Tag: fitnessgoals

Reading, writing, and planning: Aries Full Moon Goals

09
Oct
2022

So the moon will be entering its next full moon cycle for the year probably tonight (at least for me). This means that we’re not quite a third of the way through October—but time does seem to be going a little quicker. I’m hoping that the last quarter of the year goes a little smoother…but I’m also not going to hold my breath on it either.

So what are some of the questions we can reflect on during this time?

Have I been hotheaded, selfish, or argumentative this month?

Have I been going too fast or been impulsive this month?

           

Have I been brash, blunt, or too competitive?

           

Have I ignored other people’s finer sensibilities?

           

Have I had enough fun?

So before answering the questions, I do need to point out that it is the beginning of the month, so I actually going to answer these questions based on 1) how I want to behave during the coming month, but also 2) how I behaved during the past couple of weeks. So as usually I’m going to number the questions 1 to 5 as I answer them.

  1. I would have to say no—I haven’t been hotheaded, selfish or argumentative this month (a couple months ago—yes I was slightly argumentative then). We’re still dealing with a family medical crisis that may or may not resolve the way we’d like it to—so I could be considered semi-selfish in just wanting the whole ordeal over one way or another.
  2. Considering the month I’m currently having and the past two months, I don’t think I’ve been overly impulsive this month nor do I think I’ve been going too fast (possibly going a tad too slow). I know what I need to do—but currently the other issue is taking majority of my concentration and I’m working on ensuring that I don’t impulsively spend too much money.
  3. No, I haven’t been brash, blunt or too competitive—this month. I was slightly brash and blunt a month or so ago—but that particular circumstance called for me being brash and blunt (and I’m still not going to apologize for it either). While I understand the need for competition (to ensure that the best person is hired)—I truthfully think that there probably is more than enough work for everyone who wants it—so I’m only going to try to be competitive with myself—and only the person I was yesterday.
  4. Well I would say this year it would depend on the situation and the people involved. While I do try to empathize with others—I’m also starting to draw my boundaries and stating what I will and won’t do in particular situations. I also realize that sometimes things can get a little tense and sometimes conversations may need to be put on hold.
  5. What is this word fun? While there are hopes that we’re moving from a ‘pandemic’ to an ‘epidemic’—we’re still stuck dealing with the damn SARS-CoV2 virus, and considering the past nine weeks (and counting)—I really haven’t had much fun, and am still working on ways of adding ‘enjoyment’ into my day-to-day routine.

Aries is moves through my sixth house (or my daily work and health zone). This house is where we can sit and reflect on who we are (both in terms of professional/work and personal/health) and decide to work on those aspects that we don’t like.

For the past two years I’d made various ‘commitments’ such as pushing play daily on streaming workouts or committing to intentional movements each day. Well, I canceled my Beachbody-on-demand (and technically my Beachbody) subscriptions this past month—for whatever reason, I’d prefer to pop in a DVD than trying to log into the website…the DVD player relies on power (and not being overly dusty), while streaming workout relies on power plus a good internet connection and the website not being down.

Therefore I’m still in the process of trying to develop a good mix of things I like to do (weight lifting, walking, hiking, and so forth) and making a ‘schedule’ that I can more or less stick with—because life has been throwing more lemons and limes at me than I can use for making various drinks and dishes.

I have a good idea of what I’m wanting to do career wise—it’s a matter now of making a schedule that will work with everything that is going on in life right now—plus I’m still dealing with the feeling of burnout (but not just in terms of career—currently its in terms of everything).

Since I’m pretty sure that this Aries full moon is going to be a very chaotic time, I’m going to limit the number of goals that I’m going to be setting. The goals for the Aries full moon will include:

  1. Write out a list of things I’d enjoy doing in terms of intentional movement (weight lifting, walking, cardio, yoga, and so forth)—and try to devise a schedule.
  2. Have at least two mini-book reviews written and posted on various sites
  3. Work through at least part of a personal/professional development course
  4. Continue reading (and possibly finishing) at least one non-fiction book that I’ve already started.

