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Eight Twelve Weeks To A Better Me It’s amazing how fast the days slip by. I did so great the first week, and then the second week I spent preparing for my parents’ visit, then the third was their visit, and this week I spent getting back into the swing of things. So four weeks later and I finally bring you… WEEK TWO: Healthier Living I’ve been so terrible at taking care of myself. And not just since baby, I’ve always been a little negligent, taking advantage of my good fortune and relying on my genes to do all the hard work instead of putting in the hard work. I’m not un-healthy, but I don’t try to be as healthy as I can either. So when HB has that midnight snack, I won’t resist. That Mikes Hard Lemonade for dinner, yes please! I also have a hard time eating breakfast and lunch when I should… the time gets away from me and by the time I get around to that sandwich I’m starving, resulting in probably eating more than I originally would have. But it’s not just consumption vs exercise, I’ve never been good at taking care of my skin either, again, solely relying on my God given traits and not putting any attention to it myself. So a few nights of falling asleep on the couch at night and not bothering to wash up before stumbling to bed turned to never washing up before bed. I say this with my head hung very low. A small consolation… after coming clean to some friends (no pun intended) I was surprised to find how many of them admitted the same! (I did say it was a little consolation) So this week I want to work on treating myself and my body better. GOALS: Figure out a workout routine and MAKE IT ROUTINE. A few months ago when I was finally cleared to go back to fully working out, I got myself all ready for the gym and headed out with baby in tow, super excited and pumped to go in strong. Well, no more than 10 minutes into the workout and I was told that I couldn’t have my baby in his stroller in there with me. And since there’s no childcare offered at that location, and no other time I can see myself getting over there besides mid-day, I cancelled my membership. Since then I’ve procrastinated figuring something else out. This week I’m going to make some decisions and ACT. Bare minimum, I need to decide on a work out regime, and start it, exercising no fewer than three times a week. Snack more, eat less. Kinda an entendre, but I read this AH-MAZING book a couple years ago that really taught me a lot about how the human body works in the most optimal way. The idea here isn’t new, but it’s hard to keep up. Instead of having just three meals, I want to add a lot of in between snacks scheduled at two hour intervals to my day in order to keep up my metabolism so it’s operating at it’s optimal level. But not just any snacks, very targeted protein and such… celery and peanut butter, hardboiled eggs, hummus… I’ve done this before and in order to really stick to it, I have to actually plan it out like I do with dinner. I’m gonna give myself slack on the weekends, since we’re out so often, and since I’ll be with the hubs. Gonna shoot for accomplishing this four of the five weekdays. Wash and moisturize twice a day. Sometimes finding a good chance to take a 5 minute shower can be a challenge, you can imagine how easily moisturizing after a shower gets tossed out the window. But the reality is, it’s important, and even if I can’t do it when I want, or all at once for that matter, I can still do it. Sometimes after a walk, I’ll see little speckles on my arms or something, I assume from all the nasty exhaust walking around the sidewalks in this overcrowded city, but whatever it is, it’s disgusting to realize it’s getting all over me. I always wash my hands first thing after I walk in the door whenever I go out, but meanwhile, that same crap is just sitting on my face, and going to sleep with it that night, getting it on my pillow… ew. I really need to stay conscious of that. And all those hours at night moisturizer could be replenishing my cells… I have to make it a priority. If I want to look anything like my mom at her age, I need to kick it into high gear. Gotta do it every night / every time, but if I can accomplish it the majority of the week, I’ll be excited. Cheers to a better me! __________ Recap from WEEK ONE, Summer Cleaning: I cleaned out every drawer in both my dressers and ended up with four big bags of stuff to get rid of. Feels really good. I posted it on Craigslist, but no one except a couple possibly creepy people are interested in contacting me for it. Com’on internet people, $10 for a bag of 34 summer tops isn’t good enough for you?! I picked out a few to give my pastor’s daughter and my sisters and then hauled them over to Goodwill. I didn’t get to cleaning out a little “corner of clutter” as I’m now referring to it as, but I did make sure the house was completely picked up at the end of the day twice during the week. This week I’ll attempt my goals again.

