Life Style Changes

CJAT and others have hinted that I should restart this thread here. I was thrilled that the other one helped so many to be inspired to make changes, and YES, little changes do help.

Food is a problem again. I got used to eating so much Yummy food when I was in VA and it has been impossible to go back to my eating plan that helped me lose so much weight. While I was in VA, I only gained 1 pound since everyone insisted I walk all over the place and climb so many steps.

I know that I have gain some weight in the last few weeks from eating the wrong food or too much and not exercising very much. I have begun to go back to my food plan and I have tried to adjust it to make it more appealing. The next thing I have to start doing is to walk on my treadmill again. I did get the OK from the Cardiologist.

I also wrote about a new endeavor that I have started that I wrote about in The Infamous LastPost thread. I copied the next 3 paragraphs from the post. (Which reminds me that I do not know how to do the quote thingy on this new forum.)

I have started a new focus to help my Spiritual Practice. I have decided to practice "Maintaining cleanliness and tidiness" as a way of manifesting my gratitude of God into action. I always need help with cleaning on a normal basis which is why I choice to practice this for the next 30 days.

I do not know if anyone out there has decided to do something as a Spiritual Practice. My experience has always been that once I decide to do something as a Spiritual Practice. It is nearly impossible to do. I did get my floors, and windows done on Monday. Tuesday, I started reorganizing my bedroom closet. The stuff from the closet is all over the living room. What am I doing???

Procrastinating! Playing with the forum instead of organizing. I even like organizing. It is my favourite part of cleaning. One more cup of tea and I am off to finish the closet. The other goal for the day is to clean the bathroom.

I did manage to clean the bathroom and put the closet back together. I still have to put all the things back into my bathroom closet. Tomorrow!

I do like hearing about what others are struggling with in their day to day lives and also about your triumphs of overcoming your challenges. How can we help one another?

 

I always wanted to post in your other thread, sglick, but being the pro crastinator I am, never got around to it . I agree with you on the cleaning thing, I'm not very good at it either. I recently got tired of never being able to reach my dishes in my cupboard, so I took everything out, washed it all, scrubbed the shelves, and rearranged it. It took the better part of 2 days to get it all done . I boxed up a bunch of mugs and glasses I never use to take to good will (still sitting in garage waiting for day shifts so I can take it in, lol), and switched the position of where I keep everything so the items I use the most are now easily within reach and actually neat for a change. I felt really good about what I achieved. Funny thing is, I still keep going to the wrong end of the cupboard to get my dishes . My biggest challenge seems to be keeping things neat once I expend the energy and time to get them that way. I'm trying to live by "a place for everything and everything in its place", but it's not always easy for me.

I also feel your pain in the area of food and diet. I've been on a low carb diet since mid June. I was doing pretty well, lost 13 lbs. in July, then in August I hit a plateau, only lost 3 lbs. all month. So of course I caved in and ate some things I shouldn't have, and now I'm starting all over again . I was able to, for once, contain myself so that I didn't gain back all I'd lost, but I'm in the process of getting back to ketosis again, which is a pain for me. I like carbs too much, I miss bread, I miss milk. I've even had cravings for Raisin Bran . But, I'm having trouble with my knees and ankles, and much of what my husband and I do involves hiking and walking, so I'm trying to reach a healthy weight again. So I will offer you encouragement in your efforts to eat healthier and get back on your walking routine -GO...SGLICK...GO...GO...SGLICK! *waves pom poms and contorts into cheerleader-like poses*- and hope you will encourage me not to break my diet again (my goal is to be to my desired weight by Thanksgiving).

