Week 10 of 15 Review

Hello Friends, I'm still working through the 15 Week Challenge. I start week 11 today, and the third and final phase of this challenge. I took last week off from goal tracking and routine. That wasn't my original plan, however life has away of getting in the way of plans at times. It feels good to be back and writing a review.

The skipping a week allowed me to begin the final phase while I'm still highly motivated by the New Year. I have made some adjustments and additions to the Phase Two goals.  Most will probably turn into habits I keep for the whole year, and I have the added benefit that if I stop any of these goals after January I can't beat myself up for failing my resolutions because they aren't resolutions, the set deadline is five weeks away.

I think the best part of the 15 weeks has been taking weekly progress pictures. There has been more than once that I was feeling discouraged and had not noticed any change until I compared the photos. The comparison photos below were taken at the start of each of the three phases. I purposefully wore the same outfit so I could not pass off progress as a result of better fitting clothes.

Week Ten Review:

At the start of week ten I was at the lowest weight I've been all year. It was a very satisfying moment to have tangible numbers that reflected my effort. I also knew that I was not going to be staying at that weight during my days of fun and feasting.  The lead up to Christmas was mostly good. The eating was mildly out of control. I say "out of control" because I was over my recommended targets that Noom gives for weight loss. I use mild because my "overeating" was less than my average daily calorie intake before this 15 Week challenge began. I also gave myself permission to just enjoy the holidays and eat Christmas cookies. Future Liz would take care of getting back on track after the festivities. Also I don't want to live a life that can not enjoy a cup of hot coco and cookies.

The "not caring" attitude was only going to last till Christmas. But as I said in the intro, things did not go according to plan. Week ten lasted fourteen days and I honestly stopped tracking my habits. Today is the day I get back to the challenge.

Looking Ahead:

New Year = New Challenges. 

Phase Three has a lot going on. When I began the 15 Weeks I was focused primarily on making sustainable physical habits. There were only five tasks on my list for each day. There are now 13 daily goals. These new tasks and habits are either spiritual practices, mental exercises, or improvements to my morning routine. Many of these tasks I was already doing; I am adding them to the list for days I am discouraged to remind myself that I have accomplished more than I think.

What I Am Doing?

• NEW Wake Up by 7:00 am
• NEW Begin morning with Lectio 365, Journal Writing, Thankfulness, and a devotional with Alex
• NEW Morning Stretching
• Drink 4 "little mermaid" cups* worth of water (about a half gallon)
• Do an XBX workout
• CHANGE 8,000 Steps
• Meet the Noom food budget without going over the red foods
• Read the daily Noom articles
• NEW Duolingo Lesson
• CHANGE Read ten pages from a physical book
• NEW Dance at Home
• Reflect on victories at the end of each day
• NEW End day with Lectio 365
• On Mondays take a progress photo and post an update on this blog.

The Additions and Changes:

1) Wake Up by 7:00 am -I am not a morning person. I love staying up late and working in the quiet of the night. However, the majority of the world does not work on that schedule. With me going back to school next week my hope is to work on building a healthy morning routine to give me the best days possible. I think this is going to be my greatest challenge. AND...I am going to move the wake up time in 15 minute increments each week to work towards a 6:00 am wake up.

2) Morning Activities -The morning Lectio 365 (an app that guides you through a morning time of reflective prayer and Scripture reading), journaling, and giving thanks are habits that are a consistent part of my life. The couples devotional time is something new. We were gifted the Love Dare 365 devotional book for Christmas and have been reading it together after our morning stretching.

3) Morning Stretching -This was Alex's suggestion and part of his New Year's Resolutions. It has been good and painful, I mean...stretching...

4) 8,000 Steps -I am decreasing the walking to 8,000 steps. When it was warm and we were enjoying two walks a day including 10pm walks we were easily hitting between 8 to 10k steps. These days that is no longer obtainable or as enjoyable. We are making the effort go at lunch for a frozen walk around our street, which only nets use about 4,000 steps. The closest I've gotten to 8k was 7,532 on New Years Day. And that was a beautiful day for walk. Today was bitterly cold.

5) Duolingo -I've been doing lessons for 1199 days (with the help of a few streak freezes). I'm including it now for similar reasons I added my spiritual practices. Language learning keeps my mental health up and I like checking off finished tasks. 

6) Read Ten Pages -It feels like a good time to increase this challenge for two reasons. First, I have been reading 4-12 pages anyways and the bigger reason my classes start next week and I expect that I will be required to read much more than ten pages daily.

7) Daily Dancing -I'm so excited for this one. Alex and I have been taking ballroom lessons for over a year. We have been trained in seven dances: East-Coast swing, waltz, fox trot, rumba, cha-cha, tango, and the Viennese's waltz. Alex suggested we practice a different dance each night of the week for about 10-15 minutes.

8) Evening Activities -I enjoy ending my day with a simple routine. I go through my daily task list one last time, review the next days tasks, finish my bathroom-beauty routine, and as I tuck into bed end with the night time Lectio 365 reading.

And that's the plan for the next five weeks.