Week 3: Physical Therapy Exercises

It's a good thing I'm focusing on progress and not perfection, because I was far from perfect with this habit. (We'll again pretend I didn't add on all the other expectations. Maybe I'll learn not to do that this week. :-/ )

I was 85% with Habit 1 (no eating after dinner). It was Saturday night so I'm okay with that. And due to a rare dinner out with friends on Friday night that ran late and a family gathering on Saturday night, the IF (Habit 2) was 5 out of 7. I would have preferred to have been more diligent about that, but this week is a chance to do better.

As for Habit 3, I only did the PT exercises in the sauna once this week. I tend to spend too much time in there and it throws my morning off and I get a late start to the day. So I decided to do them while watching the morning news. Then it deteriorated into whenever I remembered throughout the day.

In the end, I did the exercises more often than if I had not made it a goal for the week, but nowhere near to it becoming a habit since it was all over the place. I think it was mostly because I didn't have any specifics in mind. The time, the exercises, number of sets, etc.

I've been taking courses in goals and time management since my early 20's. I know that for a goal to be successful, it must be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. I was missing 3 out of 5 elements.

So let's fix this habit first. Specific, Measurable & Time-based:

- 2 sets of 15 neck lifts/flexion in 4 positions

- 2 sets of 20 of chin tucks

- 2 sets 0f 20 shoulder squeezes

- 2 sets of 20 wall angels

- 2 sets of :30 side neck stretch (hold edge of chair)

- 2 sets of :30 doorway stretch

- end with 1 minute lying vertically on foam roller

- Minimum of 15 minutes, morning & night

I know I'll start to feel a huge difference by the end of the week if I stick to this,

Now what to do for the Week 4 habit?

I've realized it's a lot easier to NOT do something than to DO something. It was easier to not eat in the morning for IF and not to eat after dinner than it was to do a smoothie. Of course, it didn't help that I made the smoothie complicated with all the packets of supplements I threw in there. Since I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to DOING something, I'm going to NOT do something again this week.

My weight has been staying pretty steady but I'd like to lose even a little bit every week, even if it's a few ounces. Allowing myself to eat freely during my eating period, especially with all the sweet things in the house right now for my husband and daughter, has been very unhealthy. I also crave salty/crunchy snacks throughout the day which add up to too many calories.

I think this week's habit will be no snacking on processed foods. Only fresh fruits and vegetables will be allowed between the two meals. Because I haven't set a routine for my first meal yet, this should be interesting. I hope that knowing I can only have fruits & veggies will force me to have a real meal for brunch, rather than snacks.

Is this week's habit SMART? It's specific in what I can/can't eat. Measurable? In terms of how much I can eat, I choose to not make it measurable as I need to get into the habit of eating more fruits & veggies. It's achievable, relevant, and time-based (between the 2 meals). It's pretty smart...

That's it for this week. No sneaking in add-ons this time. :-) Hopefully, it means I'll be more successful.

And I hope you have a successful week as well with your habits & goals!