The motto for this quarter is ‘Progress over Perfection’

Four goals for the Aries full moon–and hopefully four goals that will get accomplished. I know that I have an extra one or two listed above–those are bonus goals…I’m trying to just remember to take things a day at a time, and even then–remember to take things an hour at a time, and if need be a minute at a time.

What personal/professional goal are you working towards this quarter?

No Comments AstrologyBookscareerfitnessFitness ChallengesFull Moon GoalsHealthLifestyle Challengesmoney saving challengesPersonal Developmentprofessional developmentReflections

The Pink Super Full Moon: Scorpio goals moving forward

26
Apr
2021

So we’re heading into April’s full moon tonight, and it is also the second ‘super full moon’ (aka the pink super moon) of the year. I wrote in the ‘Libra Full Moon Review’ how I felt like everything was starting to ‘speed-up’ again after going so slow last year–but at the same time things are still in ‘slow-motion’. Everyone wants everything opened and back to ‘normal’–the only problem with that is that the old ‘normal’ is how we ended up in this damn global pandemic. Yes, there are vaccines against the SARS-CoV2 virus, but they only go so far in protection. I was talking with a friend last week and we were discussing ‘herd immunity’ and who knows what the actual percentage is and if we’ll ever reach it–the only reason why I say that is that it has been shown you can catch SARS-CoV2 again after having it (and it may end up being worse the second time around) and even if you have the vaccine–there is a small chance you can catch it still (and even a smaller chance that you could still possibly die from SARS-CoV2 related complications). I think that the virus is here to stay, and as a global society–we need to start figuring out a new ‘normal’.

Anyway, back to the April full moon and moving forward trying to find/define both my new ‘normal’ and what it is going to be looking like.

The April full moon is going to be transitioning through the Scorpio constellation. Therefore if one looks to the book ‘Moonology’ there are several questions that one can reflect on during the next few days, and they are:

Have I been jealous, vengeful, suspicious, or otherwise behaved toxically?

Have I been living out of fear rather than joy?

Have I been brooding and dark: focusing on the negative rather than the positive?

Have I been cruel and cunning?

Am I have the sex I need to feel good about myself (of course some people need no sex at all to feel good about themselves)?

If I were to number the above questions 1-5, my answers would be as follows:

  1. While I haven’t been acting jealous, vengeful, or suspicious towards anyone, I will admit to behaving slightly toxic towards myself. I realized last month, that I have been allowing the ‘bad habits’ of my inner critic/imposter syndrome to have full reign and I really didn’t get nearly as much accomplished as I would have liked. I realized that acknowledging my inner critic/imposter syndrome is the first step in dealing with them–I also need to actively work at dealing with the ‘bad habits’ that pop up whenever I feel/realize that I’m really stepping into the stretch/risk zones and out of the comfort zone.
  2. If I’m being totally honest–yes, I have been living out of fear rather than joy. This is tied into issues with my inner critic/imposter syndrome. Instead of figuring out ways of dealing with the various ‘problems’ as my mind makes them up, I allowed my inner critic/imposter syndrome to use them to reel me back into my comfort zone. Something again to work on this coming month.
  3. Well, again if I’m totally honest–I probably have been focusing a little too much on the negative rather than the positive. This is mainly due to the fact that I’m still trying to work out what I want to do moving forward. While I’ve semi-decided on possibly freelancing, remote, or contract work (or a mix of the three)–deciding on how to start is usually where all the negative thoughts creep in. Again, the problem has been acknowledged–I just need to start deciding on how to deal with the problems.
  4. No, I have not been cruel or cunning to others or myself.
  5. Again, the answer is no–mainly because 1) we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, 2) therefore it really isn’t in good form trying to go out and meet new people, and 3) I’m still trying to figure out my life, which may (or may not) include at least one move in the near future. Therefore, I’m not in the mindset/mood to deal with another person’s opinions/thoughts on my future right now.

