Accountability Update

Weekly goal setting. Targets and accomplishments.

Accountability Update – Week 5

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Hey everybody,

Made some progress this week.

Let’s review.

Health and Wellness:

Target: Two 20 – 30 minute cardio sessions. Accomplished – Did 4/45 min treadmill sessions and 2/45 min walks outside!

Target: One gentle stretching or yoga session. Accomplished.

Target: Make an appointment to get a flu shot. Tried – No success.

Target: Reduce Diet Coke consumption to 3 to 4 cans for the week. Accomplished.

Target: Make healthier food choices. Accomplished.

Target: Lose up to one pound. Accomplished.

Writing:

Target: Meet daily NaNo goal of writing one page per day. Accomplished.

Target: Update NaNo goals in writing group daily. Accomplished.

Target: Make final decision on editor and secure services. Accomplished. Dream editor hired!

Target: Put deposit down on logo development. Accomplished.

Work/Life Balance:

Target: Clean spare bathroom. Nope – Didn’t happen.

Target: Prepare package I’ve been sitting on since March and figure out how to send without breaking the bank! Nope – forgot all about this, even though box is sitting on the couch in the living room.

Target: Remember to write down those things I want to add as targets, but keep forgetting. Nope.

Lesson Learned:

Sometimes some shit doesn’t get done, and that’s okay. Not gonna beat myself up over it. Gonna keep on keeping on.

Mini targets for the week starting November 9:

Health and Wellness:

Target: Three 30/40 minute cardio sessions.

Target: Make an appointment to get a flu shot.

Target: Keep Diet Coke consumption to 3 to 4 cans for the week.

Target: Make healthier food choices.

Target: Lose up to one pound.

Writing:

Target: Meet daily NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) goal of writing one page per day.

Target: Update NaNo goals in writing group daily.

Target: Provide 1st chapter feedback to new CP.

Work/Life Balance:

Target: Clean spare bathroom.

Target: Prepare package I’ve been sitting on since March and figure out how to send without breaking the bank!

Target: Remember to write down those things I want to add as targets, but keep forgetting.

That’s it for now, friends. Hope everyone is staying safe.

Until the next update—peace out pain sufferers.

Current pain level 7/10.

Sharing is Caring!

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Accountability Update – Week 4

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Hey there, Sharing is Caring Lovelies!

Well this week was a total bust for me. Pain levels skyrocketed and the brain drain was significant.

Let’s review!

My goals for the week starting Thursday Oct 22, 2020 were:

Physical Activity.

Target: Two 20 – 30 minute cardio sessions. Partially accomplished. I did one 30-minute cardio session on the bike.

Target: One gentle stretching or yoga session. Not accomplished.

House Cleaning.

Target: Clean both upstairs bathrooms. Partially accomplished. Cleaned my bathroom. The guest bath used by everyone but me is still a biohazard!

Work towards the completion of the current work in progress.

Target: Write one to five pages this week. Accomplished. The words did not come easy but I completed a new scene.

Lose the COVID weight plus the twenty pounds of pre COVID weight gain.

Target: Lose one pound. Not accomplished. When my pain is high, I tend to eat for comfort. This week I gained one pound.

Personal Grooming.

Target: Shave my legs. Accomplished. This was damn near a two-razor job!

Lesson Learned:

Setting my intentions helps me to take small steps towards my bigger goals, but sometimes work/life balance tips in favor of work. When there’s no time and energy left over, something has to give, and if that something is one of my target goals, that’s okay. There’s always next week.

So I’m going to keep moving forward one target at a time. Here we go!

Mini targets for the week starting November 1:

Health and Wellness:

  • Target: Two 20 – 30 minute cardio sessions.
  • Target: One gentle stretching or yoga session.
  • Target: Make an appointment to get a flu shot.
  • Target: Reduce Diet Coke consumption to 3 to 4 cans for the week.
  • Target: Make healthier food choices.
  • Target: Lose one pound.

Writing:

  • Target: Meet daily NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) goal of writing one page per day.
  • Target: Update NaNo goals in writing group daily.
  • Target: Make final decision on editor and secure services.
  • Target: Put deposit down on logo development.

Work/Life Balance:

  • Target: Clean spare bathroom.
  • Target: Prepare package I’ve been sitting on since March and figure out how to send without breaking the bank!
  • Target: Remember to write down those things I want to add as targets, but keep forgetting.

That’s it for now, friends. Hope everyone is staying safe.

Until the next update—peace out pain sufferers.

Current pain level 9/10.

Sharing is Caring!

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Accountability Update – Week 3

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Hey there, Sharing is Caring Lovelies!

Feels like this week did not get off the ground for me, but as I wrote this update, and looked back at the things I accomplished, I realized, I got a lot more done than I was giving myself credit for!

My goals for the week starting Thursday Oct 15, 2020 were:

Physical fitness activities.

Target 1: Do two 20 – 30 min cardio session (includes walking). Partially accomplished. Did one 60-minute walk with Jacob on Sunday.

Target 2: Do one yoga/mindfulness session. Accomplished. Did one 20-minute yoga session this morning before work. Note: this accountability blog was the only reason I got my ass out of bed at 5 a.m. to do yoga! It is still extremely painful for my shoulders.

House cleaning.

Target: Clean main floor. Partially accomplished. Cleaned everything but the two bathrooms.

Work towards the completion of the current work in progress.

Target: Write one to five pages this week. Accomplished. Now at the 1/3 mark for completion of book two in the Joint Task Team Series! Feeling great about the progress.