Eight Twelve Weeks To A Better Me

It’s amazing how fast the days slip by. I did so great the first week, and then the second week I spent preparing for my parents’ visit, then the third was their visit, and this week I spent getting back into the swing of things. So four weeks later and I finally bring you…

WEEK TWO: Healthier Living

I’ve been so terrible at taking care of myself. And not just since baby, I’ve always been a little negligent, taking advantage of my good fortune and relying on my genes to do all the hard work instead of putting in the hard work. I’m not un-healthy, but I don’t try to be as healthy as I can either. So when HB has that midnight snack, I won’t resist. That Mikes Hard Lemonade for dinner, yes please! I also have a hard time eating breakfast and lunch when I should… the time gets away from me and by the time I get around to that sandwich I’m starving, resulting in probably eating more than I originally would have. But it’s not just consumption vs exercise, I’ve never been good at taking care of my skin either, again, solely relying on my God given traits and not putting any attention to it myself. So a few nights of falling asleep on the couch at night and not bothering to wash up before stumbling to bed turned to never washing up before bed. I say this with my head hung very low. A small consolation… after coming clean to some friends (no pun intended) I was surprised to find how many of them admitted the same! (I did say it was a little consolation) So this week I want to work on treating myself and my body better.

GOALS:

  1. Figure out a workout routine and MAKE IT ROUTINE. A few months ago when I was finally cleared to go back to fully working out, I got myself all ready for the gym and headed out with baby in tow, super excited and pumped to go in strong. Well, no more than 10 minutes into the workout and I was told that I couldn’t have my baby in his stroller in there with me. And since there’s no childcare offered at that location, and no other time I can see myself getting over there besides mid-day, I cancelled my membership. Since then I’ve procrastinated figuring something else out. This week I’m going to make some decisions and ACT. Bare minimum, I need to decide on a work out regime, and start it, exercising no fewer than three times a week.
  2. Snack more, eat less. Kinda an entendre, but I read this AH-MAZING book a couple years ago that really taught me a lot about how the human body works in the most optimal way. The idea here isn’t new, but it’s hard to keep up. Instead of having just three meals, I want to add a lot of in between snacks scheduled at two hour intervals to my day in order to keep up my metabolism so it’s operating at it’s optimal level. But not just any snacks, very targeted protein and such… celery and peanut butter, hardboiled eggs, hummus… I’ve done this before and in order to really stick to it, I have to actually plan it out like I do with dinner. I’m gonna give myself slack on the weekends, since we’re out so often, and since I’ll be with the hubs. Gonna shoot for accomplishing this four of the five weekdays.
  3. Wash and moisturize twice a day. Sometimes finding a good chance to take a 5 minute shower can be a challenge, you can imagine how easily moisturizing after a shower gets tossed out the window. But the reality is, it’s important, and even if I can’t do it when I want, or all at once for that matter, I can still do it. Sometimes after a walk, I’ll see little speckles on my arms or something, I assume from all the nasty exhaust walking around the sidewalks in this overcrowded city, but whatever it is, it’s disgusting to realize it’s getting all over me. I always wash my hands first thing after I walk in the door whenever I go out, but meanwhile, that same crap is just sitting on my face, and going to sleep with it that night, getting it on my pillow… ew. I really need to stay conscious of that. And all those hours at night moisturizer could be replenishing my cells… I have to make it a priority. If I want to look anything like my mom at her age, I need to kick it into high gear. Gotta do it every night / every time, but if I can accomplish it the majority of the week, I’ll be excited.

Cheers to a better me!

    __________

    Recap from WEEK ONE, Summer Cleaning:

    I cleaned out every drawer in both my dressers and ended up with four big bags of stuff to get rid of. Feels really good. I posted it on Craigslist, but no one except a couple possibly creepy people are interested in contacting me for it. Com’on internet people, $10 for a bag of 34 summer tops isn’t good enough for you?! I picked out a few to give my pastor’s daughter and my sisters and then hauled them over to Goodwill. I didn’t get to cleaning out a little “corner of clutter” as I’m now referring to it as, but I did make sure the house was completely picked up at the end of the day twice during the week. This week I’ll attempt my goals again.

