All four got taken out on Thursday. They said that on the third day I would have the worst swelling, and that's pretty much true: today is the worst day yet as far as swelling and pain are concerned. I know I'll be fine soon enough, but not today, and maybe not tomorrow (but soon and for the rest of my life).
So, of course, I'm not exercising at all. But oddly enough, I've been able to do the 12-8 sleeping schedule just fine. Well - it's pretty easy to fall asleep anytime when you have painkillers like I do. Also I have discovered how blissful two bags of frozen corn can make your life.
I don't look like a chipmunk, you can barely see the swelling on the outside, but inside it's a pillowy land of pain. I do have lots to eat, though, lots of jello, applesauce, soup, mashed potatoes, etc. I can't wait to chew again, though.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Give the people what they want
Thanks, everyone, for voting in my poll. Here are the results:
In bed by midnight and up by 8:00am it is!
Actually, I'm not far from this schedule right now, so I was a little disappointed that this wouldn't be more challenging. But I keep thinking: routine, routine! I think it's really important for me to establish a routine so that good things will come more naturally to me (rather than being awash in whatever urgent matter I can remember at that moment). Plus, I've heard that getting healthier involves a three-pronged attack: exercise, diet, and rest! So what's wrong with making sure I get a little rest? Bring it on.
So, for the next 21 days, the two most important things that I absolutely have to do are: 1. get in bed by midnight and set the alarm for 8; and 2. exercise every morning.
I have other ideas for things I want to add to my routine, and I can try for those, but if I'm feeling tired and want to throw something out of the window, it absolutely can't be #1 or #2.
Now, I'm planning on starting tonight and counting tomorrow as my first full day, but there's a problem. Tomorrow I'm getting my wisdom teeth out. Tenative plans are: go ahead with the goal as expected. If I'm absolutely out of commission from the wisdom teeth, then I'll postpone the goals for a few days and start early next week. Wish me luck.
In bed by midnight and up by 8:00am it is!
Actually, I'm not far from this schedule right now, so I was a little disappointed that this wouldn't be more challenging. But I keep thinking: routine, routine! I think it's really important for me to establish a routine so that good things will come more naturally to me (rather than being awash in whatever urgent matter I can remember at that moment). Plus, I've heard that getting healthier involves a three-pronged attack: exercise, diet, and rest! So what's wrong with making sure I get a little rest? Bring it on.
So, for the next 21 days, the two most important things that I absolutely have to do are: 1. get in bed by midnight and set the alarm for 8; and 2. exercise every morning.
I have other ideas for things I want to add to my routine, and I can try for those, but if I'm feeling tired and want to throw something out of the window, it absolutely can't be #1 or #2.
Now, I'm planning on starting tonight and counting tomorrow as my first full day, but there's a problem. Tomorrow I'm getting my wisdom teeth out. Tenative plans are: go ahead with the goal as expected. If I'm absolutely out of commission from the wisdom teeth, then I'll postpone the goals for a few days and start early next week. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Validation
Set aside 15 minutes to watch this video.
If you don't have 15 minutes, you can just watch the first 2 and a half minutes, but the whole thing is better.
If you don't have 15 minutes, you can just watch the first 2 and a half minutes, but the whole thing is better.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Vote
I had to postpone my Thursday polling due to illness, but we're ready today. I'll leave this up for voting until Monday or Tuesday, and then I'll start my new goal next week.
In the meantime, I did all of my 21 days of workouts before I got sick, so I was very glad to have accomplished that goal. I returned to my workout today and I feel great and I'm noticing some more nice changes in my muscles. I'm excited to keep working out and to add a new goal next week. Line upon line.
Some Notes:
These are my personal goals - I hope that if some of you guys are already pros at this stuff, you are glad that I'm trying to get better (and hopefully you don't think I'm gross or ridiculous).
One of these options was "Increase the daily workout from 15 min to 30 min every day," but I've already been doing this, and I just felt like putting it on here would undermine the fact that I've already committed to do this. So off it went.
Also, if you want to start your own goals and you want to keep track, consider using http://www.joesgoals.com/
They have some handy tools and hundreds of goal ideas taken from other site users.
In the meantime, I did all of my 21 days of workouts before I got sick, so I was very glad to have accomplished that goal. I returned to my workout today and I feel great and I'm noticing some more nice changes in my muscles. I'm excited to keep working out and to add a new goal next week. Line upon line.
Some Notes:
These are my personal goals - I hope that if some of you guys are already pros at this stuff, you are glad that I'm trying to get better (and hopefully you don't think I'm gross or ridiculous).
One of these options was "Increase the daily workout from 15 min to 30 min every day," but I've already been doing this, and I just felt like putting it on here would undermine the fact that I've already committed to do this. So off it went.
