MetaChat - This is a Feeling Positive About Goals Thread!

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10 August 2010

This is a Feeling Positive About Goals Thread! →[More:]Posting here now so I can remember this positive feeling when I (predictably) lose motivation. Which goals are you feeling positive about at the moment - or could you use some extra positivity?

With some prompting from my doctor, I've decided I'm going to lose 2 stone (that's 28 pounds/about 14kg), preferably before the end of November though I realise that's probably unrealistic. I already eat fairly healthily but in excessive quantities, so I'm cutting down on portion size and trying to swim most days. I've largely given up alcohol, which I suspect is helping a lot with impulse control.

I hate being lectured at by doctors but I think this time I'm set for success. Weight has always been a really difficult issue for me, possibly because I'm used to being successful in most things I do, and I hate that I have such struggles with my weight. This has resulted in such a complicated tangle of feelings that I tend to avoid the issue altogether, and I hate talking about it, even to mr alto. Something is a bit different now, though, and I seem to be more objective about the whole thing.

One of the keys may be consistent daily effort, and here's a website I've just discovered, which may help me to keep on track:
Don't Break the Chain

Anyway, excuse my ramblings and feel free to use the space to talk about goals or non-goals. Also, tips on hair and skin care for swimmers would be most welcome - I don't usually wash my hair daily and my skin turns red on the slightest provocation.

post by: altolinguistic at: 09:56 | 7 comments

I'm adding new phrases to my self-created digital Polish flash card decks every day, and going through old ones. It's *VERY* cool to be able to look at the statistics that tell me that I'm getting more and more right each time. I've finally found a strategy that works for me and the amount of Polish I actually need instead of what a textbook told me I should know. My syllabus is me!

I have no cosmetic/swimming related advice, but basen is Polish for pool.

posted by mdonley 10 August | 10:20

I don't know much about skin-care, but would a swimming cap help protect your hair?

Mine (other than getting through Physics and Chem II - starting Monday - w/ my 4.0 in Sciences intact) -- I've only got two more kickball games this season and I can't play the Fall season since games will be Thursdays and I'll be in Lab til 10 PM. So I've decided to spend my Friday evenings going to a local climbing gym. They offer all manner of lessons and do excursions out at a local park on natural walls. This Summer continues to be brutal (heat index of 111 today) so my goal is to get up the training and skill to do some outdoor climbs this Fall and Spring when it's tolerable, maybe even pleasant, out.

posted by ufez 10 August | 11:09

I'm excited about your goals, altolinguistic. And thanks for sharing "Don't Break the Chain". My Wii Fit has a similar calendar system that I suppose would work the same way, but I didn't like the idea of having to log in to the game just to enter something like going to the gym. I don't know why I didn't think of keeping a calendar outside of the game. I think this will help me a lot in my own weight loss goals because I'm a stickler for being able to see progress.

As far as swimming hygiene advice: Wash your hair right when you get out of the pool if you can, using a swimmer's shampoo. It's specially made to counteract the chlorine. For your skin, you could try switching to a moisturizer with green tea - it's supposed to soothe the skin. I've had success in the past taking Gotu Kola supplements (a mild anti-inflammatory herb). I took it to help clear up acne, but it could help you too.

posted by youngergirl44 10 August | 11:15

I had to chuckle when I saw Don't Break the Chain (love this by the way) is Jerry Seinfeld's system of keeping motivated.

I had a dream early this morning that Jerry Seinfeld was in love with my son's Scout leader. They were moving in together and painted their bathroom pale yellow with white wainscoting. I made them coffee but they didn't drink it. I was in the backseat of Jerry's black Mercedes SUV while they were in the front and I was struggling to get out of the backseat to buy them coffee at a coffee stand because I was too fat.

I love the simplicity of Don't Break the Chain. I will definitely use it. I was just writing in one of my journals about my upcoming school year goals. (School starts next week for my kids and I want to make the most of this time and not squander it.) I made up an acronym to help me concentrate on my goals.

FESCO

F - family, E - exercise, S- self-care, C- Clean, O- organize. Not too exciting but when I don't work on these things I'm unhappy.

I feel your pain about the redness. I can't touch my face without it getting red. Seriously. When I apply moisturizer or makeup it is red for a while before calming down. When I swam a lot I used a swimmer's shampoo. I would definitely wear a cap to protect your hair if you swim regularly. Clinique and other brands make anti-redness moisturizers. They are worth a try. I have had lots of luck with Johnson and Johnson's Purpose Redness reducing moisturizer with SPF 30.

posted by LoriFLA 10 August | 11:22

Bah humbug. I'm making significant progress this week (the last week before Friday's deadline) on my fashtunkanah online professional development education classes, which I need to maintain my certification, but I hate it. HATE IT. They're tedious and repetitive and not very useful for an eight-year veteran teacher, but they're cheap and I can do them sitting on the couch in my underwear with the TV in the background, so what the fuck. I have four more to take this fall (I waited because the city and state and union have been and continue to be unclear about the requirements, but I'm taking them now just in case). Blah.

I'd rather be writing. :(

posted by Pips 10 August | 12:50

I'm achieving (indeed exceeding) my goals at work, and I'm finding the work enjoyable. My next goal in my home life is to get a cleaner to come in once a week. My flat is very manageable, but I don't like doing it. Equally I don't like having people in my home when I'm not here, so I don't know if I'd find it stressful. So I'm still thinking about it.

posted by Senyar 10 August | 13:59

I'm feeling pretty good about some recent goals, big and small.

Big: I got an important application for a really exciting program turned in ahead of time. I've been writing and feeling good about it, instead of writing and feeling meh about it. I helped someone I love who really needed some help.

Small: I finally cleared the clutter out of one of our rooms and got it organized. Wait, make that two rooms! That feels good. I replaced the filthy shower curtain. (My fantastic amazing niece gave me this one last night. She's a good egg!)

posted by Elsa 10 August | 18:39

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