Week Two, Level Zero

Wow, posting another week - that's amazing for me to stick with it!  And the points are:

1. attend Zumba class every Monday morning (5 points)

Zero
  1a. other Zumba classes during the week are bonus points (5 each class)

Zero
2. bring a healthy lunch to work every day instead of fast food (5 points, one for each day)

FIVE!!
  2a. minus one point for each fast food outing

Minus one for Dairy Queen with the kids
3. take my vitamins every morning (7 points, one for each day)

Six! :)
  3a. bonus points for remembering the evening ones too (additional point for each met)

None
4. Start body weight exercises. A quick 15 minutes every other morning. (Five points per workout)

Zero :(
5. Continue my weekend hikes outdoors, at least one per week (5 points per hike)

Zero :( 
6. Blog a recap each week ( 1 point)

One :)
Total possible points = 60 

Eleven points this week, not too bad. Progress is progress right? I think I should get some bonus points for no soda and drinking lots of water. But I didn't put that in my goals to add that up... no cheating on points. 

Now that I've established my goals and points for meeting each goal my next question is - when do I level up? Should I have leveled up because I met goal #2? I certainly gained experience points. How many experience points equals a level? Sixty points seems like a level to me. I can earn that cumulatively over time or completing all goals for the week to level up quickly. 

Total points so far = 13.5

Level Zero

Calculating points from last week -
1. attend Zumba class every Monday morning (5 points)
Zero
  1a. other Zumba classes during the week are bonus points (5 each class)
Zero
2. bring a healthy lunch every day for work instead of fast food (5 points, one for each day)
Three
  2a. bonus points for NO fast food all week (minus one point for each outing)
Minus two
3. take my vitamins every morning (7 points, one for each day)
Two
  3a. bonus points for remembering the evening ones too (additional point for each met)
Zero
4. Start body weight exercises. A quick 15 minutes every other morning. (Five points per workout)
Zero
5. Continue my weekend hikes outdoors, at least one per week (5 points per hike)
Half point - I did do a mile walk, not hike... does that count?
6. Blog a recap each week ( 1 point)
One
Total possible points = 60
Total points for last week = 2.5

Learning the game is hard. As Nerd Fitness points out - even the video game does side quests and learning bouts to help you with skill. At this stage of the game the point is to keep learning and not give up. It will get fun. While I learn how to level up on life making the best choices will get easier because I will be getting healthier.

Learn, evaluate, try again.

Leveling up on life

I read Nerd Fitness a lot. I love the website and all the tips and motivation he gives. On Monday there is a new six week challenge starting geared towards leveling up your life. What is my big six week goal? After that is identified then I'll need to set my mini-goals (or quests) that will help me achieve it.

For me, blogging consistently to obtain my goals is hard, meeting my mini-goals is harder but I'm finding that setting the 6 week goal is hardest. Of course I want to lose weight, to focus on clean eating, to stick within my budget - which of these should I tackle for my first 6 week challenge? Of course eating clean can be a mini goal that leads me towards weight loss. My other conundrum is self sabotage.  I'm notorious for throwing in the towel after a bad day. My mini-goals have to be pointing me in the direction I want to go without being overwhelming.

My first thoughts are to automatically go to the 10 pound weight loss goal with mini-goals of exercising three times a week, eating right and blogging regularly to let out my feelings. My pessimistic side says, why go there? I've failed at all that before, what is different this time?

What I do know about myself, consistency and habit are key. Why do I eat lunch at noon - I'm not necessarily hungry everyday at noon. Especially considering my varied work hours. But I do it because it's a habit to look at the clock and feel it's time to take a break. I've always known that if I can make working out in the morning a habit then it will stick and the weight will come off. But I'm already in the habit of hitting snooze. A lot and repeatedly. I know I can break that pattern after I establish other goals that make me less tired (the age old paradox of exercise= energy). Which brings me to my mini-goals.

My mini-goals will be:
1. attend Zumba class every Monday morning (5 points)
  1a. other Zumba classes during the week are bonus points (5 each class)
2. bring a healthy lunch every day instead of fast food (5 points, one for each day)
  2a. bonus points for NO fast food all week (minus one point for each outing)
3. take my vitamins every morning (7 points, one for each day)
  3a. bonus points for remembering the evening ones too (additional point for each met)
4. Start body weight exercises. A quick 15 minutes every other morning. (Five points per workout)
5. Continue my weekend hikes outdoors, at least one per week (5 points per hike)
6. Blog a recap each week ( 1 point)
Total possible points = 60

If we add up all my mini-goals, what is the resulting 6 Week Challenge Goal? The obvious answer is weight loss. But what I'm really looking for is Consistency!

My real goal is The Habit of Healthy Choices