There's not a lot to report right now. I'm expecting my period so I didn't bother to weigh myself. I did exercise three times this past week. My aunt and uncle were here to visit, so I ended up drinking quite a bit over the last few days.
I have another seminar at the end of this week, so I don't know how things will go. But I will just keep trying and hope for the best. Right now I don't have any other goals to make, and don't really want to try just with how busy I'll be with school. I think I will just try to be active three times this week and count that as a victory if it happens!
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Saturday, 22 January 2011
2011 Weekly Update 2: Jan 15-21
So this week didn't go as well as last week. I only exercised two of the three days I wanted to. One day I walked/jogged a little bit to work. This wasn't a super long walk/jog (about 15 minutes) and it was really cold so I only went one way and got a ride home. But it was a lot better than my other attempt to workout: I tried to do a Yoga routine, but didn't have all of the proper equipment. So I just sort of did my own thing, which amounted to me lying on the mat. To top that off, I didn't weigh myself this morning, so I have no idea how I've done. But I'm guessing not too well: I don't think I ate very well at the beginning of the week.
But I made a great discovery: my salter scale can be used to actually weigh things. I know, I feel really stupid even writing it. But I used it to weigh crackers today, then used the weight to figure out how many carbs were in my serving. I know it's not rocket science, as that's what you do with scales. But I feel like a whole new world has been opened up for me!
I also decided to sign up for an online writing class. I know I don't have a lot of time as it is with school, but this was something I really wanted to do. I feel happier working on the class, even with the catching up I have to do (I started a week late), than I have felt when working on school work. So I'm hoping that will help to improve my mood a bit (and maybe even help me get a story or two published, which would be great!)
So for the coming week, I need to make some time for exercise between school, writing class and work. I've got my work schedule, so I will schedule some workouts around the times I am busy. I'm going to go with only two goals for the coming week: lose 2lbs and workout 3 times in the week. I'll weigh myself tomorrow when I get up to see how my progress goes.
But I made a great discovery: my salter scale can be used to actually weigh things. I know, I feel really stupid even writing it. But I used it to weigh crackers today, then used the weight to figure out how many carbs were in my serving. I know it's not rocket science, as that's what you do with scales. But I feel like a whole new world has been opened up for me!
I also decided to sign up for an online writing class. I know I don't have a lot of time as it is with school, but this was something I really wanted to do. I feel happier working on the class, even with the catching up I have to do (I started a week late), than I have felt when working on school work. So I'm hoping that will help to improve my mood a bit (and maybe even help me get a story or two published, which would be great!)
So for the coming week, I need to make some time for exercise between school, writing class and work. I've got my work schedule, so I will schedule some workouts around the times I am busy. I'm going to go with only two goals for the coming week: lose 2lbs and workout 3 times in the week. I'll weigh myself tomorrow when I get up to see how my progress goes.
Friday, 14 January 2011
2011 Weekly Update 1: Jan 7-14
So here is the first of my "weekly" updates for 2011. Hopefully they'll actually be weekly updates this year.
My goals for the week were:
1)lose 2lbs
2)don't drink any booze
3)workout 3+ times this week
With the first goal, I wasn't successful. I managed to lose .4lbs. I'm not really sure if that means anything, but that's okay. I will try again next week.
The second goal was a big failure. I drank at my grandmother's birthday party, then again today. This one I will also try again with. Luckily next week there aren't any family gatherings, so hopefully I'll be more successful.
I thought I failed my third goal as well. But looking back, I was active for 3 times during the week. I played DDR on the 7th, I walked to and from my grandmother's house (an approx 40 minutes total), and I hiked in to take pictures of a waterfall on the 11th. I even managed to be active on two of the three days I specifically scheduled activity! The problem with this week was that I signed up for to present a seminar this Monday, so I've been working on that and have been feeling like I don't have any time for activity (which is clearly false, but that's how I do feel). But the seminar will be out of the way, which means I will be less stressed next week (after Monday)!
