Goals...Our progress thread!
Well, I said I would start this thread today and I just sort of wanted to hide from the computer instead.
I reached some of my goals and not others.
I did not drink any Diet Coke. (felt totally lethargic today) I am trying to cut out Aspartame, not caffeine. I drank fruit juice instead. I also drank lots of water but I always do.
I did eat more fruits and veggies. More then I normally do at least. Had about 6 servings in total.
I did however smoke but instead of my normal 25 cigarettes a day, I had about 7.
Didn't exercise other than walking Cali. Not even a long walk as she is really sore today.
I truly feel exhausted. Was my first day back at work after being off for two weeks.
None the less, it is a beginning...... There would be no point me saying I didn't smoke or that I exercised because that would be lying to all of you and to myself.
Hope you all did well today and welcome to all of you who joined the goals thread. Some of my goals are going to be way harder than my other goals.
For the people trying to gain weight, you probably get all the time...must be nice! I know friends that also have or had to gain weight and I often think it is easier to lose weight than to gain weight when that is your issue. One of my friends could eat and eat and eat and wouldn't gain an ounce. She was about 15 pounds underweight.
Good luck all!
Di
P.S. I did see the news story about soft drinks today and it was all over the news on TV tonight.
thats a really good start. 7 is definitely better than 25 and to make that kind of cut back is quite an accomplishment. are you not a coffee or tea drinker? those might be good replacements if you need a energy boost w/o the sugar and aspartame.
thats a really good start. 7 is definitely better than 25 and to make that kind of cut back is quite an accomplishment. are you not a coffee or tea drinker? those might be good replacements if you need a energy boost w/o the sugar and aspartame.
Thanks! I like both coffee and tea and yet rarely drink them. We have green tea at work and I like that without milk or sugar so may start drinking a cup a day. I did for awhile and then stopped.
oohhh iced coffee is so good in the summer.. a little splash of vanilla soymilk , yum
Well I can't figure out how to put this topic on my watch list since I didn't start it, but anyway I want to say I will be a part of it! I went out for "Cali's walk" earlier this AM than usual and feel better for it. Not so hot and not so much traffic that you take your life in your hands at every corner.
Di, it's all about baby steps. Live from hour to hour, from minute to minute if you have to. I've been there. Like when I want to eat and I know I'm not really hungry I'll tell myself, if you're still hungry in half an hr you can have something. Usually by then I'm busy with something...but yes, sometimes I've eaten that snack.
7 down from 25 is excellent! It's less than a third, practically a quarter of what you were smoking! A 75% improvement is good on anyone's scale. You'll get there--and it will be worth the trip.
I guess I'm "lucky"--aspartame tastes bitter to me and makes me feel ill. So I'm not tempted by diet Coke. I tried one sip of that Coke Zero and it was just gross! It too has aspartame (at least here in Europe) so to me it tasted like bitter cough syrup.
Well, I didn't do well on the raw foods front yesterday, but today is a new day and I started it out with a fabulous kale, blueberry, and mango smoothie. YUM!
Also walked the pups for 40 mins this morning, through rain and all.
Dropped off two garbage bags of clothing to Goodwill yesterday as well. I'm sure there is more I can donate, but that's a decent start I suppose.
So, as long as I get my bum to the gym two more times this week and keep trying to eat raw, I'm doing ok.
Congrats, Di- you're doing amazingly well! I have always thought that, for me personally, I am either in the mindset of quitting something entirely or I have to warm up to the idea. If I'm not in the right mindset and I try to do it anyway, I end up going back to the old behaviors. For example, I couldn't just quit smoking for a long time, I'd try but I just wasn't ready. Then, one day, I just stopped. So, don't beat yourself up for 7 cigs- that's amazing!
Also, congrats Yabbit~ it's great that you're keeping up on your Cali walks! I appreciate your comment on baby steps- I've found that to be true with so many things in my life. Problem for me is that I don't notice or even recognize the baby steps because I want to see huge monster steps! Sometimes the baby ones are even more important...
Congratulations on steps forward everyone!
1) Went jogging yesterday; might go today; it's pouring rain now and I've got a client coming over soon; not sure if I'll have time. I may do some yoga instead this morning and see it the weather clears this afternoon.
2) I smoked about a half a pack yesterday (11 smokes), around my goal, but we had some wine , my trigger to "binge smoke" and I held it somewhat at bay. I'll give myself a C+ on this one.
3) I've already "spent" my two days to drink this week, so the rest of the week will be a challenge. It helps if I just stay home, but there are various functions and events that I am required to attend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This will be a most challenging this week for this goal.
Good luck to all!
Congratulations everyone. I didn't get on the treadmill yesterday but that's ok cuz I am on it at least 5 times a week. I continue to eat healthy, I just need to add more raw foods.
