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Here’s to New Habits! Fitness Goal Check Week Three

I heard somewhere that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Well, I’ve made it 21 days. Does that mean I now have a new, healthy habit? I hope so! With the exception of an illness knocking me out on Arms & Shoulders day, I made it through week three without a hiccup.

The program’s a little repetitive the first three weeks, so week three looked exactly like weeks one and two:

  • Day 15 – Chest and Back
  • Day 16 – Plyometrics
  • Day 17 – Arms and Shoulders
  • Day 18 – Yoga
  • Day 19 – Legs and Back
  • Day 20 – Kenpo
  • Day 21 – Rest or Stretch

Getting up at 4:00 has gotten, dare I say it, a teeny bit easier. I woke up on Day 19 a few minutes before my alarm went off, actually. I’m still not fully functional that early, but I’m not a complete zombie either.

I can just about pull myself up one inch now, instead of just hanging there like an ironed shirt from my pull-up bar. Using a chair for assistance helps and I have the bonus of getting an extra leg workout! I’m finally sort of getting the hang of the first half hour of the yoga workout. I can at least go from Downward Dog to Runner’s Pose to Warrior 1 without totally falling over. I still have issues with Kenpo though. Maybe if I had something to actually punch, I’d find it a bit easier.

The diet portion of the challenge still needs work. But I think I’ve trained myself to want my apple at 3:00 in the afternoon instead of wanting a bag of fruit snacks. As a matter of fact, if I don’t have an apple sitting on my desk at work, I get a little twitchy. The weekends are the hardest for me. I’m pretty sure it’s because at work, I have a routine that I stick to. I don’t have that on the weekend.

Overall, it was a good week. I’m looking forward to week four, which is “Recovery Week.” That means a lot of stretching, Yoga and a DVD called “Core Synergistics” which I’ve never tried.

Check back next week to see how the first month of my 3-month challenge went!

And here’s to forming new habits! What new habit are you trying to form?

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Facebook as Connection Tool

There are plenty of reasons to maintain a healthy annoyance at Facebook. Things like, your privacy settings getting reset every time they change something you just got used to. Definitely a good reason to stay annoyed.

But there’s a really neat reason not to drop Facebook like a container of wriggling spiders.

Reconnecting and staying connected.

In my case, I’ve reconnected with family.

My parents moved us away from Rhode Island just before my 16th birthday. Which, for the record, was … a long time ago. Some of my cousins weren’t even born when we moved and I’ve maybe seen them once in all this time.

Thanks to Facebook though, we’ve managed to connect (and in some cases, reconnect) and I’m getting to know these really cool people. All without the awkward silences that come from say, family reunions, where relatives introduce you to someone you once met when you were an infant.

“Honey, you remember your cousin Karen, right? You were four months old the last time you saw her. She wrestles cheetahs or something now.”

Facebook lets you avoid the nervous smile and wave that usually accompanies that kind of re-introduction. (And I wrestle with a Cheetos addiction… not with actual cheetahs.)

One of the neatest parts is getting to live and travel vicariously through my family members as they post pictures of their time in places like New Zealand or Italy. And I’m learning that majoring in medicine is not for the faint of heart or weak of mind.

By extension, I’ve reconnected with their parents as well. And my aunts and uncles, I do remember. And miss. Yes, there are phone calls, emails, and letters. But Facebook is so immediate. On busy days, when life has me by the throat and is shaking me like a gator with prey, I can keep up with my family in real-time, with a glance at my phone.

Facebook may have its quirks when it comes to privacy and user experience (Timeline, anyone?), but with keeping you connected, it’s pretty awesome.

Now I’m curious about how to use this connection epiphany for business as well as personal. How can I use this real-time interaction with people to expand a business?

How have you used Facebook to a business advantage? And has Facebook helped you reconnect and stay connected to family or friends that you haven’t seen in years?

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I Survived Single Leg Wall Squats! – Fitness Goal Check Week Two

I’ve made it through week two of my 90 day fitness challenge. It’s had its ups and downs, but overall it wasn’t as painful as week one.

By Friday I was so wiped out that I almost hit the “Off” button on my phone and slept through Yoga. But I got up anyway and powered through, nearly falling flat on my face trying to do “Crane” pose. I was so tired by that night though, I was drooling on my pillow by 7:40 p.m.

On the nutrition side, this week reaffirmed my belief that I’m a total stress eater. The beginning of the week sort of put the “F” in “effed up” and Tuesday saw me wanting nothing but chips, cheese, and chocolate. My fitness challenge coach and group gave me some great advice on how to combat my desire to chow down when the cortisone levels spike and Wednesday started with a clean slate. I did pretty well the rest of the week.

I also gave up fruit snacks and Snickers (my personal irresistible temptations) for Lent as an added incentive to not eat them.

Here’s what week two looked like (exactly like week one, actually):

  • Day 8 – Chest and Back
  • Day 9 – Plyometrics
  • Day 10 – Arms and Shoulders
  • Day 11 – Yoga
  • Day 12 – Legs and Back
  • Day 13 – Kenpo
  • Day 14 – Rest or Stretch

Week Two Wrap Up

I used a chair this week to help me with the pull ups and sure felt it in my back! I have no grace or balance and I hit myself in the face during Kenpo. My eating still needs help, but I did better this week than last week. Also, I’ve lost half an inch on my waist, hips and thighs. And best of all, I survived single leg wall squats!

Bring on week three!