The moon then is also moving through my first house (or my Image zone), as I usually work with my rising sign (which happens to be Scorpio; as my sun sign is Virgo & my moon sign is Pisces). The first house (or Image zone) focus on you–your personal and/or professional life.

I realized that my moods, focus, and ability to really get numerous things accomplished goes through cycles (some months are more productive than others), and that I also fall into the habit of focusing on one thing over others (a habit that I’m working on breaking). Therefore, I’m actually going to focus on developing a good working plan (covering both personal and professional development) that I can actually stick with it. I’ve gotten a little better at ‘channel-switching’ during the day (going between computer and non-computer work), I will still avoid doing things that I know I should be doing in order to move closer to certain goals; also as nice weather stays–I need to work on the schedule on getting things done on the computer (either morning/night) instead of just sitting outside all afternoon. As I try to work on my inner critic/imposter syndrome, I’ve come up with a small list of goals that will also help me move back towards other goals. Those goals will include:

Finishing up 21-Day Fix Real Time and then starting 21-Day Fix Extreme Real Time

Spend more time reflecting and set at least one ‘long-term’ goal (personal or professional; bonus points if I can set one of each) that is at least 5-10 years down the road.

Then finishing setting up my 12-month plan (based semi off the ‘long-term goals’; plus this would also be finishing up the Aries new moon goal as well)

Continue to mediate daily/nightly

And above all remember as I continue through 2021–Aim for progress and not for perfection.

No Comments AstrologyfitnessFull Moon GoalsPersonal Developmentprofessional developmentReflectionsspirituality

Recapping Leo Full Moon Goals: health, craft, & spiritual goals

26
Feb
2021

So we’re going to be heading into the second full moon of 2021 this weekend. That means that before I look ahead to the next full moon, I need to take a look back at the goals that I set for the Leo full moon and see how I did with them.

So what were my goals for the Leo full moon? They included:

Continuing with my fitness schedule–to finish up with Muscle Burns Fat Advance and then move on to Barre Blend.

Write down the current ideas I have for going freelance/independent/remote work in addition to also seeing what other industry direction is of interest. Plus figure out other ways of earning a little extra money

Spend time working on crafts (start trying to learn cross-stitching, patch up the afghans, doodle, make jewelry, color, and if the weather warms up–photography time up at Boomer Lake)

Meditate, tarot/oracle card readings, and finally setting up my altar for doing card readings

So how did I do with each one?

I finished up Muscle Burns Fat Advance on Feb 7th and started in with Barre Blend on the 8th. Barre Blend is an eight-week program that I will be finishing up by the beginning of April. I actually tried to do the program last year when it first came out but I wasn’t a) in the right mindset, and b) hadn’t figured out the best time of day for working out. Now I have the time of day more or less figured out (I try to ensure that i have my workout done by no later than 10am), and the mindset is getting there.

Barre Blend isn’t going to be my favorite Beachbody program–but I told myself that I needed to give it an honest try and complete the program. There will be a review of it come early April when I finish my first (and possibly only) round.

In terms of work ideas: currently I’m leaning towards writing, data analysis, project management, photography, and possibly tutoring (or online teaching). I’m also still looking at other positions as well (clinical data analysis, educational consulting, and possibly going back to the bench). Though there will be more on this in upcoming blog post.

I started to teach myself cross-stitching this past month. It is something that is going to take time–mainly in terms of trying to get the design sketched onto the fabric. I’m currently working on my ‘trial’ or hit-and-miss piece right now. This is where I try to sketch different things (such as numbers or words) onto the fabric and try to then fill in with colored thread. I also did a little iPhone photography as well over the past month, though most of the craft time was doing color by number on the kindle. The weather never did really warm up to be able to get up to Boomer Lake–the one really nice day we had this week, the ground was so muddy that I didn’t feel like dealing with walking through it up at the lake. I realized that I’m going on almost a little over two months since I took at a walk at Boomer Lake.