Di, do you have a plan to help you quit smoking? I know you are doing this cold turkey & god love 'ya, I am so in awe of that. I couldn't do it without the patch. Also, there is a great website that is staffed by healthcare professionals that are trained in smoking cessation programs. If anyone is interested in it, let me know & I'll give you the link. There is a whole program that you can do online & I love how it keeps track of my quit for me. It's nice to see how many cigarettes I have not smoked & how much money I have saved but my favourite is the life gained....I just don't know how I will spend those 12 days :)..this is my quit meter that I copied...
Todays Date: 7/24/2007
My Quit Date: 4/2/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 113
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 2,834
Amount Saved: $928.86
Life Gained:
Days: 12 Hrs: 0 Mins: 11 Seconds: 22
way to go di, nutdragon, and meggs - looks like a good start! it's really tough to break out of old habits - they're safe, comfortable, and offer a certain amount of protection (otherwise we wouldn't keep them up). in my efforts to gain weight, well, like I said, habits are hard to break.
1) for the food goal, well... hmm. I didn't NOT eat what I had planned, it's just that what I had planned isn't enough. it's hard to wrap my head around things sometimes. but I KNOW I can do it. I think I need to buy more organic, wholesome foods - I'll feel better eating them. I'd rather eat organic kamut pasta than refined white stuff (which I would NEVER put into my mouth) or purely vegan oatmeal cookies (which I suppose I could make) than super sweet ones with dairy and eggs. who cares about the $ of organic foods if it helps me be healthy AND helps the planet be healthy too?
2) yoga - did some this morning. I was pretty stiff, but it was helpful. maybe tomorrow I'll wake up a little earlier and make my morning practice more intense.
3) writing - I didn't write yesterday, but I researched. I read the book I'm reviewing and did a little studying on nutrition and healthy vegan living (I'm writing an article about that, and tying it into the story about the baby who died of starvation on only soymilk and apple juice).
this is already a long post, but I want to confess something. I'm an aspiring journalist (writing, editing). I found out about VegNews magazine from this website - saw a link and clicked on it. I bought the summer issue, and I'm going to get a year subscription.I fell in love, sort of. I'm trying to - with all the writing I'm doing - create an impressive portfolio, submit a few things, and later on this year, apply for an editorial internship with them. it may be a little lofty, this goal - but it may be not! I'm the editor-in-chief of the Grapevine magazine, the magazine for my university.
to work in such an environment - one that is TOTALLY veg-friendly, eco-friendly, and animal-friendly - doing something I have a passion for, would be AMAZING. I'm going to work hard, and hopefully this work will pay off.
if anyone has any story ideas, feel free to let me know - maybe I'll create a new thread just for that...
LASTLY: I have a new goal: go to bed earlier. ever since I started university, my sleeo cycle has been a mess - noisy dorm mates are to blame! my new goal is to go to bed no later than midnight (so I can watch the local news at 11:30 if I want).
yes, a long post - but kind of cathartic! it feels good to get things out.
keep up the good work everyone!
Sounds like everybody's doing great! ;D
I've been doing pretty well myself too. Today's been all vegan except from one small blunder. I just realized that my hummus actually contains milk (still don't get it why on earth anybody would think of adding that!) so in future I've have to make my own.
I've also been a bit of a saint regarding veggies and fruit today so am well pleased with myself so far. Now I just keep to add a bit more exercise but I'll start cycling a lot again next week when I'll be back at work. Got a lot of exercise cleaning and clearing out the house though!
Good luck to you all! :)
I ate much healthier today, I only had a serving of light chips with lunch and a 100 calorie cookie pouch after dinner.. I also went to Karate.
I'm still not smoking. It's been almost 6 months.
I quit Diet Coke several months ago because of the gas...now I make big containers of iced tea: green, herbal, black, mixed... I drink it with stevia but I guess you could leave it unsweetened if you can deal...
It has really helped me to stay ahead of the game by having healthy foods around at all times...
Congrats everyone on your progress so far!
Today was not a good day for me. I continued with eating more fruit but I woke up with a wicked headache. It was so bad I threw up this morning. It has come and gone all day and now it is really bad. I have to think it is two days without diet coke, hence two days without caffeine. I really just want to go to bed but have to stay up another hour to give Cali her supplements.
I took Cali for two walks today and am going to take her out now to get some fresh air. Yikes, this is hard!!!!!
Congrats everyone on your progress so far!
Today was not a good day for me. I continued with eating more fruit but I woke up with a wicked headache. It was so bad I threw up this morning. It has come and gone all day and now it is really bad. I have to think it is two days without diet coke, hence two days without caffeine. I really just want to go to bed but have to stay up another hour to give Cali her supplements.
I took Cali for two walks today and am going to take her out now to get some fresh air. Yikes, this is hard!!!!!
Good luck to all of you with these goals! Those of you trying to quit coke and cigarettes at the same time!!! Wow!! Two things that are really difficult by themselves. I commend you! Successful wishes to all of you!!!!!
how's everyone doing so far? yesterday was a pretty ok day... I wasn't perfect but made a little progress.
