Week 17 and 18
Accountability Report for the Past Two Weeks
Exercise:
Eight out of fourteen days. As I suspected, vacation pretty much brought my exercise routine to a standstill. That said, three of the days that I didn’t exercise I spent doing things like walking and/or carrying my kids around places like Tokyo Disney Sea, and the Ueno Zoo, etc. Though I didn’t include the exertion of these days in the exercises that I reported above, I do think that they certainly qualify as big calorie burning days.
Weight:
79.1 kg: My weight has been all over the place during these past two weeks, dropping as low as 78.1 kg and rising as high as about 81.5 kg (I didn’t do a good job of weighing in or recording the numbers on days when I actually did weigh in.).
Considering that I did a fair amount of eating and drinking while on vacation, I’m pleased to see that my weight has quickly settled back down to an average that is very near to 79 kg. Let’s see if it will slide down in to the 78 kg range this week.
Looking Forward/Looking Back
The past two weeks have shown me that, while I have made some progress this year with communicating my needs and wants to my family and those who are close to me, I still have a really hard time with it. I’m really not good at asking for time to myself and I’m not sure what to do about it, especially because I think that making progress in this area can be very difficult when one feels, as I do, like the people that he/she needs to communicate with don’t readily accept his/her needs, wants, ideas, and opinions.
Somehow, in some way or form, I want to work on this.
Regarding exercise, I can feel my goals beginning to change slightly. Rather than just lose weight, I am finding myself wanting to tone up more. While I am feeling satisfied with the decreasing numbers on the scale and the new hole in my belt that I am using, I am also finding myself wondering how to develop more definition in my arms and abs, etc. This is leading me to think that it might be time to start looking for some new exercises and routines to try out, some exercises and routines that can take me to the next level, whatever that may be.
Really, though, it has been a topsy-turvy couple of weeks, and the one thing that I really want to do this week is just get grounded again.
How about you? Is there anything that you are hoping to accomplish over the next week?
We just moved cross country from Las Vegas to Florida and I’m starting to get back into a routine of working out again. It’s funny how things like vacation, moving or anything different than our normal routine throws us off from our workouts. We are starting to develop schedules where if we travel, our routines are still in place so we don’t miss a workout!
Your comment reminds me of a video I watched today that was all about having an established routine for the first and last hour of the day. The speaker said that we only have a set amount of good decisions that we have the energy and focus to make each day so we should save our energy and attention for important decisions. I found this pretty eye opening.
I’m happy to see that now that I’m home, I’m settling right back into my routine. Environment has a huge impact on the actions that we do and can do. For me, on vacation, exercising would have meant coming and going from my wife’s friend’s house on my own schedule, which made me uncomfortable, making unnecessary laundry, which I also didn’t want to do, and risking the appearance of taking time to myself during a Family vacation.
Moves really make things unstable and I think one of the keys of a routine is stability—even if that includes frequent changes. Let me know how things go for you.
That's not too bad... Vacation eating and all considered! :)
Walking and carrying the kids made a difference I would say... I remember carrying niece and nephew when they were young - no mean task as they were heavy! They are 26 and 24 now, by the way... Time flies! Cheers, weekend coming... :)
Yeah, my son is 22 kg now, so keeping him on my shoulders for a lot of the day was definitely a workout;)
Here’s to the weekend. Hopefully, it’s a good one!
yes! its not necessarily about the number on the scale, but how you feel physically. gaining more muscle will help for sure, and youll see more definition in the areas you are losing pounds.
Also - carrying children around amusement parks probably counts as three workouts, so you did good on your vacation!
I’m definitely happy with how I’ve been feeling, which is more energetic and flexible. I’m also happy to see that I’ve lost five centimeters from my waist. That seems like a much more significant and telling result than the numbers on the scale.
Flexible! That's a great one! Most definitely - especially when you start to gain more muscle as it weighs more than fat.
Communicating our needs and wants to another is truly difficult, especially if the other is a different sex or from another culture. I remember learning about one aspect of this difference years ago when I read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Like when my wife starts talking about an issue she had with someone during her day, my first reaction is to offer a solution, because men fix things. But all she wants is a sympathetic ear, because that's what women do. Throw in another culture, and I can see where your struggle arises. I wish I could offer a solution (that male response again) but you do have my sympathetic ear ;-)
Thanks;) I’ve never read that book before. I’ve always wondered whether it was actually worth reading or not. I think communication styles also play a big factor in how satisfied we our with the communication that we have with others. When our styles are drastically different, it often feels like even if we are trying to communicate, we aren’t being heard or understood. That’s frustrating. I’ve been bothered by a few things quite a bit recently.
One is my children’s increasing lack of willingness to communicate with me in English. Another is the feeling that no matter what I do, my wife never seems to be satisfied. Still another is the fact that I’m the sole bread winner in the family and no matter how hard I work and how much money I bring home, the only thing I seem to hear is we don’t have any money. On top of that, there’s the event that I mentioned in another comment. It’s all been piling up and is starting to really crush me. Somehow this past vacation really brought everything to a head.
That’s why, for now, I just want to get settled again. That way I can begin to tackle each of these issues. There are things I can be doing about each of them that I haven’t been.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!
That’s a lot to deal with, but you have coped so far. Perhaps you can reflect on what’s been helpful to this point and continue to use that strategy as you look for new ways to tackle each of these issues. You have my support.
Funny. I was thinking about approaching it from the opposite angle and writing about what I’m not happy with/what bothers me in my life right now and then think about how I can eliminate it, change the environment/atmosphere, or intervene in a positive manner rather than a negative manner (attitude, reactions, thoughts, etc) to prevent the results I’m not happy with from happening.
I like the idea that we can’t change other people, we can only change ourselves and the way we respond to or engage with people and situations. I feel like I can find ways to eliminate the things that are bothering me by contributing to the various situations in a more positive and proactive way. Kind of like this exercise, though, I have to build enough energy and motivation to take the plunge and get started, then find small steps to keep me going. It’s on my mind, so I think I’m almost ready to begin.
Have you read Dale Carnegie's How to Stop Worrying and Start Living? Or his more business-minded How to Win Friends and Influence People?
My dad's friend - a person I consider one of my mentors - gave me both when I asked him for advice on getting into real estate. The books have nothing to do with real estate, just life and people and mindframe. You have to read both, but especially How to Stop Worrying. It's positive and practical advice. Not sure where you can get it in Japan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Stop_Worrying_and_Start_Living
I’ve never read either of them. The How to win friends book I’ve heard of but never paid much attention to. I assumed it was just another best seller that didn’t really have a lot of meat in it.
The other book I’ve never heard of before. I’ll check it out. I’m sure I can order it on Amazon.
If you do I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I’ll let you know for sure.
What a well arranged post sir.
You have explained each and every line so smoothly.
Always their to resteem and upvote
As always, thanks for your help! I appreciate it.
Always their to help sir.