Healthy Choices 2020

[Luz]

I'm 8 weeks into the challenge and have gone to bed past 9:30pm 8 times. Room for improvement, but not bad. Before the challenge, it was probably every few nights.
My main barriers are waiting until the last thing to catch up with my husband or do my bed routine. I'm on vacation (without my husband) and am remembering the habit of washing my face before my final thing of the night (other than when I go visit friends and get home in time to wash my face and go to bed).

[Raenia]

Today I finally brought in a photo from my wedding to put on my desk - found a frame for it last week, and yesterday I cleaned the glass and put the photo in the frame.  Used this as impetus to clean my desk and throw out or put away a bunch of things.  My desk space feels much nicer now.  I will try to keep it clean, doing a small tidy every day before leaving, to keep it this way.

[Frugal Lizard]

Doing well with writing down everything I eat.  It is surprisingly good at preventing me from sticking food into my mouth. 
I have been having trouble settling down to sleep.  Not sure why. But once asleep, I have been getting a nice long and restful sleep with only one wakeup and then immediately back to sleep.  I have been wearing pj's so the middle of the night bathroom break doesn't result in me getting as cold.  That is probably helping with getting back to sleep quickly.  I have cut back on the blankets so I can tolerate pj's

[Frugal Lizard]

Did not pursue an RFP.  Yeah - less stressed immediately.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Did not pursue an RFP.  Yeah - less stressed immediately.

Ha ha, good job!

I am supposed to go to a conference Friday but I am having virus-related doubts. There are a handful of cases in my major city... so far...

[Luz]

I've been visiting family for 2 weeks and have gone to bed every night at least 7.5 hours before my daughter wakes up- except for 1 night.
I didn't floss 2 of the mornings and noticed that my gums were more sensitive. Good to know that it makes a difference.

[mm1970]

3 weeks of WFH with a husband also WFH and 2 kids not at school because: pandemic.

Okay I opened a bottle of wine on Friday.  But hope to not open another.
- Daily exercise (it's been raining, so working out to Beachbody and you-tube videos with kids)
- Sleep (I can sleep in until 5:45 or 6 if I'm not driving to the gym)
- Reading time
- Lots of vegetables and lentils!
- Keep the kids on a schedule
- Teach the kids to clean!  We are canceling the cleaning ladies for the next 2 sessions, but paying them anyway

[Frugal Lizard]

being realistic with my expectations for what we can achieve during this 14-day isolation.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

being realistic with my expectations for what we can achieve during this 14-day isolation.

Ha! Me, too!

I am really concerned about losing muscle mass with my gym closed. And of course I am not biking to work. So I ordered some cheap running shoes from Zappos! (Cheap is fine because I won't be doing more than about 20-30 minutes at a time.) Will also be doing some suspension system strength training.

There is a stay-at-home order for Denver. Reading the fine print, it seems like you are still allowed to visit people in their homes, and I do have a friend with a garage gym... but it still seems like an unnecessary risk? I dunno. Thoughts welcome.

I have been reasonably successful at keeping a loose schedule with the kids, less successful at making productive activities happen! Tomorrow I think I'll give meditation another go but see if I can get the kids to do it with me. There must be a family meditation app/YouTuber of some kind.

[mspym]

Today I signed up for a daily summary of coronavirus news so I stop looking and then I set our main news site to blocked during work hours.

We have also come up with a plan for managing two adults working and two teens schooling from home, which involves strategic use of their other house.

[Frugal Lizard]

I am really challenging myself.  I am probably closer to OCD than average and five years of design school to further train me towards modernism and pristine white surfaces.  Our house is beyond chaos.  Two bedrooms have no furniture. Two large closets are empty.  My son moved home from university.  My DH moved home from work.  DD and I pulled out all our summer clothes to go on vacation.  The front porch is covered with trim and the carpets and underlay and all the scrap hardwood and an extra bundle of the flooring.  The living room is three feet deep in furniture with little tracks to the piano, the sofa (to watch the tv) and the plants (to water).  The front hall has a stack of new trim for the bedrooms and the paint (primer, trim, walls: all different cans)  The dining room also contains a queen mattress on the floor for DD and I (14-day isolation from our trip to Costa Rica and reduce likelyhood of me passing it to DH) My DS has set up his work station and bed in the middle of my studio so he can continue is university courses.  The entire contents from his res room are in piles around the room.  DD has the counter covered with her art projects.  The laundry / gym area is now a secure work space for DH.  The guys stocked up on so much food it doesn't fit in the cupboards.

