New Challenge & New Goals
It looks like Beck and I both slacked off big time for February. I almost regret calling off the challenge for February as we both seem to have completely lost our motivation which has had a negative result for both of us.
But like she said, it’s time to get up, dust off our shoulders and get to work. We do these challenges because they help motivate us to get off our butts and get to work. It isn’t a competition between us because neither of us is better than the other. It is simply to hold ourselves accountable to achieve the challenge tasks.
When we get caught up in the point system and how many points we’re gaining or losing, it is too easy find excuses for not accomplishing something and to cheat ourselves out of the accountability aspect of the challenge when we fall behind our competitor. This wasn’t meant to be a competition to see who is better than the other. When we start focusing on our shortfalls, we lose focus on our goals and find the temptation to lie to ourselves about our progress. That is counterproductive.
Therefore, going forward, I will no longer be using a point system to compete on monthly challenges. I will still post monthly challenges for us all to challenge ourselves. I will produce a checklist, as I have each month. It will be for tracking our own personal achievements. I will continue posting my own personal progress each week… or at least trying to. This will help me hold myself accountable. But I will no longer compare myself or my progress to anybody else on their journey as everybody’s journey is different. And I will no longer compete for a win each month. I think that has caused us to lose sight of why we’re doing this.
March Challenge – 2019 – Week 4
As I said, I am still using my tracking sheet as a checklist to mark off each task as I complete it. This has been a life saver. The tracking page sits in my planner so I see it every time I look at my To Do list and I never have to try and remember whether or not I’ve done it. Although, doing it the same time each day has created a healthy habit and made it a much more successful endeavor than previous challenges.
Week 4 Measurements
I’m measuring progress on my thigh but am recording my weight as well for my personal goals. My personal goal is to get my Average Step Count above 10,000 and my weight down as much as I can.
- Average Step Count: 7,758
- Thigh: 32.75″
- Weight: 253
So, a couple things… my average step count is improving. I brought it up quite a bit from last week but it still isn’t where it needs to be. I will continue to work on this.
My thigh measurement… bigger than when I started. This is completely related to my diet. What I learned this month is that the exercise doesn’t really matter if you don’t get the diet in check.
I didn’t get my diet in check like I said I would. As a result, everything got bigger. I don’t really have anything to say about this right now other than I need to get on it. This sucks. This dark place I’m in right now is only going to get darker if I don’t push myself out of it.
Day 24 – Sunday
Sunday was a beach day. My niece is in town with her family, so we met them at a beach close to home and spent the day in the sun. I didn’t do a whole lot of walking but I did do a whole lot of sitting and holding the baby boy. #sorrynotsorry My challenge tasks were completed late afternoon when we returned home from the beach and I remembered I actually had things I needed to do.
Steps: 2,232
Day 25 – Monday
Monday was a blah day. I got up with good intentions. I wanted to meet my goals for the day but by lunch time, I was ready for the day to be over with so we could get to the doctor and find out what’s going on with my son. I did my morning walk and completed the challenge tasks right afterward. I did 3 or 4 more walks throughout the morning but shortly after lunch time, I gave up. I’m letting the stress consume me at this point, need to get a grip.
Steps: 6,665
Day 26 – Tuesday
The day finally came for my son to see the doctor. I did my morning walk but did not do the challenge tasks with it as I got side tracked. Unfortunately, we left the doctor’s appointment with more questions than answers as well as a bit more stress. Despite that, we made the most of our day and went to a nearby beach until our appointment time was near, we went to lunch after the appointment. Other than the stress of the appointment, it was a great day. I did my challenge tasks in the evening after we got home and I began winding down from the day. I got them done though while I was trying to get to my 10,000 steps for the day. I almost reached my goal steps too but I was pretty tired at the end of the day and didn’t push myself enough. I do plan to make up for it by increasing my step goal next week. For now, my goal is to achieve the 10,000 steps each day for the rest of this week.
