Building to a Better Me

AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
New Darebee here. Yes, January 1st. Yes, cliché. Yes, I'm going to do it anyway.

I am a large woman, and while I'd love to lose some weight, my current goal is to just be more active. I'm a stay at home mom, with two kids who do online school from home, and we spend most days here, in our house. I have gotten far more sedentary than any other point in my life. I live in AZ where we can be comfortably outdoors and active 9+ months out of the year, so I am making activity my priority for myself and my family this year. I want to be back outside hiking and having fun with my family without being the one who holds everyone else back.

I have spent quite a bit of time setting a few goals for myself - starting with adding a little bit more activity to my day and will increase this monthly. This is my January, for now.

Tracking 1500 Steps Daily - I know this is weirdly low. I don't currently track this, and don't have a pedometer or smart watch. I also don't usually carry my phone with me all day to track, so I'm starting low to just make myself get in the habit of tracking this number. Once I see what I'm actually doing on a daily basis, I will increase this to a more appropriate amount.

Intentional Movement Daily - This is where Darebee comes in. I figure if I take on some of the daily activities from the homepage to begin, I can work my way up to some challenges and programs as I get used to working this into my day.

Water - I drink water, but normally I go from coffee, to tea, to seltzer of some kind before I start on water in the late afternoon/evening. I plan to add 8 oz. of water alongside each of my other drinks to get in more actual hydration, and eventually cut back on the other things.

Household Planner - As part of being a better me, I need to get my home in order. It's surface-level clean, but I've never been an amazing homemaker. Adding in a planner where the list was made for me and I just need to follow it, should add more physical activity in terms of cleaning into my day, and takes the guesswork out of what I need to do. It won't happen overnight, but my house should look and feel cleaner soon enough.

Donations - Weekly donations to my local Buy Nothing Facebook group. I want to get rid of a bunch of "stuff" but I don't want to throw out perfectly good things just because I don't want them anymore. I will give these items, for free, to people who want/need them, and not add to the local landfill. Kids are on board to donate a bunch of their toys and things as well. Looking forward to decluttering a bit!

Reading - I love reading, but I spend more time scrolling on my phone than is needed. I want to replace that with 30 minutes of reading into my day before I go to bed. Looking forward to giving my library card a workout, as well!

I have no idea if anyone else is ever going to read this, but putting it out into the universe is my way of holding myself accountable. I will update tonight with what I accomplish for today.

Happy New Year to anyone reading this!
 
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
Not quite sure how to do an exercise journal yet. I will read others' posts tomorrow and figure it out, but I did great today! I met all my daily goals.

Steps - 1516 (kept forgetting to bring my phone with me, but still made it!)

Movement - I did the Exercise of the Day (Daily Dare - 50 knee to elbows) and one round of the Workout of the Day (Winter is Here) today. I should have tried for more rounds, but I will content myself with more movement today than yesterday. It can only go up from here! Also, my form is HORRIBLE. I hope this gets easier!

Water - 8 servings of 8 oz. plus my coffee and tea. Calling it a win for today!

Planner - I accomplished every task for the day, even the ones I didn't want to do!

Donations - Not done yet, this is a weekly goal

Reading - 30 minutes of the book The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave - I'm intrigued!

See you all tomorrow!
 
Last edited:
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
Thank you for the warm welcomes @Fremen @aku-chan @Germanamazon !

I have worked hard today, though not as late as yesterday.


Daily gratitude - Today, I am grateful for both of my kids being involved in an activity that they love and are thriving in. I am grateful for the person who put together my new household planner, so that I can just do what someone else says to get my house in order. And I am grateful for hot tea, and how it is such a lovely way to conclude my day.

Definitely feeling accomplished today. Hoping my motivation sticks around!
 
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
Thank you @Anek and @JohnStrong !! I appreciate everyone's likes and comments. I feel so supported, it's wonderful!

Daily Gratitude - Today I am grateful for having a working clothes washer and dryer because there have been many times in my life, some recently, when I didn't and it makes life just a bit more complicated. I am grateful for my garden and the joy it bring me every day. I am grateful for my kids coming to hug me first thing every morning when they wake up.

I haven't ever done yoga before, so the RAWR workout was a nice surprise. I wasn't sure it would really count as a workout before I started, until I felt my muscles shaking by the end of each 20 count. And it also made me realize I need some work on my balance. I will definitely be adding some more yoga into my workouts from now on. I really liked it!
 
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
I waited until late to do my workouts, and I almost didn't do them. Too easy to say "I'll do it tomorrow" and I didn't want to be disappointed with myself in the morning, so I sucked it up and got it done. Only took maybe 20 minutes. Not very long at all, but I only did one set of the workout today. I don't have the core strength to do so many planks yet. But I am determined to get better. I am hopeful that I can add in more sets soon, before giving up. I am definitely achey and sore after the last few days of light workouts and heavy housework, but not in pain. I can do this!


Daily Gratitude - I am grateful to my kids' teachers for all they do. Grateful my kids are back in their online school classes and the structure it brings to our days. Grateful that a friend has taken the initiative to schedule a Supper Club for a large group of us to rotate hosting once a month, to keep our friendships (and our kids friendships) strong!
 
Silverleaf

Silverleaf

Member
Shieldmaiden Posts: 16
"Just breathe"
AbbyB said:
I waited until late to do my workouts, and I almost didn't do them. Too easy to say "I'll do it tomorrow" and I didn't want to be disappointed with myself in the morning, so I sucked it up and got it done. Only took maybe 20 minutes. Not very long at all, but I only did one set of the workout today. I don't have the core strength to do so many planks yet. But I am determined to get better. I am hopeful that I can add in more sets soon, before giving up. I am definitely achey and sore after the last few days of light workouts and heavy housework, but not in pain. I can do this!
Click to expand...

I know how you feel, but you have totally got this :up:


Also, hello and welcome :hellothere:

ps. I loved living in AZ many moons ago - I did a University exchange year at ASU. One of the best year's of my life.
 
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
Thank you @Silverleaf !! I appreciate the support! And I'm an ASU grad myself, from lots of years ago, haha. It is definitely a great place to be!

Today was a good day. I talked to my therapist who was very proud of me for all the positive changes I've made in my life recently. It felt great to get that reinforcement that I am doing a good thing, and I am showing my kids, by example, that you can set goals, and achieve them! I haven't quite gotten to the achievement part yet, but I firmly believe I will. To that end, I selected a few more of the easiest difficulty programs to add in to my day. I have the time, and apparently the energy, and they don't seem to be too hard. But since I haven't made it through all of the rounds in some of the workouts of the day, adding in a few more easier things to just keep me moving can't be a bad thing, right? I will definitely work my way up to harder programs and challenges, and doing the harder levels in the workouts. For now, I will do these and see how it goes.

Consecutive days of exercise - 5

I am a hot, sweaty mess now. In a good way, I think? Lol. I might regret adding on the other programs tomorrow, but tonight I feel great!

Oops, edited to add my Daily Gratitude - I am grateful for my therapist and all of the positive reinforcement she is giving me. I am grateful for clean sheets on my bed. I am grateful for silly tv shows that are a great distraction when I need them.
 
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
Consecutive days of exercise - 6

one of our closest couple friends invited our whole family over for dinner tonight, last minute. It was nice to not have to cook, but I had some wine and did not want to do my workout when I came home. But I did it anyway! It is late now and I am ready for bed, but feeling good about it!

Side note - I didn't feel any muscle burn in my calves when I was doing Guardian today. Not sure if that means I am getting stronger, or maybe it was just the wine dulling everything, haha. I did feel some "static," for lack of a better word, in the arches of my feet, though. Slight discomfort. Not sure what that is about.

Gratitude - I am grateful for good friends who are more like family. I am grateful that my kids love their kids and they get along well. I am grateful for the occasional glass of wine.
 
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
Consecutive days of exercise - 7

My daughter (she's 9) has noticed my workouts. Today she asked if we could do them together while listening to music. I felt like she could handle the exercises in the 3 beginner programs that I started, so we did all three of them together. She struggled the most with the chest expansions and doing 20 in a row, all three sets, but she did them! I was so proud of her, and she already told me she wants to do the programs with me again tomorrow!

Gratitude - I am grateful for the fresh vegetables my family ate today. I am grateful for "lazy" weekend days when our family can rest and recharge a bit. I am grateful for insulin.
 
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
Consecutive days of exercise - 8

Waited until end of day to exercise again. I need to break that habit, or one day I'm just going to skip it in favor of sleep!

Gratitude - I am grateful for a home cooked meal. I am grateful for my parents. I am grateful for my yoga mat, to make workouts more comfortable.
 
AbbyB

AbbyB

Member
from USA, Arizona
Posts: 12
Monday Jan 9th
Consecutive days of exercise - 9

Editing to add gratitude challenge. My daughter got sick last night while I was typing this up and I just submitted unfinished.

Gratitude - I am grateful for a better A1C for my type 1 kid. I am grateful for comfortable pillows. I am grateful for coffee.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top