Becoming Better Monday Check In/Declarations

[cavewmninbrit]

If you need to check the last thread it is here on the bump (now the "dump" I am still catching up): 
forums.thebump.com/discussion/12518904/becoming-better-monday-check-in

So check in with us.. how did the week go?  Where did you succeed?  What is your plan for this week to ensure you have a better outcome?  If you are just starting with us then read below for how we are working to become better all around.



What would you like to change and what are you going to do?Some of you may be focusing on one category others may have a few goals. I tend to set one in each category so when I become a struggle muffin with one and frustrated I can look at my success in other parts.



1-) Physically- this would be the exercise/fitness/nutrition (don't use the evil diet word if possible)... everything from breaking a diet coke addiction, cutting down on alcohol, removing processed food, actually going to that gym to pay for every month or being a crazy mofo who is training for a marathon... and everything in between



2) Mentally- Finding out what makes you sleep better at night, makes you think clearer, what makes you focus on that which you want most or really love to do. Some people call it mindfulness, or therapy, or mediation, or keeping a journal but what are you doing to make enable you to be your best self.



3) Organizationally- Lack a budget? Have a room in your house you dare not go? Are dust bunnies threatening to take over? What cats are you trying to herd?

[cavewmninbrit]

1-Physically... I played 10min of rugby and did 60% of a CrossFit gymnastics workout. I also took my dog for a few longer walks up to an hour. It wiped me out and I was sore and exhausted so I really need to pace more. I am going to try to do an easy yoga session and meditation at 9-10pm each night to help me to go to bed easier and get better rest

2-Mentally... Under a lot of pressure this week going back to school part time (been off sick bc of autoimmune issue since Oct). Really need to make time for myself this week that doesn't involve sitting on my butt watching NetFlix

3- Organizationally... So many plans, so little done- its bin night so I am going to purge clean the kitchen, bedroom and office so I can just throw things out.

[morwen]

i did yoga last week, goal is to it at least 3x this week

More or less stuck to no processed food last week, have a better food plan this week - spent part of yesterday prepping/cooking

Only meditated once last week - I'm still trying diff apps to see what guided meditation i like best so goal is to do that at least 2x this week

Thanks for starting this checkin over here:)

[brettanomyces]

This sounds fun, I'll play!

Physical- I've made a massive reduction in my caffeine intake. I was drinking 3-4 cups of coffee a day and then not sleeping more than 4 hours per night then drinking more coffee because I was tired- it was a vicious cycle. Anyways, I feel much better and I'm sleeping better. I'm limiting myself to 1.5 caffeinated cups per day. I drink half-caf and decaf when I'm bored.

Mental- I've been trying to pray more. I go through phases of every day then none at all.

Organizational- I loaded and started the dishwasher before I sat down to the computer today, so I feel good about that. H and I are trying to have guests over more often now so that forces me to keep the household cleaning a bit more under control.

[ohinvrtedworld]

Ooh! I like this a lot!

Physical -- last week was pretty lazy activity-wise, but I really felt like I did a good job of preparing food in advance to make sure I had unprocessed options. I actually let beans soak OVERNIGHT -- like you're supposed to! -- for a meatless dinner that turned out SUPER yummy. A friend said that you can do Jillian Michaels' yoga melt workout on Youtube for free and recommended it, so I will try to do it twice this week at least to slowly get back into working out!

Mental -- I want to carve out more time to read again. I used to devour books like crazy. This time around, I'd like to go the somewhat non-fiction route or something that would be educational AND entertaining.

Organizational -- I deep cleaned this house last week which was needed, but this week I need to get some systems in place. Our city doesn't have pick-up recycling service, so I want to figure out where I can sort and keep things that I need to take to the recycling drop-off so that it's easier to grab them and go once in a while. We have tons of things I want to get rid of, and I'm trying to decide whether to put it all in one place to sell at a garage sale when it's warmer, or just donate it all. I am not one to charge tons of money for things at yard sales, but an extra $100 or so wouldn't hurt us!

[mainewifey]

What a cool check in!

1-) Physically- I'm trying to get back to a 5-6 x per week work out schedule. I feel the best mentally and physically when I'm doing that. I'm at about 4 days right now.


2) Mentally- I think once I'm more active my brain fog will clear. I've been feeling on edge, snippy, and exhausted lately.



