100 Days Challenge - Finished ... Yeah!

My personal 100 Days Challenge ended on Wednesday, September 1st. I practiced my challenge 83 days out of the 100, which feels pretty good. I had an 8-10 minutes morning ritual, which included strength and balance exercises. Those of you who've followed this challenge know that, as easy as it seemed to be, I struggled with it. However, I've learned a lot and I've gotten a lot out of it.

1) I'm sure I've said this before but it is important. I found out that it takes me a lot longer than 21 days to change a habit when it is replacing a old bad habit of long standing. I say this is important because I'm sure a lot of you have been frustrated when you work on a new habit and, after a few weeks or even a few months, all your work seems forgotten. Life gets in the way, it just seems too hard, etc. Well, it takes as long as it takes. I know that's little comfort but I encourage you not to give up. Find out for yourself what your personal timeline is when you are making changes in your life. Don't be discouraged by others who seem to be able to adopt new habits, drop bad habits or change their lives more quickly or easily than you do. We're all different and they may have struggles with other things in life that come easily to you.

2) I've learned that I play mind games with myself. Weeks into this challenge I was still trying to find ways to avoid doing it. Most days, 83 to be exact, I didn't let myself get away with it but it was almost always a problem. Some days it took me 30 minutes to get through because of my delaying tactics. I even made myself late a few times. Wouldn't it just have been easier to do it and get one with my day? There's no good reason for it. I guess it's just the way the mind works, my mind at least. Now that I know this about myself, my goal and intention is to keep pushing through it.

3) Good habits really can inspire more good habits. As much of a struggle as this small task seemed to be, during the last half of it I realized I was following healthier habits in other areas. I got back on track with working on healthy recipes, started eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and started walking more, even through the knee pain. I think as I began to feel the benefits of having more strength and better balance, I wanted to do more to get healthier. I didn't want to sabotage my own progress. What I find interesting is that I purposely did not make a list of habits to work on during this challenge. I committed to one thing as I've seen suggested in books and articles I've read and I found these things easier to do on a regular basis. Even so, I began making healthier changes. Oh, and I almost cut out fast food from my diet; I averaged about once a week during the challenge, as opposed to five or six times a week (my pre-challenge norm). This surprising change was good for my health and my wallet.

So what now? Well, I still need to work on this habit so I think I will add a bigger challenge to this one. I will build on it. I'm not sure what it will be but I will let you know. I'm going to take this week off, enjoy the long weekend and come up with my next 100 Days Challenge. I'll still do my excercises but I won't be keeping count. I hope you are challenging yourselves as well. You can do it!

Have a great weekend!

Inspirational Quotes ... Getting Started and Making Change

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming task into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.

Mark Twain

Simple, but true.
What inspires you?

100 Days Challenge - Belief and Trust

Please Note: I started my 100 Days Challenge on May 25, 2010 but you can start any time. I hope you'll join me in working towards positive change. My original post on my 100 Days Challenge will explain what I am doing and how I chose my challenge.

Today is the 56th day, the end of the 8th week, of my challenge. I'm a little more than halfway through and I have practiced my new habit 47 days out of 56, a little less than six days out of seven. Not bad.

Well, I can say that I recommend this kind of challenge to anyone working to make changes in their life and struggling with it. Though this is still a challenge for me, -- no, because this is still challenge for me -- I am learning things about myself that I need to know.

I have learned about belief, my belief - or lack of - in myself and my ability to change. I have found that I do not believe I can make all of these changes for good in my life. Even though the proof is around me that change is possible; even though I know, intellectually, that I have not set my sights too high.

This was surprising to me. It came to me while working on my challenge. I had the thought that I would not improve my health, lose weight, etc. I can see improvement in my health and my strength since I started this challenge, even though it takes less than ten minutes out of my day. I've also been making other changes that will help me to achieve my goals. Yet, I still don't believe. What is this about?

It is about the past. I've worked to make change in the past. I've succeeded in making some changes and most people consider me successful but I have let myself down in many ways. So I have stopped believing. I no longer trust myself. there is a part of me that believes I will let myself down yet again.

Instead of feeling bad about this, I actually feel pretty good because I now understand something about myself that I didn't before. This is a problem I can work to solve. Trust has to be earned, even trust in self. I need to work to prove to myself that I can be trusted again, trusted to change my habits for the better and to actively and successfully pursue my goals. As I rebuild this trust in myself, I know I will rebuild the belief in myself as well. I'm feeling very grateful that I made this challenge 100 days; it really gives me time to prove to myself that I can stay committed and keep my word to myself.