My evening routine lately had been doing an oracle card reading followed by a couple minutes of meditation. I then decided to try to meditate by candlelight, and have been able to do almost five+ minutes of meditation. This usually means though that if I do a card reading, I usually forget to sketch it out in the journal. What I’m going to start doing is drawing a card (or three) in the morning and have them near my meditation mat so that I can meditate on the message again in the evening.

I have created an altar of sorts–but it is on a low shelf, and therefore still not in the best location for doing a card reading. I will probably just move certain items (such as stones or rocks) back and forth from where I meditate at night (and will be doing the card readings in the morning) and the shelf/altar.

I actually managed to meet the minimum of each goal during the past full moon. I feel like I’m on a more even footing in terms of working out–I don’t freak out if I have to move a rest day around, and I know that if I actually take the weekend for rest I will still be able to push play come Monday. I’m slowly working my way out of my comfort zone (more on this hopefully in another post this weekend or early next week). I’m also slowly branching out in terms of crafts (though I do need to commit to working on different crafts daily), and I’m spending more time also focusing on my spiritual and mental health as well.

All in all, a good start to 2021–a year that I stated was going to be focusing growth, creativity, and curiosity leading to happiness and prosperity.

No Comments AstrologycareerCraftsfitnessFull Moon GoalsHealthPersonal Developmentprofessional developmentReflections

Fitness goals on track; the rest need work: A review of Scorpio New Moon Goals

13
Dec
2020

So the moon is going to be transitioning through it’s last new phase on Monday, and moving through the Sagittarius constellation. That means there are only about 17 days then left in 2020. I’m more than ready for the month and year to be over (probably more on that in the December in Review post). When I wrote the original ‘Scorpio New Moon Goal’ post—the world had a little over 54 million total cases in terms of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic; now the world is at a little over 72 million, the US was a little over 11 million and is now at a little under 17 million (~16.7 million); so we’ve had probably 6 million cases in a month here in the US—I’m ready for the vaccine and for people to start listening to the scientists and start trying to understand science. While there are now two possible vaccines—they’re both 2 shots (with ~3-4 weeks between the shots), so it will still be quite awhile before things get back to some resemblance of ‘normal’. But enough of the pandemic rants—back to looking at my Scorpio new moon goals.

Before looking ahead to setting up my Sagittarius goals—I should look back and review the goals that I set for the Scorpio new moon.

So what were the goals that I set for the Scorpio new moon?

They included:

            Meditating and/or B-R-E-A-T-H-E

            Starting 10 Rounds

            Start working through one or two of the finance courses that I had bought.

So how did I do with them?

In terms of meditating—I think it’s been about 50/50. I am trying to sit quietly more often during the day if possible, but having an actual mediation routine down—nope that hasn’t happened yet. I still need to figure out where to place the mini-speaker and iPod (though as I’m writing this, I have an idea). So, this is something to still work towards in 2021.

In terms of starting 10 Rounds—I have 2 weeks left in the program; I should be finished right around Christmas. While it isn’t an all time favorite right now—that’s because I feel like I have two left feet in terms of trying to get the foot movement down (and let’s not even talk about the boxer’s bounce). So I may repeat the program again sometime in 2021 or 2022 (while I did have a rough draft of my workout schedule for 2021—I may be revamping it before the new year).

In terms of working through one or two of the finance courses that I bought—well, I totally forgot that I had it down as a goal. Currently, I’ve been having to semi-force myself to do e-course work. I’m doing good with one program, but that is because there are also weekly calls going over the material—and technically what I learn in that course, will be used for the rest of my life (it is a personal development/self-awareness course).

So I would say that I was about 50:50 on meeting the goals for the Scorpio new moon. I will be finishing up a workout program over the next two weeks—and that will almost meet the goal I had set back in June of finishing four workout programs before the end of the year (I will possibly make it 4 if I finish up the last week of the year with yoga booty ballet).

