2022 - Goals Update
Mar. 2nd, 2022 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arthur_p_dentHere we are in March already - the year seems to be flying by. Time for a recap of the second half of last month.
Week 6: A fairly solid week, coming in at 79% for the second week in a row. Settled into a nice routine, things were going well, and then...
Week 7: The week started on a vacation day, and I took it as a "me" day. That day itself was really great, but the wheels really fell off after that. Some sleepless nights made a return, which, as it did in the past, impacted my ability to keep up with other goals. My success rate plummeted to 65%, my worst week yet. So what happened? Well, it was the scale.
I haven't mentioned weight before, and that was intentional. I went into this whole thing with the mindset of weight loss being essentially a side-effect of improving my health. I've been keeping track weekly, but I never set any target other than "down". My rational brain knew full well that fluctuations are inevitable. But, after reaching my lowest weight in I-have-no-idea-how-many years back at the beginning of February, two consecutive weeks of substantial gains simply got to me.
It took a few days to quiet the negative thoughts swimming around in my head, and bring my focus back where it needed to be. Since it was almost the weekend and I had a lot of other things to accomplish, I decided to not stress over it and just start fresh on Monday. And this week has been OK so far, although a different demon has been plaguing my sleep (not going to talk about that one).
Changes for the coming month: Exercise duration is now up to 45 minutes a day, and I've decreased the daily limits on coffee and alcohol. I'm also starting to take a closer look at my eating habits - portion control in particular. I'd like to put some food-related goals in place for April, so I need to do some planning to figure out what those will be.
And there's one other thing I'm adding for March. Taking some inspiration from all of the great material I've read here, I'm going to write something myself. Writing (creatively at least) is definitely not within my list of life skills, so I expect this to be a real challenge. I'll deal with the anxiety of whether or not to actually post it later - for now let's just see if I can create something that's not jibberish. =]
Week 6: A fairly solid week, coming in at 79% for the second week in a row. Settled into a nice routine, things were going well, and then...
Week 7: The week started on a vacation day, and I took it as a "me" day. That day itself was really great, but the wheels really fell off after that. Some sleepless nights made a return, which, as it did in the past, impacted my ability to keep up with other goals. My success rate plummeted to 65%, my worst week yet. So what happened? Well, it was the scale.
I haven't mentioned weight before, and that was intentional. I went into this whole thing with the mindset of weight loss being essentially a side-effect of improving my health. I've been keeping track weekly, but I never set any target other than "down". My rational brain knew full well that fluctuations are inevitable. But, after reaching my lowest weight in I-have-no-idea-how-many years back at the beginning of February, two consecutive weeks of substantial gains simply got to me.
It took a few days to quiet the negative thoughts swimming around in my head, and bring my focus back where it needed to be. Since it was almost the weekend and I had a lot of other things to accomplish, I decided to not stress over it and just start fresh on Monday. And this week has been OK so far, although a different demon has been plaguing my sleep (not going to talk about that one).
Changes for the coming month: Exercise duration is now up to 45 minutes a day, and I've decreased the daily limits on coffee and alcohol. I'm also starting to take a closer look at my eating habits - portion control in particular. I'd like to put some food-related goals in place for April, so I need to do some planning to figure out what those will be.
And there's one other thing I'm adding for March. Taking some inspiration from all of the great material I've read here, I'm going to write something myself. Writing (creatively at least) is definitely not within my list of life skills, so I expect this to be a real challenge. I'll deal with the anxiety of whether or not to actually post it later - for now let's just see if I can create something that's not jibberish. =]
no subject
Date: 2022-03-03 02:15 pm (UTC)Food goals take some planning, yes. I try to come up with a meal plan at least a week in advance, though sometimes what I'm in the mood for that day is different than what I have planned so I also leave some room to be adaptable.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-03 06:40 pm (UTC)Writing should be interesting. I have a couple ideas percolating around in the old noggin - we'll see where they lead.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-04 01:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-03-04 02:36 am (UTC)I do hope that whatever I end up writing is decent enough to share. I'm a pretty tough critic though, especially with things of my own doing.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-06 04:55 am (UTC)My advice, if it's welcome-- don't wait until your work seems perfect to you to share it. Especially when starting something new, feedback and encouragement are part of how improvements are made. Having others' perspective on your work can also help you approach it in a way that's most fair to you, since it can be hard to look at our own work objectively :)
no subject
Date: 2022-03-06 07:26 am (UTC)And I do realize there are benefits to be gained by sharing and getting some feedback. But rational thought is sometimes outweighed by irrational anxieties.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-07 03:49 am (UTC)