3) Organizationally- Yesterday I added a few more shelves to our pantry and re organized a few of the kitchen cabinets. I also made a mail station in the kitchen with envelopes, stamps, the check books etc, because our mail is out of control. As much as I would prefer that H hang his coat in the closet, he never does. So when he asked for some coat hooks by the side door, I put one up for him. Coats hanging on hooks is better than having them thrown on the dining room chairs!

[pismoduo]

Physically: Moderate success. Went running 2x last week, which is one more time than the week before. And we did lifting 3 nights, so that's good. I want to run today, but I have a 2 hour meeting across my usual lunch time, so we'll see.

Mentally: Doing pretty good. One of my goals is to spend more time reading or doing a physical activity in the evenings. So far, so good. I got a couple of nights in last week where I either read my book or took the dogs for a walk.

Organizational: Half success, half disaster. H and I got the entire upstairs squeaky clean over the weekend (exception, bathrooms). But the kitchen is an absolute mess. So I'll try to get that in order tonight.

[nuggetrn]

I like this check in! I haven't seen it before so I will go ahead and jump in this week!

Physical - Doing terrible on all fronts. I have a lot I could improve on. Right now I am trying to focus on drinking more water and actually eating meals when I am supposed to. I have a really terrible habit of not eating all day and then coming home and eating everything in the kitchen. Small steps first. I also need to make exercising a priority. I have a lot of options for exercising and I just need to use them!!

Mental - Trying to limit my computer use to a few hours a day. I spend more time than I would like to mindlessly browsing the internet as opposed to useful activity. It is too easy to space out on here, I need to spend more time doing things that lessen my stress level. Like the physical and organizational aspects.

Organizational - I am so proud of myself! I am self-employed and this morning I pulled together all of my mileage stuff for 2014 so I have it ready when we go to do taxes. I have a lot more I need to do to get my work stuff organized tho. My office space is disaster. I have been so busy lately that I have just been tossing paperwork on my desk, that has been on the top of my list of things to do for a while now.

[mainewifey]

Jan 19, 2015 13:10:36 GMT -5 nuggetrn said:

I like this check in! I haven't seen it before so I will go ahead and jump in this week!

Physical - Doing terrible on all fronts. I have a lot I could improve on. Right now I am trying to focus on drinking more water and actually eating meals when I am supposed to. I have a really terrible habit of not eating all day and then coming home and eating everything in the kitchen. Small steps first. I also need to make exercising a priority. I have a lot of options for exercising and I just need to use them!!

Mental - Trying to limit my computer use to a few hours a day. I spend more time than I would like to mindlessly browsing the internet as opposed to useful activity. It is too easy to space out on here, I need to spend more time doing things that lessen my stress level. Like the physical and organizational aspects.

Organizational - I am so proud of myself! I am self-employed and this morning I pulled together all of my mileage stuff for 2014 so I have it ready when we go to do taxes. I have a lot more I need to do to get my work stuff organized tho. My office space is disaster. I have been so busy lately that I have just been tossing paperwork on my desk, that has been on the top of my list of things to do for a while now.

I have the same issue about eating during the day. My personal trainer recommended getting nice containers. Glass ones, pretty ones, etc. and taking time each night to pack something you will actually want to eat.  If you're not a left over person, don't bring left overs. Make your self something fresh. 

No one ever sits at their desk and says, wow I can't wait to eat that bologna sandwich I packed in a ziplock baggie.

I do make my self good lunches because I hate left overs and I'll never eat a sandwich at work. It's just not that appealing to me. I make chili in the crock pot, eggplant lasagna, soups, pulled pork, taco salad etc. Things that are pretty quick and easy to make/crockpot friendly and are good microwaved.  Yeah, it takes extra time, but its worth it to have the energy through out the day.

[pismoduo]

Jan 19, 2015 13:10:36 GMT -5 nuggetrn said:

I like this check in! I haven't seen it before so I will go ahead and jump in this week!

Physical - Doing terrible on all fronts. I have a lot I could improve on. Right now I am trying to focus on drinking more water and actually eating meals when I am supposed to. I have a really terrible habit of not eating all day and then coming home and eating everything in the kitchen. Small steps first. I also need to make exercising a priority. I have a lot of options for exercising and I just need to use them!!
<snip>

Thank you for reminding me. LOL. I skipped breakfast to make some calls before this huge meeting, and now it's 1:30 and I haven't had lunch yet.