 

The problem with the extra weight can be helped by exercise. Personally I don't have such problem but I have quite the opposite
I don't like eating very much and as I am a student my grandmother always tells me to eat more..haha..
I like a lot doing sports and this is what it helps me have a healthy body and for me sports are a good way of relaxing from the large amount of school homework.

and writing in this forum also relaxing me so this is why you see me a lot here

 

Enjoy it while you can, Arielh . I was the same way at your age, couldn't gain weight if I tried. The older you get, the more your hormones and metabolism change, the easier it is to gain and the harder it is to lose . But you're right, physical activity is the key to good health. I've never been a fan of exercise for the sake of exercise, I much prefer if I get my exercise without paying attention to the fact that I'm getting it, lol. When I was in college, I was on a fire crew for the Forest Service. It was the most physically demanding, most difficult job I've ever done; it was also the best job I ever had, I loved it. So, since I'm too old for that kind of fun now, I'm stuck with regular old exercise . As silly as it sounds, I do enjoy doing the Dancing With The Stars videos, they are harder than you would think, and since I like dancing, I can almost pretend I'm not exercising .

 

Sglick. Thank you for starting this thread again. It will remind me to try and be good about exercise - not my most favourite activity.
Keep up the good work with the tidying - my kitchen always looks like a bomb has hit it, I can tidy everything away and a couple of hours later no one would know! I also have a habit of tidying and putting something, that has been in its own little home for several years, somewhere different. A couple of days later I want it and for the life of me can't remember where its new home is!

Arielh - Like spotsbox I too remember what it was like to be young and slim! Lucky you indeed.

 

spotsbox I understand as you get older and you are not anymore a child it is easier to get weight...
dancing is a great exercise and I don't know why you want to pretend that you are not exercise...anyway I like the show Dancing with the stars and I know some latin dances

farmerumf I know some women who are still slim... but of course a lot of them are not so slim

 

Arielh - This thread is to help those of us who find changing our life-styles hard to change. Most of are adults and some of us would be considered old timers. You may be able to learn a few things of what to avoid as you grow older. Those who participate in this thread have much wisdom amongst us. Some of us - OK me - are overly sensitive when those who do not have the same kind of problems point out our weaknesses and challenge them. It can cause us to feel pain, embarrassment and even feel like giving up with a "why bother" attitude. I am positive that this is not what you wanted anybody here to feel like. I would like to gently ask you to be more thoughtful about your questions and comments.

I am sorry if these words hurt in anyway this is not my intent. My intent is to keep this thread friendly, helpful and supportive for everyone who needs encouragement to better their life. I hope you can continue to enjoy and maybe even learn from this thread. Most of all I hope that this thread will help you to be the best person that you can be.

 

sglick - Thanks so much for re-starting this thread!!!! I need help with all 3! Dieting, exercising and organizing!!!
Now that the weather is finally cooling a bit (we are at least under 100 degrees)...I pledge to walk at least 3 times a week!
My crohns has been off the charts lately....so really watching what I eat...and portion control, for me, is a must!
I have to organize all the tons of paper that still enters my house...and unfortunately lands in my office!!! I've set a goal for myself to clear it out, throw it away or file it. I'm not letting myself decorate for Halloween or Fall until I've completed this task! Which of course, is a HUGE motivation....since you know how I love, love, love to decorate!!!!

These are my 3 challenges for myself in the upcoming week! I will vow to get them done!

 

I am really sorry I didn't understand some things until now... I know that I respond in this thread in the really wrong way but now I understand completely. You won't see any "irrelevant" post from me

 

Thanks Arielh, for your understanding, and I hope that you do continue to participate in this thread. We all need reminders of what it was like to be young.

I have a question for all of us, but mostly for Brooke. How do we know when we have reached our goals for the day? Week? month? Ideally, for me this would be done with a check list, but I do not like check lists. What do some of you'all do to keep track of progress, if you keep track?

 

sglick - Good question! I don't know? I usually just keep a tally in my head....but you're right...for long term goals.....ack! I can't remember most things without post it notes!

Anyone have any thoughts, ideas, suggestions???