In regards to the other two goals—I’ve realized that one problem is trying to set up a routine. While I know that I can possibly get more accomplished if I have a schedule set, there is a part of me that finds it difficult to adhere to the schedule. In part that could be rebelling against the memories of the last job, where we had to write down and account for how we spent the day—every day, for probably a month or two straight. I’m also trying to remind myself that having some unstructured time is okay—the rest of the time around it should be somewhat structured.

Also I haven’t totally figured out when my ‘peak’ productive hours are; I have a long morning routine (which probably could be shortened)—where I get up, have some coffee, read or do a paint-by-number picture on the kindle, then I will feed the dogs, get the paper, and then have breakfast. So it could be anywhere from thirty to almost ninety minutes after getting up that I’m having breakfast—then it could be another twenty to forty minutes after breakfast before I’m doing my workout. So, I know that I could be using that time better.

One thing that I may start doing is tracking my energy and also doing things in say 75 to 90 minute blocks (or less time for say a workout), take a small break and then go on to the next task. Though, it will require some testing and modifications—because if I’m working through say a module for an e-course I won’t know how long each individual video is and it may go longer than the 75 to 90 minutes (though I may just take the break and then go back to the task until I get it completed).

So as I look towards the Sagittarius new moon, and then the Cancer full moon, and then 2021, I will continue to remind myself:

“Progress over Perfection”, “You can’t start the next chapter of your life, if you keep reading the last one”, and “Not caring what other people think is the best choice you will ever make”.

No Comments AstrologyfitnessNew Moon GoalsPandemic2020Personal Developmentprofessional development

April Full Moon Goals.

22
Apr
2019

So the full moon was this past Friday (April 19th), and technically it was back within the Libra constellation (making it the second Libra full moon)—but since I’m a couple of days late in getting my post in, I’m going to address it like it is the Scorpio full moon (as Scorpio would be the next constellation that the moon would move through). It might not be a totally full moon, but full enough for my purposes of trying to figure out my life.

So if I were to look at the book “Moonlogy: Working with the magic of the lunar cycles” by Yasmin Boland, for questions that one should be asking themselves during this time the questions would include:

Have I been jealous, vengeful, suspicious, or otherwise behaved toxically?

Have I been living out of fear rather than joy?

Have I been brooding and dark: focusing on the negative rather than the positive?

Have I been cruel or cunning?

Am I having the sex I need to feel good about myself? (Of course, some people need no sex at all!)

If I were to number the questions one to five, my answers would be:

  1. No, I don’t think that I’ve been behaving toxically. I know that at times I have what are probably toxic thoughts—but in the current day with the current global political arena that isn’t all that surprising. I do try to limit those thoughts and reframe them at times when I realize that I’m having non-pleasant thoughts.
  2. This is a hard one to say—I probably have been living out of fear rather than joy, in that I haven’t quit my current job (which has absolutely no room for growth, and is a dead end position) and I’m probably overthinking things in terms of trying to find my next position.
  3. This one goes slightly hand in hand with the previous question—I probably have been focusing a little more on the negative rather than the positive (especially in terms of trying to job search, network, and figure out my life).
  4. No I haven’t been cruel or cunning—that takes too much work and effort. Currently I’m more apathetic and at times I really don’t care too much about what is going on—I just try to get through the day without losing my temper or my cool.
  5. As the second statement says—Some people need no sex at all to feel good about themselves. I’m in that boat currently—I have no time for a relationship (especially since I’m planning on leaving the state & I really don’t have the time to try to do a long distance relationship), and I’m not really the type for just having random hookups.

The tight transition between the constellations of Libra and Scorpio also has this particular moon moving into my first house—or my image zone. This is the time when one should also reflect on one’s personal and professional lives as well. So again this moon transition is happening at a good time for me—as this is something that I really do need to focus on—myself. I realize that at times I jump to help a little too often, and I don’t necessarily put myself first at time when I should be putting myself first. So goals for this full moon period are going to include:

            Getting my fitness and nutrition routine back on track (I’m in the habit of doing workouts for a week and then going back to only walking for a week or so—this is a routine that I need to break), but also remember that I only need to try to be better than yesterday—progress over perfection.

