I’m having that I’ll-start-the-diet-on-Monday feeling. Although I look at the past week proudly, I look forward like an Eeyore. I’m channeling that donkey’s pessimism in a belief that I’m never going to hit my numbers at the end of the final eight days! And because I feel the defeatism, I want to just quit and start over in December. Or better still January, the month most people take on lofty, self-improvement goals.
Were my goals too lofty? Maybe. Did I not give it my all? Maybe. Should I continue? Yes. Why?
I have two character traits working to my advantage here. One, I’m task oriented. I like to take on a job and see it to completion. And two, I’m not burdened with the perfectionist gene. I’m not going to finish this challenge perfectly. So what? I’m not out any prize money. It was my own personal challenge. I’m only competing with myself. And the overarching goal was just ‘do it.’ I wanted to push myself in a variety of areas but primarily I wanted to establish the daily habit of being on the treadmill. And I blew the perfect score of 29/29 on the treadmill in the first week. Yet, without this challenge, I imagine my treadmill days, especially this month, would have been single digits.
Here are the results of my first twenty one days on the 29 Day Challenge;
GOAL: Twenty minutes daily on the treadmill
ACTUAL: 20 out of 21 days. Sundays are my hardest day to work in treadmill time. I’ve got that ‘day of rest’ engrained in my head. I like to get up and write before my brunch server shift. This Sunday, I wrote, worked, went to a play, followed by an early dinner. There wasn’t any downtime between my activities so I had to get on the treadmill at the end of the day. Waiting until the end of the day is usually a set up for disastrous results. Not this time! I did it!
GOAL: 12 personal training sessions with Josh
ACTUAL: 8 of 12 personal training sessions with Josh. My sessions with Josh are going spectacularly. I even had an epiphany moment at our Friday workout. Because he’s more than just my trainer, we also had a mutual cancellation for our Saturday session. It was his play’s closing weekend and we were hanging out with his castmates on Friday night. We both missed our wake up call the next morning. I was his first client of the day and he only missed our session. I, in turn, stayed in my pajamas until 2pm binging on “Gilmore Girls.” Ah, my theatrics!
GOAL: 10 yoga classes
ACTUAL: 6 of 10 yoga classes. I’ve been trying to get a third class on Mondays at noon into my routine. I haven’t succeeded. Still, I’m pretty faithful to my Tuesday and Thursday routine.
GOAL: 435,000 steps
ACTUAL: 292,836 steps of the 435,000. Sure, it’s a lot of steps but it’s not where I was this summer. I blame the early cold blast. Regardless, I have to continue to find ways to get my steps in during winter. I had established a good habit of walking, fresh air and meditation. I’ll need that as the winter drags on!
GOAL: Daily -Stretching and Increased water intake, protein and vegetables
ACTUAL: I’m doing pretty good here except for the water. Again, -wah- the cold weather makes me dry up. I don’t like to drink cold water when it’s cold out. And you can’t really chug hot water. I need to force myself to stay hydrated.
GOAL: Red wine reduction
ACTUAL: On the nights, I didn’t partake in a sip or three I slept like death. I need more of those.
GOAL: Rein in the excessive spending
ACTUAL: I picked up another Saturday shift. I made a little money and most importantly I didn’t spend any money going out.
GOAL: Double the couch fund
ACTUAL: GOAL COMPLETED! I’m actually deciding and purchasing a couch in the next week.
GOAL: Re-engage in the living mindfully book
ACTUAL: DEJA VU…. Epic fail! I also haven’t started my book club book. I need to craft out time to read.
GOAL: Be kinder to everyone… even the jerks
ACTUAL: I wrote over twenty thank you letters post my event . Spending time appreciating what people have done is a perfect kindness exercise. It’s too easy to focus on what someone hasn’t done and stew in negativity. I really practice embracing and acknowledging others’ moments of kindness to me by being kind to them. It’s a vicious circle. 😉
On to the last eight days….