Unfortunately my rewards for the week didn't work. It's hard to reward yourself when you're working like mad on a seminar. So I'll try that again next week, too.
So for now, I'm going to try the same three goals.
My goals for the week were:
1)lose 2lbs
2)don't drink any booze
3)workout 3+ times this week
With the first goal, I wasn't successful. I managed to lose .4lbs. I'm not really sure if that means anything, but that's okay. I will try again next week.
The second goal was a big failure. I drank at my grandmother's birthday party, then again today. This one I will also try again with. Luckily next week there aren't any family gatherings, so hopefully I'll be more successful.
I thought I failed my third goal as well. But looking back, I was active for 3 times during the week. I played DDR on the 7th, I walked to and from my grandmother's house (an approx 40 minutes total), and I hiked in to take pictures of a waterfall on the 11th. I even managed to be active on two of the three days I specifically scheduled activity! The problem with this week was that I signed up for to present a seminar this Monday, so I've been working on that and have been feeling like I don't have any time for activity (which is clearly false, but that's how I do feel). But the seminar will be out of the way, which means I will be less stressed next week (after Monday)!
Unfortunately my rewards for the week didn't work. It's hard to reward yourself when you're working like mad on a seminar. So I'll try that again next week, too.
So for now, I'm going to try the same three goals.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Goals and Rewards
As I am slowly making my way through Jillian Michaels' Winning By Losing, I have found myself stuck while trying to come up with goals and rewards for myself. She recommends writing them down so you know what you're trying to do and you have something to look forward to once you complete it. Overall the goals haven't given me much trouble, but the bigger rewards have. Here`s what I`ve got so far:
| Long-Term Goals
| Long-Term Rewards ? |
| Monthly Goals
| Monthly Rewards
|
| Weekly Goals
| Weekly Rewards
|
| Daily Goals
| Daily Rewards
|
I’m really liking some of the smaller goals. I think they will be great for the next few months while school is still in (at which point I will need to reassess my goals). They will also help me out by strengthening a writing habit and helping me get through some of the anthologies I have piled up in my room. But I’m going to have to really think about what a fitting Long-Term Reward will be (and I’ll need a few more good daily ones as well!)
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
A New Year
Over the holidays I rediscovered DDR. I haven't played in a long time and jumping on the dance mat felt amazingly good. Unfortunately, along with feeling good, playing DDR forced me to take a good hard look at myself. As I expected, I was a lot slower than I used to be. But the big problem is that my lung capacity is completely gone - I tire out a lot faster than I used to. On the plus side, my muscles remember how to play all of my fave songs, so I can still play them, and even beat some of them on hard mode. But the lack of lung capacity and the easily tiring really bothered me.
Along with that, I have known that my mental health has not been good for awhile, but it seems to be getting worse, not better. I have been stressed thanks to school (nothing new there) but I also think I am withdrawing. I don't want to be around large groups of people at all (and by large I mean 3+ people which isn't good). And I have been feeling angry at all kinds of stupid things.
So
today I went out shopping by myself, which was nice. In my travels, I did two things. First, I picked up Jillian Michaels' book Winning by Losing. And second, after picking up a notebook for myself, I bought myself tea at Starbucks and wrote about the things that are bothering me (and some rather tentative fixes for some of them). While writing about things doesn't fix them, it sure made me feel better (at least for now). So my next step is to come up with some real strategies to make me feel better. And I'm thinking that being active will really help in that regard (giving me more energy and possibly helping my mood lift a bit).
But the problem is the whole "working out" thing. I don't like to do things that feel structured and like an actual work out. That's why I shy away from the gym in favour of something like DDR. I'm thinking that a good fix for me will be to get a dog, but that cannot happen until after I move out. (Hilarious side note: the dog idea evolved from me wanting a horse. A horse would be awesome but is entirely impractical unless I win the lottery. A dog, on the other hand, is completely realistic. I'm planning on getting both a cat and a dog when I move out). So I need to come up with something in the interim.
