Day - 4

My kitchen sink is clean after fixing lunch and breakfast for my family. But, I haven't cleaned the counter or floors yet. Although, the challenge is to cleanup everything after every cooking or meal.
I woke up at 7:45am today. My kid didn't sleep well last night and so did I. so, I was pressing for time this morning. Hopefully, I'll get it done tonight after Im back from GNO.

Day - 3 update

I did it! I was pretty tired after a long day at work. My work day started at 1:30am .. yes AM.
I was in office at 5:45am. So, considering that I did a pretty good job of cleaning up in the kitchen. Counters were sparkly, sink was dry and empty and not forget clean mopped floors.
So, Im impressed with myself. I have two loads of laundry to fold tonight or maybe tomorrow. I have a GNO (Girls night out) tonight. Hopefully, I'll have a good time.

Productive day is what I would call yesterday.

Day 1,2&3 - Clean Kitchen

Past week has been terrible for both me and my kid. We were both sick. I haven't recovered completely yet. Myself and my partner were looking foward to the memorial day weekend for quite sometime now. We were planning lots of fun activities. Only when the weekend came, we wanted to be left alone all three days. But that wasn't the case. We had visitors. It was still fun. We got sometime to rest well during the day too as our friends ventured out on a sightseeing trip.
I lost nearly 12lbs so far only to see me gain back 3lbs this past week alone. I haven't been cooking at home. And the ones I did cook weren't completely health concious. So, obviously I gained weight.
And for the clean kitchen challenge, I haven't been consistent. But, Im not giving up so easily. So, here I am starting it all over.
Day 1&2: May 26,27 - I did a pretty good job cleaning it all up. First couple of days are always the easy ones.

Today is day 3. Will Blog more tonight.

Day - 1

Today is my day -1 of the second monthly challenge. I promised myself that I wouldn't start cooking until I do whatever needs to be done. So, here is my plan tonight:

1. Wash the dishes.
2. Put aways washed dishes.
3. Clean the counter and stove.
4. Mop the floors
And then
5. Start cooking.

I had an awesome upper body workout this morning. It was good. I started at 187.6lbs. So far, I have lost 11lbs! Which is good. But, my scale hasn't budged 176.8lb mark. So, Im hoping for a full throttle workout this weekend.
Here is my plan: Also, planning on starting early, so I have enough time to workout before my kid wakes up.
Saturday:
Jog/Brisk Walk - 45 min.
biking - 15 min.

Sunday:
Jog/Brisk Walk - 45 min.
biking - 30 min.

Will be posting how day-1 one went....!

Second monthly challenge: Clean kitchen counter, sink and floor. May 14 - June 14

I convinced myself, I would be better after my last post. But, that is not happening. I also thought, I would write a post after achieving a sense of accomplishment and that hasn't happened either. So, what is going on? Am I back in downward spiral.
I don't have the same motivation that I had a month ago. I somehow feel like I lost the will along the way. Failing in the second monthly challenge is very nerve-wracking.

So, decided to focus on an easier one as the second monthly challenge. Clean kitchen counter, sink and floors before bed and after cooking in the morning. This is something, I will start tonight.

To-Do:
1. I will be cooking tonight. So, I will remind myself to start with clean counters so, I don't find it difficult after cooking is done.
2. I will be mopping the floors and counters with soap and water tonight after everything is done.
3. I won't be serving dinner before I finish all this. My daughter will be terribly hungry by 8:00pm. So, I better finish cooking, washing, cleaning and mopping before 8:00pm.

I will be updating this post later tonight about how it all went.

Updated to add: Nope... Nothing happened. My husband wanted to go out with the kid for about 1/2 hr. We were back by 7:30pm. Hardly had anytime to cook and just wash rest of the dishes.

Confession time :-(

It always happens to me when I try to do too many things and one fine day, I stop doing everything when it gets too overwhelming. Thatz what happened this week. I stopped waking up early. I stopped having a clean kitchen counters/sink. I stumbled in my healthy eating regime for the last two days. I know, its just for two days, but it is still accounted for something. I left to work in hurry today like I used to a month back. I started watching TV :-(
It seems, as though Im falling back and I don't want to get used to this. Obviously, I stopped blogging for one whole week. Here I am, putting it all in black & white so I don't throw away 6 wks worth of hardwork and discipline.

Here are the good things, Im still doing:
1. made it on time to my personal trainer appointment
2. still continue my exercise routine.
3. still healthy food for my family.

"One thing at a time": Thatz what Im going to do now. Back again to waking up early. I know, I have tried to start it as a monthly challenge for more than three times. But, I cannot give up!

Im hoping to feel a sense of accomplishment by June!!

Feeling good

I have been feeling very positive lately( although things doesn't seem to go well at work).

Here is why:
1. Like mentioned earlier, I have been using all the free time from not watching TV( yes Im continuing it, because I got used to it now... !!) to cook fresh breakfasts and lunches. It also helped put dinner on the table before 7:30pm. I have been consistently eating very healthy and so does my family. I pack atleast 3 fruits a day, whole grain breakfasts/Lunches, toasted unsalted nuts and lots of cooked vegetables. I could see my family is very energetic and enthusiastic. I know for sure, its because of the healthy food.

2. Surprise, I lost 8lbs!! Not because I wanted to. But it just happened. Weight loss has been on my list for SO LONG maybe for past 8 yrs. So, even this small weight loss got me all motivated and the scaled hasn't budged since 8lb mark. So, I decided working out is the only way to go. I know, God acts in mysterious ways. And Intentions do manifest. :-) My partner came to know about a fitness study at a local fitness club and that it needed volunteers. We jumped at the opportunity. It goes on for 21 days with 9 sessions with personal trainers. So far, I have done 2 such sessions with a trainer. But Im free to use the Gym during this study. So, I started out very slow. Now, I have decided to do cardio 3 times a week for 30 min and weights twice a week for 15 min. My husband is doing it along with me so we can motivate each other.

4. I have been punctual lately. :-) I show up to my workouts ON TIME. Sometimes, even 5 min earlier. Reach office at 9:00am. Which is truly amazing. My partner is loving it!! My bad habit of this has been bugging him for years now.. I still have a long way to go to perfect it. But, I see a lot of changes in my schedules which is encouraging!

3. Now regarding my early rising: I still don't wake up at exaclty at 5:00am. But, I think Im getting there. I have been waking up at 5:30am consistently for quite some time now. I also bought a good alarm clock. I know, its not advisable to have cellphones around during sleep. Im going to use the alarm clock instead. So, hopefully tomorrow?

Overall, my mood has been Happy, Positive and Enthusiastic!! ( there is a always a thought in my head that I couldn't get it out: "Why haven't I tried this sooner?" I always find myself reply: "Atleast Im trying it now.... "

Its been a GREAT month so far....What a way to end April, 2009. Life is truly beautiful. Not perfect...! But Hopeful and Beautiful!

"But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
-"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost