2020++ - smiling and waving and looking so fine

mark55man

been a funny sort of month, completely lost my mojo in a number of ways, although no catastrophe's or even major dramas, just a loss of focus.  for example went to local co-op for some bread, and came back with £20 of shopping, 2x Ben and Jerry, an FT, 3 bars of chocolate and cookies mostly - and I nearly forgot the bread

Its been good news on the DCs job front, so am pleased as punch about that - but still so many other things to get going on.  Had an interesting trip to see the FIL - lovely weather and some nice walks, slightly spoilt as I had some work calls that came out of the blue, and were time critical.

Just off to do my monthly updates and spreadsheet jockeying - catch you later with a summary    

EssexHebridean

I think we all lose focus every now and again - but we know the MSE “training” has sunk in when instead of letting it continue we recognise it for what it is, a blip, and get back on track again without much damage being done.

mark55man

That's very true EH.  A little bit of the meh was an increase in kids costs as they were achieving their job dreams, I did support a little more than normal which left things tight.  Also this month the trip up North was quite draining from a caring sense, whilst being very enjoyable from a family sense. 

Next month will try and get back on it - as I am going to pull the trigger on CC3 at the end of Dec (my EF already covers it), but my I want to do so with as much EF left as possible and the quicker I tighten the belt the more there will be.  Too early to say for sure but likely I will decide 2022 will be about EF and MN (Mortgage Neutral).  Plus return to the gym etc

This month's summary is same old same old same as usual, everything on or around budget except groceries which was a bit less than normal as we were away for a week.     

savingholmes

I think EH said it perfectly - you will soon be back on track. As you say you've had time away, caring responsibilities and have helped out your kids and they are now in a better place.

AntoMac

Hello @mark55man I have been watching your diary with interest without commenting much. Just wanted to say one thing you have helped motivate me with has been getting more exercise when I see the strides (no pun intended) you have made with controlling your own weight) I’m on a run of over 50 days of doing at least 10k steps a day, which has sometimes been pretty challenging. There were a couple of 20k plus days in there too. Prior to that I was settling for scraping past a daily target of 6k. I’d noticed my weight was creeping up into the high 80s in kilograms, whereas my ‘Fighting weight’ was always high 70s. Surprising how it can slowly sneak up. 
Anyway I’ll keep watching without necessarily adding much value or making too many comments. You’re doing very well and are allowed the odd little spell of losing focus. Must be hard but rewarding and regularly expensive work having 4 kids, even grow up ones. 

mark55man

Hi @AntoMac - that is impressive although I saw that Martin Lewis is now on a run of nearly 5 years without failing so that is impressive.  I'm glad I helped someone, as the winter has taken my mojo away, although funnily enough I was making plans to try and get back to the gym tomorrow so I am glad you posted to help me strengthen my resolve  

EssexHebridean

@AntoMac that's brilliant - and that increased level of activity will be doing your health the world of good! There are so many health-promoting behaviours (increased activity, eating more plant based foods, better sleep and reducing stress) that tend to get pushed aside in favour of losing weight as a "fix" to everything - and I think it's fair to say that all too often GP's, along with the omnipresent weightloss industry are well and truly to blame for that. And of cours e a lot of the time as we start practising those things anyway our weight will naturally stabilise to a set point in any case. 

Mark - Did you ever manage to get onto that bike you were talking about? it might be a that finding a different form of movement that you really enjoy might make your mojo reappear - I think quite often when we feel unmotivated it's because we're doing something we feel that we "ought to be doing" rather than something we really enjoy.

mark55man

well EH the bike has been ridden, just not a lot - 

Thanks to @AntoMac I felt gentle peer pressure and got myself to the gym for a brisk walk total 7000 steps, which is more than most days recently.  I did enjoy it except at 6pm it was a bit busy, and there were some ludicrously hench/fit peoples about so I kept my headphones on and my eyes glued on my exercise numbers (I Love numbers I may have shared that before)

EssexHebridean

Ahh yes - the gym bunnies. Every gym has them, even the ones that claim they don’t! What I will say is that they are mostly SOOOO self-focused that they really need be no bother to you at all - in my experience they mostly don’t remove their eyes from their reflections in the mirror for long enough to take any interest in anyone else! Trust me as a female who routinely plonks herself in the free weights area I’ e had to get over any form of self consciousness- I just remind self I’m as deserving of the space as anyone else who’s in there! 😁

Have you explored  Strava at all, particularly with the cycling? You strike me as someone who I might do well with the level of competition against yourself it can give you. I’m never going to be the quickest out there (not on my folding bike, certainly!) but I love trying to get new personal fastest times on segments, and the “local legend” awards for most times you ride a segment are fun too. 

savingholmes

Glad the gentle peer pressure helped. It is encouraging to read about other's fitness journeys. I think often when we sort one area out e.g. £ it also motivates us to believe we can achieve and therefore tackle other areas e.g. fitness.