As part of the exercise thing, I think I am going to try to schedule certain times where I will definitely work out in one form or another. Those times will have to be flexible though to allow for problems with glucose levels (I can't work out if I'm low). I'm hoping that actually scheduling time will help me stay active during the coming term. I'm also planning on scheduling time for other things so that school doesn't completely take over my life again, resulting in a stressed and depressed me.
As to Jillian Michaels' Winning by Losing, I was wandering through the bookstore in the mall and found myself in the healthy living section. I'd recently bought a Self magazine featuring Michaels, and she sounded like a down-to-earth person who I wanted to hear what she had to say. I flipped through a couple of her books before deciding on this one because this one started with a section on the self; this first section is all about changing how you look at things. I know that's the hardest part about changing your life, and really feel like I could use some help with it. I'm hoping this book will be the help I need.
As a side note, I also want to get into better shape in the hopes that it will help my knee. I don't know why I thought of it today, but I'm wondering if my knee isn't really getting better because I am so out of sh
ape. I guess the only way to know for sure is to try.
Finally, I know I was abysmal with the weekly updates last year, but I will make a renewed attempt this year. Like exercise and other stuff, I am going to schedule them into my weeks so maybe I will actually stick with them this year!
Wish me luck with everything!
Along with that, I have known that my mental health has not been good for awhile, but it seems to be getting worse, not better. I have been stressed thanks to school (nothing new there) but I also think I am withdrawing. I don't want to be around large groups of people at all (and by large I mean 3+ people which isn't good). And I have been feeling angry at all kinds of stupid things.
So
today I went out shopping by myself, which was nice. In my travels, I did two things. First, I picked up Jillian Michaels' book Winning by Losing. And second, after picking up a notebook for myself, I bought myself tea at Starbucks and wrote about the things that are bothering me (and some rather tentative fixes for some of them). While writing about things doesn't fix them, it sure made me feel better (at least for now). So my next step is to come up with some real strategies to make me feel better. And I'm thinking that being active will really help in that regard (giving me more energy and possibly helping my mood lift a bit).But the problem is the whole "working out" thing. I don't like to do things that feel structured and like an actual work out. That's why I shy away from the gym in favour of something like DDR. I'm thinking that a good fix for me will be to get a dog, but that cannot happen until after I move out. (Hilarious side note: the dog idea evolved from me wanting a horse. A horse would be awesome but is entirely impractical unless I win the lottery. A dog, on the other hand, is completely realistic. I'm planning on getting both a cat and a dog when I move out). So I need to come up with something in the interim.
As part of the exercise thing, I think I am going to try to schedule certain times where I will definitely work out in one form or another. Those times will have to be flexible though to allow for problems with glucose levels (I can't work out if I'm low). I'm hoping that actually scheduling time will help me stay active during the coming term. I'm also planning on scheduling time for other things so that school doesn't completely take over my life again, resulting in a stressed and depressed me.
As to Jillian Michaels' Winning by Losing, I was wandering through the bookstore in the mall and found myself in the healthy living section. I'd recently bought a Self magazine featuring Michaels, and she sounded like a down-to-earth person who I wanted to hear what she had to say. I flipped through a couple of her books before deciding on this one because this one started with a section on the self; this first section is all about changing how you look at things. I know that's the hardest part about changing your life, and really feel like I could use some help with it. I'm hoping this book will be the help I need.
As a side note, I also want to get into better shape in the hopes that it will help my knee. I don't know why I thought of it today, but I'm wondering if my knee isn't really getting better because I am so out of sh
ape. I guess the only way to know for sure is to try.
Finally, I know I was abysmal with the weekly updates last year, but I will make a renewed attempt this year. Like exercise and other stuff, I am going to schedule them into my weeks so maybe I will actually stick with them this year!
Wish me luck with everything!
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