 

sglick - I, too, am glad you started this thread again...I have been dealing with yo-yo emotions regarding my own health and healthy living progress. I did begin walking back in the summer and had gotten up to about 15 min but then RL interrupted...I still find that if I walk, then all other activities are severely affected. I just ache all over and have to take a nap. If I do something else (house or yard work), then I find I cannot walk. My daily struggles continue to balance pain/fatigue with activity. I had hoped to see some improvement by now and have gotten discouraged. When I took my daughter to the Dr for her physical, we were gone a little less than 3 hours but those waiting room chairs are so uncomfortable that the pain of sitting in them stays with me for the rest of the day (and sometimes into the next day). I did try to walk when I got home that afternoon but within 5 minutes was in so much pain that I turned around and went home. By the time I got home, I was in tears and if home had been any further, I would have just sat beside the road.

In the last 2 weeks, I walked 5 days one week and 4 days last week. Today, hubby and I walked together and I managed to make just over 1 mile in 22 min.

I have not see any decrease in my weight so I began tracking my calories with a target of 1200-1300 per day. Overall, I have stayed in that range with some days either higher or lower. I have been more aware of what I am eating and why. I have tried to only eat when truly hungry and not out of any negative emotional state (but blew that today with chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate).

I don't even have a goal in mind as I don't exactly know what is realistic for me as it changes daily.

There are some things I would like to organize too -- one being a photo album. I have saved all our photos in the computer for the last 10 years and haven't printed any yet. But the task seems overwhelming so it still accumulates. There are others but I find that physical fatigue combined with mental fatigue makes it hard to sustain motivation.

I am the Queen of Checklists. I have to write everything down as I just don't remember very well anymore. The Dr says it could be my age, Fibro fog, or the early dementia...*sigh*

I wish each of you all the very best....

 

pnp - Sweet dear friend, my heart breaks when I hear that you are in that much pain! Look on the bright side...you walked a mile!!! That's absolutely fantastic!!!!
Okay here's some advice....let me prelude this with...I'm great at giving advice(I don't always follow it) but I love to give it. But if I ever overstep...please don't hesitate to let me know. It comes from love and caring for you. For the pictures,, I use Costco picture uploader...you can upload 100's of pics in minutes. Then I would choose maybe a month or 2 at a time...and have them print those (their copies are cheap). Take it in steps (baby steps). They also allow you to put pics in virtual scrapbooks. You know how computer illiterate I am, so if I can do it....a VERY smart person like you will master it in 5 seconds.

Then if you need some help with anything (scrapbooks etc.) look at your local college's website for job seekers. I used to run a "very small" business and needed part time help. These kids are great! I also used this method to find work while I was in college (of course it wasn't on a "puter" then). You can have a young, energetic, smart girl come to the house a couple times a week to help you get some "stuff" done.
In fact, while I'm thinking of this....maybe I should do the same...to help me organize my mountain of papers, bills, records in my office.

It's a "win-win" arrangement....helping a college student with a little $ and getting some help with what you need!

I hope you have some relief...and know I am praying for you!

 

PNP - My heart aches too for you. I think Brooke had some great ideas. My next door neighbor who does odd jobs - mostly for women has 2 ladies he works for each week on certain day. One of the Ladies has fibro (can't spell the rest) and the other has different health issues. I use him on occasion to do the hard stuff like floors and windows since these are hard on my back. I wish he lived closer to you. I would highly recommend him. I wish there was someone like him near you to help you out. I like the idea of a "smart" girl coming to help you with your pictures.

I also want to encourage you to keep trying to walk. The health benefits are so worth the effort. At the same time you have to keep listening to your body and turn back when the pain gets to be to over whelming. Continue to stay cautious and careful.

Accountability changes for me. Once I start using one system my "genius" mind starts thinking of was to fool or manipulate the results so I can procrastinate some more. For now, my accountability is to tell you'all what I am gone to do and then if I did it or not.

