Frankly, this challenge hasn’t gone so well and I’m not going to dwell on it, but I am going to be transparent and learn from it.

Results

Here it is, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly…

The Good

Healthy habit #1 (3 30-second planks every morning) seems to be fully adopted at least on week days.  In general, I found it easier to execute the new habits on non-holiday week days when my schedule was more regulated – makes sense.  The planks seem to have become part of my morning routine before I hit the shower – yay!

Adoption of healthy habit #2 (drinking 50 ounces of water daily) met with moderate success.  Four out of five week days this week, all or most of the 50 ounces of water were consumed.  Weekends again, seemed a little harder.  I’ve found in general that if I can get that first 12 oz. down before my first cup of coffee, I’ve set the tone for the day and my body wants the water – last night I was actually craving it before I went to sleep.  Otherwise, not so much.

The Bad

I’m fairly certain I did not take my Relief Factor once during the week despite the fact that at least two packages were available to me at any time all day long.  For some reason, taking any kind of pills is just a challenge for me.  I’ve finally gotten myself in the habit of taking what little bit of medication I need every night / morning, but anything that requires a full stomach is a challenge.  The Relief Factor definitely aggravates my stomach when empty so it has to come after a meal, but my meals are all over the place even on week days.  I also get full really fast and the last thing I want when I feel full is to drink the water needed to get the 4 pill pack down.  Any great ideas on overcoming this one?

The Ugly

This is not the first time I’ve failed to get in the habit of taking much needed vitamin supplements and let’s face it, at this age I really need them!  On Friday I had the privilege of attending a lecture by Dr. Frank Diana who is a futurist much aligned with one of my favorites, Dr. Ray Kurzweil.  Dr Diana reminded me of something I had read in one of Dr. Kurzweil’s books about taking vitamin supplements to stay healthy because at this point in time, if we can keep ourselves healthy and alive long enough, it is conceivable that our life span will be greatly extended over past generations.  Their theory is that the first person who will live to hit the two century mark has already been born.  Yes, I’d like to live a long and full life, but I also feel a responsibility to my children whom I had later in life.  It would be great to be able to give them the support as a grandparent to their children that I was blessed to have from my parents.  To do that, I simply have to start taking better care of myself!

Lessons Learned

Probably my biggest takes away from this experience is that it is hard to implement a habit without a regular schedule – at least these kinds of habits.  Even on weekends and holidays, there is always a time when I wake up and go to sleep so the habits that come with those two activities stick.  Trying to implement habits that follow more irregular activities like eating meals, has been harder.  So, here are two things I’m going to try:

1. Set at least one regular meal time per day.
2. Start off with just week day habits and expectations accordingly on weekends and holidays  (at least to start).
3. Focus on one thing at a time and master it before I move on – one week was probably not enough time to really form a new habit.

Moving Forward

My plan for October was to do a “breaking bad habits” challenge.  I may hold off on that one until January.  Instead, I’m going to give that Relief Factor thing one more try.  Why that habit in particular?  Well, I’ve been in pain for quite some time now which has kept me from working out regularly.  I miss those workout for a number of reasons – the mental health thing, the fitness from an aesthetics perspective, the increased energy, and, ye, the investment long term health benefits.  If the Relief Factor does for me what it apparently has done for several others naturally and without side affects, then hopefully I can get back that work out regimen.

In the meantime, if you have any suggestions on how you have been able to establish a new healthy habit, I’m all ears!

XOXO,

Misty Ann