the pastry section of aldi next time I go there.😧
I did take my water bottle out with me but didn't drink enough water.0 -
I am tracking:
occurrences of unplanned/unnecessary spending - I was on Instagram and saw a Macy's ad for a cashmere oversized scarf in hot pink. I didn't even think or hesitate, I bought it. It was pure impulsivity.
I am keeping a log of occurrences along with the feelings involved.
CPAP machine usage/sleep metrics - used it all night for the first time, so yay me!
water intake - 69.5 oz, needs to be a bit higher.1 -
Tuesday:
1. Protein was only 76g today...not bad, but not best...
2. Water intake was 71 oz.
3. Walked around the house a lot yesterday, but forgot to set my watch to walk mode, so I got the steps, but wasn't registered as a walk. Oh well, I was moving and my step count for the day was 7,295!
Hope you all are having a wonderful Wednesday!
Jessica2 -
Wednesday:
1. Protein was 97g today...much better than yesterday.
2. Water intake was 71 oz again.
3. Walked .58 miles today and still have a little more to go but hope to have a step count above 5000 if I can.
Wishing all my friends in the states a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!
Jessica2 -
Tuesday/Wednesday -I'm pretty sure I missed a day reporting
Yoga- yes, both days. I've been doing it during the boys' nap time, after I eat lunch and take care of some other things around the house. It seems to be working, and I'm enjoying stretching a bit and getting some sort of physical activity mid day.
Vitamins- yes, both days
Skin Care- yes, both days
64 oz of water: yes, both days
Track spending: yes.
I'm doing well at keeping these things in focus. I've tried to implement some things I found in the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, which I finished reading not too long ago. Habit stacking has helped with the yoga, skin care and vitamins. Setting up my environment to support my habits has helped with water.
Overall, this week is going well.2 -
Occurrences of unplanned/unnecessary spending - I bought a small gift for my husband for an early Christmas present, a journal. I was tempted by all the sales on Amazon but other than the notebook, I did not partake.
CPAP machine usage/sleep metrics - used it all night.
Water intake - bad, 15 oz probably. But...a lot of coffee!1 -
Thursday:
1. Protein for today was 122g...+13 over my goal...rarely happens...
2. Water intake today was again at 83 today!
3. Walked a little over a half mile today and am still finishing my steps.
Hope everyone had an awesome day!
Jessica1 -
- Occurrences of unplanned/unnecessary spending - nothing...yay me!
- CPAP machine usage/sleep metrics - used it all night.
- Water intake - bad, 15 oz probably.
I forgot to wish the US participants a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope it was fabulous, mine was!1 -
Woke up to my internet being out...came back on in the afternoon...
Friday:
1. Protein for today was 107g
2. Water intake was 78 oz.
3. Walked 3/4 of a mile today and did lots around the house, so should have a decent step count today. Left knee still feeling tight, but most of the aching is now gone...
Jessica1
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