To those who say, "the past is past, just leave it there", I envy you but I can't agree with you. Would you let someone into your home who had a habit of stealing something each time they visited you? Would you continue to patronize a gas station after you found out they had purposely mis-calibrated the gas meters in order to charge more? No, you probably wouldn't. You would use past behavior as your guide until the behavior changed and then you would use the new past behavior as a guide. That's what I do at least. Now I'm doing it to myself.

Sometimes the work comes before the inspiration.

Have you experienced anything like this? How did you or are you handling it?

I can do it! You can do it! We can do it!

Edwardian Era and La Belle Epoque - Sewing Inspiration

Though I'm a long way from tackling an outfit from this wonderful era, it is hot and rainy today and I need a little inspiration. So off I go into cysperspace, circa 1910's ...

Beaded Cotton Gauze Dress, c. 1914 - 1916. This was posted at the Past Perfect Vintage Blog. As I was searching for inspiration, I saw that this post from 2008, which happened to be posted on the day after a rainy day.

Gowns of Queen Maud of Norway, c. 1910 - 1913.

Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown on her wedding day, 1912. I found this photo and a brief bio of this wonderful woman on the Mulatto Diaries blog.

Olga Nicolaevna Romanov, c. 1913. -->

Tea Gown, c. 1910's from The Great Basin Costume Society blog.

A 1912 Ball Gown also shown on The Great Basin Costume Society blog.

Irene Castle in a Tea Gown, c. 1914.

The Tunic Dress, c. 1912. You can see more photos and a detailed description of this dress at the FIDM Museum Blog.

<-- Worth Gown, c. 1907 - 1910.

The wonderful Dreamstress posted these on her blog from the Brooklyn Museum Collection. Click on the link to see the other great photos she has posted.

Worth Gown, c. 1910.-->

Actually, the Dreamstress is the perfect conclusion to my search for inspiration on a rainy day. If you love this era, you should check out the making of her Luna Moth Gown, inspired by this era.

I hope you've enjoyed this little stroll into vintage wonderland. These are only a handful of the beautiful fashions from this era. I do feel inspired and have set a new goal for myself:

To sew a gown inspired by this era to wear on New Year's Eve 2011.

That gives me a little less than a year-and-a-half to develop the skills to make the gown and to develop enough socials skills to be invited to the kind of party where I can wear it. (hehehe)

For now, it's time to back up my computer and do some house work.

I'd love to see your inspiration photos or your sewing projects.

Happy Sewing!

Inspirational Quotes ...Positive Thinking

"It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts."
Robert H. Schuller

Making Changes ... Making Space for Change

Frustration was the theme this week ... frustration with myself. There are so many things I would like to do and changes I would like to make and I am very aware that there is not an infinity of time. Yet, it seems that there is always a reason why I can't do this, a conflict that prevents me from doing that, a commitment that must take precedence over the plans I have made.

Alright, we all have responsibilities and commitments we must attend to but most of us can make room for other things in our lives. I refuse to let this frustration become overwhelming and to just give up. I have decided to look at my life as it is now and figure out what is really getting in the way. What have I discovered so far?

I haven't made space for the things I want to change in my life and add to my life.

When I say space, I don't just mean physical space but also space in time and mentally. For example: Sewing. I have finally made the commitment to return to sewing but have yet to begin. I have the sewing machine, patterns to choose from, fabric and notions and I have this wonderful blog community to reach out to for advice and encouragement. But, I don't have the space to sew. Rather, I have not created the space to sew.

Yes, I live in a small apartment and yes, a lot of my space does double duty. But I want to sew. And though I have decided to spend some of my free time sewing, I haven't made the time. I've just counted on the time being there. And mentally, I am continuing to find other things to do instead of sewing. I am not making the space.

Time to make space in my life for what I want in my life and, to that end, here's my plan for the week.

1) All of my sewing supplies and notions and create a storage space that is for crafting only.

2) Create a work space for my sewing - it will probably be a shared space with my business work space.

3) Practice setting up and breaking down the work space. (I know this may sound silly but for those of you who have small spaces, you know how frustrating it can be to have an hour to sew or to craft but to have to spend the first fifteen minutes setting up and the last fifteen minutes breaking down the space.)

4) Clean and oil my sewing machine.