            Continue working on my transition plan (try to finish reading “Next Gen PhD” by Melanie Sinche) and really figure out both the types of positions and then possibly the companies that I would like to work for (which will be about five steps ahead of where I was last year).

            Find and practice happiness daily (look for the uniqueness in each day and try not to complain about the things that are out of my control—control how I react to something instead of just reacting to something).

No Comments AstrologyFull Moon GoalsPersonal Developmentprofessional development

Oracle Card Reading: Photography Challenge Day 9

26
Feb
2019

So I was having trouble deciding what to post for today’s photography challenge–it was overcast this morning so there was no sunrise picture, and cloudy all day so there wasn’t even a cloud picture to try to take at work. Therefore instead of randomly taking a picture of one of the animals, I decided that I’d share one of my oracle card readings instead.

Sunday night’s card spread.

This month I have been using the Sacred Rebels Oracle deck (this is the second deck that I got out in Salem last fall). I’m still getting use to the cards, as the messages take a little longer at times to figure out.

Last night’s spread brought the intertwining messages of trusting yourself (your inner voice and intuition), and then bringing your dreams into reality.

Right now I’m working towards trying to bring about the job transition from academia to industry. One of my trouble spots is networking (or figuring out how to add value to others), and that is something that I’m trying to work on this year.

I have numerous different craft/artistic ideas floating around in my head as well–these are other things that I need to make the time to work on. The final thing that I need to focus on is my health and fitness. This isn’t to get to some number on the scale–but to be able to do things–I’d like to hike to the Incan ruins in Peru, hike at the Grand Canyon, and do things like that. But in order to do those things–I have to be in a lot better shape than what I currently am–which is why I’m trying to go through various workout programs (doing them as a mesh-up) and trying to get my nutrition into moderation over any of those “diet” fads that are out there.

That is at least what the cards “said” to me…Their message to you may be different.

No Comments AstrologyfitnessHealthoracle cardsPersonal DevelopmentPhotography

Leo Full Moon Goals: A Review of January’s full moon

18
Feb
2019

So we’re well into the year—tomorrow marks the second full moon (and depending on whom you listen to, it will either be back through the Leo constellation or entering the Virgo constellation). I’m going to go with the assumption that the moon is transitioning through each constellation during both the new moon and the full moon periods. That means that tomorrow, the moon should be entering the Virgo constellation.

So that means, that it is time to look back at the goals that were set for the Leo full moon period last month, and determine how I did with each goal.

So my goals for the last full moon were:

  1. Continue to try to workout daily
  2. Continue working on my transition plan. I more or less have part of my why down (why I’m in science and research in general)—I just need to work on why I want to leave academia for industry, figure out the companies, interact more on linkedin and so forth.
  3. Start working on some craft again (whether it’s photography, knitting, starting to make jewelry, or just coloring in a coloring book).
  4. Mediate nightly, and remember that if I keep putting one foot in front of the other, change will come—but I have to work towards the change and not wait for it to come to me.

So how did I do with each one?

In terms of working out daily, I have more or less managed this with the one or two rest days on the weekends. I haven’t totally gotten to where I do a different workout each day (I have realized that if I haven’t hit my step goal for the day, I’m going to put on a workout program that will allow me to almost hit the goal by the end of the workout (or surpass it)), and then I know that by bedtime I should have my steps in. I am going to try to start varying the workouts again (especially to get in more strength training), as I continue to try to be a little better than yesterday in terms of fitness.

In terms of my transition plan, I’ve realized that I have been letting indecision and fear of failure keep me spinning in circles. I have an idea of at least one biotech hub (mainly Boston) that I wouldn’t mind moving back to. I’m also thinking of possibly St. Louis or Indianapolis for the Midwest area, and then also possibly Washington DC. I know there are hubs on the west coast—but they’re about double the price of being in Boston or Washington DC—so I think I may stick east of the Rocky Mountains.