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New Goals for the New Year

Okay, so my New Year’s resolution post is a few days late. But since I just got back from a two week trip to England, I’ll give myself a pass. Just this once.

Before I dive into my list though, I have to issue a small disclaimer.

I don’t make actual resolutions anymore. My ability to keep them goes beyond sucktastic. I set goals instead. I find goals easier to meet.

Now, without further ado, I present:

My Goals for 2012!

Become More Fearless with My Writing

I’ve been a writing wimp until recently. Too timid to share my scribblings. Too scared to try new forms of writing. That’s not very smart for someone who’s dreamed of making a living via the written word. I’ve read, studied and even practiced many forms of writing. It’s time to buckle down now and put aside my worry of not being good enough. The more you write, the better you get.

Starting this blog back in November was Step One toward fearlessness. When my harsh critic of an inner editor said “See. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” I found myself encouraged and eager to try other, new forms of writing.

So, out with my old writing fears for 2012.

Health and Fitness

I believe I’ve mentioned a few times that, due to health reasons, I’ve recently switched to a gluten free diet. Well, it’s time for me to quit thinking of it as a “diet change” and start thinking of it in terms of a “lifestyle change”. I don’t do diets well. Mostly because I start to think about all of the stuff I can no longer have and depress myself. And then go off the diet.

While I haven’t blown my diet (on purpose) in the past two months, I need to refocus. I don’t want to just replace the gluteny junk I used to eat with its gluten free counterpart (which, in some cases, is even more unhealthy).

So, I’m re-thinking my food habits entirely and find myself excited by the prospect of trying to incorporate more whole, unprocessed foods and lean proteins rather than just substituting rice bread for wheat bread. (However, all bets are off if someone finally starts making a tasty gluten free Pop-Tart… What? We’ve all got our vices.)

It’s also time to reboot my fitness program again. Part of a healthy lifestyle is movement, right? While I’ve had to cancel my gym membership (see goal “Pay off Debt“), I still have my awesome P90x and my running shoes. Both of which are getting dusted off and used. It’s time to get, and stay, healthy.

Family Time

When they were younger, the kiddos and I used to pop in a movie or go out for dinner every other Friday night. It was great, though I did sit through many a snoozer of a kid’s movie. But as they got older they started getting involved with school activities, activities with friends, and so on and the every other Friday night Family Night fell by the wayside.

One of my goals this year is to bring that back. At least once a month. I know that teenagers have friends they want to see on Friday nights and they see me every night. But one Friday a month, we’re getting some quality time in whether it’s watching a movie, going out, or letting my kids laugh their backsides off as they school me and the Hubs on some first person shooter X-Box game.

Expand My Brain

I love learning. I could easily be a professional student for the rest of my life. This year there are a few things I plan on cracking open some books on.

  • Continue to study the craft of writing (that sort of goes without saying, but I felt like saying it anyway)
  • PHP
  • HTML5
  • CSS3

The HTML and CSS are two things that I want to improve my skills in. The PHP is a brand new language for me. I’m excited and can’t wait to get my hands on some books.

Pay off Debt

For the longest time, I was completely debt-free (except my mortgage). And that, my friends is a beautiful feeling. But, good or bad, nothing lasts forever and I had a few emergencies come up. Like my 15 year old air conditioner dying in the middle of a Florida Summer. Car engines going kerplunk.

While my debt isn’t atrocious by any standard, it still sucks and it’s my goal this year to take a huge chunk out of it. In order to make this happen, I’ve had to cut some fat out of my budget, like my gym membership. But I’m looking forward to the day when I can give myself the money I’m giving to some corporation every month.

Create a Fulfilling Life

In essence, that’s exactly what the goals above are working toward. Creating a balanced and fulfilling life for myself and my family. I want us to enjoy every minute we have with each other. I think that, right there, is the most important goal of all.

So there you have it. My short list of goals for 2012. What goals to you have? Feel free to share them with me in the comments.

And have a safe and happy 2012!

Be on the look out. I’ll be posting pictures of the family trip overseas soon!

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Who is Karen?

While I’m not new to writing, I am new to blogging. So I figured I’d kick off my blogging journey by introducing myself to the world.

 

So who is this Karen person?

 

I’m a newlywed. My British husband (love the accent) and I got married on a day we could both remember. The date contained nothing but “1’s”. I figure that should (hopefully) keep us out of the trouble in the future!

 

I’ve got two boys. A teenager getting ready to learn how to drive (I expect plenty of blog fodder out of that experience) and a pre-teen getting ready for angst. They’re both great though and fill my days with joy. And sometimes screaming. But mostly joy.

 

I have a day job while I work my way towards my goal of publishing a novel. Thankfully, I like my day job. I get to design websites and write! Instructions and user guides, but I like writing those almost as much as I like writing fiction.

 

I eat too much chocolate and don’t exercise nearly enough to offset that in my mind. I ran my last marathon almost 2 years ago and my knee went on strike. My now healed knee is in for a surprise though. I’ve decided to carefully get myself back into running shape so I can run a marathon relay in 2013 with my sister. (Training=blog fodder!)

 

Last, for the moment, I write. I love putting pen to paper. Mostly it stinks. But it’s gotten better over the past few years. I’ve had two short stories published and recently received an honorable mention in Writer’s Digest’s 80th Annual Writing Competition. That caused much glee and girlie squeals at the mailbox.

 

In a small nutshell, that’s me. Karen. Newlywed, mom, sister, chocolate eater, writer, runner and squealer.

 

It’s been a pleasure introducing myself to you.

 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you’ll visit again in the future!