Today, since I have squandered the morning away. I want to organize the bathroom closet, rearrange my close, walk on the tread meal and follow my food plan. Let's see how successful I will be. Hehehe

Good Luck to all for following through on your goals.

 

Hello to all the lovely souls so bravely sharing in this thread! Thanks sglick for starting it (the first time and again), I read it on the old forum and enjoyed it very much...I never posted but thought I should let you know that I did find it very encouraging. Since it is starting again I thought I would post and do my best to contribute this time, instead of just cheering you all on in my head!

I too am struggling with almost all of the issues many of you have already mentioned above: eating well, exercise, time management, organization....the list goes on. My husband and I are in a big transition point in our lives - both working (one job, one self-employed), while doing college work on nights and weekends to transition to new careers. We are not so young a we used to be, and it has been a very challenging two years filled with lots of change. In another years time we are preparing to move to another state so I can continue on with my education and so we have many more changes coming. It is easy to get overwhelmed. We are growing and being stretched to our limits it seems, which is good for us in some ways but not without consequence - for myself I have gained at least 60 pounds in the last 2 years. Having once been very active and fit (but still, always a lifelong effort for me - even at my marathon-running-fittest I worked extremely hard to keep everything balanced), this is the biggest thing I struggle with now. It is a fight and challenge to eat reasonable portions of the right food (right for me, that is) and counter the long hours of sitting through work and school with enough exercise and sleep. I know I am continually at the limits of my fatigue and that is why it always seems so impossibly hard - but after reading about Pnp's pain struggles (which thankfully I do not have), it does make me feel a little ashamed to say that I am feeling "too tired." My heart goes out to you and I hope you are able to keep working at it, little by little. I do know for myself that exercise is so important, even if it is a little walk that I had to fight myself to do. In the end I am always glad I did. And you are presently doing much more (a mile!) than I am.

For myself, I have a hard time setting absolute goals for each day/week/month; I do not want to be discouraged by failing to meet them. For exercise tracking/motivation, I keep a calendar at work and give myself a star (yes, a star sticker, like you give to little kids!), for each day I exercise. I find it motivating to keep going when I sit in front of all the stars at my desk and have a visual display of all the days I've met my goal. I am also motivated to see my calendar blank and know that I will have to look at it blank for a days or whole months if I skip (oddly, this does encourage me to exercise and does not riddle me with guilt). My coworkers often ask me about it...so they know if I've skipped, too.

For food/diet, I simply try my best to eat whole foods, as many as I can buy from local farmers (I live in a great area for that). I try to limit processed foods if and when I can. I try my absolute best only to eat when I am hungry (real hunger, and try to recognize and circumvent "eat your feelings" hunger). To keep track I keep a food journal through myfitnesspal. I do not concentrate so much on calories, as I know for myself heavy restriction is not something that will work for me for my whole life. I know for many others it does work very well. I do it mostly to keep a sense of what I am eating, so I don't get selective amnesia about what I have consumed and wonder why on earth I am continuing to gain weight...while not exercising and sitting for 16 hours a day. I find it effective in at least being honest/real about my intake and adjusting where I can. It has helped me greatly the last 4 months or so.

My plan is: each morning I will set a goal related to a healthy change I need to make in my life. A goal I feel I can most likely achieve that day, and set myself up for succeeding. My hope is that with each small success I will develop new habits I can build on until I am able to accomplish bigger, more meaningful changes. This should also keep it do-able for me, and not be overwhelming.

Please pardon my intro novel ! Good luck to all, I am rooting for you!