5) Choose my pattern and fabric.

6) Schedule time to sew and sew.

My goal is to begin laying out an cutting my fabric by next Saturday. Before the end of next week I will set a specific time for this.

Thank you for reading and letting me vent.

Are you making space in your life for the things you want? Have you been frustrated like me? Do you have any good advice for making space? I would love to hear from you.

Happy Sewing!

Inspirational Quote ... habits, goals, and LIFE

"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it."
Margaret Thatcher

100 Days Challenge - Creating New Habits

Please Note: I started my 100 Days Challenge on May 25, 2010 but you can start any time. I hope you'll join me in working towards positive change. My original post on my 100 Days Challenge will explain what I am doing and how I chose my challenge.

Today is day 14 of my personal challenge ... two weeks completed and I am still struggling to make this small change a habit in my life. Who knew that changing the first 10 to 15 minutes of my day could be so tough? Each morning I find myself struggling to get through my stretches and exercises even though I can feel the benefits already. My knee, which was troubling me almost daily, is beginning to feel better and stronger from the stabilizing exercises I do as part of my morning "habit."

Why is this small change such a challenge? I really looked at this for myself since what I have chosen would seem to be a much easier change than someone trying to quit smoking, follow a restrictive diet, sew every day, exercise one hour every day, etc. Am I really this weak willed? The answer I came up with is "NO!"

I am working to change a habit I've had since childhood. What? Yes, you read that correctly. Almost every morning of my life, I have gotten up at the last possible moment, whether the alarm goes off at 4:00 am or 9:00 am. No matter what time I have had to get up, I get up at the last possible moment to get ready for the day. As I have always been a night owl, even as a little girl, waking up has often been irksome to me and I do not consider myself a morning person.

In other words, I am trying to change behavior that I have practiced and reenforced for more than 25 years. When I look at it that way I realize that this IS a real challenge and that I should not condemn myself for how I am struggling with it.

It is amazing to me how I resist this challenge some mornings. I mean, this is only 10 to 15 minutes out of my day. Yet, I have found myself delaying and trying to find excuses for not doing it. I don't think this is about will power. I think this is an example of how the brain works and how it seeks to continue the activities and behaviors that have become habitual.

Stop being so hard on yourself! Be persistent! Be Positive!

(BTW - I'm talking to myself as well.)

The good news: I have only missed two days out of the fourteen, which I consider a good beginning.

I found a few articles on breaking bad habits that, I believe, offer good advice and insights:

"Breaking Bad Habits - The Habit of Negative Thinking" and "Breaking Bad Habits - 5 Simple Steps for Changing a Habit"

"Tips for Breaking Bad Habits and Developing Good Habits"

The bottom line is I just have to keep doing what I'm doing and not get frustrated. There are many habits I would like to break or change but I need to continue with this one and really make sure it is established as a habit before trying to work on the next one.

I can do it! You can do it! We can do it!

New Month, Same Goals ... Health and Fitness

My Health and Fitness Goals for June

I did pretty well in May, but not as well as I would have liked. However, I realize, in keeping with my 100 Day Challenge, that it is important for me to continue with these goal in order to develop them into habits.

So here are my goals for June plus my notes on how I did with them in May.

1) Stay Hydrated - (8 - 12 glasses of water per day) - I did really well on this. I've been working on it for a while and I'm now at the point where I don't really need to think about getting enough water ... unless I'm really stressed.

2) Get sufficient Fiber - (25gm - 30gm per day)- I did pretty well but I could have done better.

3) Eat in Moderation - (1800 calories or less per day)- Honestly, I did not very well on this. I averaged about 2,100-2,150 calories per day. This is still about 350-400 calories per day less than my usual but I need to work on this.

4) Get Moving - (Walk at least 10 miles per week)- My knee was bothering all month, which was very discouraging. I found it hard to walk more than a mile at a time. However, I did begin working on stabilizing exercises for the muscles around my knees and it has been feeling much better.

5) CIY - Cook It Yourself - (Learn at least two healthy recipes.) - I did learn one fast, healthy and easy soup recipe.

6) Take off the Weight - (Lose 2.5 lbs per week - 10 lbs in May)- I did lose a total of 5lbs this month. Though half of my goal, it is still a loss.

It this has been a graded test, I probably would have received a C- for the month. Thank goodness there are not grades, just personal accountability.

