2023 Year in Review

Well, here we are.  The end of 2023.  This was a very difficult year.  Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of good things that happened too.  But there was a lot of death in my family and it was overall very, very hard.

I also struggled a lot with my health.  At the beginning of the year, I set three goals:

1. Lose (and keep off) 15lbs by the end of the year (be under 197lbs).
2. Do a workout to help my back twice a week and do some stretches for my back every day.
3. Sleep 7 hours or more per night.

To track everything, I put together a fancy checklist in an attempt to make it as easy for myself as possible.

By March, I knew that everything was falling apart on me.  I was failing to use the checklist, and was not eating very well.  I don't think I was consistently exercising either. So by the end of April, I thought I would attempt monthly goals instead.  Once again, every one that I set I failed.  And that was even before September, when everything fell apart after I lost someone close to me.  From that point on, I haven't set any other goals for the year; I just needed to get through the super rough beginning of things as I learn to live with my grief.

While I didn't set any more goals for myself for the year, I have been thinking a lot, on and off, about goals and goal setting.  I even started reading Measure What Matters by John Doerr to learn more about goal setting.  While I admittedly haven't finished the book (and so far the book has been dealing with business goal setting, rather than personal), I like his Objective and Key Results (OKR) philosophy and want to give it a try.  The only other goal setting philosophy I'd come across was setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound), which is what I have attempted to use when setting goals here on this blog over the last several years.  While I think I have set better goals as time has gone on, I have consistently failed to meet them year after year.  

I think this is a multi-part problem:

1. The first issue, which I identified back in March, was that many of my goals have had two large of a time frame.  A lot can happen over the course of a year that can derail a goal set in January.  
2. Another issue is the way I am measuring the goals I am setting.  I keep trying to build healthy habits, so I am constantly trying to measure the amount of times I am doing something over the course of the year.  So whenever life derails me in any way, I completely fail the goal (especially when it is doing something multiple times a month - the only goals I consistently succeeded on were the ones where I had to make new recipes through the year, say on a once a month basis)
3. My tracking method has failed me.  I did alright writing things down in a planner for awhile, but then I hit a point where I just stopped doing that (I don't even know why).  In an attempt to make things easier, I made a checklist with all my goals, but I failed to use that too.  I'm experimenting with tracking stuff on apps, but so far nothing has seemed to be what I'm really looking for.  So I'm kind of back to tracking stuff on a planner, but that's not really ideal.  
4. I may also be going too big.  For example, telling myself I'm going to do two workouts a week plus stretches daily in January when I'm not even consistently working out ONCE a week is a bit idealistic.

So I'm thinking I need to try something new.  Make my time frame smaller.  Work on a smaller, more easily measurable goal (and something that I can track a bit easier), and build on successes.  This is what I was hoping to do when I started setting monthly goals partway through the year, but I just wasn't quite able to get there.  Hopefully with the help of reading Measure What Matters, I'll be able to set some more achievable goals for 2024!

Weight Update for Dec 18

 Here are the numbers from my last weigh-in pre-holidays!

weight: 220.6 lbs
fat percentage: 50.3%
hydration: 34.1%
muscle: 24.3%
bone: 10.7%
cal: 2357

Most likely this will be my last weight update for 2023!  Happy New Year! :D

Weight Update for Dec 4

Check out today's numbers!

weight: 219.2 lbs
fat percentage: 49.9%
hydration: 34.4%
muscle: 24.5%
bone: 10.7%
cal: 2349

I haven't seen a weight this low since laat spring! Same with a fat percentage under 50%! (The muscle percentage being back over 24% is great too, but it looks like I did see that a couple of months ago, so it's not quite as exciting as the other two numbers). Hopefulky I can keep this up and keep them all moving in the right direction. :)

Weight Updates for the End of November

 Things have been settling in at the new house, so I am back with some weight updates!

Nov 20:

weight: 223.4 lbs
fat percentage: 51.5%
hydration: 33.3%
muscle: 23.8%
bone: 10.6%
cal: 2373

and Nov 27:

weight: 222.2 lbs
fat percentage: 50.7%
hydration: 33.8%
muscle: 24.1%
bone: 10.6%
cal: 2366

This has been fantastic to see: weight and fat percentage are trending down a bit, and muscle percentage is trending up a bit! Hopefully I'll continue to see these values continuing in these directions! 

It's definitely helped that now that life is settling in the new house a bit, I feel like, overall I'm eating better. There's still been some eating out (mainly pizza - I actually had a new melt thing from Pizza Hut a few weeks ago that made me sick, it was so rich!!!), but overall I've been making healthier choices, especially around snack times.