In terms of crafting, this is something that I’ve fallen behind on. I’ve been trying to do my daily photography challenge, but with cold weather and it barely getting light by the time I leave to catch the bus this has been difficult (since I decided that I shouldn’t just be posting pictures of the animals or tarot cards all the time [though yes I know that is basically my instagram posts right now]). I may try to continue working on my afghan as I would like to have that finished before I possibly move in the summer/fall/winter.

I have been trying to mediate nightly, though at times it may just be laying on the acupuncture mat for 3-5 minutes trying to clear my mind and relieve the tension in my back and shoulders before going to bed. There may gave only been one night this past month that I didn’t mediate, and that was due to be extremely sore my workout and I wasn’t sure if I could a) get down to the floor, and if I could get down b) I wasn’t sure I could get off the floor.

So out of the four goals, the only one that I really didn’t make a lot of progress on was the crafting goal. This will probably always be on the list (either on a full/new moon list or working it’s way back into a weekly habit tracker list), that way I can have a daily reminder that there should be a balance between life and work, and relaxing is actually something that is good for me.

No Comments AstrologyCraftsfitnessFull Moon Goalsprofessional developmentspirituality

June in Review

01
Jul
2018

Well the weather is definitely on the warmer side of things now. June is over, and that means 2018 is also halfway over. The second half of the year starts, and the third quarter of the year starts as well. I made note last month, on how I needed to get better at time management so that I didn’t feel overwhelmed everyday—sufficient to say that is still something that I need to work on. I’ve also realized that I really have no tolerance for the high humidity of summer; I remember throughout both my undergrad and grad years I wouldn’t blink twice at biking when there was a heat index in the low 100s—I’d bike a little slower, but I’d still ride my bike. Now I step outside and I almost immediately feel sick to my stomach—so there are other things I need to work on as well this second half the year. So there will also be a couple of posts that are showing where I’m at in terms of my 101+ goal list, and how I’m feeling with my Level 10 life. But for now lets look back on June.

So my goals for June included:

At least 435,000 steps (adding in about 500 steps a day to make up for the deficiency from May)

Shakeology daily (breakfast or dinner)

Reading (finishing) at least 4 non-fiction books & writing the reviews

Finishing up the reviews for the other books

Packing my lunch daily

Walking around Boomer Lake at least once on the weekend (early morning)

Getting through the first month of InsantiyMax30 (its an 8 week program)

Networking and adding value to my online connections

Keeping a money log & having at least two consecutive non-spend days

Finish up the project management e-bundle course that I bought

  Read More

No Comments financesfitnessHealthMonth in ReviewPersonal Developmentprofessional development

Update on fitness and health journey

25
May
2018

So I’m again trying to refocus on my health and fitness journey. I do well for a while, and then I slid off course (both in terms of nutrition and fitness). Since we just got back from a mini vacation in southeastern New Mexico (Carlsbad Caverns, the White Sands, & Roswell), I’ve decided that its time again to try to focus on getting back into shape.

I’m not trying to get back into shape to impress people, or to get to a certain size—I’m doing it for myself (to hopefully negate some potential health difficulties, and to be able to check a few things off my bucket list). There are several different hikes that I would like to do, and I know that to be able to do them (and not be totally out of breath the entire time) I need to get into shape and lose some weight.

I’d like to hike at the Grand Canyon, visit the Incan ruins in Peru, and go on several other hikes that probably haven’t made it onto my bucket list but probably will be getting added within the next few weeks.

So how am I getting my fitness routine back on track? I’m currently doing Insanity Max:30 as my main workout program. As the name implies it’s an insanity workout, but each workout is only 30 minutes long, plus there is a modifier you can follow (which they don’t have in the original insanity workouts). While this is my main workout program, I may be subbing in other workouts for some of them until I feel like I can do the workout without quitting 8 minutes into. Last night I was attempting to do Sweat Intervals and realized that this was the workout that had me quitting the program the last time I attempted it, so instead of totally stopping a workout, I exchanged it for Country Heat: Giddy Up (and while I only made it through about half of that—combined they were about 20 minutes of working out). I’m going to try Sweat Intervals again this weekend, and just try to figure out the best modifications for some of the moves (right now there is no way I can do squats to lunges without falling on my face; so I may just do squats the first time and then lunges the second round). So while I may not be totally making it through the full 30 minutes (daily goals are a minimum of 20-25 minutes; depending on what the last round or so of exercise are), I am doing it daily. The other programs that are probably also going to be used are Country Heat, and then for some more resistance training: Les Mills Pump.