I am coping by:

keeping the island in the kitchen pristine,
my desk is also pristine and all the clutter is behind me and I am keeping the bird feeders just outside the window full,
the 'girls' bathroom upstairs is also pristine. 

I retreat to these spaces whenever I start to feel it pressing in on me.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

@Frugal Lizard, your coping strategies sound great! It's so important to have little zones of order, if that is a thing one thrives on.

I found an app called "ninja focus" so the children and I can meditate together. Isn't that a great theme?

[Frugal Lizard]

@Frugal Lizard, your coping strategies sound great! It's so important to have little zones of order, if that is a thing one thrives on.

I found an app called "ninja focus" so the children and I can meditate together. Isn't that a great theme?

thank you
The old me would have been hissy fitting every shift. 
Love the app name. 

[oneday]

being realistic with my expectations for what we can achieve during this 14-day isolation.

Ha! Me, too!

I am really concerned about losing muscle mass with my gym closed. And of course I am not biking to work. So I ordered some cheap running shoes from Zappos! (Cheap is fine because I won't be doing more than about 20-30 minutes at a time.) Will also be doing some suspension system strength training.

There is a stay-at-home order for Denver. Reading the fine print, it seems like you are still allowed to visit people in their homes, and I do have a friend with a garage gym... but it still seems like an unnecessary risk? I dunno. Thoughts welcome.

I have been reasonably successful at keeping a loose schedule with the kids, less successful at making productive activities happen! Tomorrow I think I'll give meditation another go but see if I can get the kids to do it with me. There must be a family meditation app/YouTuber of some kind.

Listen to your gut: it is unnecessary.  The more people one comes in contact with, the larger the possibility of coming in contact with one of those people who have the virus.  This protects not just that you, but your family...and also your friend and anyone in their household.

Do I recall correctly that you have asthma?

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

being realistic with my expectations for what we can achieve during this 14-day isolation.

Ha! Me, too!

I am really concerned about losing muscle mass with my gym closed. And of course I am not biking to work. So I ordered some cheap running shoes from Zappos! (Cheap is fine because I won't be doing more than about 20-30 minutes at a time.) Will also be doing some suspension system strength training.

There is a stay-at-home order for Denver. Reading the fine print, it seems like you are still allowed to visit people in their homes, and I do have a friend with a garage gym... but it still seems like an unnecessary risk? I dunno. Thoughts welcome.

I have been reasonably successful at keeping a loose schedule with the kids, less successful at making productive activities happen! Tomorrow I think I'll give meditation another go but see if I can get the kids to do it with me. There must be a family meditation app/YouTuber of some kind.

Listen to your gut: it is unnecessary.  The more people one comes in contact with, the larger the possibility of coming in contact with one of those people who have the virus.  This protects not just that you, but your family...and also your friend and anyone in their household.

Do I recall correctly that you have asthma?

I do. I have started wearing a homemade fabric mask when I go out in public (ie, groceries). Probably doesn't help me personally that much, might help protect cashiers, can't hurt, provides a visual signal that people should be taking this shit seriously.

My asthma is mild and well-controlled but I do sometimes suck on my albuterol when I get a cold. Not sure if I can be any more cautious than I already am, though :-). I mean, I could send the Boy out shopping instead of me, but he sleeps in my bed, so not sure it really matters.

[Luz]

The past two weeks, I've gone to bed a half hour later than I'd like twice. Mostly from staying up and talking with my husband about the current situation and our response to it. The toddler is sleeping in because my husband's on leave through next week so his alarm isn't waking her. But, we live in the desert, and it's getting hot, so I'm going to start waking her up at 5:30am in order to roam around outside for a few hours while it's cool. That means it's time to shift my bedtime earlier. Once she's in bed, I'll do a few hours of projects (but put them away at 8:30pm), chat with my husband, wash my face, then read for 30-45 minutes.

[oneday]

I have not checked into this thread in what seems like ages; it's been a month.  No more worries about scheduling an appropriate level of activities since all that is cancelled now.

Hydration is OK, I reach my goal at least half the time, and get at least half way there the rest of the time, so on average I'm reaching 75% of the goal.  That's not too bad, and I'll keep that as a focus.