I also started actually using that fitness app I signed myself up for. That's been really interesting: when I started a few weeks ago, I could NOT hold a downward facing dog for like any length of time, it hurt my arms and shoulders too much. But now, after doing just a few short workouts a few times a week, I've actually already noticed a difference and can hold the pose longer! So that's very encouraging progress already. :)

Health and Weight Updates

Alright, so here we are, the beginning of November. First, here are some weight updates from the last month or so:

Oct 2:

weight: 224.0 lbs
fat percentage: 54.1%
hydration: 31.5%
muscle: 22.6%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2401

Oct 19:

weight: 224.6 lbs
fat percentage: 51.5%
hydration: 33.3%
muscle: 23.8%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2405

Oct 31:

weight: 225.6 lbs
fat percentage: 54.7%
hydration: 31.1%
muscle: 22.3%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2411

Nov 3:

weight: 224.6 lbs
fat percentage: 52.5%
hydration: 32.6%
muscle: 23.3%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2405

While things aren't great (I need to bring my fat percentage down and my muscle percentage up), at least they appear to be holding pretty steady. I do need to start adding more activity back into my life (I actually forgot I subscribed to a workout app a little while ago what with everything that's been happening, so hopefully I'll make time for that after dealing with the house!)

In terms of the other things that have been happening, my vertigo appears to have cleared up. So that's fantastic news! I am still carrying some medication with me, just in case, but overall my head has been feeling fine. 

In terms of grief, I had a bit of time where I felt like I was doing better, but then this week has been really rough between Halloween and just other reminders (mainly dealing with the house). So I've bought a few books on grief which will hopefully help me during this time. I know it's a process, so right now I am taking things one day at a time.

Vertigo Returns :(

So as the title says, my vertigo has returned. :(  It started yesterday morning when I got a bit dizzy.  I took some of the medication my doctor prescribed for vertigo, and things seemed to clear up and I was fine for the rest of the day. But then this morning, it struck again, and much worse than yesterday. :(

I've taken some medication again, and did the Epley maneuver (that made me throw up afterwards, but I did start feeling better after I did it), so I am feeling a bit better now. I was planning on doing the maneuver again tonight before bed, but someone pointed out to me that maybe when I threw up this afternoon, I also threw up the medication. Since I took more medication a little bit ago, I'm going to hold off on the maneuver tonight and maybe do it again in the morning before taking any more medication, depending on how I'm feeling.

But since vertigo has happened a few times now, I'm kind of thinking that I may be prone to it popping up from time to time. So I wanted to document some of the things that have been going on so I can maybe identify some triggers in the future to help me avoid another flare up.

1. Lack of sleep. Over the last several days, there have been roofing guys working on the house. I haven't gotten as much sleep as I need. While I can normally handle a day or two without enough sleep, maybe several days is a trigger?
2. Sleeping exclusively on my bad ear. I'm a side sleeper. Normally I shift from side to side, but a few weekends ago I hurt my shoulder (I slipped in some mud and fell hard on my side). It's been painful to sleep on that side, so I've had to sleep on the other one.  That side just happens to be the ear that is prone to vertigo issues. Maybe that's a trigger?
3. Dehydration. I was a bit dehydrated (I hadn't had enough water the night before) on the morning when I first got dizzy. I don't think that was the trigger on its own, but maybe combined with some of the other things it was?

These are the major things I can think of. Though on top of these things, I'm also grieving, which definitely isn't helping things.

So hopefully this bout will be over soon. I'm going to try to get some proper sleep and hope that I wake up feeling better!

Grief

Wow, this year has been a real roller coaster. I recently lost someone very close to me, and am (understandably) struggling. I contacted my diabetes care team to ask if there is anything diabetes-related to expect.  They replied that when grief happens, blood sugar levels usually rise above their normal levels (which I had already been experiencing).  Within a few weeks, my blood sugars should start to improve.

I don't really know what else to say at the moment.  I am having a really hard time focusing, planning, and honestly just deciding what to do beyond things that are kind of on autopilot right now. Or things that need to get done.  Even the things I usually like to do I don't feel like doing.

So at this point, I'm going to put a pause on any goal-setting.  Right now I need the time to just be, and process, and get used to this new normal. 

