Day 11, Habits to Achieve Your Goal

 

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3).

 

The journey continues, now to Day 11.  The initial excitement is over.  Now I need to establish my commitment to see this entire diet through and beyond.  The crucial strategy is to establish healthy habits that I can sustain even after the weight is lost.  Giving up habits that lead to success will inevitably result in gaining the weight back.  Maintaining a fat loss is probably more challenging than losing it initially.

 

I gained back my .5 kg loss from yesterday.  I broke my fast last night for some kimchi.  It was only 32 calories but could have made a difference.  Its high salt content may have caused water retention.   I do not know for sure what happened.  I will link the pain of gaining back so much to breaking my fast last night.  From now on, I will do whatever I can to avoid breaking my fasts.  I will commit to my process and keep going.  Nothing will blast me out of my commitment.

 

This morning, I ran an analysis of the last nine days in JV Life Tracker (Vibrancy) with each of my filters, deleting the ones I no longer need.  I created a reminder in Google Calendar to run the Vibrancy reports with each of my filters on Saturday mornings.   This will remind me to keep tabs on how I am progressing with crucial behaviors to my success and, hopefully, create a new routine.  A filter specifies a subset of related habits.

 

 

The filters I have created currently are:

 

 

Each filter has 1 to 28 habits that I track daily.  I could select more than 28 per filter.  However, up to 28 is what I am currently using.

 

I had data on each report except for MailChimp, which I have not used lately.  I kept that filter, though, for future use.

 

Now that I have organized my reports, it is crucial to establish the habits.

 

How often do we start on a new venture, only to lose our resolve and fail to do the daily tasks that will bring about success?  Maybe we get distracted by some novel thing.  Consistency, one of my Top 10 values, is where it is at.  Consider reading The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.  He shows that the effect of enacting habits to achieve your goals day after day is enormous down the road.  You compound the gains (or losses), which you are attempting to realize.

 

Selecting habits to achieve your goals and then doing them day after day, consistently over time, is the answer to nearly everything.  If Person A eats 100 calories less than he burns, he can lose a pound in a few days more than a month.  However, if Person B, of the same height and weight, eats 100 calories more than he burns, he will gain a pound in that much time.  With approximately the amount in an ounce of pecans, compounded daily, two years can mean an almost 42-pound difference!  If both started out at 195 pounds, person A would now be 174 pounds, and person B will be 237 pounds!

 

My therapist in Utah, who also read Darren Hardy’s book, exclaimed that my JV Life Tracker app is a tool.  With it, you can realize the compound effect by creating accountability for success habits.

 

 

The recipe for today’s green drink is in the diet diary below.  I did not add water this time, so it is thick and flavorful.  Sometimes, I like it that way.

 

 

This morning, my husband’s son from his second marriage visited.  He was delighted to hear two things:  first, I submitted an application for my husband’s voter registration.   Second, we had contacted my husband’s other son from his first marriage.  My husband often says, “Third time’s the charm.”

 

 

This afternoon, I plan to visit my neighbors.  I assembled a 3D, 12-piece, wooden, Galileo globe puzzle for them–the first puzzle of its type I have ever solved.  I searched YouTube to help me figure it out.  So it would not break apart while I mounted additional pieces, I bound together with wire twist-ties two sections of four components.  It is not tight-fitting, however.  Perhaps I did it wrong?  If it was wrong, though, I probably would not have gotten it together.  It stays together if you do not allow the last wooden piece to slip out.  I plan to return the solved globe to them today.

 

 

While composing this blog entry, I am listening to Kurt Bestor and Sam Cardon New Age music.  Sam Cardon used to live on my street.  I hope he is doing well; I love his talent!

 

 

My neighbors presented me with some lightly salted mixed nuts this afternoon.  To learn how many grams I was about to consume, I took a tiny digital scale with me.  After returning, I slept for hours.  Later, I called my niece, who has COVID-19, and learned that Mom also tested positive.  I talked to Mom for quite a while.  She is moving out of her house at the same time she has COVID-19.  She has a lot of grit to fight the overwhelming fatigue brought on by both of those things.

 

Knock on wood, my husband and I are healthy.

 

 

Here is my diet diary for today.  I started fasting at 2:38 this afternoon.  The mixed nuts had so much selenium, I ingested more than the recommended amount.  However, on average, I am within a healthy limit.  I ate a few more calories today.  Last night, I was practically forced to break my fast; I had a nasty headache.  Tonight, I feel a bit better.

 

 

 

EVENING PRAYER

Dear Lord,   Habits Establishing habits is the answer to a successful diet or any type of success.  I enjoyed Barrie Davenport’s, Sticky Habits: 6 Simple Steps to Create Good Habits That Stick.  She offers ideas reflected in my ebook, Joyful Vibrance:  Transform Your Body Image, Energy, and Mood!   I have started and re-started numerous habits.  Keeping them in JV Life Tracker (Vibrancy) helped me not to forget them entirely.   Walk Today, unfortunately, I did not walk to the library.  I announced to my husband that I was going, and he reminded me that his son was coming at 10:00 AM.  By the time the visit was over, it was too hot to go.  However, I did do some walking around the condo.   Socialization and Rest Most of the day, however, I visited with people and slept.  I needed that.  I am glum that Mom has been infected with COVID-19.  She seems to be doing well, however and may recover soon.   Diet Diary Today, again, I ate within my calorie budget and established that with a diet diary.  Tomorrow, I may experience weight loss.  However, the number on the scale is less important than the process I am establishing, composed of dozens of healthy habits.   Love the Process; Forget the Goal Jeff Haden’s book, The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up To Win, taught me that to succeed, you must follow and learn to love a process to get there, forgetting about the actual goal along the way.  I need this advice for today when the scale went back up again.  I can forget about the scale for right now and concentrate on my habits.   Opportunity Maybe, by tomorrow I will not feel so glum about COVID-19 attacking my family.  I will think about my endless opportunities and the commitment I am creating toward my readers’ success.   Gratitude Lord, thank you for still being with me and for guiding me.  I believe that you are.     Amen.

 

If you would like to join me on this journey from the beginning, please start with Day One.  If you wish to download a FREE copy of my ebook (with no need to enter your name or email), click on the book below.  Please continue this journey with me by clicking on the arrows at the right of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article, with its diet diary, shows what worked for me.  I do not claim that it will work for you.  Consult a licensed medical provider to determine your diet and medical care.  These blog entries do not diagnose or treat any disease.  If I provide any clues for you or your provider, I will be happy.