Looking at food has been working, outside of the last few days when I've turned to comfort food (sugar) a bit too much.  Veggies are getting harder, particularly non-starchy veggies.  Not sure if it's the pandemic stress, but all veggies in the house now are starchies.  I'm leaning towards being OK with this given the current circumstances.  Will stock up on canned & frozen green veggies at the next shopping day.

Sleep is...well I'm posting this at 2 am, you draw the conclusion :)

[mspym]

A new one - I've been mostly putting down the phone in the evening and picking up my embroidery instead. It's gently meditative and creative which also gives my hands some to do.

[Raenia]

I'm trying to spend some time outside every day, either in the yard or a short walk around the neighborhood, or even just on the porch if the weather is nasty.  In this time of isolation, adequate sunlight and a connection to the nature are going to be critical to my mental health.  I'm excited to be able to start planting my garden next week, as we finally reach our "last frost" date this weekend.

I haven't been great about turning the screens off at the proper time, but I have been getting to bed on time regardless, so that's something.  I've also recommitted to my meditation habit - I had started slacking off in March, but April is a new chance to build the habit.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

@Raenia -- Good luck with the mediation habit! I have been working on it again lately. My children and I have been doing a kids' app with very brief ninja-themed meditations.

These are weird times. I am also dealing with family stuff--my brother is in the ICU (not for the virus!)--and I just can't concentrate. This week, though, I am trying to recommit to bedtime. With the time I am usually waking up, between 10:30 and 11 is fine, but it needs to be consistent, and not include these 11:45 type nights that have been creeping in.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

It's been a hell of a week. My younger brother suddenly went from "dude doesn't look good" to "critically ill" and died yesterday at the age of 36 from, primarily, cirrhosis.

I was supposed to have an in-person ultrasound for a monitored timed intercourse cycle for fertility treatment. I cancelled the ultrasound. I can self-monitor with the meds I'm on, and timed intercourse is not really a great treatment for male factor infertility anyway! They can't do IUI this month for obvious reasons. I didn't feel safe going to extra places, so I noped out.

BUT. Guess what my husband found in a corner of the basement? An open box with a couple of N-95 masks. We can't donate because the box is open, so we can save them for our personal use with a clear conscience. I can wear one if I go out, on account of being high risk, and I think there is another that the Boy can wear in case, God forbid, one of us gets sick. Our existing masks might work as covers but if not I will make more.

[Raenia]

It's been a hell of a week. My younger brother suddenly went from "dude doesn't look good" to "critically ill" and died yesterday at the age of 36 from, primarily, cirrhosis.

I was supposed to have an in-person ultrasound for a monitored timed intercourse cycle for fertility treatment. I cancelled the ultrasound. I can self-monitor with the meds I'm on, and timed intercourse is not really a great treatment for male factor infertility anyway! They can't do IUI this month for obvious reasons. I didn't feel safe going to extra places, so I noped out.

BUT. Guess what my husband found in a corner of the basement? An open box with a couple of N-95 masks. We can't donate because the box is open, so we can save them for our personal use with a clear conscience. I can wear one if I go out, on account of being high risk, and I think there is another that the Boy can wear in case, God forbid, one of us gets sick. Our existing masks might work as covers but if not I will make more.

Oh my goodness, what a shock!  I'm so sorry for your loss, and all your family.  How are you holding up?

[oneday]

La Bibliotecaria Feroz, I am so sorry for your loss.  Words fail me.  It's important to keep taking care of yourself during and it seems like you are, so...good job.

I may have solved the no-sleeping problem.  Today went for a very long bike ride; I'm sure to drop right off tonight. 

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

La Bibliotecaria Feroz, I am so sorry for your loss.  Words fail me.  It's important to keep taking care of yourself during and it seems like you are, so...good job.

I may have solved the no-sleeping problem.  Today went for a very long bike ride; I'm sure to drop right off tonight.

Gardening has been doing the same thing for me!

[Frugal Lizard]

I used gardening a lot last year to help cope with the symptoms of PTSD.  Right now I am cooking my way from anxiety.

[Luz]

It's May and time to change up my focus habit.
Jan-April was sleep. I tried to go to bed at 9:30 every night. I went to bed later than 9:30 about once a week January and February. March and April, it was more like half the week (due to all the upheaval). The main thing I learned was that I have a MUCH higher chance of going to bed on time if I connect with my husband first thing in the evening (so we don't stay up talking) and if I brush my teeth the second-to-last thing at night (if it's the last thing I have to do, I procrastinate doing it). So now my goal is not to go bed at 9:30pm, but to connect with my husband first thing and to brush my teeth second-to-last thing. I guess even though I still sometimes go to bed late, making my goal more actionable helped a ton.
Focus habit for May-August is to drink more water. I'll post soon with more definition.