Weight Updates for the Rest of September

Here are my weight updates for September:

Sept 18:

weight: 220.8 lbs
fat percentage: 496%
hydration: 34.6%
muscle: 24.8%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2383

Sept 22:

weight: 220.8 lbs
fat percentage: 51.2%
hydration: 33.5%
muscle: 24.0%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2383

Sept 25:

weight: 225.4 lbs
fat percentage: 52.2%
hydration: 32.8%
muscle: 23.5%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2410

Weight Update for Sept 5

Well, happy fall everyone!  I know it's not technically fall yet, but the first week after Labour Day when the kids go back to school always feels like the start of fall to me.  I had a really good Labour Day weekend, but partied a little too much, as you can see by these numbers:

weight: 227.0 lbs
fat percentage: 52.7%
hydration: 32.5%
muscle: 23.3%
bone: 10.7%
cal: 2419

So now that summer is pretty much over, plus since life has become rather stressful recently (buying a house!), it's very important that I take care of myself.  So for the rest of this month, in an effort to rebuild some healthy habits that will help get me through this time and set me up for success once I move, I'm going to start the day with a short workout.  Every day for the rest of September.  A 10 minute workout is fine, but if I have time I will do longer.  

Weight Updates for Aug 9, 14, 22, and 27

 I'm a bit behind on posting weight updates, so here's the last month's worth:

Aug 9:

weight: 224.0 lbs
fat percentage: 54.1%
hydration: 31.5%
muscle: 22.6%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2401

Aug 14:

weight: 221.6 lbs
fat percentage: 51.2%
hydration: 33.5%
muscle: 24.0%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2387

Aug 22:

weight: 226.2 lbs
fat percentage: 54.9%
hydration: 31.0%
muscle: 22.2%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2413

and Aug 27:

weight: 224.2 lbs
fat percentage: 51.5%
hydration: 33.3%
muscle: 23.8%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2402

My weight has unfortunately been hovering around the same place (with the exception of Aug 4, which was down a bit - that one was surprising because that was right before my period).  My fat and muscle percentages have likewise been bouncing back and forth, both alternately up then down a bit. Hopefully I can keep them trending the way they currently are (weight and fat percentage down and muscle up)!

Weight + Some Other Updates for July 31

Along with checking my weight today, I also had a doctor's appointment, so I want to talk a bit about that as well. I also talked with my diabetes care team (nurse and dietitian) last week. But first, weight:

weight: 224.8 lbs
fat percentage: 53.3%
hydration: 32.1%
muscle: 23.0%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2406

So not great.  Weight crept back up, along with the fat percentage.  The muscle percentage is about the same, so that's good.

First, doctor's appointment.  We talked about my cholesterol a bit, which is still too high, but came down from my last bloodwork in the spring.  I asked him what number it needs to be at, and he told me that the LDL needs to be under 2 (which, as I already know, is incredibly stringent).  I am getting up towards the age that this will be a problem, but I'm not quite there yet.  So I basically have 2 years to get the LDL under 2.

While this is going to be hard, I now have a deadline.  I need to try to get my LDL cholesterol down in the next two years.  I know it will not be easy (and there is a good chance I will not make it there, as talking to other people over the last few years about it has informed me that it is very, very hard to get your cholesterol down to the level they want people with diabetes to have).  But at least if I try my best, I will know that I tried and didn't give up.  So we will see how things go!

Thinking of cholesterol, I asked my dietitian last week how to get your HDL to raise.  As I've been monitoring my lipid levels over the last few years, I noticed that whenever my overall cholesterol level raises, the HDL tends to bump up, too.  But when the overall cholesterol level lowers, there is a bump down in HDL.  My dietitian told me that exercise is the big way to get the HDL to raise.  So I will need to work on increasing my exercise level!

Diet is helpful too, but it looks like diet is more helpful in lowering LDL.

The other thing my doctor wanted was for me to make some adjustments to my basal levels.  I'm going to try making some of the changes gradually, rather than going as quickly and drastically as he wanted.  I don't think I talked about it before, but back in 2019 I had some huge problems when a doctor asked me to make some adjustments that were not backed by what my pump downloads were saying.  I spent a lot of time low over the following few weeks and wasn't able to do much activity because of fear.  So now I try to be super careful with changes and make sure they are done gradually and safely, rather than quickly, so I don't have to live in fear like that again. It was terrible!

So that is where things are at right now.  I will give the basal changes a few days, then check back!

Weight Update for July 24

My period hit last weekend, so I didn't bother weighing myself.  But I noticed that, despite my period, I'm starting to feel better, both mentally and physically. So here are today's numbers:

weight: 222.2 lbs
fat percentage: 52.7%
hydration: 32.5%
muscle: 23.3%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2391

Though I still feel tired on most days, I feel more like myself again. I've been eating much more healthily, and I've had time to read and relax, which has been great. I'm going to get my bloodwork done tomorrow, so we'll see what that has to say.  But whatever the results, at least I've been leading a healthier life these last few weeks, so that will hopefully help!

