Time marches on, but let us pause for a quick look back and then forward
I’m back! Okay, you may not have noticed I was gone…but I did end up taking an unplanned break from blogging. Despite my best prevention efforts, the dreaded COVID caught up to me. I do believe being up-to-date on my vaccinations and my general overall good health served me well in that I did not get seriously ill and quickly recovered…but I just didn’t have the energy or mental clarity to write.
On top of that, I also had my annual site audit with MaAnna at BlogAid. While that is happening, I need to keep hands-off my blog. It’s well worth a short break to ensure that my blog is secure and speedy…but combined with the aforementioned illness, it’s been a bit since I’ve blogged.
Anyway, enough about that…it’s time for a goal update. As a reminder, instead of New Year’s Resolutions or a Word of the Year, this year I am setting monthly goals that support my core values: 1) health and fitness, 2) joy, 3) learning and growth, and 4) relationships.
Health and fitness
August progress
Research the recommended amount of saturated and trans fats for reducing cholesterol and continue tracking those types of fat in my own diet. Add fruits and vegetables to my tracker. Mission accomplished!
In my research, I found varying advice on the recommended limit for saturated fat if you are trying to lower your cholesterol…between 11 and 15 grams per day. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 13. Regarding trans fats, the recommendation is to avoid them as much as possible.
As for my personal diet, so far this month, I’ve had 13 days under 13 grams of saturated fat, 10 days under 15 grams, and 6 days with 16 grams or more. There’s room for improvement, but at least I am aware now of where I typically fall. Happily, I discovered I eat very little trans fat…so little that I dropped that from my tracker about halfway through the month.
When it comes to produce, I ate on average four servings per day…with a fairly even balance of fruit and vegetables.
September goals
- Increase the number of days in which I eat no more than 13 grams of saturated fat. I will call this a success if I reach 15 days by the end of the month.
- Increase my average daily produce consumption by one serving a day, for a total of five.
Joy
August progress
Participate in 20 minutes of mindfulness activities each day, with at least 10 of those being formal meditation. I give myself about a 95% success rating on this one. So far this month, I have only missed two days…one day where I did not do any formal meditation, and one day where I did meditate, but did not reach the 20-minute mindfulness goal. Still…not bad, so I give myself a lower-case “mission accomplished.”
September goal
Celebrate the beginning of autumn…my favorite season…by putting up a few decorations, enjoying a pumpkin treat, and getting out a sweater or two.
Learning and growth
August progress
Continue with the mindbodygreen coaching course. Mission accomplished! I am halfway through the 20-week course and feeling good about the things I’ve been learning and the progress I am making with the coursework. I have held coaching sessions with three different clients and had a successful faculty review of one of those sessions.
September goal
Continue with the mindbodygreen coaching course.
Relationships/connections
August progress
Talk to someone new at each Orangetheory Fitness class. Mission accomplished! Such a simple thing, but it truly did make me feel more connected to the group. I hope that I helped someone else smile as well.
September goal
For some reason, I am struggling a little with setting a new goal in this area. I do have fun things planned with those I love during September, but none of those things feel like “goals,” since they are already on the calendar. Perhaps the goal is to be fully present for each of those activities. Yes…that’s it!
Your turn
So that’s what I’ve been up to this month and a little of what I am looking forward to for September. Now it’s your turn.
- What have you been doing in August?
- Do you have any fun plans for September?
- What else is on your mind? Anything at all; I just love to hear from you.
Image by Dariusz Staniszewski from Pixabay
Hi Christie, getting covid is awful. I have only had it once, late last year and it sure zapped me of any enthusiasm for anything.
I am glad you are better now.
I didn’t get to connect (again, I know, its a pain) via the link up…so popped over as I know to do via your website.
I am glad you are headed into your fave time of year.