[oneday]

Hydration is great and food is doing OK.  Time to start tracking sleep/wake times, get a baseline and then maybe think about improvement in the future.

[Luz]

Goal:
Drink 4 water bottles (20 oz) per day during winter
Drink 5 water bottles (20 oz) per day during summer or while breastfeeding

Strategy:
Fill up my water bottle in the morning and put 5 rubber bands around it
Once bottle is empty, remove 1 band and fill back up
By end of the day, try to have all 5 bands removed

Possible barriers:
We use a pitcher for filtration. It's a pain to fill back up. I may need a hack for keeping it full

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Hi @Luz and @oneday! I'm glad you're doing well!

@Luz, I love how you thought about your sleep triggers and your routine and found something that feels good to you.

I worry I am losing muscle mass with the gym shutdown and all, but I am getting tons of steps (two weeks in a row over 90K, this week still over 80K) and doing lots of gardening. Not as much strength training as I would otherwise do because it interferes with my busy schedule of "moving rocks so I can grow food."

So jealous of people who started their seeds indoors and already have edible greens. Here, I do not.

I have been making OK quarantine food choices! We are eating so many homemade baked goods, but at least I taught my son to use half whole-wheat flour when he makes pancakes :-).

[mspym]

We are continuing on our veganish meal approach and seem to have settled into a pretty steady 14/15 meals VG with the remainder split between vegetarian and including meat. Tofu is now being regularly consumed in our household.

So my focus until 30 June is going to be cutting back on eating between meals. I was doing great initially due to the absence of the work chocolate box but this last month has been baked goods extravaganza. (no regrets! They are delicious but should stay  in the sometimes food category!)

[mm1970]

Goal:
Drink 4 water bottles (20 oz) per day during winter
Drink 5 water bottles (20 oz) per day during summer or while breastfeeding

Strategy:
Fill up my water bottle in the morning and put 5 rubber bands around it
Once bottle is empty, remove 1 band and fill back up
By end of the day, try to have all 5 bands removed

Possible barriers:
We use a pitcher for filtration. It's a pain to fill back up. I may need a hack for keeping it full

Maybe get into a habit of doing it right before bed?  We have similar issues.  There are 4 of us. I CANNOT get the teen to drink enough water.  Almost at my wit's end.

We have a reverse osmosis filter, but 4 people drinking water.  What I *try* to do (and manage about 1/2 the time):
- Go to bed with the pitcher full and 4 water bottles full, all in the fridge.  I fill my water bottle, usually the kids' (my husband has been better than me), and a spare.  Plus the full pitcher.

- I drink 3 bottles of water a day (plus I drink one large glass of soda stream water with dinner).  I drink my first bottle, then refill it and put it in the fridge.  Then I drink my 2 cups of tea.
- Before/ during lunch, I start on my second bottle of water.
- When I hit the afternoon 3rd bottle, I fill my bottle with the "spare" bottle of water.

With husband drinking water and me filling my bottle the second time, the pitcher is usually half empty.  At this point, I often use the pitcher to refill smaller water bottles, then fill the pitcher.

Basically, always go to bed with a full pitcher and a few spares in the fridge.

[Moonwaves]

My first reaction to seeing this thread again, I hate to admit, was a bit of a snort and a sarcastic sotto voce "what's a healthy choice again?", but then I decided that the very unMustachian thing I did last week might actually count as a healthy choice. So, on Friday this week, I will get the keys to my second apartment, which sounds so extravagant.

I currently live in a 50sqm (538sqft) apartment. It was advertised as 55 (592) but normally that includes the balcony being counted as half (i.e. my 5sqm balcony would count as 2.5sqm towards to total area), which would have meant my place was 52.5 (565). I had moved from a 58sqm (624) place and gotten rid of a few pieces of furniture and a goodly amount of stuff before moving but even four years later, I have still not reached a place where I can get everything to fit. Having seen the actual blueprints of the place, though, I discovered that they included the full size of the balcony, so it is only actually 50 after all.

