Goals and giving up

💙💙💙💙💙 #nmnm2016 #theyearthatis2016 #2016yip #2016.017

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Jan 17, 2016 at 11:57am PST

I wish I could tell you have a slew of goals for the month. I'm just going to be delighted by making it through with healthy parents and a few nights of decent sleep.

I have been tracking my food.
I have been keeping better track of what I have accomplished.
I have been feeling much better because I am tracking my food and realizing that I do accomplish quite a bit each day.

I'm not Catholic, but in the past I've given up something I liked or spent too much time doing during Lent. I guess I could do it anytime of the year, but we talk about making these changes or sacrifices either at the beginning of the year when we're loathe to repeat old habits or patterns, or this time of year, when some believe we should suffer.

A friend posted something about the things we should really consider giving up - for Lent, for life, for whatever.  A few things that struck home for me were the following.

• Fear of failure (trust me, everything fails, get over it)
• impatience (learning this the hard way with my parents)
• people pleasing (I'm learning this from the dog)
• distraction (what? No, listen, really listen)
• bitterness (see no. 1)
• busyness (Say YES to No)
• resistance to change (be the change, and I don't mean that in a Bernie Sanders way)

I believe these things are much harder to give up than chocolate or Facebook.

2016

Happy New Year. I seem to say this a lot, even now.

January was not the best of months. There was illness, there was drama, there were few naps and I'm happy to say that it is over.

 February is my least favorite month. I'm not sure why. It is my birthday month, but I still don't like it. I do love the spring bulbs that are way too early this year. I love the fact it is light until 5 pm again. I love the fact that after 28  29 days the month is over.

 I'm subbing February for January this year. Instead of making lists of all the things I wanted to accomplish in 2016, I'm focusing on finishing the relevant tasks of 2015 that are overdue and adding in a few things where I can fit them in.

 I'm still thinking about how my workflow has changed now that I'm working from home again. I'm back to using my large monitor and sitting at a desk instead of plopping down anywhere and writing/surfing/working. I'm blocking sites that I find both time and attention sucking. If I find something that works, I'll pass that along.

I think 2016 will be a year, much like the rest with a few good things tempered with the bad and sad. I'm going to continue to say "no" more than "yes", but with a little more patience than before.

Missed day

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Sep 8, 2015 at 4:31pm PDT

I had promised to post each day, but yesterday got away from me. 


Today seems to be doing the same.


 Tomorrow should be better.

Friday Wrap Up

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Sep 4, 2015 at 7:54am PDT

Giverny - Check
La Defense/Grand Arche - Check
Parc Martin Luther King - Clichy/Batignolles - Check
Dinner at Coretta - Check
20k steps walked - Check

September Goals

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Aug 28, 2015 at 6:28pm PDT

My goal for August was to post every day to this blog and also to log my food everyday. I am doing pretty well on both fronts. Nothing has changed on the food front - I eat a lot, exercise some and would make my naturopath very cranky if she was to peruse my food logs.

So, what should I do for the month of September? I have travel, schedule changes, more stress and unlike some people hate chunky sweaters and boots.

Food challenge? Actually eat seven to ten servings of fruits and veg a day? Possibly.
Writing challenge? Perhaps post usable content?
Brand challenge? Stop being so schizophrenic and drill down to what I want to achieve with my writing?
Mood challenge? Try to not be so cranky?
Health challenge? Attempt to get over six hours of sleep?

SO.MANY.THINGS.

Do you think I'm up for it?

Now off to confess my eating indiscretions - thanks Alaska Airlines fruit and cheese plate.

May Day

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Apr 29, 2015 at 8:12pm PDT

I'm not calling for reinforcements -  but I am making my May goal public. I would like to blog every day this month, no matter where I am and when.  I like those gold stars that mark my calendar for completing tasks.

Last month my goal was to record everything I ate - that was interesting. I learned I love sugar and early in the day and late at night. I don't eat enough vegetables and that I walk a lot and get plenty of exercise.

All these goals start to snowball in a good way - I track my food, I try and exercise daily and I need and want to write about all sorts of things.

Happy May.

What are you goals for the month?

Step by step, goal by goal

Sproingadelic Sakura Laurelhurst style #theyearthatis2015 #2015yip #090/365 #seattle #98105 #hashtagabuse

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on Apr 1, 2015 at 1:59pm PD

Happy April.

I have set goals the last two months and will continue to do the same for this month. I'm not into setting huge goals but little ones that build upon each other.

February I focused on tracking my sleep using my fitbit. I continue to do the same thing in March and hopefully for ever. In March, I tracked (for the most part) what I spent money on and it was very interesting. I've been super lucky to never have to budget and given my current job situation, I thought it might not be a bad idea to consider trying it and seeing where it takes me.

This month I'm focusing on writing daily and trying to capture what I eat in some sort of written form. I'm also adding some new stuff to my work out mix including swimming and barre. I thought about running, but that will have to wait until I can find a good sports bra.

My other goal is to start using the new Story Corps app to get my parents talking about their life in Iran and what it was like for them when they first came to the US. Whenever my mom tells the tale, I start crying and I want my niece and nephew to realize what their GaGa and GrandPa did to make a better life their kids.

I started this project a while ago, but am excited that there is an easier way to do this now.

Beating Holiday Weight Gain

Guilty of enabling many with these wicked gingerbread snowmen.  Recipe likely never to be blogged but I probably should.

If you look on the Interwebs these days - there is a lot of content about holiday eating and weight gain. Some says to enjoy  the season by having another plate of little smokies and peppermint latte because there is a juice fast just around the corner. Others may list hacks to make those holiday treats less caloric and offer coping strategies for avoiding the buffet at the dreaded holiday party.  Both camps will provide sage advice, call on expert opinions and use a stock photo of someone in a sequined Santa hat.

This year I'm trying something different.

I'm upping my cardio gym time by 15 minutes every day between Thanksgiving and New Years to see if that can keep that dreaded Rumaki3 off my body.

If you go to the gym five days a week, another 15 minutes adds up to an extra work out per week. For me, It is not so much the calories burned, but that commitment to trying harder to keep things on an even keel means that I'm making an effort and it may affect my behavior outside the gym.

What do you think? Would you wrench yourself away from a warm bed or the Good Wife for an extra 15 minutes a day if it meant you could maintain your weight throughout the festive period? If not, what do you do?