Week 19–Steady Forward Progress
This Week’s Accountability Report
Exercise:
Six out of Seven Days: I think a big part of developing a habitual exercise routine is finding forms of exercise that work for you.
What I have been finding to work really well for me lately is strapping a set of weighted belts onto my wrists and heading out the door to take a short walk right after I have woken up. It’s an light, easy exercise that doesn’t take much thought or motivation. As I walk, I do various arm exercises, from curls to forward punches, side arm raises to overhead presses, etc. The route that I walk takes approximately 12 minutes from start to finish and I keep my arms working the entire time. Since the weights are light, only 2.5 kg on each arm, I can exercise my arms continually for the entire 12 minutes without taking a break. I really don’t know if this is the best thing to do or not, but it has been working for me, and after 12 minutes, my arms feel pretty pumped.
Additionally, if I can get the time in the evening, I have been enjoying running lately. When I first started trying to run two months ago, I struggled to run for longer than ten minutes at a time. Now I can consistently run hard for 20 minutes. The loop that I run around town is gradually getting bigger and bigger, and lately I have begun to push myself a little harder. I want to be able to continuously run hard for 30 minutes.
While I’m very happy with the improvements I am seeing in my performance and the regularity of my workouts, lately I have been feeling a little bit like I’ve been cheating, like I am not pushing myself quite as hard as I should be. My recent workouts have become quite comfortable and have gotten away from the calisthenics and strength training exercises that I began with. Something about that doesn’t feel quite right to me.
That’s why, starting this week, I want to start doing more strength training exercises, maybe in the evening before I put the kids in the bath, or in the morning on rainy days when I can’t get out for my morning walk.
Weight and Waist Measurement:
Again, this week my weight fluctuated up and down. But it seems to be continuing on a slight and gradual downward trend. I’m now seeing the connection between my weight and the dinners that I eat much more clearly.
This past week, I had a few big meals and a few small meals for dinner. The results of both were very evident in the morning. I know that to quickly lose the 10 kg I have set out to lose, the best thing I could do for myself is restrict the amount of calories that I take in before bed. But as I’ve said in the past, tampering with dinner is a little complicated in my house, so that’s not something I’m going to worry much about right now. I want to keep most of my focus on regular exercise.
What I was really happy to see this week is that, while my weight hasn’t dropped very much since January, my waist has shrunk 5 ½ cm. That feels like a big accomplishment, and it also confirms for me that the exercises I am doing are working.
Looking Forward/Looking Back
The goals I have for this week have very little to do with exercise and a lot to do with getting back into a steady writing habit, reading and absorbing meaningful content at times and in places when I can make the most of that content, and proactively contributing to and maintaining the most important relationships in my life.
I’m working out some ideas for how to do these things, so for now just improving my awareness of them and continuing to brainstorm ways to improve them is what I will do. Maybe you will see a separate post about these things soon.
This past week I was very happy to notice that two other Steemians, @nextgen622 and @madpotters have also started writing weekly check-ins to help them plot and track their progress as they try to improve their lives, the lives of those around them, and the businesses they are building. I find their company here both inspiring and encouraging.
If you have goals of your own that you are pursuing, please share them with me in the comments below. Or, write a post about it and send me the link.
Just like we talked about in January - don't focus on the weight, check the
inchescentimeters. Here, in the US, I think 4 out of 5 people are on the keto diet and really want you to know they are. It sounds like a stricter version of previous low carb diets (Atkins, Sugar Busters, Zone).I read something this morning in a post by @quotes-haven that came to mind when I read what you had to say:
That’s a nice quote and sentiment. Thanks for sharing it. I wanted to write more about the goals I am trying to focus on but felt too pressed for time to write much about them. Basically, though, I want to make more of an effort to read, write, and listen to things in a time, place, and environment that is suitable for absorbing, comprehending, and remembering the information I’m exposing myself to. All too often I hear or read great things on the fly and then lose track of them. I know, everybody does. But still, I want to start working on that.
That's a wonderful goal. I'm guilty too of trying to squeeze those things in, and then am not able to give them the time for contemplation that they deserve and, in the end, don't get all I could have gotten out of them.
Mobile devices, in some ways, really compound this problem, don’t they? It’s so easy to start reading an article or book, or something else, get interrupted, and either never get back to it, or just forget about the inspiring/interesting things you had been reading before.