Last week I found out that a studio across the hall from me was available and it is not as expensive as I thought it might be.* So, for what I think will be a massive boost to my mental health - hence, healthy choice - I have raided my savings for the deposit and increased my monthly spending but gained another 20sqm (212sqft) of space. And a second balcony, this time east-facing instead of west. Technically speaking, the apartment is actually 29sqm (312) but those 9sqm are the space the kitchen and bathroom take up and since I already have a kitchen and bathroom, I probably won't use them much, if at all.

My one strict rule is that I am not buying anything new for the studio - it's supposed to take what makes my current place feel cramped and not just get filled up with more new stuff. Apart from a couple of plants - and I'll now have space in my main living space for a larger plant or two. And over time, I may save up and allow myself a new bookshelf/filing cabinet/cupboard (after a year or so, once I know if the financial side really is working out the way I think it will).

And after a few weeks of not paying attention, I am back to drinking enough water at work and starting to feel the difference already.


* I did, however, go through numbers with my sister, who is an accountant, and with my tax adviser. On paper, I will not be bankrupting myself by doing this. In fact, I can cover it with my day-job salary, still meet my general savings goals, and only need to be careful with money (as opposed to stressing about every penny). I will set the studio up as my office space, which means I can claim most of the expenses on my taxes and that, coupled with my side-income earnings, mean that I am not overstretching at all.

[Moonwaves]

My head is so full of the studio I actually forgot about the other big healthy choice I actioned this week. I officially signed up for the year-long OptiFast programme at the obesity clinic of my local hospital. While I'm not entirely convinced that the three-month shakes/soups it starts with is a good fit for me, I think I will be able to make it through that and the year-long support from doctors, psychologists, dieticians, and personal trainers will hopefully make the difference in me actually getting somewhere with losing weight. Due to the pandemic, they may not be able to start the next session in August, but I'm signed up and will start whenever they can facilitate it again.

[Linea_Norway]

My first reaction to seeing this thread again, I hate to admit, was a bit of a snort and a sarcastic sotto voce "what's a healthy choice again?", but then I decided that the very unMustachian thing I did last week might actually count as a healthy choice. So, on Friday this week, I will get the keys to my second apartment, which sounds so extravagant.

I currently live in a 50sqm (538sqft) apartment. It was advertised as 55 (592) but normally that includes the balcony being counted as half (i.e. my 5sqm balcony would count as 2.5sqm towards to total area), which would have meant my place was 52.5 (565). I had moved from a 58sqm (624) place and gotten rid of a few pieces of furniture and a goodly amount of stuff before moving but even four years later, I have still not reached a place where I can get everything to fit. Having seen the actual blueprints of the place, though, I discovered that they included the full size of the balcony, so it is only actually 50 after all.

Last week I found out that a studio across the hall from me was available and it is not as expensive as I thought it might be.* So, for what I think will be a massive boost to my mental health - hence, healthy choice - I have raided my savings for the deposit and increased my monthly spending but gained another 20sqm (212sqft) of space. And a second balcony, this time east-facing instead of west. Technically speaking, the apartment is actually 29sqm (312) but those 9sqm are the space the kitchen and bathroom take up and since I already have a kitchen and bathroom, I probably won't use them much, if at all.

My one strict rule is that I am not buying anything new for the studio - it's supposed to take what makes my current place feel cramped and not just get filled up with more new stuff. Apart from a couple of plants - and I'll now have space in my main living space for a larger plant or two. And over time, I may save up and allow myself a new bookshelf/filing cabinet/cupboard (after a year or so, once I know if the financial side really is working out the way I think it will).

And after a few weeks of not paying attention, I am back to drinking enough water at work and starting to feel the difference already.


* I did, however, go through numbers with my sister, who is an accountant, and with my tax adviser. On paper, I will not be bankrupting myself by doing this. In fact, I can cover it with my day-job salary, still meet my general savings goals, and only need to be careful with money (as opposed to stressing about every penny). I will set the studio up as my office space, which means I can claim most of the expenses on my taxes and that, coupled with my side-income earnings, mean that I am not overstretching at all.

Maybe if you need an additional piece of furniture, you can get it second hand. It is amazing what you can get for about 20% of the new price. We just sold our very large dining table that was bought second hand and will after moving, buy a smaller one second hand.

[Moonwaves]

Maybe if you need an additional piece of furniture, you can get it second hand. It is amazing what you can get for about 20% of the new price. We just sold our very large dining table that was bought second hand and will after moving, buy a smaller one second hand.