In terms of Reset, things haven't been great.  I did a couple of days in a row (and I admit, the yoga on the first day felt really good), then stopped.  I think the problems were twofold: first, that was back when I was really feeling overwhelmed with life, and second, Reset isn't just yoga, it's other things too. So I found it was often hard to want to do the daily activity.  But I didn't abandon it; I did a bit more this weekend, and am planning on doing more today when I get home. I won't be finishing the program this month, but that's okay - I wanted to use it as a way to help me feel better and start adding more exercise back into my life, which it is definitely helping with. :)

Weight Update for July 10

This week is going a bit better than last week was.  I've been trying to eat healthier, which means I've been trying to not go out to eat, and eat healthier snacks where possible.  I also did start Reset like I planned, though I haven't been able to do the program consistently every day.  So while I still have a lot to work on to get myself feeling better, I feel like I have taken a first step on that path, and that is encouraging.

So here are today's numbers:

weight: 224.0 lbs
fat percentage: 53.2%
hydration: 32.1%
muscle: 23.0%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2401

These are much better than last week.  My weight and fat percentage are both down a little bit, and my muscle percentage is up a little bit too.  

This last week, I also weighed myself most days, just to see what was happening.  That was a really interesting thing to see, as my weight fluctuated on a daily basis.  But I don't want to be hung up on that number, so I am going to try to go back to weighing myself on a weekly basis (I also get those other numbers on a weekly basis, too - I didn't want to do the full set of numbers on a daily basis).

Weight Update for July 3

 Ugh, things are not going well!

weight: 227.4 lbs
fat percentage: 55.4%
hydration: 30.6%
muscle: 21.9%
bone: 10.7%
cal: 2421

I am really struggling with everything right now. It's been very hard to eat healthy lately (I m terrified of what my cholesterol will be at my next blood work, which I have to do this month). I feel tired all the time, and just generally very blah and overwhelmed. 

So I think the best thing I can do for myself this month is go through Karin Dimitrova's Reset program. I've done the program before and it was a very calming and wonderful program. I think it will be a gentle way to get myself back into taking better care of my body. It will also be a great way to reintroduce some yoga into my life. I am hopeful that yoga and movement will help me start to feel better in general; this will not help me tackle my eating problems, but I think a gentle approach is the best right now.  I will not be doing myself any favours beating myself up or trying to take on too much while I am feeling so overwhelmed with life at the moment.

Weight Update for June 26

Earlier this month, I was away on a two week road trip.  I had a lot of fun, but unfortunately I was eating terribly (plus it was a road trip, so there was a lot of time spent driving).  When I got back, I had gained about 10 lbs, which I was not at all happy about.  But it was the tail end of my period, and I needed some time to get my life back to normal (I was also exhausted after the trip - this weekend was a huge help - I didn't do much, and tried to just veg out and read as much as possible).  So now, a week later, I wanted to see what is going on with my health:

weight: 223.8 lbs
fat percentage: 53.2%
hydration: 32.1%
muscle: 23.0%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2399

While everything is still too high (specifically my weight and fat percentage - the muscle percentage is too low), this is now almost back in line with what I saw before leaving on the trip. 

Weight + Goal Update for May 25

So there was a long weekend last weekend.  And everything fell apart for me. :(

First, my weight update:

weight: 222.8 lbs
fat percentage: 51.6%
hydration: 33.2%
muscle: 23.8%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2394

Everything is bad. I ate a lot of unhealthy (mostly fried) food and snacks over the long weekend. I've continued to eat some unhealthy stuff because I haven't had a chance to grocery shop all week (or even actually plan out suppers). And I stopped doing my daily stretches (so that means I have now failed my goal for the month).  Oh yeah, and I was sick last week and my period started (I didn't want to be stretching on the heaviest day of my period - I felt gross doing so).

Now that this has happened, I'm going to have to rethink my goals again. I still really like the idea of doing a monthly goal rather than a yearly one. But I don't think doing anything daily is going to work for me. Based on my progress over this last month, I was pretty good at sticking with my goal for 5 or 6 out of the 7 days of most weeks, until something like the long weekend happened.  So saying something like "stretching for 20 of the next 28 days" feels more doable than trying to do something for 25 days of the month. (I used 28 days just for easier math - most months are not an even 4 weeks, but 4 weeks and a few days).

I'm getting ready to go on a big trip in June, and after thinking about it a lot, and what kinds of goals might work, I've decided not to set any goal for June.  I'm getting really stressed out at the moment trying to do it all, so I'm going to take the next month off and not worry about anything. I'm going to enjoy my time, and hopefully I'll come back refreshed and ready to tackle things again. :)

Weight + Goal Update for May 15th

This has been a bit of a rough weekend.  On Friday I had to get up early for a work thing, and I've had trouble sleeping this weekend since then. There's also been a few gatherings and celebrations (like Mother's Day).  

