January

Longest streak: 9 days
Blog post: 1
Days under net calorie goal: 6
30 minute workouts: 21

While all around me...

One of the ways to earns points in this competition is to eat under your net calorie goal...we even get one point for every day we stay under that goal number. Given that to be the monthly winner you need the highest number of points, staying below your net calorie goal is a great way to accumulate points. So, why has that been so hard for me this month?
We have a new health insurance plan and they like their members to be healthy so I filled out a questionnaire and they gave me the number of calories I should eat if I want to lose weight. It was nice not having to come up with that number on my own, but ever since I got that information, all I want to do is eat! I faithfully track my food intake and most days I am over that number, not under like I should be.
All around me I have people dropping weight--my DH has started tracking/limiting his daily fat grams and he lost 7 pounds this week. Four girls at the Institute have been regularly working out at the gym and watching their food intake--one has lost 6 pounds so far this month, another 10 pounds, and one has lost 25 pounds (don't worry, she has a lot to lose so 25 is just a drop in the bucket for her). The 4th girl and I seem to finding all those lost pounds....
So with all these good examples around who are losing weight, my own weight has not budged (yes, I should be grateful that I haven't gained any weight so far this month--thank goodness I do exercise!).
What are some things that are motivating the rest of you to stay under your calorie limit? Self-hypnosis? A lock on your fridge? Wiring your mouth shut? ( hmm, maybe that last one is a good idea...not only would it help me lose weight but would also keep me from having to teach 6 classes every week!)

January Monthly Competition

Longest streak of consecutive days with at least 30+ minutes workout-- 13

(Note--you do not have to include your name. I'll see who you are in the author.)

January Competition Instructions

As the end of January approaches, here are the instructions on how to post points for the month. By February 1st, everyone needs to post their longest streak of days having a 30+ minute workout. I'm going to go ahead and post mine (got sick and ruined my streak--sadness) so everyone can see what it should look like. If you're having trouble getting the post to work, give me a call during the evening, and I'll walk you through it. Happy wellness!

First Time Skiing

Friday I had my first experience skiing. We had someone watch Benjamin so that we could head out to Sugar Mountain for the experience. Up until recently, I've been super nervous about the whole idea of down hill skiing. But for some reason, I'm suddenly okay with it. It may have something to do with the fact that we went white water rafting in the fall, which (given that I never fell out of the raft) alleviated a lot of my concerns about some of these types of activities.

So. Skiing. After I got all of my equipment put together, we headed up to the bunny hill. After about two seconds on my skis, I promptly fell over. And then I fell over a few more times on the way down to the bottom. Turns out the bunny hill has a little conveyer belt. So not worth it. We walked up the hill the next few times I went down the bunny hill.

After I felt comfortable with some basic turning, we headed over to the green slopes. It took us quite a while to get our skis back on as it turned out that the snow was kind of slushy and had caked up our boots. But once we got that figured out (and helped a few others figure out the same problem), we started up on the ski lift. Turns out ski lifts are really romantic. We went down the green trail four times and then for the last time went down a little differently (the Lower Flying Mile). Even though I hadn't fallen down for the last two runs, I seriously struggled with the final run. It was a little difficult making the transition without totally freaking out, which lead to more falling. And then I realized after using muscles in ways that I hadn't before that I was REALLY sore. I had to grind down the rest of the hill just in case I couldn't get my body to get back into that position.

All in all, I had a great time. It was a ton of fun going down the slopes, cuddling with Mark on the ramp, and trying something new. Main reason I'm posting this on the blog? If you're doing your best to be in shape, it opens up the world to so many awesome possibilities. Happy wellness everyone!

Prone to Injury...

So, my wife is concerned that my participation in sports has a tendency to result in personal injury to my person.  According to her records, this happens 90% of the time that I participate in a group sport.  Well, sometimes it feels hard to contradict her, especially given my own stubbornness when it comes to work outs and sports.

As a pair of examples, on Feb. 2nd, I went on a run down a path I used to go on back in high school.  I convinced myself that I had to go just as far as I did back then, even though I started from home and ran to the start point by my old high school, adding a couple miles to the distance.  I ended up on this workout for over an hour and a half and limping for a couple days, even though I knew 30 minutes in that I should cut my workout short.

New example, this one from tonight, I went down to play basketball at church (does that count for organized sports, by the way? Since we play the other wards and have the whole tournament thing?)  Anyway, not even 7 cumulative points into the first game, I got conked on the nose by the elbow of one of the youth we let practice with us.  I am now sporting a small cut on my nose (maybe a 1/2 cm in length) and had to tend to a bloody nose.  In the third game, I hit something with my foot (wall?  ball? ...person?) and a few minutes later, I had this odd feeling that my toe was bleeding.  I figured, 'hey, I haven't broken a toe nail enough to do that in years!  I'm imaging things.'  Come home and check it out..yeah, I cracked my toenail.  Funny thing is, the last time I did that was ALSO playing church basketball on that very same court.

So, yeah, Carmen wants me to stop playing sports so I'll stop injuring myself and also not die.

:)

Clarification

To clarify (as stated in the title of this post). When tracking points, everyone is responsible for tracking their own points using whatever methods they deem most suitable for themselves. If you want me to make you a spreadsheet and send it to you, I would be more than happy to oblige. The only time we will post points earned for a monthly competition or otherwise will be the first Sunday of each month--other than this January of course. The week before the Sunday post needs to go up, I will put up another post that gives specific instructions on the format we should all use. If this is not clear (I write this while doped up on pain medication), ask for clarification in the comments below, and I will do my best to answer.

Goal Setting

As this is January with a monthly competition focussed on consistency, I thought I would share some tips and thoughts about goal setting from various peoples including myself.

Why should we set goals?

Setting goals and managing our time gives us control over and direction in our lives and facilitates us in serving those around us. When we think about our goals, we can try to purposefully and deliberately align our will with God's. Setting goals is a great time to think about whether or not what we think is important is also what we think God says is important.

"Now is the time to align our goals with God's goals. His work and His glory--'to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man'--can become ours."

Russell M. Nelson

"Now is the Time to Prepare"

What should we set goals about?

Short answer? Basically everything worthwhile in our lives. Keep in mind why we are setting goals (see above). Some important areas of our lives to set goals around include:

• Wellness (check it! That's what this blog will help us accomplish!!)
• Spirituality
• Intellectual pursuits (even if we're not in school, we should still be learning)
• Developing our talents
• Career
• Finances

Of course these are just some ideas. Feel free to suggest some more.

How should we set goals?

We should consider the mantra "moderation in all things" in goal setting. Not too many. Not too few. Not too hard. Not too easy. I think that M. Russell Ballard sums it up beautifully.

"First, think about your life and set your priorities. Find some quiet time regularly to think deeply about where you are going and what you will need to do to get there. Jesus, our exemplar, often 'withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.' We need to do the same thing occasionally to rejuvenate ourselves spiritually as the Savior did. Write down the tasks you would like to accomplish each day. Keep foremost in mind the sacred covenants you have made with the Lord as you write down your daily schedules.

"Second, set short-term goals that you can reach. Set goals that are well balanced--not too many nor too few, and not too high nor too low. Write down you attainable goals and work on them according to their importance. Pray for divine guidance in your goal setting."

M. Russell Ballard

"Keeping Life's Demands in Balance"

So what are your thoughts about goals? Share in the comments below.