Also, if you want to start your own goals and you want to keep track, consider using http://www.joesgoals.com/
They have some handy tools and hundreds of goal ideas taken from other site users.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Two more days to go
Thursday will be 21 days, and a new habit. I think the whole "21 days to a habit" concept is pretty accurate. It's part of my routine now, and I just make sure to make it part of my day. I think it's all about routine - if I can get a good one going each day, then I think I can get a lot done. Getting a normal routine is a little hard, though, when my work schedule varies so much each day.
So my exercise goal was to do at least 15 minutes of these workouts everyday. But around day 15 I started to realize that I wasn't sore anymore, and my workout was getting pretty easy. So I talked it over with Michael (for advice), and I decided to try to push it to 30 minutes everyday, which I've been doing since Saturday. And I'm exhausted! I think starting out with 15 minutes a day was a really good idea, because it didn't kill me, and it helped me to establish the routine. And as soon as it got easier for me and when I started being more consistent, moving to 30 minutes wasn't so de-motivating that I stopped doing it altogether.
Not to say that it hasn't been hard. Yesterday I answered "Nothing can stop me!" When Maya asked me how I was feeling before the workout started, and unfortunately I thought I was going to die from minute 2 to 30. Today I answered "Not too bad" and thankfully sadistic Maya didn't make my lungs ache for air by minute 2 this time.
But I think 30 minutes is a good place to be, though it's a little harder to work into the schedule. I'm sore again, which oddly makes me think I'm doing something right. Even mypyramid.gov suggests at least 30 minutes a day of exercise for a healthy lifestyle.
So Thursday will be day 21, or alternatively, day 1 for a new habit goal. I've been thinking A LOT about what I want to do. I have a big list of ideas, and I'm tempted to try to combine some of them, but I think focusing on one thing really helped - it wasn't overwhelming and I could see my progress. Plus, having to remind myself to do several new things each day might make it easier to rationalize throwing one out the window here and there... Nope, it has to be one new goal to focus on for 21 days. Does anyone have any ideas for me to add to my list? Stuff that maybe you yourself want to do better on?
*Update*
I think I'll put up a poll on this blog on Thursday, and you guys can vote to help me pick my new 21-day goal. I think this will be a good way to sneak in two goals, because I can have a personal goal and a group goal. So be sure to check back on Thursday and vote! (It will probably be depressing for me to see how few people read this blog) Be sure to add comments with ideas for me!
So my exercise goal was to do at least 15 minutes of these workouts everyday. But around day 15 I started to realize that I wasn't sore anymore, and my workout was getting pretty easy. So I talked it over with Michael (for advice), and I decided to try to push it to 30 minutes everyday, which I've been doing since Saturday. And I'm exhausted! I think starting out with 15 minutes a day was a really good idea, because it didn't kill me, and it helped me to establish the routine. And as soon as it got easier for me and when I started being more consistent, moving to 30 minutes wasn't so de-motivating that I stopped doing it altogether.
Not to say that it hasn't been hard. Yesterday I answered "Nothing can stop me!" When Maya asked me how I was feeling before the workout started, and unfortunately I thought I was going to die from minute 2 to 30. Today I answered "Not too bad" and thankfully sadistic Maya didn't make my lungs ache for air by minute 2 this time.But I think 30 minutes is a good place to be, though it's a little harder to work into the schedule. I'm sore again, which oddly makes me think I'm doing something right. Even mypyramid.gov suggests at least 30 minutes a day of exercise for a healthy lifestyle.
So Thursday will be day 21, or alternatively, day 1 for a new habit goal. I've been thinking A LOT about what I want to do. I have a big list of ideas, and I'm tempted to try to combine some of them, but I think focusing on one thing really helped - it wasn't overwhelming and I could see my progress. Plus, having to remind myself to do several new things each day might make it easier to rationalize throwing one out the window here and there... Nope, it has to be one new goal to focus on for 21 days. Does anyone have any ideas for me to add to my list? Stuff that maybe you yourself want to do better on?
*Update*
I think I'll put up a poll on this blog on Thursday, and you guys can vote to help me pick my new 21-day goal. I think this will be a good way to sneak in two goals, because I can have a personal goal and a group goal. So be sure to check back on Thursday and vote! (It will probably be depressing for me to see how few people read this blog) Be sure to add comments with ideas for me!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
14 days so far
I'm 14/14 on my 21-day workout goal (the ultimate goal is to make it a habit by day 21)
I'm still enjoying it, and I have been improving little by little. I've also been making improvements in a number of other areas of my life, and I catch myself thinking feverishly about how I can fix one problem or what to do about another issue. I was wondering today if my lack of lethargy has anything to do with the physical improvement. I guess if I'm building my own nuclear reactor by next week then we'll know.
I'm still enjoying it, and I have been improving little by little. I've also been making improvements in a number of other areas of my life, and I catch myself thinking feverishly about how I can fix one problem or what to do about another issue. I was wondering today if my lack of lethargy has anything to do with the physical improvement. I guess if I'm building my own nuclear reactor by next week then we'll know.
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