September 26th, 2018
I track a lot of things.
Every day since June I’ve tracked my temperature in preparation for when we are ready to start trying to conceive. My husband thinks I’m pessimistic but I feel that this way, if we have any trouble, there will be a record. He’s also not a worrier so he doesn’t always understand my “getting ahead of the problem” attitude. Ok yes, a lot of the “problems” I am getting ahead of don’t actually happen but it’s good to be prepared. I use Glow, if anyone knows of any others that are good, I’d be happy to hear about it!
Twice a week I track my weight. I purposely limit myself to 2x a week for this because emotionally I can’t handle any more than that but it does help me to stay on track. My body also hates me and I will mysteriously gain 2-3lbs in a week that I then have to loose as if it’s actual weight. No quick water weight dips for me! It really is a mystery too, I don’t cheat on my diet and I work out 6 days a week like clockwork. Ah well, I’m at a net loss so I’ll take the good with the bad. I use My Fitness Pal.
I have my “mini” workout that I do every morning, Monday through Friday, which consists of free weights, crunches, leg lifts and now, planks. If you want to see results, do planks. It’s hard and you’ve never realized how damn long 30 seconds is but it works. This is timed with the watch L got me for my birthday. Oh my goodness! I don’t think I mentioned that on my B-day post. Yes, he got me the Apple Watch to help track my running! It is AMAZING! If I wasn’t running I honestly don’t think it would be worth it for me but I do love it for the activity tracking. It is definitely not something that I would have gotten for myself. It also tells you how many calories you burn which I love. I do my 10 minute mini workout and then off to the gym I go or for a run. I try to hit 2 miles of something, at a minimum. That can be on the treadmill, the elliptical, there is another machine too that’s like an elliptical, but different, whatever it is I try to get to 2 miles. I really like to run outside but it gets hard in the morning with the traffic and of course weather permitting. I’ve come up with a few alternative routes to help with the traffic.
The watch also gives you daily goals based on your activity. I am really, really trying to ignore it. I do worry that I will become slightly obsessed with hitting all of my goals, or closing my rings, each day.
I also try to meticulously plan out my days so that I can fit the most in. We are not even very busy yet, unfortunately, but as a business owner there is so much to do. I only have very part time staff to keep payroll low and man, it becomes a challenge. Once again, I do not want to complain about the opportunity but it can be very overwhelming. Especially when you realize that there are no sick days, no mental health days, no calling out. I’m really, really hoping to be able to take some time for myself on a more regular basis soon, but for now, the books just don’t justify it. I use my Notes app constantly to try to add in items for each day with deadlines.
And yes, you guessed it, I also have an app that tracks my days of sobriety or AF (alcohol free). I was on the fence about counting days at first but decided at some point that there was no reason not to. It also became a source of inspiration for this blog so there’s that.
Maybe it’s just me but I’ve discovered that being fit, tracking my hormonal cycle, keeping my daily tasks organized, staying sober and accounting for the days can really make me feel like I have some sort of OCD. Now, not to make light of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), most of my family members have been diagnosed with OCD and I wonder about myself at times, but all of this tracking does kind of drive me a little insane. I also have a good amount of anxiety.
The structure helps bind anxiety, or so I am told. I sometimes think that all of this tracking does help by giving me some sort of real data to collect and document. Something tangible that I can see, punching in real numbers and something that I can look back on, with results. Tangible evidence keyed into my phone, a sign that everything I am working towards will mean something, or at least I hope it will.
Thinking about it a bit more, I suppose this blogs serves that purpose also. Taking all of the little moments of the day, recording the memorable ones and being able to look back over it all down the road one day. I do wonder what my future self will say and what lies ahead.
150 Days 