A serving of cold turkey

So I was watching youtube while I was getting up motivation to start my day, and I found some great advice on how I'm sabotaging myself by expecting that I'll still be here in my housecoat later, which leaves me feeling defeated before I even get dressed. So that sounds like a wise piece of advice to incorporate into how I'm approaching my day ...


And that directed me to this related TEDx talk on how you can solve anything if you tell enough people, since people are at heart helpful. That feels like a nice approach to life (and I've got plenty of evidence from my last year). Another lesson to digest on how to approach life ...



But here I am at 3PM, and I'm still in my housecoat, and I still haven't meditated or even decided my game plan for the day. The shadows are starting to slide sideways across the window ledge. The temperature is just starting to drop again. There's only a couple hours til the business I need to visit today closes!

This is #$*& ridiculous!
I'm not sleeping regularly, eating healthy or accomplishing anything this week. My new jeans are already uncomfortably tight and I can barely do my coat up. I think it's time for a change - definitely some bad habits. Oh look - my doppelganger has allegedly figured out how to break her bad habit (eating chocoloate), like that'll work for me.



But wait, according to video #1, I need to reorient my expectation.  Let's try this:
I *expect* this to work. I believe I can change and this is one way to do it.
So I'm going to actually *do* what she recommends.

I'm going to set smart goals and a plan:

What:

1. reduce weight by 20# by Dec. 21 to reduce strain on joints.

2. reduce waist by 6" by Dec. 21 to reduce back strain.

3. reduce time wasted with youtube to less than 1 hour/day *immediately* so I don't get double-vision by mid-afternoon.

Why: 

I want to overcome depression so I can sleep without melatonin and not binge eat.

I want things other than youtube and food to be what drive me and make me feel good.

I want to feel energetic enough to get up and do things every day.

I want to be proud of my life. 

(and other more personal reasons.)

How: 

Start with a 30-day commitment and re-set the method then.

* switch to decaf to reduce anxiety (already done!)

* prep tasty snacks so they're easier to find and clear everything else out of sight (nearly done)

* be more active in how I do things: dance around the kitchen, run up the stairs, stand at the compute (doing that right now!)

Do the following 3 things *every day* for 30 days:

   1. every day get dressed before I use the computer room.

   2. meditate. every. morning.

   3. every day do 30 minutes of some kind of exercise.

And lastly, I'm going cold turkey on youtube for the next 30 days. I can't actually think of a reason to use it. (A movie on Prime is ok in the evening.)

So that's it. The last youtube videos you'll see posted here for the next 30 days. Which means I should have more time to blog and do other things ;-) And I'll post a star for each goal I meet.

I can do this! It's easier than Sun Run training and I've done that 3 times. I'm getting dressed now. 

I'm starting today!

Stay tuned - keep me honest tomorrow.