    Comments
    Making New Year’s Resolutions got away from me this year since I was so consumed with my baby on the way and making sure I was completely prepared for his arrival. So to make up for it I’m going to do some mid-year resolutions (appropriately today, the official half way point in the year), and since everyone knows resolutions are usually so grandiose they’re lost within weeks, instead of making sweeping promises, I decided to bite off goals I could chew in more reasonable legs of time. Ever since Baby has been here, it’s been hard accomplishing as many things as I used to. Clearly this was to be expected, but nevertheless, there needs to be a better plan in place for me to get anything done. You’d think this wouldn’t be an issue for me because I like making lists, and having a calendar, and scheduling things in advance, but there are so many things in my queue, they all end up just sitting there week after week because I can’t pick which to tackle and then nothing gets done. But then there are those rare weeks where I actually choose a task, choose a day to execute it, and then accomplish it. And it feels good. So here’s the plan. Each week, for the next eight weeks, I’m going to post a task (or theme, if you will) to tackle, set my goals to help me accomplish that task, and use all you guys as my accountability for accomplishing it. At the beginning of the following week’s post, I’ll recap how I did. I’m hoping that even after that week is over though that the good habits will continue on, leaving me feeling more successful with my every day activities, and more well rounded. I’d love to hear any ideas or suggestions you may have as I go along. Feel free to repost and join in with your own Eight Week Challenge, and let me know if you do so I can follow along and cheer you on, too! —— WEEK ONE: Spring Summer Cleaning After many tears shed, I’ve come to terms that my body will never be the same again. Even if I get all my excess weight gained off, it will never be the same. It just won’t. And that’s okay. I’m in a new stage in my life… a stage that’s creating a family, and that miracle of having a baby is worth every unpleasant change: my expanded rib cage and hips, my less “bubbly” boobs, the thicker arms and thighs, and of course the post-baby soft tummy. I had my share of little breakdowns about it. Cries in husband’s arms, private cries I would suppress so my husband wouldn’t hear. In the shower, in front of the closet after hunting and hunting for something to wear. But I’m starting to accept my new shape.  With that though, the reality was I needed new clothes. Not just because of the literal need for my body, but because I emotionally needed it to help me feel better, too, which I think is just as important to a new mom’s confidence. I didn’t want to get much, but some solid pieces to help me get through my days at home so I wasn’t stuck in sweatpants and a beater. For those days I would only get out just to go to the grocery store, if only to look decent around the neighborhood. And for those other days baby and I would take out to the park, to play dates, and other random outings and errands.  So after getting my awesome Mother’s Day Shopping Spree gift, I went to a consignment shop and made out like a bandit. Now for a place to put them. I’ve always had a hard time throwing clothes out. Even if I didn’t wear them, I would justify how I just didn’t get around to it that season, but definitely would the next. Anything I could to hold onto a piece I knew I never wore, year after year. It’s such a luxury to have as many clothes as we do. I’m partly ashamed I have over 115 pairs of shoes. (Ya, I don’t know how I accommodate those in a New York apartment either!). So now that half of my wardrobe is obsolete, I’m going to give it a serious overhaul, and this time, it will be easy! I’m excited to trim the fat (in more ways than one). I used to do Throw Away Thursdays, which was successful, but incredibly slow. Maybe I’ll revive that again some day, but right now I want some serious refreshing to make me feel revived in this area of my life. This revamping overflows into other areas of our apartment, too though. As much as I like things organized and clean, I have a tendency to create little corners and let things pile up until I can get to them so I *can* organize them and put them away properly. I want to tackle this. GOALS Chose a part of the closet or dresser to comb through and weed things out. Honestly ask myself if I feel comfortable in it, if I look good in it, if it’s easy, and if I will wear it. If any of those is a no, toss it. Fill up at least a grocery bag. Post it on Craigslist as a lot for $10 and if it doesn’t sell by the following week, take a walk down the block to Goodwill. Pick an area in the apartment to reorganize and clean out and make the time to get it done. Just 15-20 minutes. It may be a drawer, a file, a shelf. Keep it manageable so it can get done while the baby naps. The last thing I want is to start it and then not finish, creating a bigger mess. Try to have all the major daily clutter picked up at the end of the day at least twice a week. It may be unrealistic to expect the apartment clean all the time, but making sure it’s tidy a couple times is doable. Maybe Friday, entering into the weekend, and either Monday or Tuesday, starting off the week.  Good luck to those adapting this challenge, and cheers to better ME’s!

    Making New Year’s Resolutions got away from me this year since I was so consumed with my baby on the way and making sure I was completely prepared for his arrival. So to make up for it I’m going to do some mid-year resolutions (appropriately today, the official half way point in the year), and since everyone knows resolutions are usually so grandiose they’re lost within weeks, instead of making sweeping promises, I decided to bite off goals I could chew in more reasonable legs of time.