I probably should have said "new-to-me" bookshelf/filing cabinet/cupboard - I just sort of assume that's what everyone here means. LOL

[Frugal Lizard]

@Moonwaves - sounds like a very healthy choice to me.  Being able to leave the office behind when you go home sounds great.  If you are using your space very efficiently and it brings you happiness, then I don't see it as unmustachian.  The only thing unmustachian to me is the extra kitchen and bathroom. 

[myobjectivism]

I'm trying out some meditation apps to attempt to increase my productivity at work and my attentiveness to my kids at home.  Right now I'm starting with Smiling Mind, but does anyone have recommendations?

Also, I am trying to floss every night :) 

Our 9 month old is still bad at sleeping, so my sleep is completely borked right now and I feel terrible, but these are things I have control over.

I've already posted in the Fitness thread with specific health things, so I'll leave those alone.

About  me.. getting retired in next few days at the age of 43 to spend more quality life and spending more time on spirituality.

Daily workout, Yoga and more healthy eating are in my list to focus on moving forward.

@chaskavitch.. I am a spiritual trainer and you can try Heartfulness meditation. And it is free of cost. We can discuss and can guide you initially if required and clarify any queries.

[oneday]

My head is so full of the studio I actually forgot about the other big healthy choice I actioned this week. I officially signed up for the year-long OptiFast programme at the obesity clinic of my local hospital. While I'm not entirely convinced that the three-month shakes/soups it starts with is a good fit for me, I think I will be able to make it through that and the year-long support from doctors, psychologists, dieticians, and personal trainers will hopefully make the difference in me actually getting somewhere with losing weight. Due to the pandemic, they may not be able to start the next session in August, but I'm signed up and will start whenever they can facilitate it again.

Hi @Moonwaves I did a very similar program starting in Fall 2018 and lost 70 lbs.  While I realize the shakes are not for everyone, they really do the trick.  I'm actually jealous of your program, we did not get psychologist or personal trainers.  Anyway, it was life changing for me and the healthiest choice I could have ever made.  PM me if you want to chat about it.

[chaskavitch]

I'm trying out some meditation apps to attempt to increase my productivity at work and my attentiveness to my kids at home.  Right now I'm starting with Smiling Mind, but does anyone have recommendations?

Also, I am trying to floss every night :) 

Our 9 month old is still bad at sleeping, so my sleep is completely borked right now and I feel terrible, but these are things I have control over.

I've already posted in the Fitness thread with specific health things, so I'll leave those alone.

About  me.. getting retired in next few days at the age of 43 to spend more quality life and spending more time on spirituality.

Daily workout, Yoga and more healthy eating are in my list to focus on moving forward.

@chaskavitch.. I am a spiritual trainer and you can try Heartfulness meditation. And it is free of cost. We can discuss and can guide you initially if required and clarify any queries.

Thanks for the offer.  I've tried a few meditation apps, and honestly, I think I've realized that a good yoga practice feels more right for me.  I've been trying to do yoga (almost) every day when my kids are napping or after they go to bed, and it's made a big difference in how I feel overall - it's helped a lot with my upper back/shoulder pain from bad posture at my desk, and also has helped my mood.

I missed a few days in a row this last week, and I kind of feel like I'm falling apart, haha.  I'm extra snappy at our 4 year old, I just sit around at night instead of working out or cleaning or even finding a new book to read, I don't go to bed early enough even though I have nothing good to do, and I've been snacking a LOT, even though it makes me feel like crap. 

I'm starting over today, though!  My terrible eating and late bedtime yesterday are irrelevant.  I'm tracking my food and chopping up an entire 5 lbs of carrots to keep the snacking a little under control, trying to deep breathe when my kids are LITERALLY KILLING MY SOUL with all of their questions and adorable grabby hands, doing some yoga during nap time in a few minutes, baking some delicious bread for dinner and making my house smell good.  Whew. 

[Moonwaves]

My head is so full of the studio I actually forgot about the other big healthy choice I actioned this week. I officially signed up for the year-long OptiFast programme at the obesity clinic of my local hospital. While I'm not entirely convinced that the three-month shakes/soups it starts with is a good fit for me, I think I will be able to make it through that and the year-long support from doctors, psychologists, dieticians, and personal trainers will hopefully make the difference in me actually getting somewhere with losing weight. Due to the pandemic, they may not be able to start the next session in August, but I'm signed up and will start whenever they can facilitate it again.