So with all of that going on, I'm not surprised to see these numbers:

weight: 222.4 lbs
fat percentage: 50.8%
hydration: 33.8%
muscle: 24.2%
bone: 10.8%
cal: 2392

Unfortunately my fat percentage has gone back up over 1% since last week.  My muscle is also down a bit, but did not see as big of a change.

In terms of my goal to do 5 minutes of stretching or yoga every day, I was successful on 5 of the 7 days.  But I actually did a bit more stretching than last week in terms of minutes spent stretching. This was thanks to looking for some stretching videos on YouTube last week. Yesterday I actually did two ten minute stretching videos trying to stretch out my legs (they were sore from a combination of yard work, walking, and bowling over the weekend).  One stretch in particular surprised me by how sore everything was, so it was good to spend a little more time stretching things out!

So hopefully I can keep up my momentum in terms of stretching this week. I'm also hopeful that I can get myself caught up in terms of sleep and get back to eating much healthier!

Weight + Goal Update for May 8

Alright, here we are: the first week of May is behind us! First of all, here are my numbers:

weight: 220.0 lbs
fat percentage: 49.5%
hydration: 34.7%
muscle: 24.8%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2378

I'm very glad to see that my fat percentage came down 2.5% from last time, and my muscle percentage went up a little over 1%, bringing them both back in to a more regular range for me (at least lately). I'm also glad to see that my weight has slightly improved from last week as I made some questionable choices this weekend (all you can eat sushi on Friday was not a good plan - I felt quite sick that evening, and wasn't really hungry the next day). 

In terms of stretching or yoga, I've successfully done at least a 5 minute stretch on six of the seven days last week! The only night I missed, I got home late and just wanted to go to sleep. But that was okay for that day (it was a good but very busy day).

I will admit, that most of these sessions were just 5 or 6 minutes long (though I did do one longer 25 minute session, too). A couple of times, I followed some videos on YouTube; other times I just set a timer and did my own thing. I actually didn't have a preference over one or the other, so that was good to discover. I also found that five minutes is a perfect time frame because it's so easy to do (and such a short amount of time that I'm very easily able to talk myself into doing it!) Hopefully this will continue into next week! :)

May 2023's Goal: 5 Minutes of Yoga or Stretching Every Day

Alright, here we are: the very first of my monthly health goals.  This month I decided to do 5 minutes of yoga or another form of stretching every day.

I had a fairly difficult time narrowing things down to one goal.  As I mentioned a few days ago, I am stressed, I'm tired, my fat percentage has gone up, my muscle percentage has gone down, and my weight is the highest it has been since 2020.  I also hurt my knee and wrist a few months ago, have that old back injury, have to watch my cholesterol, and have had some vertigo, which has all made me very hesitant to do much so I don't aggravate those injuries.  So with all of that going on, it was a little difficult to decide on what to focus on.  I have a bad habit of trying to do too much, which ends up making me feel overwhelmed.  

So with all of that going on, I thought that yoga and stretching are going to be my best bet to start.  Yoga will hopefully help me bring my stress level down, and the stretching will help me get back into being active without stressing the areas of my body that have been hurt.

I've also read some books on forming habits, which generally say that getting yourself to do something new is very difficult; in order to get yourself to start, you need to set the bar so incredibly low so it's hard to talk yourself out of it.  I was originally thinking of setting the goal for 10 minutes of yoga, but decided to go even lower than that because everyone can find five minutes in their day for stretching, right?  I can even do a minute here and there throughout the day so that they add up to 5 minutes if I need to.

As always, successfully completing this goal will mean that I achieve it 80% of the time.  So in the month of May, I will need to do 5 minutes of yoga or stretching on 25 of the 31 days of the month.

Weight Update for Apr 29

I've heard you're not supposed to be weighing yourself every day, but I have been over the last few days just to get a better sense of what's happening.  I didn't write the exact number down, but yesterday I was over 221lbs, which is not good (according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's BMI calculator, 221 puts my BMI up to 31.7).  So here are today's proper numbers:

weight: 220.4 lbs
fat percentage: 52.0%
hydration: 33.0%
muscle: 23.6%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2380

And a weight of 220.4lbs puts my BMI to 31.6.

I'm glad to see that compared to April 27th, the fat percentage is very slightly down and the muscle percentage is very slightly up.  But these numbers are all unacceptable.   

While I'm not happy about this, I do now have a starting point for getting my health back on track. I'm not going to weigh myself now until next weekend.

Seven Weight Updates

 I meant to come back and post on here sooner, but the month got away from me due to some health issues that a member of my family had.  They are thankfully doing a lot better now.  So I'm trying to get caught up with things, and I'm starting with my weight updates for the last while!

Mar 11

weight: 218.4 lbs
fat percentage: 48.6%
hydration: 35.3%
muscle: 25.3%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2369

Mar 13

weight: 215.8 lbs
fat percentage: 48.1%
hydration: 35.6%
muscle: 25.5%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2354

Mar 27

weight: 215.8 lbs
fat percentage: 48.5%
hydration: 35.4%
muscle: 25.3%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2354

Apr 3

weight: 219.6 lbs
fat percentage: 49.9%
hydration: 34.4%
muscle: 24.6%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2375

Apr 4

weight: 217.4 lbs
fat percentage: 51.5%
hydration: 33.3%
muscle: 23.8%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2363

Apr 11

weight: 217.4 lbs
fat percentage: 51.5%
hydration: 33.3%
muscle: 23.8%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2363

and Apr 27

weight: 219.8 lbs
fat percentage: 52.5%
hydration: 32.6%
muscle: 23.3%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2377

These numbers are unacceptable.  My fat percentage has been going up and my muscle percentage has been going down. My weight is also the highest its been since 2020.  On top of that, I am tired and stressed all the time now (which is admittedly in part because it has been a terrible year so far).  I need to turn this all around for my physical and mental health.

Last time I posted, I mentioned the idea of a seasonal or monthly goal. I've thought about it a lot, and I really like the idea of trying a monthly goal so I can focus on an aspect of my health, and hopefully build off of my successes and failures in order to slowly but steadily create a healthier life. I will continue to count a success rate of 80% or better as succeeding at each month's goals for now.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, this has been both a terrible year, and a particularly terrible month, so I will take a day or two to decide what I want to focus on improving for May.

2023 Goals Update

Now that we're into March, I thought it would be a good time to revisit my goals for the year.  I've gotten off to a really rotten start to the year, thanks to some injuries and some bad dietary choices (as I mentioned last time, I've been eating out a whole lot more than normal and have made some bad choices while doing so). I've also almost completely failed to use the checklist I made to track stuff (I was using it for the first week, then forgot to for awhile, and then forgot where I put it).  So I'm going to need to decide on a better way to track things (and now am not able to judge a success for my sleeping and stretching goals based on tracking them for the year).

I'm going to have to think about this for a bit though.  Looking back at my goals for the last several years, I haven't had a lot of luck with them.  I think I'll need to figure out both a better method for tracking them, and perhaps come up with a better method for setting goals in general.  My general thought at the moment is to maybe set smaller goals for shorter periods of time?  I know that in the past I often forgot about the goals I had set as life changed and things got busier (one of my biggest complaints all the time is that I don't have enough time to do everything). Perhaps setting a seasonal or monthly goal would be more manageable (and I could build off of a success or failure for the following season or month)? Like I said, I'm going to think about this for a bit before I commit to anything new. 

Weight Updates for February and Mar 5

I've got some weight updates for the last month:

Feb 6

weight: 213.8 lbs
fat percentage: 48.6%
hydration: 35.3%
muscle: 25.2%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2342

Feb 13

weight: 214.2 lbs
fat percentage: 47.4%
hydration: 36.1%
muscle: 25.8%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2345

Feb 26

weight: 214.8 lbs
fat percentage: 47.4%
hydration: 36.1%
muscle: 25.8%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2349

and Mar 5

weight: 218.4 lbs
fat percentage: 49.8%
hydration: 34.5%
muscle: 24.7%
bone: 10.9%
cal: 2369

I knew today's weight would be high - I'm actually pleased it's a little lower than I feared! 

These last few weeks have been tough in terms of healthy living.  I had a relative visiting, so that equated to eating out a lot more than normal (and I definitely made some unhealthy choices, too, which I regret - this weekend in particular my stomach has felt really crappy because I didn't have enough fruit and vegetables - I'm actually fasting right now to help my stomach feel a bit better).  I also was a bit of a wreck physically, having hurt my knee while skiing (it was just bruised - it's healing nicely, but it hurts if I put weight on it, so kneeling is completely out right now), and my wrist at work (I am working on strengthening it using an NSD Spinner, which a friend gave me a long time ago and I should have been using long before now).  But on the plus side, I have done a few snowshoes and skis over the last few weeks, which is great.  (I also had a super delicious salad the other day with sweet potato, tofu, and hummus; I'll definitely need to make that again!)  Now that things are healing up (and that relative is heading home), I will definitely be working on getting my health back on track!