 

Sglick. As you may remember my goal is to walk up to my neighbours and back, four times. It takes about half an hour so I reckon it is about a mile in total. My way of recording this is just to mark on my calendar how many times I do it. I can then look back to see how many times I managed each week.
PNP The advantage of my walk is that each time I do the return trip I am back at my house and can make the decision of whether to do another 'lap' Sometimes I only do two or three but I have done five - only once though! That way I can stop if I want.
I have lapsed this summer but have been out and about and doing manual work in the 'garden'. I am trying to limit myself to one hour a day gardening to stop my back ache taking over. The walking, unfortunately, doesn't seem to ease it.
Arielh - you are such a lovely person and your apology touched me very much. It takes a strong person to admit they got it a bit wrong.
Heidels - you posted just as I finished typing the above. Your idea of stars on the calendar is a good one. Dieting is something I have been doing for too many years to mention - I am a comfort eater (says me as I pop another almond in my mouth) and I don't ever remember actually feeling hungry. I try and drink a glass of water to help me feel full but I do love to nibble.
Good luck everyone with all their goals - I will keep mine simple - more walking on a regular basis. I will try and make it part of my morning routine. Get up, wash, dress, have breakfast, walk - then FARM!!!

 

Sglick, thank you for starting this thread up here. Although I didn't post in your other thread, I was following it. This time I decided to post and become accountable to someone. I'm tired of being the queen of failure. I suffer from terrible depression at times and have been eating to feel better. It hasn't and doesn't work. I feel 10X worse after a binge. I've now cleared my home of "all" junk food and "processed" foods. My last "binge" consisted of eating a whole half of a watermelon. (much better than a half a package of cookies). I'm having a difficult time just writing this and crying while I'm doing it. It's hard admitting how powerless I'm feeling right now. I'm going to post this before I change my mind and bury my head back in the sand..... again.

 

AnnT - I wish I was closer so I could give you a big hug. You know this is big for me since I am not a hugger. I would hug you and let you cry on my shoulder and gentle tell you how much I understand what you are going through and that you are not alone.

This why I revel so much about myself. I am really a private person. OK - a recluse, but I genuinely want to help people. I know from past experiences how healing honest sharing - confessing can be. You have taken a big 1st step to remove the junk and processed food from the house, and yes, 1/2 a watermelon is much better than a bag of cookies. Unless you are diabetic. Can't remember. That many carbs at 1 time, nut at least this is a good starting point so Hip! Hip! Hooray!!! for you - and PNP, and Heidels and Umf and Brooke and Spots and everyone else who is reading this thread.

Thanks everyone for sharing your situations. Hopefully together we can support one another so we can over come our challenges.

Heidels - Thanks for sharing. You sound like Super Women, but even she needs help from time to time. Good luck with all your career and education goals. I like your Gold Star motivators. Visual aids are handy.

Umf - You know I am a fan and I am very Jelly of your country walks. I love my heat and do not want to move, but one of my sacrifices to live in the heat is not having nice scenery for walking outside.

Todays report. I did rearrange the clothing that I wanted to take care of and I did rearrange the bathroom closet. I have followed my food plan except I had a few others. At least, it was boughten at a restraint or pure junk so I am not gone to beat myself up. Also, I did not walk on the treadmill. My old dietician planted a bomb in my mind when she told me that research shows that it is most effective to walk in the mourning. Of courses, my mind keeps telling me it is too late to walk if it is after 1PM. It has been a so-so day and tomorrow I will try to do better. Tomorrow only has 1 goal and that is to go and work on my mosaics. I have not worked on them since I have been back from VA.

 