I like your get up and go approach to morning work outs. I'm going to try it tomorrow! I've been slacking on the exercise. I'd really like to help my dad get on some type of schedule like this, too, but unfortunately, he's going to have to want it first. He had his leg amputated due to diabetes complications a number of years ago and since then finds every excuse under the sun why he hasn't improved his health status one iota since then. Sad situation but if I can get him onto Steemit then I am directing him here first! I think he'd find a lot of your topics of blogging interesting and valuable to his life. Thank you for sharing your journey with us and inspiring me to do the same :D xo
That’s a nice comment. Thank you!
My goal has just been 10 minutes a day. We waste ten minutes all the time, so when you think of it like that, it’s pretty easy to get started. My morning walks aren’t much, but they’re something. And small things repeated over and over again become big things.
Maybe you can encourage your dad with a ten minute a day, 21 day challenge.
Your morning walks are more than most people do! Don't belittle it! Its an awesome accomplishment just to stay dedicated to the routine.
My sister is coming to visit at the end of the month and has really gotten into the bullet journaling thing, too. Im going to see if we can make him a nice journal with a simple schedule so all he has to do is check off what he's done. He won't even have to think about what to do next, lol. I have a feeling its going to be a waste of our time but at least we cant say we didnt try.
It’s hard to motivate other people, isn’t it? Some might say it’s impossible. Do you live near your Dad? Or is there a group he can be a part of? Another Steemians told me that his wife first started walking around a shopping mall with some friends for exercise, but now keeps the habit going so that she can socialize.
Walking might not be the best thing for your dad considering his leg, but if he could find a social aspect to combine with some form of exercise, it would probably help motivate him.
I would love for him to be social! And he does need to get to walking if he ever wants to get a job and be 100% self sufficient again. He lives in South Carolina though, and I'm in California. Things aren't going so well between my parents because of it, and my mom is now moving two hours away for a new job since he can't contribute to income. Secretly I think shes happy for the break and to be getting away to do something for herself for once, but it makes me nervous that he's just going to go downhill fast now that he's alone.
That’s unfortunate. It doesn’t sound like a very good situation. It sounds like your dad needs a passion of some sort to get him up and going—a hobby, an animal, or maybe even a new love.
Getting him through two to three months of regular activity should go a long way toward establishing new, healthier behavior for him. I wonder what you can do to help him through the first couple of months. You mentioned getting him on Steemit. That might be pretty helpful, actually. This place can be pretty motivating.
I started running as well before 2 months and I daily run now for like 30 minutes with little breaks after every ten minutes. Exercise is always a fun
I was taking that approach too for a while. Then one day I didn’t need to and I was happy about that, so I’d like to keep pushing myself farther. I think to do so, though, I will need to return ten minutes of walking and two minutes of running until my body adjusts to the new distance.
Thanks mate. Your progress reports partly inspired me to set some goals and record my progress too.
I saw your last diary entry and have been meaning to leave a comment on it, but haven’t gotten around to it. I really like the goals you have of keeping in touch with friends and bringing more positivity into the world. It’s really nice to see what other people are prioritizing and how they are trying to implement plans. I’m looking forward to your next entry. I really wish there was a way to subscribe to posts on Steemit.
Thanks mate. I use Steemify to get notifications from a few authors. Its only currently available on IOS. The interface is like a RSS feed, which I like. Otherwise, maybe we can set up a common tag for those who are doing this. I'm going to use journal and goals as tags.
I’ve heard Steemify recommended a few times. I’ll check it out. I think using those tags is a good idea too. Let’s do it.
Cool, have started using these tags.
Awesome. I’ll join you soon.
Great, good on you mate.
Great thing to post your progress on Steemit, because it keeps you motivated to do what you have set out to do.
One remark about loosing weight. I think that weight is not really good measurement of fit because muscles that you will be gaining weight more than fat and you might be getting even heavier but looking more fit and feeling better. Of course the waist should decrease and that is a good measure.
Posting here has been really useful and helpful for me. I’ve gotten a lot of great tips and support.
I’m really not too concerned with the weight. I know it doesn’t tell the whole story, but still it’s something that I’m tracking. My goal to begin with was to lose 10 kg in a year. Now it’s more just to continue exercising on a regular basis and see where that leads me.
When I see that my belly is getting too big I start doing push ups and Crunches, they really help me get in shape quick!
I’ve been doing those as well. I kind of have three approaches right now. Basically, my goal is to get ten minutes of focused exercise a day. One way I do that is through the walks I described above, another is through running, and the last is by doing strength training (push ups, etc). Lately, I’ve strayed away from the strength training, but this week I want to get back into it.
How do you go about doing push ups and crunches? Is there are certain number of reps and sets that you do? Do you vary the kinds of push ups and crunches, etc?