May Goal Update

 Oh, after I wrote that post on microresolutions, I went to my Current Goals page with the intention of adding in some stuff about microresolutions rather than goals. I completely forgot that I set some goals for the month, so I thought I might as well take a look at how those have gone.

First, I wanted to continue stretching my calves daily. This was unfortunately a failure. As the month has worn on, I've become a bit lax with this unfortunately, and I've been missing a few days in a row, stretching one or two days, then missing a few again. I've missed chaining this to an existing habit, and doing it when I have been (right before bed) has proven too easy to miss (I do sometimes remember once I'm in bed and trying to sleep, but at that point I haven't wanted to get up and do it). So I need to tie that to a better cue.

Second, I wanted to measure food portions for better carb counting. This actually hasn't been a complete failure. I've started measuring rice because if I don't, I find it too hard to control my blood sugar. And I measure trail mix all the time so I know exactly how much insulin I need (that's also the reason I prefer foods like trail mix coming from bags or containers with the nutrition information on them). I made this goal too vague - did I want to measure all foods? What do I do for times when it is hard to measure (like if you're at the show munching on popcorn, or out at a friend's place for dinner)? In the post where I set this goal, I said I wanted to "focus more on proper portions. I've been measuring everything more to better help with my carbohydrate counting. So those are going to be my goals for May, and I'll reassess in June." So by measuring some stuff, did I succeed? I guess so?

So maybe those are two things that I can use microresolutions to better help me with - I can cue the calf stretches to an existing habit, and choose exactly what I need to measure and when. I'm definitely thinking of working on the calf stretching one for June, but I might hold off on the measuring one for a later date.

Microresolutions for Habit Change

I've been reading the book Small Move, Big Change by Caroline L. Arnold, which talks about making microresolutions to slowly change your life for the better. She argues that if you start with really small and seemingly easy resolutions, you can slowly change your automatic habits, one at a time. Some of what she talks about I remember reading in other books (such as James Clear's Atomic Habits), such as cueing a habit up with an existing one. She argues that trying to make big sweeping changes (such as at New Year's when we resolve to be better at something or do better at something) often fails because it comes up against our automatic habits that we've been using for years without notice. So changing one small thing at a time until it becomes a habit will slowly help to change your life for the better.

The more I read books like this, the more I feel like I am learning about where exactly I'm going wrong with my habits and goals. While setting rewards has helped me a lot with keeping something up for a month or two, I haven't been successful in getting anything to permanently stick. (Also, truth be told, setting rewards hasn't been super appealing. Other than getting a nail polish colour or getting a few songs, nothing has really motivated me very well). So maybe it's time to give setting microresolutions a try?

Arnold's 7 rules of microresolutions are:

1. They're easy
2. They're explicit and measurable actions
3. They pay off up front (no later rewards necessary!)
4. They are personal
5. They resonate with you
6. They fire on cue (cue them up with another routine or a day)
7. Only do two at a time (max! You can stick to only one at a time if you want)

She recommended needing 4-8 weeks on average to turn a microresolution into a habit (this of course depends on the individual microresolution - some may become habit sooner, and others will take a lot longer). She also spoke about not being afraid to modify them as necessary (which is something I am really bad at - I set my goals and feel wed to them, even if I realize they aren't working for me). 

I'm going to take a few days to sit down and really think about what I want to try approaching (and, more importantly, how to cue them into my day or week). My goals on this blog have always been to live a healthier life through exercise and healthy eating, so I want to try to find one or two small habits I can start building towards that larger goal.

Weight and Cholesterol Updates

First, some weight updates from earlier in May:

May 2:

weight: 231.6
fat percentage: 54.3
hydration: 31.4
muscle: 22.4
bone: 10.5
cal: 2420

May 13 (I weighed myself a bit earlier in the day than normal):

weight: 233.4
fat percentage: 56.6
hydration: 29.8
muscle: 21.3
bone: 10.5
cal: 2430

So these are fairly consistent with what my weight has been over the last while. They're not great, but at least my weight doesn't seem to be increasing.

But in better news, I did bloodwork yesterday and my cholesterol levels are in! While still high, my total cholesterol level has continued its downward trend since the high in November. My total cholesterol and LDL levels specifically are actually lower than they were last July; they're slightly higher than what they were in April of last year. And my HDL is actually a bit higher than it was last time (I normally see that when my LDL drops, so does my HDL, but this month's bloodwork has a higher HDL than February's!) So I am happy to say that whatever it is that my partner and I have been doing (I think specifically eating more home-cooked meals with lots of vegetables and tofu or chicken, eating out less, and trying to walk more) is working!