Ann, you are most definitely not alone. I too deal with depression issues often, which is how I came to the farm in the first place. My dog Moon (there's a picture of him in illy's intro thread) was dying of cancer, and I was devastated by it. I've had dogs my whole life, and you love them all (well, most of them, some you just tolerate ), but if you're really blessed you have a dog who is not just a dog, if you understand what I mean. They are so special that they are not just friends, but truly family. I've had 2, Moon and his daddy, Ben. We lost both of them to cancer, and I nursed both of them through it until the end. I also lost my mom to cancer, and I think that is why I grieved so much for my dogs, because I never really allowed myself to grieve for her like I needed to. I pretty much lost myself for a long time after Moon's death, and playing games was how I dealt with it. I still struggle, I still feel lost sometimes, I still cry for stupid reasons. As weak as it makes me sound, I stay with this game not as much for the FOCD, which I admit I have a huge case of, lol, but because somehow, I found friends here. I found comaraderie, and laughter, and sharing. I can laugh, I can joke, I can feel human when I'm having a tough day. I sometimes read posts, and I feel so inadequate, because as much as I want to be whole, I am a broken person. I'm incredibly imperfect, there are so many things that I am not good at, cleaning and dieting being right at the top of the list, and it can seem like everyone else is so together, where I wonder what would they think of me if they really knew me? That is one reason I appreciate this thread. It is realization that NO ONE here is perfect, we all have struggles, and now we have a place we can turn for encouragement and even love. So I am sending you a comforting hug (and like sglick, I've never been a big hugger, tho virtual hugs are far easier for me, lol), a nice mug of chamomile tea, and some warm cherry rolls fresh from the oven (they're Farmerama goodies, no calories or carbs to feel guilty about ), and loads of encouragement, because every huge accomplishment begins with one small step.

pnp, I knew you had pain, but I didn't know it was as bad as it is. I also want to encourage you, don't give up! You are trying to not let your fibro (also don't know the correct spelling) get the best of you, and whether you walk 5 minutes or 50, it is a victory, and I am in awe that you walked a mile, and at a pretty good clip, too, to have done it in 22 minutes. I am going to use you as inspiration to me to not whine about exercising, so when I forget and start crying about it, feel free to whack me upside the head and tell me to shut up .

As for all the organizational ideas, keep 'em coming! I also write lists; shopping lists, to-do lists, research lists, and the lists go on. Unfortunately, I either forget I wrote the lists, forget where I put them, or look at them and miss half of what's on them. Puppies, I've been forgetful my whole life, can literally walk from one room to the next and forget why, and yes, the older I get the more I forget. I freely admit I'm a bit demented, but I don't think that qualifies as dementia quite yet. Heidels, I love the stars idea, I'll have to get something like that for myself, if I can remember to put it on my shopping list . And umf, my husband also writes his walks on a calendar he uses specifically for that. His route is about 3.6 miles, and every time he walks he records it as soon as he gets home. He's been doing this for quite a while; once he added up how many miles he'd walked the previous year, and it was quite substantial. So all those little jaunts you don't think matter much, over the long run are actually pretty huge, so keep on trekking! And sglick, make something beautiful for us all today!

 

Thank you all for your support and encouragement yesterday. I was having an emotionally fragile day and it helps to get reassurance from friends and today I feel more like myself. I appreciate the suggestions as well. I think part of the reason I feel so overwhelmed with the photos is because no one in our family remembers to bring their camera to our family functions so I am always busy taking the photos and they rely on me to print/deliver the photos to them for their own family. I have decided not to print them all for each individual family but have asked that they bring their own jump drive and I will transfer whatever pictures they want and then they can be responsible for their own printing. It will save me a ton of time and money.

Sometimes I have a 'to do' list with the things I wish to accomplish today/the week written down. Unfortunately, often I am too ambitious about how much energy I will have and get discouraged about not being able to finish a task. What I now try to do is to pick the one thing that will bother me the most if I leave it undone and then work on it. If I can finish it, then I am satisfied. If not, my new goal is to now not be angry, disappointed, frustrated with myself but learn to be content in the trying.

Thank you for each of you sharing your personal story. I found I could relate to each one of you in some way. Over the years I, too, have struggled with balancing career, education, family, exercise, eating right, sleeping enough, time management and depression. I think you have made positive choices for yourself and I am proud of all of you for taking the first step. I am a very affectionate person so hugs to all of you (gently of course and with permission). I wish each of you a happy day! I will encourage you to find one thing (no matter how small) to do today that at the end of the day when you reflect on it, it will bring you a smile.

sglick- I agree with spots...when you finish making your mosaic, would you post a picture for us to see?