Steps: 9,573
Day 27 – Wednesday
I woke up motivated to get back on the right track. While I still have stress with my son’s medical issues, it is no excuse to not take care of myself. I need to make this happen. My morning walk was great, I contemplated more beach trips with my son as an escape of sorts during these stressful times. It is certainly good quality time for the two of us. After my initial morning walk, I did my challenge tasks immediately so I wouldn’t forget them later. That was a good habit I got into, I need to keep it up. Only a few days left of this one.
Steps: 11,779
Day 28 – Thursday
Not quite as motivated today as yesterday, but I’m making it happen. I did my challenge tasks this morning after my first walk of the morning. I’ve walked about a mile every other hour or so today. I need to step it up a little bit though to get my steps in for the day. I got ’em, I had to push for it late at night but I achieved my 10,000 steps.
Steps: 10,041
Day 29 – Friday
It was my Friday off and I stayed in bed most of the day. My ankles were swollen pretty big when I got up because my blood pressure is up again with all of this stress. So I decided to keep my feet up for most of the day. Even with that, I did get up every couple hours for a walk and, as usual, I did my challenge tasks immediately after the first walk of the day. My son did have to push me a little before midnight to get up and get those last 1,000 steps in but I met the daily goal.
Steps: 10,042
Day 30 – Saturday
My ankles are still swollen today but not quite as bad as yesterday. I’m taking it easy for most of the day today but will get up every hour or so for a walking chore (completing chores while walking or marching).
I had a little trouble with motivation in the morning hours. We took the dogs for a long drive out on the country roads just to get out and do something relaxing without much effort or money. When we got home, we ate a late lunch and I fell deep into the rabbit hole of depression.
I’m having one of those days where the loneliness screams louder than the self worth but keeping it bottled up because the three people that give a damn about me have their own problems, so binging it is which leads to beating myself up for being stupid and caving in because I’m not allowed to be weak. Nevermind the fact that absolutely nobody knows when I am, I know…and that’s all that matters. I have to do better, for my son. I have to find strength.
I didn’t find it. I didn’t do my walks and I didn’t do my challenge tasks. Pretty pathetic that it’s the last day of the challenge and I said screw it. Whatever.
Steps: 6,770
Progress on My Goals
Personal goals
This has been a super stressful month and I feel like I’m drowning. For the most part, I did well on this challenge. I struggled with the lunges a little bit because they hurt my knee but I modified a little and made it work. I struggled with my steps throughout the month but am getting closer to what I need to be doing. I struggled with my diet big time because with shit gets tough, I binge. Interestingly, my mom recently admitted to teaching me this behavior. Thanks, Mom! Again…whatever.
Right now I’m in a bad place. I know I’m in the bad place though so my focus is on pulling myself back out and getting re-focused because my health getting worse right now is only going to make the bad place deeper down. My blood pressure is already back up. So, with April’s challenge, my big goal will be to get myself out of the rabbit hole by focusing on my goals.
Challenge goals
Each challenge task is worth one point upon completion. The baseline week of tasks was worth 8 points. I earned 8. The first week of tasks was worth 26, I earned them all. My total points going into week 2 was 34. My total points going into this 3rd week was 59. My total points going into the final week are 103.
Measuring my thigh each week is worth 1 point.
Posting my stats on time (by 6pm Sunday) is also worth 1 point.
Therefore, this week there are 37 points available.
Points Earned: 32
Total Challenge Points: 135
So, how did you do? Are you following a long? Let us know how your week went in the comments section at the bottom of this page. We’re here to support you on your journey too!
For now, take care and hug your loved ones!
~Ki
P.S. If you’d like my free weight loss progress chart (shown here) to use for yourself, just submit your name and email in the box at the upper right hand side of this page and it’ll take you to your own free copy.
- For challenge worksheets and the Forget Skinny planner, see our Planners & Worksheets page!
In an effort to be transparent to our visitors, please understand that we get small commissions from purchases made through the links in this article. Please review our full disclosure at the very top left side of this site, next to the date.