January Update

January has continued to be a rough month for a variety of reasons.  After recovering from Covid, I had a vertigo flare up, which has made working out rather difficult because I don't want to trigger it.  So here's the scoop of what's been happening this month:

Weight Updates

I'm going to start with the weight updates.  Here are my numbers from January, plus a bonus one from today:

January 9

weight: 211.6 lbs
fat percentage: 47.1%
hydration: 36.3%
muscle: 26.0%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2330

Jan 15

weight: 211.6 lbs
fat percentage: 46.6%
hydration: 36.7%
muscle: 26.2%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2330

Jan 29

weight: 214.8 lbs
fat percentage: 48.0%
hydration: 35.7%
muscle: 25.5%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2349

Feb 1

weight: 211.8 lbs
fat percentage: 49.5%
hydration: 34.7%
muscle: 24.8%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2331

As you can see, things started out fairly stable, but at the end of the month everything kind of took a turn for the worse - my weight and fat percentage increases, and my muscle decreased.  Today my weight is going back down, but the fat percentage isn't.

Vertigo

As I mentioned, I had a vertigo flare up earlier this month.  I read online that vertigo can flare up in the aftermath of illnesses like the flu and Covid, so I'm guessing that was the trigger.  Thankfully, though it did flare up, it wasn't as bad as the initial time I dealt with it over the summer.  

Even though it's been a few weeks, I'm still dealing with little bouts of dizziness here and there, so I've been really cautious.  I need to focus more on sleeping so my head will properly heal.

Goals for the Year

Unfortunately, after the vertigo flare up, I completely stopped both my daily stretching and my tracking sheet for sleep.  January is a complete write-off now; I'm going to try to get back on track for February.

Cholesterol

One last thing: cholesterol.  My most recent bloodwork showed that my LDL cholesterol has gone up again, which was definitely not helped by my lack of activity after getting sick so much over the last few months.  The bloodwork was another wake-up call to get back on track with everything.  I've brought the LDL down before, so I know I can do it again!

To that effect, I'm actively trying to eat more of the good foods that bring cholesterol down, like tofu, almonds, and apples.  A friend at work gave me a list of other foods I should focus on.  And someone in my family recommended eating more chia seeds, so I've been adding them and flax seeds to my morning green smoothie.  Now all I need to do is add more activity to my week and I'm hopeful the LDL will reduce in no time!

2023 Goals

2022 was a challenging year for my health.  Between the back trouble and vertigo, I wasn't as active as I would have liked.  I found myself less interested in tracking things, especially as I got to the end of the year.  I started seeing someone, which is awesome, but that means I've got less time for myself (and I haven't been eating as well either).  And I also have an odd schedule at work at times (I have to work every third Saturday, so that can make it a bit tough to plan something on a weekly basis).  So while thinking about goals for 2023, I knew I needed to keep all of that in mind.

I also knew I wanted to continue to build on what I started in 2022, particularly in terms of bringing my weight (and BMI) down to a healthier level.  

So here are my goals for the new year:

1. Lose (and keep off) 15lbs by the end of the year (be under 197lbs). I thought about trying for 20lbs again, but since I only succeeded in losing 5lbs by the end of 2022, I decided to go for the same goal weight as last year.  I have many of the same obstacles as last year, but with the added one of eating out a lot more than normal now that I'm seeing someone.  I'm going to need to put a plan in place (with his input) on how to navigate this over the coming year.  I'm hoping this will help with my cholesterol, too.

2. Do a workout to help my back twice a week, and do some stretches for my back every day.  Rather than focussing on/tracking my active minutes this year, I want to focus on strengthening my back.  Ideally I'd like to be pain free in the spot where I pulled the muscle by the end of the year.  To make this easy to track, I made myself a checklist using Excel, so all I need to do is check off when I do the workouts.

I will continue to walk to work as much as I can as well. :)

3. Sleep 7 hours or more per night. One of the pillars of health that I often neglect is sleep.  I've really noticed this in particular over the last few months; in the lead up to my getting both my cold and covid, I wasn't sleeping very well.  I know that I'm going to have trouble with this goal, particularly in terms of getting used to sleeping with someone else (I've had trouble already, though I am slowly sleeping a little more with someone else there).  So we'll see how this one goes.

I'll be tracking this on my Excel spreadsheet as well. :)

So that's the plan for 2023.  I'm hoping that my spreadsheet will make tracking things a lot easier. And hopefully I'll be able to continue the momentum I started in 2022 to live a much healthier life!

All About my Back

I realized while writing my 2022 Year in Review post that I hadn't written very much about what happened to my back, other than the little blurb in my 2022 Goals post. So I thought I would remedy that, since that back injury has had a big impact on my activity levels over the last year.

The original injury happened in December 2021.  We got a lot of snow all at once, and shoveling was really, really heavy, especially for the first real snowfall of the year.  The winter of 2022 was especially brutal - pretty much every time it snowed, we had a storm and got a lot.  Plus the snow continued all through April, which is very unusual.