1) food - that I still need to work on
2) yoga - did some yesterday, and did a few sun salutations this morning
3) writing - I wrote a piece about where bagged salad mixes really come from he he! added info about e. coli, and ended it by plugging organic and local produce. it's a "fluffy" article, I have to admit, and still needs some polishing, but I WROTE IT! one down...
the writing bit is really looking up :)
4) getting to bed early - well, I think the fact that I was planning to get to bed earlier made me restless... so that goal didn't really work out
I'm feeling more positive! keep this thread going!
it's really tough to break out of old habits - they're safe, comfortable, and offer a certain amount of protection (otherwise we wouldn't keep them up).
this is already a long post, but I want to confess something. I'm an aspiring journalist (writing, editing). I found out about VegNews magazine from this website - saw a link and clicked on it. I bought the summer issue, and I'm going to get a year subscription.I fell in love, sort of. I'm trying to - with all the writing I'm doing - create an impressive portfolio, submit a few things, and later on this year, apply for an editorial internship with them. it may be a little lofty, this goal - but it may be not! I'm the editor-in-chief of the Grapevine magazine, the magazine for my university.
to work in such an environment - one that is TOTALLY veg-friendly, eco-friendly, and animal-friendly - doing something I have a passion for, would be AMAZING. I'm going to work hard, and hopefully this work will pay off.
keep up the good work everyone!
Wow, Laura- that is awesome! Then your post today about writing an article already- you've totally inspired me. I've been putting off three things: applying to graduate school (I'm only a student-at-large at this point), studying for and re-taking the GRE, and applying for an internship/job. I'm totally and completely paralyzed with fear of not succeeding. Therefore, I don't even try. It makes no sense, I know this, yet the awareness does not make the doing any easier. I can look at you choosing to attack a goal and following through as an accomplishment that you are unique in, or as something that perhaps I can also do. I'm going to try to look at it as the latter. Thank you!
I'm totally and completely paralyzed with fear of not succeeding. Therefore, I don't even try. It makes no sense, I know this, yet the awareness does not make the doing any easier.
I know EXACTLY what you mean - I do the same thing.
and thanks for the encouraging words!
I'm totally and completely paralyzed with fear of not succeeding. Therefore, I don't even try. It makes no sense, I know this, yet the awareness does not make the doing any easier.
I know EXACTLY what you mean - I do the same thing.
and thanks for the encouraging words!
Laura...you rock! I am very proud of you!
Di
Well, the end of day 3.
I am still smoking. Not good!
I am three days diet coke free and for that matter, have not had any form of soft drink in three days. Yesterday and today...wicked headaches! Which means I have had no caffeine in three days. Eating more fruit than I have in years so that is good.
Tomorrow, I will try the smoking thing again. My birthday is Monday and I do not want to start my new year as a smoker. I have quit smoking before and this time it seems to be the hardest time. I seem to have zero will power.
Funny, I don't even miss the coke. I only miss it if I am having a drink because I don't always like having fruit juice with a vodka or a rum. I am not missing just having a glass of diet coke. I like water.
I am truly on a banana/apple kick. I bought some Gala organic apples and they are soooooo good.
Hope everyone is doing well with their goals. Yabbitgirl, how are the Cali walks going? Speaking of Cali walks, I am going to take her on one right now.
Keep it up everyone. It is great reading about your successes!
Di
P.S. Doesn't help that I am having a wicked week of hot flashes as well! >:(
Wow. I am so proud of you all. :)
Di- you're amazing. I mean, you have all these headaches yet still you stay away from Coke. Good for you! It makes my goals of eating smaller meals and less at the yummy deli I work at seem like very easily reached goals.
Thanks, all, for sharing your progress. I really appreciate the openness.
Good luck!
Hope everyone is doing well with their goals. Yabbitgirl, how are the Cali walks going? Speaking of Cali walks, I am going to take her on one right now.
Keep it up everyone. It is great reading about your successes!
Di
P.S. Doesn't help that I am having a wicked week of hot flashes as well! >:(
Di, one thing at a time. It'll take about 10 days to 2 weeks to get the caffiene and Coke junk out of your system (hence headaches). The hot flashes don't help. But it will get better. We can do this!
I have to go out like 8 AM if I want to "walk Cali" before the heat comes. This AM heavy construction is going on in our area so it was a relief to get away! But I do have my little mantra, "Do it for Cali, anna, do it for Cali"...DH thinks I'm turning into one of those bag ladies that walks the streets muttering to themselves! ;D I had to explain that, just as St Therese "walked for a missionary" when she was ill with TB, I am walking for a little Greek rescue dog...he thinks I'm nuts, but that's not news.
However I have been faithful this week, the walks have been shorter than usual because DH comes with me and he isn't used to walking 3 miles at a crack...but with the heat, I don't mind. We go out again about 9 PM to do another 30 min or so. I figure, if you really don't feel like exercising and drag yourself out anyway, even if you go at it kind of half-heartedly, if you DO it, it counts double!
We're in this together, Di.
anna
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