Denyse
Yes, Covid is pretty awful, Denyse. Luckily, my case was relatively mild. Still it definitely zapped my enthusiasm and my energy. I went to the gym for the first time post-Covid today, and I certainly had to go easy, but it improved my mental well-being immensely. I’m going to do some more testing on the InLinkz. I think it may have something to do with location, as some people report they can get through, but several from Australia cannot. I appreciate you coming by directly in the meantime. If I’m calculating the seasonal difference correctly, I believe you are going into spring now. My second favorite season. Enjoy!
I’m so glad your bout with Covid wasn’t worse than it was.
In August we went to Bear Lake with my kids and their families. There were 20 of us and we had so much fun! In September I’m looking forward to St George, to visit you!
Thank you, sister. Your trip to Bear Lake sounded so fun, and I too am excited for our visit in September. XO
Plenty of ticks in boxes there. I find I eat a lot of veg of different sorts but not very much fruit. My September goal is to add in an apple a day – although it is strawberry season here on the Sunshine Coast (strawberries are a winter crop here). Thanks for linking up.
That’s interesting, Jo. I tend to naturally eat more fruit and have to try a little harder to get a variety of vegetables in. Apples and local strawberries sound like delightful ways to get your fruits in.
Hi Christie – sorry to hear about your encounter with covid – we’ve still managed to avoid it, although I probably wouldn’t know if I’d had it or not because all the test kits are out of date and I’m not paying for one just to give my bad cold a “title”.
Nice to see you back in the blogosphere – my last post was an update on my previous 3 months, so I have nothing much that’s new to add to that. Enjoy September and your onset of Autumn. x
Thanks Leanne. I am definitely feeling better now. I actually tested with an expired test kit, but based on the positive result and my symptoms, I felt confident in the results. I agree there’s not much point in purchasing tests unless you intend to take the medication. Since I’m not in one of the high risk groups (quite yet), and my case was mild, I decided to let my body’s immune system do its work unmedicated.
I will be checking in on your three-month update. I always enjoy hearing what you’ve been up to. Happy spring to you!
Glad to see your return to blogging. Covid can still be nasty despite vaccination. On the cholesterol front, you might be interested in this link https://zoe.com/learn/transcript-lower-cholesterol
which refers to some of the latest research at Kings College, London. I found it fascinating.
Thanks for sharing the podcast, Caree. It was quite interesting and helpful in my pursuit of lower LDL.
Hi Christie, I always enjoy your goals posts and you are doing so well! Glad you’re feeling better now after Covid, my mother had it recently for the first time and was quite unwell despite being vaccinated. She was able to get some antivirals which helped her. My goal is to enjoy my holiday which is fast approaching!! Thanks for joining us for #WBOYC this month.
Oh, Deb, I hope your mother is fully recovered now. I know the older we get, the more dangerous it can be. I’m sure the vaccination and antivirals helped. Enjoy your holiday!
Christie, I love the intentionality of your eating. I have no interest in counting calories, fats, etc. and it shows up in my diet (unfortunately). I am trying to eat more salads and fruit – at least I intentionally buy them each time at the grocery!
Sorry about the Covid… I know I’ve had it once and possible two other times mildly. My possible mild cases could be just head colds, as that’s what it felt like – no big energy drain like my one sure-it-was-covid experience. Ah well, I personally think everyone will get Covid at some point, just like a “normal head cold” we all seem to get. I do get my boosters though, along with the flu shot. Even if it just makes symptoms milder.
I’ve not put together any goals for this fall, but have a number of things on the seasonal possibilities list. One I’m quite excited about – a ladies spa trip. I only know 2 other’s going of the 24 women. A very new experience for me – a ladies trip – so will see how it goes.
Thanks for the encouragement, Pat. I won’t keep tracking long-term either, Pat. It’s rather a drag at times. I do want to get an idea of what it looks/feels like to keep my saturated fats and produce in an optimal range. Hopefully, after that, a periodic check-in will be sufficient to keep me on track.
I feel the same about Covid…it’s just a part of life now. We do the best we can to avoid it and mitigate it when it hits…just like colds and flu.
Your spa trip sounds lovely. I hope all goes well and that you enjoy the experience.