Healthier Living Challenge: Week 8

2/27/2017

Monthly weigh in weight: 162.4lbs.

I utterly failed in accomplishing most of my goals for week 8.  I did not drink at least 60 oz of water a day.  I did not do 100 crunches each day with intermittent exercise on and off throughout the day.  I did not read for at least 30 minutes each day.  The only thing I managed to do was to buy the materials for making my own wooden postcards and I made one that I plan to post on my Etsy shop once I have made a couple more.

The thing that I realized yesterday when I was looking at my list of goals for this past week and seeing that I only accomplished one of the four, was that I have been putting too much pressure on myself.

The point of doing this healthier living challenge is to start living a life style that is healthier in all aspects of life; mentally, emotionally, physically, intellectually, creatively, etc...

I have become anxious to make sure that I try to accomplish all of the goals I set for myself each week and have ended up resenting them and getting down on myself when I don't.

This does not mean that I am not going to keep striving to do things that will put me on the path to a healthier existence.  It means that I need to be more realistic with my goal setting each week.

There are going to be weeks when I feel drained from the previous week, so getting more physical exercise may take a back seat to taking a nap when I get a chance or to finding other ways to decompress.  Those weeks I probably won't have an exercise goal but will work on getting some each day if I am up for it.

I am not putting my physical health on the back burner.  I am still making goals of drinking plenty of water daily and on days after not getting much sleep the night before, taking naps and getting rest when I can.  I am treating my physical body well in a different manner.  And even though I don't have it as a goal for week 9, I managed to get in 100 crunches today and basically move most of the morning with not too much sitting down because I had both boys with me and my oldest is finally potty trained but needs an assist occasionally still.

My purpose for not making crunches and exercise a goal for this week is that I feel when I get it in off the cuff, I will feel good about doing it instead of feeling anxious about making sure it happens each day.  It is very freeing for me to just be able to do it and not feel like I have to do it.  My mental, emotional, and physical health will hopefully thank me this week as I will be weighing in after a month to see if my efforts have produced some weight lose.

As for the one goal I did manage to accomplish for week 8, it was very fun to do and I am looking forward to making more wooden postcards this week.  Once I have a couple made, I am going to post them on my Etsy shop to sell. 

I am going to be gracious to myself this week and not go overboard in my goals.  My youngest son hasn't been sleeping well due to teething so I am more tired and need more rest when I can get it than usual.  Most of my goals for week 9 are ways to relax but also keep from getting so bored that I get antsy which leads to anxiety over things I can not control.  I don't want that to happen and it usually does when I am tired from lack of sleep.

So without further ado, onward and upward!

Goals for Week 9:
1) Drink at least 60 oz of water daily
2) Write in my journal 2x this week
3) Read for 30 minutes a day (Facebook articles do not count)
4) Do not log into Facebook one day this week