I have a friend who decided to switch to 6 small meals a day rather than 3 a day + snacking. For the first week or two she set alarms on her phone throughout the day to remind her that it was time to eat something.

[graysweater]

1-) I am trying to be better about exercising and eating better. I have a desk job so I sit all day. Every night after everyone goes to bed I do exercises in my living room for as long as I can stand to do them. It makes me feel better and I know that if I keep it up I will get stronger.







2) Mentally- I am really bad about staying up way too late. I am trying to go to bed earlier so that I can get to work earlier. The earlier I get to work the earlier I get to leave. 






3) Organizationally- I think I have finally gotten by finances in order and have a pretty good system for bills and what not. I am trying to clean out closets, but it is hard. I start and then quit because it is just so much. 

[nuggetrn]

Jan 19, 2015 16:34:58 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

Jan 19, 2015 13:10:36 GMT -5 nuggetrn said:

I like this check in! I haven't seen it before so I will go ahead and jump in this week!

Physical - Doing terrible on all fronts. I have a lot I could improve on. Right now I am trying to focus on drinking more water and actually eating meals when I am supposed to. I have a really terrible habit of not eating all day and then coming home and eating everything in the kitchen. Small steps first. I also need to make exercising a priority. I have a lot of options for exercising and I just need to use them!!
<snip>

Thank you for reminding me. LOL. I skipped breakfast to make some calls before this huge meeting, and now it's 1:30 and I haven't had lunch yet.

I have a friend who decided to switch to 6 small meals a day rather than 3 a day + snacking. For the first week or two she set alarms on her phone throughout the day to remind her that it was time to eat something.

Haha you're welcome : )

I actually have alarms set on my phone but they are just so easy to ignore!! Goes hand in hand with my current mental state and my absolute lack of motivation. Sucks how everything is all wrapped up in each other.

[Deleted]

I didn't participate in this on the dump. But I'm really trying to be better this year!

physically: I work out 4-5 days per week, but my nutrition sucks! I did a clean eating cleanse last week & feel great. I used a meal planner for this week & found some clean meals to make ahead. I am going to eat better this week.

Mentally: I need some motivation at work. Reviews are happening late this year, but I'm hoping that will help. I should get mine this week or next.

Organizationally: I went through my draws (ok...4 of them) today & have 1 garbage of clothes to donate. I'm also adapting a "do a little each day" attitude for cleaning. I normally save it all for Sat/Sun & it's overwhelming. So now I'm doing 1 thing for 15 min each day. I can to that.

[pismoduo]

Jan 19, 2015 18:25:05 GMT -5 @ali7p said:

I didn't participate in this on the dump. But I'm really trying to be better this year!

physically: I work out 4-5 days per week, but my nutrition sucks! I did a clean eating cleanse last week & feel great. I used a meal planner for this week & found some clean meals to make ahead. I am going to eat better this week.

Mentally: I need some motivation at work. Reviews are happening late this year, but I'm hoping that will help. I should get mine this week or next.

Organizationally: I went through my draws (ok...4 of them) today & have 1 garbage of clothes to donate. I'm also adapting a "do a little each day" attitude for cleaning. I normally save it all for Sat/Sun & it's overwhelming. So now I'm doing 1 thing for 15 min each day. I can to that.

H and I are doing this! We have certain things that have to be done each day (take your dishes to the kitchen, put your dirty clothes in the hamper, etc) and then each day we both pick one extra thing we'll do. For instance, tonight my one extra is to sort the recycling and break down the cardboard boxes that are in the garage, which I'll do on top of my nightly loading of the dishwasher.

We fail this at least once a week, but usually it's a night where one of us has an evening meeting (HOA committee, etc).

My point was, I love this idea and it's working for us. Hope it works for you too!

[pismoduo]

Jan 19, 2015 17:04:48 GMT -5 nuggetrn said:

Jan 19, 2015 16:34:58 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

Thank you for reminding me. LOL. I skipped breakfast to make some calls before this huge meeting, and now it's 1:30 and I haven't had lunch yet.