One other things that I’m going to do is watch the entire workout (even if I don’t do it) so that I have an idea of the exercises that are going to be used during that specific workout.

Nutrition wise: I’m removing the word “can’t” from my vocabulary and exchanging it with the word “don’t” to where my mental talks with myself I’m telling myself that “I don’t want something” instead of saying “I can’t have something). This way I still allow myself treats (and chocolate) and hopefully will now not have that many episodes where I’m bingeing on foods that in small moderations aren’t that bad—but when binged upon can add up in the calories.

I’m hopefully going to start eating more fruits (and maybe some more veggies), and try to cut down on the amount of processed foods that I’m eating (namely cutting back on the processed meats and some of the cheeses, and pasta, and a few other things). But again—replacing the word “can’t” with the word “don’t” and telling myself that I can find something else that will also satisfy me, but be better on the nutritional scale than some of the things I’ve been eating.

So things that I’ve come to realize this week:

Trying to work out daily: 1) I don’t have the space to do side-to-side burpees (going to have to do front-to-back burpees); 2) I still can’t do a push-up to save my life (something to continue working on); and 3) I have zero upper body/arm strength to try to do tricep dips on the floor (going to have to modify and use a chair or something for those).

Therefore, while I have a “goal” weight listed in various fitness/health apps—I’m going to judge my progress by other markers as well: 1) measure monthly (how many inches have been lost); 2) can I start lifting more weight in different programs (so I may switch up the resistance training with different workouts from different programs and keep track of the weights and see after “x” weeks between the programs if I’m lifting heavier or doing more reps with the current weights); 3) can I go from a “modified” form of a workout to the “non-modified” form (i.e. push-ups on the knees (or leaning against the wall) to actually doing an push-up on my toes); 4) buying clothes in a smaller size.

No Comments fitnessHealthPersonal Development

Monday Motivation

07
May
2018

I’ve been trying to keep track of my mood this month (as a small mental health challenge for mental health awareness–another post to come on that), and I thought my mood was okay this morning, but it went downhill after lunch for some reason and I’m thinking that I’ll re-grade it as a 2 instead of a 4.

This card almost seemed to jump out of the deck at me this evening as I was thinking of what the motivation for the week should be. “Anything is possible”. This is a reminder that I needed tonight, that I need to keep working towards my goals of finding an industry position and getting back into shape.

             Monday Motivation

We really can accomplish almost anything (though I doubt that we’ll be living on Mars any time soon though), if we just believe that we can. Right now it isn’t so much that I don’t believe in myself (because I do)–I’m just worried that I’m going to make another mistake. It’s amazing how a wrong decision can haunt you for quite awhile–the decision in question was that I shouldn’t have jumped at the first job offer after graduate school. It seemed a little off, but I shook it off to basically my first real interview and nerves. But now looking back, I should have listened to my gut and taken the risk of being unemployed for awhile as I looked for a position–who knows that might have made me consider industry even sooner than what things did.

What is going to be possible for me this year?? A new job in industry (sector/company/position–all still in the air), I will start networking more on-line and add value to where I can get to an informational interview. I will move (possibly to a new city), and I will continue to get my nutrition and fitness back on track to where I’m getting into the best shape of my life.

Baby steps (or crawls) are needed before racing–as long as I’m moving in the correct direction, slow works–I can build up the steam shortly (but I don’t want to push so fast that I burn myself out.

No Comments Personal DevelopmentPhotographyprofessional development