    Ever since Baby has been here, it’s been hard accomplishing as many things as I used to. Clearly this was to be expected, but nevertheless, there needs to be a better plan in place for me to get anything done. You’d think this wouldn’t be an issue for me because I like making lists, and having a calendar, and scheduling things in advance, but there are so many things in my queue, they all end up just sitting there week after week because I can’t pick which to tackle and then nothing gets done. But then there are those rare weeks where I actually choose a task, choose a day to execute it, and then accomplish it. And it feels good.

    So here’s the plan. Each week, for the next eight weeks, I’m going to post a task (or theme, if you will) to tackle, set my goals to help me accomplish that task, and use all you guys as my accountability for accomplishing it. At the beginning of the following week’s post, I’ll recap how I did. I’m hoping that even after that week is over though that the good habits will continue on, leaving me feeling more successful with my every day activities, and more well rounded.

    I’d love to hear any ideas or suggestions you may have as I go along. Feel free to repost and join in with your own Eight Week Challenge, and let me know if you do so I can follow along and cheer you on, too!

    ——

    WEEK ONE: Spring Summer Cleaning

    After many tears shed, I’ve come to terms that my body will never be the same again. Even if I get all my excess weight gained off, it will never be the same. It just won’t. And that’s okay. I’m in a new stage in my life… a stage that’s creating a family, and that miracle of having a baby is worth every unpleasant change: my expanded rib cage and hips, my less “bubbly” boobs, the thicker arms and thighs, and of course the post-baby soft tummy. I had my share of little breakdowns about it. Cries in husband’s arms, private cries I would suppress so my husband wouldn’t hear. In the shower, in front of the closet after hunting and hunting for something to wear. But I’m starting to accept my new shape. 

    With that though, the reality was I needed new clothes. Not just because of the literal need for my body, but because I emotionally needed it to help me feel better, too, which I think is just as important to a new mom’s confidence. I didn’t want to get much, but some solid pieces to help me get through my days at home so I wasn’t stuck in sweatpants and a beater. For those days I would only get out just to go to the grocery store, if only to look decent around the neighborhood. And for those other days baby and I would take out to the park, to play dates, and other random outings and errands. 

    So after getting my awesome Mother’s Day Shopping Spree gift, I went to a consignment shop and made out like a bandit. Now for a place to put them.

    I’ve always had a hard time throwing clothes out. Even if I didn’t wear them, I would justify how I just didn’t get around to it that season, but definitely would the next. Anything I could to hold onto a piece I knew I never wore, year after year. It’s such a luxury to have as many clothes as we do. I’m partly ashamed I have over 115 pairs of shoes. (Ya, I don’t know how I accommodate those in a New York apartment either!). So now that half of my wardrobe is obsolete, I’m going to give it a serious overhaul, and this time, it will be easy! I’m excited to trim the fat (in more ways than one). I used to do Throw Away Thursdays, which was successful, but incredibly slow. Maybe I’ll revive that again some day, but right now I want some serious refreshing to make me feel revived in this area of my life.

    This revamping overflows into other areas of our apartment, too though. As much as I like things organized and clean, I have a tendency to create little corners and let things pile up until I can get to them so I *can* organize them and put them away properly. I want to tackle this.

    GOALS

    1. Chose a part of the closet or dresser to comb through and weed things out. Honestly ask myself if I feel comfortable in it, if I look good in it, if it’s easy, and if I will wear it. If any of those is a no, toss it. Fill up at least a grocery bag. Post it on Craigslist as a lot for $10 and if it doesn’t sell by the following week, take a walk down the block to Goodwill.
    2. Pick an area in the apartment to reorganize and clean out and make the time to get it done. Just 15-20 minutes. It may be a drawer, a file, a shelf. Keep it manageable so it can get done while the baby naps. The last thing I want is to start it and then not finish, creating a bigger mess.
    3. Try to have all the major daily clutter picked up at the end of the day at least twice a week. It may be unrealistic to expect the apartment clean all the time, but making sure it’s tidy a couple times is doable. Maybe Friday, entering into the weekend, and either Monday or Tuesday, starting off the week. 

    Good luck to those adapting this challenge, and cheers to better ME’s!

    Comments