Hi @Moonwaves I did a very similar program starting in Fall 2018 and lost 70 lbs.  While I realize the shakes are not for everyone, they really do the trick.  I'm actually jealous of your program, we did not get psychologist or personal trainers.  Anyway, it was life changing for me and the healthiest choice I could have ever made.  PM me if you want to chat about it.

Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on it at a later date. I've just gotten off the phone to my health insurance provider and am very disappointed to learn that they will not even part-finance the programme. I find things like that so frustrating - millions spent on homeopathy but a clinically-run, well-studied over more than 20 years, programme and they've got nothing for you. I'm frustrated enough that I've told them I'm going to write a strongly worded letter to the association that controls what they're allowed pay for. I can at least perhaps pave the way for someone in the future to have a better chance of getting it funded. In the meantime, at €3,400 it is not cheap but it is also not the most expensive programme in the world, especially if it really helps. That's about €285 per month - I always bring things like that back to car costs. If I had a car, between runnings costs and saving to be able to replace it (after it died) I could easily get to €285 a month. It's looking very like my planned holiday in June won't be able to happen anyway, and hopefully I will get most of it refunded, which will more than cover the first couple of months. 

[oneday]

Sure, anytime!  Mine was out of pocket as well.  From what I can tell, there is a pretty high chance that someone will not stick with the program, which may be why they are reluctant to pay, even though the program, when it works, works well.  They could offer reimbursement if someone kept the weight off for 2+ years, kind of like the way some employers will reimburse for tuition if the employee gets good enough grades.  They say it takes a minimum of 2 years to change one's habits and mindset.  For me, it's been worth every penny.

[Luz]

Goal:
Drink 4 water bottles (20 oz) per day during winter
Drink 5 water bottles (20 oz) per day during summer or while breastfeeding

Strategy:
Fill up my water bottle in the morning and put 5 rubber bands around it
Once bottle is empty, remove 1 band and fill back up
By end of the day, try to have all 5 bands removed

Possible barriers:
We use a pitcher for filtration. It's a pain to fill back up. I may need a hack for keeping it full

Maybe get into a habit of doing it right before bed?  We have similar issues.  There are 4 of us. I CANNOT get the teen to drink enough water.  Almost at my wit's end.

We have a reverse osmosis filter, but 4 people drinking water.  What I *try* to do (and manage about 1/2 the time):
- Go to bed with the pitcher full and 4 water bottles full, all in the fridge.  I fill my water bottle, usually the kids' (my husband has been better than me), and a spare.  Plus the full pitcher.

- I drink 3 bottles of water a day (plus I drink one large glass of soda stream water with dinner).  I drink my first bottle, then refill it and put it in the fridge.  Then I drink my 2 cups of tea.
- Before/ during lunch, I start on my second bottle of water.
- When I hit the afternoon 3rd bottle, I fill my bottle with the "spare" bottle of water.

With husband drinking water and me filling my bottle the second time, the pitcher is usually half empty.  At this point, I often use the pitcher to refill smaller water bottles, then fill the pitcher.

Basically, always go to bed with a full pitcher and a few spares in the fridge.

Thanks for the tip! It worked like a charm. I do an evening tidy routine and just added the refill to my list.

[Luz]

100 oz of water was WAY too much for me!. I probably averaged 2 (20 oz) waterbottles before this challenge, so 5 was quite the leap (+ I had a ridiculous amount of pee breaks). I've since read that getting in 50-80 oz is ideal. Since it's summer (in the desert) and I'm pregnant, I think 4 water bottles is a good goal. During the winter, I may drop it down to 3.

I love the rubber band system on my water bottle. It's such a cheap thrill to remove a rubber band after drinking 20 ounces.

I also have regularly flossed after my morning teethbrushing this whole year. It's cheap and easy and getting out my toothbrush was an easy reminder. I went to the dentist in February and my hygienist complimented me on my gum health. I had sore and bleeding gums with my first pregnancy but have had no problems at all with this one. It looks like an extra flossing session did the trick. I'm quite happy.

[oneday]

Hydration is great and food is doing OK.  Time to start tracking sleep/wake times, get a baseline and then maybe think about improvement in the future.

Eh.  I have not tracked, but at least been more mindful of the times I have been up later.  Added a column to my tracker today and will begin to note bed times.

I gotta give myself credit for hydration, though.  I am hitting my goals like a boss!

