Step Streak

It's the end of the year (almost) and I've really gotten into this step goal thing finally.  I've had my Garmin vivosmart HR+ since my birthday in 2017, before my husband deployed.  I thought it might be a way for us to be connected over the miles (since he already had a Garmin), but I mostly just used it as a watch.  For a year.  Or more.  As I was preparing for my trip taking middle school kids to NYC, I started walking after school with the kids (so that they wouldn't complain in NYC about all the walking) and would pay attention when I hit 10,000 steps for the day, but I didn't work for it.  When I was in NYC, I hit my all-time high step count with 24,000 or 26,000 in two days.  And then summer came and all the routine went out the window.

As I've mentioned before, in November I started with ClassFit and started working out again. Then I started running using my Activ 5K app, and paying attention to the steps I was taking.  I realized that I was getting close to 10k steps on weekdays, and falling way short of steps on weekends (think 2-3k at most).  I made a goal to get 10k on weekdays and stretch for 7500 on weekends.  In November, I was mostly successful with this.  Some days I would walk laps while out at bus duty (that is, I would not stand still while waiting for buses to arrive) in order to get my 10,000 steps.  Then I made a decision that I would make sure that I would get 10,000 steps before leaving the work building.

And then I accidentally got a whole week in a row. It started with a week where I got 5 days in a row, and on Saturday I didn't have very many steps by the time the kids were in bed (2500, maybe), and I felt really lazy.  I decided that I could listen to a podcast on my phone and walk around inside to maybe get steps to 7500.  I remembered that there was a podcast recently released with the ClassFit founder, so I listened to that and walked.  And walked.  And walked.  And when I was done, I had 8800 steps.  And I realized that with a little bit of effort, I could make it to 10,000 for the day, so I loaded up some other podcast and walked until my watch celebrated my step goal.  The next day, Sunday, I don't remember exactly what we had going on that day, but I ended up really close, so I made a little extra effort and sealed the deal:  seven days in a row.

The rest has been...a little bit of an obsession/addiction.  We've been out of school since December 20, but I have made a real effort to get those steps in every day.  I've never made the effort before.  (I mean, I've gone to bed and seen that I was 50 steps short of 10k and seriously just gone to sleep.)  My streak started on December 3 and we've gone 27 days in a row.  Here's what it has looked like in my MFP app.  The days with over 15,000 steps have been Irish Dance Class days.  There has been no dance class over the holiday break, though, so we've pretty much flat-lined, barely made it to 10k since school was out.

Somehow I happened upon a Facebook group called "I do it 10,000 times a day" where people track their step goals and offer encouragement, and there are people on there who made it a 365-day goal.  It seems like an incredible, impossible goal, but at the same time, I'm 27 days into it, so maybe that's something I can do, too?  There are also people on that group who have 1,000+ days of steps, and by that time, it's a lifestyle, right?

So, that's my step update...for now.

Weekly Check-In (12/3-12/9) and Graduation from "Elementary Education" ClassFit level

This is the end of week five with ClassFit.  Time flies when you're having fun, right?  Even since I've begun the program, the structure/format/challenges have changed.  Keepin' it fresh.  Now there is a path that starts with Early Elementary, which is basically just joining, and team members can graduate to Primary Education.  In order to satisfy graduation requirements, team members are supposed to stream a live video on the private FB group discussing the second set of questions.  So, I organize my thoughts here.

Weekly Check-in

What are your wins?  What are you proud of for the week?

• Getting in all three of my scheduled workouts, even when I had to reschedule
• 10,000 steps every work day
• Being seen exercising by people I know (current student, principal)
• Plank Jacks!  I haven't been able to do those before..

What were your biggest obstacles?

• Unexpected sick child meant different schedule (still got 10,000 steps that day!).
• Teething child woke up at 5:15 and wouldn't go back to sleep, so I tried to work out and she would have it.  Rescheduled for another day.
• Vending machines due to lack of snack planning.
• Sugar...cookies and other sweets at Sunday school and evening church event.

Emotions aside, what needs to change next week?

• Drink more water.
• Plan for snacks.
• Start food journaling.

EE Graduation Questions

How has your mindset shifted since you began ClassFit?

• Self control has improved.  Starting to rewrite the stories I tell myself.
• Erin does not have to be a "group exerciser" to exercise.
• Erin does not have to eat junk food/sweets just because they are available to eat.
• Erin is willing to exercise in front of other people.
• Erin can run, even if her husband hates running himself.

What have you learned about your water and eating habits?

• I don't drink enough water--I need to make a concerted effort.  Weekends are harder.
• Now that I'm exercising more, I'm specifically thirsty for water more.
• I have the self-control to not eat sugary/junk food.
• I have the self-control to be successful at intermittent fasting.
• When I don't plan ahead, I default to my terrible eating habits.
• I tend to consume the junk first thing in the morning and after supper, and also during planning period if I haven't prepared a snack.

How much water and food do you currently intake on average?

• Water...48 ounces or less per day.  I need to really double that.  I need to drink out of my larger Tervis tumbler every day (24 oz each, and drink four of them daily, ideally).
• I haven't kept track of calories, but intermittent fasting has helped cut out the junk I would eat in the morning during breakfast and the evening after supper, so I am eating less and I'm trying to make better decisions about what I'm eating.  This is the next step of my journey I would like to focus on.

What are some strategies you are using to stay on track?

• Drinking water and hot green tea in the morning helps with the intermittent fasting.  Also, I keep myself busy until 10 a.m.  I give myself the option of expanding my eating window to 10 hours on weekends and special occasions.
• I'm more conscious about moving.  I'm trying to get in 10,000 steps on workdays and 7,500 steps on weekends as a beginner goal.  When I'm done with the school day, I walk laps during my bus duty whenever we are waiting on another bus, and I come back into the building and walk "the long way" everywhere I need to go to make sure I get those extra steps in.
• On days that my husband leaves early for work, I wake up when he leaves and I get my workout in.  Sometimes I sleep in my workout clothes so that I can just roll out of bed.  On days that he does not leave early, I get up and spend the time writing (blogging here) and preparing mentally for the day/week (he doesn't leave early on Mondays).
• I've posted the "trophies" from my Active 5K app, so people know that I'm using it and ask me about it.

What differences do you notice in your body mechanics and endurance?

• I'm even amazed at what five weeks can do.  Five weeks ago, I could barely hold myself up in a plank, let alone move individual body parts in the plank.  During Friday's workout, I was able to do Plank Jacks!  And alternating single leg planks.  Granted, it was for 15-20 seconds each, but I sure felt great!
• I also just feel more confident in my mechanics, particularly when it comes to lunges.  Early on, I had to stop lunging before my sets were up because I was weak and the more I did, the worse my form got.  However, after doing reverse lunges and lunges with front kicks, my legs are stronger and I know that I'm doing it right.  I've also been doing my squats with my arms up in the air in order to make sure I'm keeping my upper body upright, and I feel like my form is good.  Incline push-ups are making me feel like I may be able to do an actual push-up one day, haha.

Overall, why do you believe you are ready to progress to the Primary School level?

• After looking through the path, it appears that the Early Elementary level is about beginning mindset change.  I've achieved some basic changes in the way I think.  I'm aware of the areas where I need to improve, and I desire to change for the better.  Ready to move on...