Inspiration for the Week: Week 22

I love this quote so much.

No matter what my personal goal is for the day, week, month ... all I need to work on is being better than I was yesterday.

I am so printing this out and putting it everywhere.

As the end of the month approaches and I note that my house is still not organised and I still don't have a flat stomach and I still binge-eat chips all the time, all I have to so is remember that everyday I am working to being a slightly-better person than I was the day before.

I have started drinking 1 liter of water everyday (from 2 or 3 glasses a week) and I had only 1 glass of fizzy cooldrink the whole week. I have gotten back onto track with my exercise routine with the new crunch-squat challenge, and my aim is to everyday add a few more sets (once I have done it for the day, I am either in the mood to carry on working out or I at least know that I have done the bare-minimum for myself). My kitchen, bathroom and linen cupboard have all been organised.

And in my personal life, I have really been touched by how many people have been thinking and praying for me since the robbery.  Some people who I considered close friends, didn't even bother to ask me how I am. Other people who I didn't expect to hear from have been so kind. Perhaps this is a lesson for me, that I should focus on being a better friend in general.

All in all, I am so glad that I am slowly accomplishing my goals for the year.

The new 31 day challenge

Starting today, the new challenge is the 21/31 day abs, butt and thigh exercise

One set will be as follows: One standing oblique crunch on each side, one squat- jump x 21 sets

Starting today, and excluding weekends and public holidays, the challenge ends on the 21st June and should work out to 21 exercise days (with one spare day off).

Seeing a number trend here? Yes .. my colleague (who came up with the idea for the challenge) is very into numbers. I must remember to ask her what the significance is. I'm sure she told me, but I was having a brain dead day.

I might throw in some cardio or strength exercises inbetween if I am feeling energetic, but I think this sounds like a manageable exercise that I can easily fit into my day.

Crunch crunch squat ... crunch crunch squat jump ... I even have my mantra going.

And here is my inspiration picture ... I will have a flat tummy!

May - the month of organisation

Well, there is nothing like an armed robbery to mess up your whole routine.

My new partner-in-crime is busy working out a new exercise challenge, cos clearly that is the only way I am going to get any exercise done and reach my fitness goal.

But this month was supposed to be the month of organistation. I had visions of a beautifully organised home just before winter hit and I would be too cold to do anything.

I started off really well ... unfortunately most of my photographic evidence was on my iPad which is now no longer in my possession.

But the one thing I am proud of sorting out is my tuppaware cupboard and for 3 weeks it has stayed neat - so there is hope yet.

I don't have before pictures - but trust me, it was a giant mess.

I started by buying these handy containers. They have a handle, so they're easy to take in and out of the cupboard, as well as for keeping things together.

Then I got rid of all the tuppaware that had no lids, and all the lids that had no containers. Some of them I kept for using when I paint or other craft projects.

Then I repacked it and was amazed at how much space there was in the cupboard! All the lids go into the container, so no more hunting for lids. The tuppaware I stacked neatly.

There was so much space left over that I even managed to clear out a kitchen drawer of all my measuring cups and other baking tools, which went into another container. And the last container now keeps all the smoothie shakers (we have way to many) which also cleared up space in another cupboard.

So now everything is in its place, and I managed to declutter my tuppaware cupboard and streamline my kitchen.

The 31 day challenge

I started the 31 day challenge on Monday 7 April 2014, and carefully wrote in my diary what exercise I was supposed to do each day.

Taken from http://www.fitsugar.com

The first week didn't go so well, I completed only 3 days of exercise.
Monday: 30 min cardio
Tuesday: 20 min strength
Wednesday: got home late from work and got stuck into housework
Thursday: attended a memorial service
Friday: 20 min cardio (didn't fit in the full 40 min)
Saturday: Nothing
Sunday: Nothing

The second week started off really well, but then Easter weekend happened.
Monday: 20 min strength
Tuesday: 30 min cardio
Wednesday: 40 min strength
Thursday: nothing
Friday: rest day
Saturday: nothing
Sunday: nothing

Week three started off with a public holiday, but this was by far my best week of exercise.
Monday: nothing
Tuesday: 40 min strength
Wednesday: 30 min cardio
Thursday: 20 min stretch
Friday: rest
Saturday: 20 min stretch
Sunday: nothing

Week four was my worst week - Monday and Thursday were both public holidays, and I took leave on Friday.
Monday: nothing
Tuesday: 30 min cardio
Wednesday: 30 min strength and 10 min stretch
Thursday: nothing
Friday: rest
Saturday: nothing
Sunday: nothing

The 31-day challenge ended on Wednesday 7 May, which coincinded with another public holiday (voting day).
 Monday: 30 min cardio
Tuesday: nothing
Wednesday: nothing

The final tally: minus the rest days, there are 27 exercise days in the 31 day challenge. I completed 13.
13 out of 27 days ... that is not even 50%

After tallying up the score, I am a bit disappointed. But then I remember that this was a very ambitious challenge for someone who hasn't taken on any exercise for years, and I managed at least 2 days of exercise every week, if not more.

I will not be marking this particular New Years Resolution as "done" because I don't consider myself fit, and I haven't quite completed my goal (flat tummy). This one is going down as "in progress" and I hope that I can keep up the momentum going forward.