In the past, I would have gotten down on myself for not completing the goals I set for myself 100%. Of course, this has never helped me in the past so I need to change the behavior. In looking at how I did last month, I am choosing to concentrate on the positive things I did and what I did accomplish. It is the only way to move forward.

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
George Bernard Shaw

I am choosing to change my mind and my life ... one step at a time.

I wish you all the best with you goals for the month ... the year ... your life.

Have a great May!

P.S. I would love to hear from you on how your are doing in your journeys to change your habits, your life ... your wardrobe. :)

100 Days Challenge ... Making Changes for Good

I hope some of you in cyberspace will join me in this challenge. Like many of you, I have been trying to change my life for more than half my life. Determination, "don't try, do it," the "light bulb" moment, Monday, to save my life, fill in the blank __________; I've tried and done so many things to change my life for the better. I have made some changes but not enough to really set myself on the path I want to be on in my life.

I have my month of May goals and I am still working on those. However, I've been reading a lot of about changing habits, making new habits and dropping bad habits and I realized that most of my efforts have not taken into account the way the mind works beyond the concept of "willpower."

I'm sure many of you have seen articles on changing or adopting habits. Recently, 21 days seems to be the magic number in the "how to change a habit" craze. That made no sense to me because I can and have followed many programs and dropped many bad habits for at least 21 days. So, I kept reading. And I found that, yes, you can change or adopt some habits in 21 days

but ...

and this is a big one ... what if you are trying to change a habit or replace a habit that you have been practicing for years? Well, I came to understand that habits can become ingrained in the mind and their triggers can as well. You may change a habit and feel you've overcome and still, days, weeks, or years later, you experience some trigger and it is as if you'd never made the change. Well, it turns out that, like most of our muscles, the brain has muscle memory, which is great when it is a good habit but not so great when it is a bad habit.

I encountered this during the past week and a half. I was doing very well, maintaining and practicing good habits. I was ready for whatever came next ... I thought. A sudden out of town trip, a family event and a small crisis at work were enough to derail me. Now what?

The 100 Days Challenge

Starting today through September 1, 2010, I want to do something to not only adopt new habits but also to thwart some of the triggers, which have derailed me in the past.

My Personal 100 Days Challenge -

For the next 100 days, I will spend the first 10 to 15 minutes of the day on me, doing a sequence of exercises and stretches to start my day off right. Even if I wake up late or if there are other things tugging at my time, I will spend these first minutes of the day changing old patterns and adopting new habits. If, and only if, I firmly establish this habit, will I add a new challenge, a new habit to adopt, break, or change.

My hope is that by changing the way I enter my day, I will avoid and suppress some of the triggers which have proved my undoing in the past. I know it may seem like a small thing but I wanted something I felt confident in committing to for the next one hundred days.

Okay, that's my personal 100 Days Challenge! What's yours?

It doesn't matter how small or how large. It doesn't matter what day you start. It doesn't matter what kind of change you make, as long as it is about making your life better: Health, Diet, Sewing, Family, Career, Beading, whatever you want to do. Just make a decision about what you want to change or what to want to add to you life and commit. This is about improving life and breaking habits that sabotage that goal. And, PLEASE, post a comment to let us know what you are doing and how you are doing as the time goes by.

I can do it! You can do it! We can do it!

Inspirational Quote by Danielle Fotopoulis

Goals ...

"Even if I don't reach all my goals, I've gone higher than I would have if I hadn't set any."

-- Danielle Fotopoulis

An Update on My Goals for May and My History of Diets Continued

My Goals - the 1st Week of May: I give myself a grade of C for the week. My biggest challenges were to walk enough (goal - 10 miles per week) and to learn a new recipe. I realize that I need to plan my week. I also was not under my 1800 calories per day goal every day but I kept the Food Diary and that helped to remind me about my choices. There were things I wanted to eat or times I wanted to eat more of a tasty dish but just thinking about having to write it down helped me to make better choices.

Weight Loss 1st Week: 7lbs. (I know, crazy right?)

My History of Diets

The diet I am going to talk about today is both very restrictive and considered by many to be a fad diet. It is also a fasting diet. Please remember that I am sharing my personal experience of the diets I write about. Do not take any of this as a recommendation for or against a particular diet. I just hope my information will be informative to people making choices about how they are going to lose weight and get healthier.

I have done the Master Cleanse about four times. The first two times I followed it for only four days and I will admit that I stopped because of how I felt. I had an awful headache and my energy was so low that I just wanted to stay in bed. I had written the Master Cleanse as something that was not good for me personally and moved on to whatever was next on my list of diets. About three years after the last attempt, I came accross a website on the Master Cleanse and read many of the entries from people who had tried it. I found that many people seemed to have a bad day or two somewhere between the third and fifth days of the cleanse. Many people also describe feeling much better in the subsequent days, more energetic and clear headed. Well, I thought, maybe I needed to give it one more try.

The next time I tried the Master Cleanse, I committed to ten days. I scheduled it during a lull in my life and made sure that the third and fourth day fell on a weekend that I had few commitments. The first three days went as usual. I was hungry most of the time and had cravings but it was not unbearable. Late on the fourth day I felt very emotional with low energy and a headache that just would not stop. This lasted on and off for more than 24 hours and, yes, I considered quitting at this point once again. I kept reminding myself that I just needed to try to get past this point, that I was almost half way through. When I woke up on the morning of the sixth day, I felt better than I had in months. I had a lot to do that day, including teaching, but I had energy to spare. I also felt very optimistic. I had no cravings. These feeling lasted through the end of the fast. On the eleventh day, I was ready but not anxious about ending the fast. I took four days to add solid food to my diet and tried to follow the guidelines for doing this. The most recent time I tried this, I had an almost identical experience.

Though I would not try this for 40 days, as some people do, I believe I would do it again. The biggest challenge for me is finding a time when it will not interfere with my schedule. However, overall, the Master Cleanse has some positive results that lasted for almost three months. I had fewer headaches and more energy, made better food choices, and found myself less likely to give in to emotional eating. All-in-all, it was a beneficial experience for me.

From my first review of my diet history, I determined that:

1) I need a diet that allows me to snack throughout the day.
2) I need a diet that does not cause cravings, one with limited refined carbohydrates.

What have I discovered from my experience with the Master Cleanse?

3) Periodically doing a very simple and restrictive program can be helpful to me.

Hmmm, I'm not sure where this list is leading but it is an interesting journey.

New Month, New Goals ... Health and Fitness

My Health and Fitness Goals for May

Before I list my goals for the month, I just want to explain that I decided to keep it very real. I want to set myself up for success. So, this month is about setting goals that are challenging but that are manageable with my life and my schedule. Also, I have limited myself to five goals plus my weight loss goal.

1) Stay Hydrated - (8 - 12 glasses of water per day)
2) Get sufficient Fiber - (25gm - 30gm per day)
3) Eat in Moderation - (1800 calories or less per day)
4) Get Moving - (Walk at least 10 miles per week)
5) CIY - Cook It Yourself - (Learn at least two healthy recipes.)
6) Take off the Weight - (Lose 2.5 lbs per week - 10 lbs in May)

Of course, there are many other things I should be doing to get healthy and fit: eat more fruits and vegetables, weights training, plan healthy meals, stretch, clean out the kitchen, deep breathing, cut the fat, etc. I would love to work on all of these things and more but I believe that if I take on too much, I may get overwhelmed and discouraged. So, I will try to do as much as I can but my focus will be on the above six goals.

Calorie Counting - Food Diary - You may notice that my daily calorie intake maximum is a bit high. Well, I have quite a bit of weight to lose so my calorie needs are a bit higher than someone who is closer to their ideal weight. Also, I kept a food diary for almost four weeks when I was eating in my usual fashion and not trying to count calories, fat or carbohydrates. I consistently ate around 2,600 calories per day -- so much more than I thought I was eating. I did not gain weight during this period and wasn't exercising much due to a problem with my knee. At 1800 calories per day I will be eating approximately 800 calories per day less than I usually do. We'll see what happens.

More on keeping a Food Diary - I hate it. I really do. However, I do believe it is an important tool in successful weight loss. Weather you are counting calories, units, fat, carbohydrates or protein, the Food Diary is a reality check. I honestly did not think I was eating as much as I was. I felt sorry for myself and my slow metabolism. While I still believe I have a slow metabolism, I also know that I overeat and the Food Diary is proof. Though I haven't put it down as a goal for the month, it is an important tool in tracking and achieving my calorie intake goal.

I use Spark People to keep my Food Diary. It is a free site that offers many of the same options the paid websites offer. I've also noticed that they have improved the site over the last year that I've been a member. For those on a tight budget, this may be a great alternative to paid websites. If you have internet access, you have no excuse. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I wish you all the best with you goals for the month ... the year ... your life.

Have a great May!