At my mom's suggestion (and by her encouragement), I started seeing a chiropractor (I believe this started in February).  The chiropractor did wonders, and my back slowly started to heal.  I was doing better, and was able to shovel without my back hurting more, as long as I was careful.  Things were looking up!

Then in early April, I reinjured my back again, this time at work! :(  My job, over the years, has slowly become more physical, and I've had a few other injuries from work before this (primarily knee trouble from having to bend down a lot).  As it happened at work, I had to submit paperwork to the WSIB; they were able to cover chiropractor appointments for a little after that to help me get better.

Since that happened, I've had to be (understandably) much more careful with my back.  Overall it's doing better, but the spot does flare up from time to time, depending on what I'm doing.  So I still need to see the chiropractor every few weeks.  

To help though, I found a yoga for your back video on YouTube that I really like.  My mom, who also has back trouble, gave me a list of exercises she does every night, so I've been trying to do them too (this is really helpful for the days I can't fit in a whole video).  And more recently I found a 21 Day Happy Back Challenge that I'm going to do to help as well (I did a few days of it at the beginning of December 2022, but got derailed when I got sick so I am going to restart it). Walking has also been really good - it's low impact on my back, and my chiropractor recommended it as well (particularly on the days when I see her - she said it's good to go for a little walk after having an adjustment done).

2022 Year in Review

Once again, Happy New Year!  I hope you and your family have a happy and healthy 2023!

Now that 2022 is over, it's time to look back at the goals I set for myself and see how I did. 

My 2022 goals were:

1. Lose (and keep off) 20lbs by the end of the year (be under 197lbs).
2. Work out for 150 minutes a week - including non-walking activities (yoga/stretching/workout videos are preferred, but this is open to other activities like shovelling, swimming, or skiing) two times per week.
3. Spend 1 hour every week on something I've been putting off.
4. Make 13 new recipes this year

As per usual, I was successful if I did this for 80% of the year (so about 42 weeks, or 10 months, depending on the goal).

Goal #1, was, as I already mentioned, a failure.  My starting weight was 217.8, and my first weight of 2023 was 212.0 (though I did see a low of 206.6 in October).  But even though I didn't make it to my goal weight, I did manage to lose over 5lbs since January 2022, and that's something I am proud of!  I just checked my BMI, and it's down to 30.4 according to the National Heart, Lungs, and Blood Institute's calculator, down from 31.2 in January 2022!)

This also better positions me to keep up the momentum for 2023. :)

Goal #2 was also a failure.  I started the year off relatively strongly, but then got less active as the year went on (this was not helped by things like my back getting hurt from shoveling (which I mentioned in this post, but it looks like I never wrote more about it on here - whoops!), and my bout with vertigo over the summer).  By September, I'd only logged 13 weeks out of 35 where I did the full 150 minutes of being active.  Then I sort of stopped keeping track (of everything, not just workouts), but I know I wasn't super active every week in the fall, outside of doing some nice hikes and longer walks.

Goal #3 was a failure, but it was a deliberate failure (and it looks like I forgot to write about it here too - whoops!).  Like the exercise goal, I started off the year really strongly, managing to spend some time working on things I'd put off on 13 of the 17 weeks up until May.  But the more I was focussing on doing stuff I'd been putting off, the less I found myself able to do anything for myself for fun.  For example, if I started reading a book for fun, I started feeling anxious that I could be using that time to do something more productive I'd been putting off.  So for my own mental health, I decided to stop working on this goal.  

Goal #4 was one I completely forgot about until I started working on this post.  But it ended up a success anyway! I'd made 20 new recipes by September (and they were a mix of Chef's Plate recipes and things I found in my cookbooks).  And I made a few more recipes from Chef's Plate since then that I didn't write down in my book (I think about 6).  So this one ended up a great success! :D

So that was 2022.  I'm going to take some time to work on my goals for 2023 and post them in the next few days. :)

First Weight Update of 2023

 Happy New Year!  I'm going to write a second post looking back at 2022 and ahead to 2023, but first I wanted to share my weight from earlier today:

weight: 212.0 lbs
fat percentage: 45.9%
hydration: 37.1%
muscle: 26.5%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2332

I'm a little sad because I was doing better earlier in the year (the lowest weight I saw was 206.6lbs in October, which is awesome!), but this weight is also at the end of the holidays, when I've been eating worse than I normally would (I literally had a heavy dinner of Chinese food last night - not exactly the best choice).  It's also over 5lbs less from my first weight last year, when I was 217.8 after the holidays. So while I know I didn't make my goal weight for the year, I definitely made some progress and am in a much better place to continue losing some weight for 2023. :)