[Frugal Lizard]

We had to get our RO serviced because the pressure on the bladder was not balanced.  Now we have more water than we can possibly drink at any one time.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Good luck, @Moonwaves! Hope the program works out for you in the ways you hope.

@Luz--Yowza, that does seem like a lot! Here's finding a happy medium. I drank so much water when I was pregnant, I ha to pee just all the time. My second baby, I had tons of contractions, and the standard advice is to drink a quart of water and lie down for a while to get them to stop. I was like, I don't think you understand how hydrated I already am. If I add another quart, I won't be able to lie down for more than five minutes :-).

Sooo the big news here is that I've decided to undergo IVF this summer, God willing and the creek don't rise. AFAIK I am not personally infertile (my husband is), although I am, as my father put it, "getting kind of old" (39). Fingers crossed!

Which means I will be doing some interesting health things. Not giving up all alcohol, but ditching the daily glass of wine, and I bought water-processed decaf coffee to mix with and possibly eventually replace my regular coffee. The Boy doesn't drink either, which helps!

Also trying to cut back on SWEETS. Man, I love sweets. So much. But my children are away so I won't always be tempted to ask if they want to bake a cake, and the Boy is not into sweets. So it's a good time to make this change.

[mm1970]

I'm pretty hydrated, but I'm happy to hit my 72 oz a day.

[Luz]

@La Bibliotecaria Feroz, what exciting news!

I think my goal to drink more water has been reached! I may be getting ahead of myself, but it's been 3 days and it's already automatic. I make sure the filter pitcher is full in the evening and use the rubber band system to track my 4 bottles during the day. Easy peasy. I'm kicking myself because I've intended to drink more water for probably 10 years. It was just a matter of sticking 4 rubber bands around my water bottle! I'll give it another week to see if anything comes up. If not, I'll move on to the next thing: posture.

[chaskavitch]

Ok, this is totally a mental strength / habit forming question, but I'm putting it out here anyway.

I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old, and I'm working from home splitting childcare with my husband.  He works in the morning, I work in the afternoon.  I'm also doing one 10 hr day at the lab on Sunday, and a half day in the lab on Tuesday morning (6 am - 11 am).  I'm usually trying to do laundry or tidy or vacuum or bake when I'm with the kids, instead of giving them more attention, so I always feel a little guilty about that.

My problem is that I'm going to bed WAY too late, because I stay up to read a book or watch a show.  I'm neglecting catching up on house cleaning, working out, projects, etc., because I'm getting stuck doing "leisure" activities that I enjoy, but that are also tinged with my brain saying "oh hey, you should be doing X", "oh, you're going to be so tired tomorrow if you don't go to bed now."  So the next day I'm tired, regretful, more short with the kids, more likely to snack on sweet things to excess, and behind on everything except reading Wheel of Time for the 4th time.

How can I stop my lizard brain from freaking out and telling my body that I'll never have any free time to myself ever again, so I need to keep "relaxing" to the detriment of everything else?  I'm running on an average of like 6 hrs of sleep right now, and it's just not great, and it's totally my own fault.  Why do I just keep going?  It doesn't make any sense, and I feel like I'm just totally lacking in willpower or something.  I know it's the end of the day, and I'm tired of making all of the other decisions I've made all day, but I'm SO BAD at just going to sleep. 

This is like 75% rant at myself and 25% actual desire for help.  I know I just need to do it (go to bed, stop snacking, just get my dang chores done and spend the rest of my time with the kids), but it feels much harder than it should be.  Boo.

[mspym]

@chaskavitch no no don't remove the leisure activities! That will only make the part of you that feels neglected push back harder. Any time I have attempted to remove JOY from my life, so I can be a better more productive machine, I can "succeed" for a short time before I crack. It is human nature.

Right now you have heaps of stressors and you are contemplating removing relaxation from your schedule. I would sit down with your husband, map out the respective work, housework, childcare and block out time for each of you to have downtime. Don't push it to the end of the day or your to-do list because you will never get to it. Bring it forward and schedule it because it's a legit human need, and so is a reasonable bedtime.

If you are saying "there is nowhere in my day I can dip into an escapist novel for 30", what can you remove from the other activities? Downgrade meal complexity, tag off on the dishes, laundry happens on the weekend, forget vacuum ing exists. I am not saying live in squalor, I am saying *do less* and allot yourself some time.