I have a friend who decided to switch to 6 small meals a day rather than 3 a day + snacking. For the first week or two she set alarms on her phone throughout the day to remind her that it was time to eat something.

Haha you're welcome : )

I actually have alarms set on my phone but they are just so easy to ignore!! Goes hand in hand with my current mental state and my absolute lack of motivation. Sucks how everything is all wrapped up in each other.

Change is hard, man. For instance, I went out and got myself a McD's burger (I know, I know. But I limit it to once a month at most). I ate half of it, got focused on something, and only realized I hadn't finished it when my stomach growled at me.

[teenybenoit]

Hugs @moonandback141 everyone is allowed a bad day sometimes. Just breath and get back on a good positivity track.

For me:
Physically-I cycled on the stationary bike at home 3 times last week and again tonight. I also started induction phase on Atkins as low carbing by myself was not working the I wanted to scream when DH stood on the scale and lost 9lbs!?!?! We ate and moved the exact same amount all last two weeks!

Mentally-I'm having a tough go, between waiting for my period to show up, being tired and not having dropped any weight yet and a sick friend of mine getting news from her oncologist saying there is nothing more they can do for her, I am due an emotional break. I try to read since I kinda stink at meditation.

Organizationally-this is going to sound so silly but I organized my Tupperware drawer so every tuppie has a lid!! Yay for small miracles.

[michelleca]

Monday already! Only really making goals for organization.

Physical - if I'm being honest, not even ready to make goals. I'm underweight but I am unhealthy in that I am not exercising nearly enough. OK, other than running around after a toddler, not at all.

Mental - continue to connect with friends for my mental health. I hate leaving my baby so I really neglected myself for a long time. Trying to make time to socialize again.

Organization - I have made some progress here. I am working towards having a "do it now" attitude vs do it later. Tbh, if people drop by unexpectedly I get a little embarrassed. Lots of room for improvement here! If a chore takes just a minute or two, I am trying not to push it off. Working OK so far. I'm basically a hurricane in the kitchen, so I'm cleaning up as I go, which often I wasn't doing before.

[icequeen]

Hi ladies! First time posting on here because I missed it last week when it started. I think this is a great thread to stay active with.

Physically- I am continuing my running 5 days a week. I've had to miss a few days this week and I'm trying not to beat myself up for it. I would also like to try yoga. I think it would really help me with my anxiety and stress. If anyone has some good suggestions for at home yoga DVD's I would love to hear them!

Mentally- This one is the worst for me, and what I will be devoting most of my time to. After a lot of debate, lies, and shame, I decided to call an intensive outpatient program for eating disorders. I wanted badly to believe I was getting better but I'm just not. I need more help, structure, and professional guidance to get me on track. I don't know how I'm feeling about recovery. I keep thinking that I'll never get better, I'll never get better, but I know I can't have that defeatist attitude.

Organizationally-  Meh.. I really want to clean our whole house. There are all of these junk drawers that I want to empty out, as well as make our interior more aesthetically pleasing. Not sure how that is possible with a 14 month old running around.

Thanks for listening, ladies! Talk to you next week

[icequeen]

Jan 19, 2015 21:46:55 GMT -5 mistabinx said:

icequeen great job seeking additional help! I wish you luck and ::hugs:: to you

mistabinx, thank you. I know you are dealing with a lot as well and I'm proud of you for being so strong. Your feelings are completely valid. Hugs back at you!

[pismoduo]

icequeen creepy internet hugs to you!

[ohinvrtedworld]

Jan 19, 2015 21:26:17 GMT -5 icequeen said:

-- snip --


Mentally- This one is the worst for me, and what I will be devoting most of my time to. After a lot of debate, lies, and shame, I decided to call an intensive outpatient program for eating disorders. I wanted badly to believe I was getting better but I'm just not. I need more help, structure, and professional guidance to get me on track. I don't know how I'm feeling about recovery. I keep thinking that I'll never get better, I'll never get better, but I know I can't have that defeatist attitude.

This takes a lot of courage. I hope you find an amazing support group through this process. Recovery seems huge when you look at it in totality, face one day at a time! You're not alone! All the best for you.

[icequeen]

Ladies, thank you all so much. Y'all are the best. I was able to get an initial appointment for tomorrow morning