Lose the COVID weight plus the twenty pounds of pre COVID weight gain.

Target: Lose one pound. Did not accomplish this goal. My food choices were terrible this week. Mostly I ate chicken fingers…Didn’t lose a pound, but didn’t gain any weight either.

Blog.

Target: Write and post blog number two for October. Accomplished. Weight Bias Vs. Chronic Pain blog posted on Wednesday.

Lesson Learned:

I had a number of previously scheduled appointments this week that played havoc with my time and focus. I forgot to include them in my planning, which applied some extra pressure to do more in a smaller amount of time. Less time means paying less attention to what I eat and when. So, no surprise there was no weight loss this week.

Overall – Accomplishing anything in the middle of a pandemic is a challenge, so I’m calling this week a WIN!

New Week - New Goals

Physical Activity.

Target: Two 20 – 30 minute cardio sessions.
Target: One gentle stretching or yoga session.

House Cleaning.

Target: Clean both upstairs bathrooms.

Work towards the completion of the current work in progress.

Target: Write one to five pages this week.

Lose the COVID weight plus the twenty pounds of pre COVID weight gain.

Target: Lose one pound.

Personal Grooming.

Target: Shave my legs. Yes! This has to be a goal or it won’t get done!

That’s it for now, friends. Hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying the fall weather and spectacular autumn colors!

Until the next update—peace out pain sufferers.

Current pain level 7/10.

Sharing is Caring!

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Accountability Update – Week 2

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Hey there, Sharing is Caring People!

Well, we’re doin’ this! Let the updating commence.

Mini-goals for the week starting Thursday Oct 8, 2020:

Increase physical fitness activities.

Target 1: Do one 20 – 30 min cardio session (bike or treadmill). Accomplished. 20 min bike session. Plus, added a 60 min walk with Roy on Sunday, and…it was too much, my hip gave out in the end. Should have stayed around the 30/40 min mark. Also added a 40 min walk with Roy on Wednesday. Had leg cramps at the end, but wasn’t so bad.

Target 2: Do one yoga/mindfulness session. Accomplished. Completed one 20 min yoga/mindfulness session. It was PAINFUL, especially in the shoulder area. Here’s the link if you are interested.

Prepare gardens for winter.

Target: Clean out two garden beds before Monday. Accomplished. Cleaned out all five garden beds, and…it was too much. Paid for it big time with a sore back and shoulders for the remainder of the week.

Reduce physical pain.

Target 1: Move into modified Keto diet (no bread, no sugar). Mostly accomplished. Ate some dark chocolate.

Target 2: Reduce Diet Coke consumption to no more than 3 cans for the week. Accomplished. Drank all three cans from Friday night to Sunday morning. Need to work on my approach! Can NOT WAIT to have a can tonight! LOL.

Work towards completion of current work in progress.

Target: Write one to five pages this week. Accomplished! Wrote more than five pages and completed a new scene. Happy. Happy. Happy!

Lose COVID weight plus the twenty pounds of pre COVID weight gain.

Target: Lose one pound this week. Accomplished! Lost 2 pounds. Current weight is 194.

Figure out what a calcific tendonitis diagnosis means for me.

Target: Call to make a follow up doctor appointment. Accomplished. Phone appointment scheduled.

Lessons Learned

Keep physical targets small. Trying to do too much is TOO MUCH! Yes, it was nice to get all the gardens done in one day, but the physical toll on my body was too high. Same goes for the extra long walk. Some weekends I may be able to do all that and more, but this past weekend wasn’t that weekend, and I knew it when I started.

Happy for the weight loss. Not doing much, other than watching what I eat. So, we’ll see if the downward trend continues.

On that note…

Goals for the next week:

Physical fitness activities.

Target 1: Do two 20 – 30 min cardio session (includes walking).

Target 2: Do one yoga/mindfulness session

House cleaning.

Target: Clean main floor.

Work towards the completion of the current work in progress.

Target: Write one to five pages this week.

Lose the COVID weight plus the twenty pounds of pre COVID weight gain.

Target: Lose one pound.

Blog.

Target: Write and post blog number two for October.

That’s it for now, friends. Hope everyone is staying COVID safe and being mindful of your mental and physical health. If you’re up for participating, drop us a line to tell us how you’re doing with your personal goals! Would love to cheer you on.

Until the next update—peace out pain sufferers.

Current pain level 7/10.

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Accountability Update – Week 1

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Hey Everybody,

Spent some time thinking about accountability this past week and decided, if I state my weekly goals, I should probably update on my progress.

So here it is! Week one progress update.

My goals for the week starting Thursday Oct 1, 2020 were to:

Goal: Write and post two blogs in October.

Target: Write and post a blog on October 1. Goal accomplished – Thinking commenced on subject of blog post 2.

Goal: Lose the COVID weight plus the twenty pounds of pre COVID weight gain.

Target: Lose one pound this week. Goal accomplished. Lost 1.4 pounds – current weight 196 pounds. Yes! You read that right. More on the stigma associated with obesity and chronic pain to come.

Goal: Repair the damaged tooth that is ripping the shit out of my tongue.

Target: Make a dentist appointment this week. Goal accomplished. Dentist appointment was on Oct 7. My tongue is still shredded, hoping that resolves this week.

Goal: Reduce the physical pain I’m in.

Target: Eliminate bread from diet. Goal partially accomplished. I broke down and had two crumpets yesterday. (Roy made French toast with them – they smelled so good!)

Goal: Work towards the completion of the current work in progress.

Target: Write one to five pages in one week. Goal accomplished. Seven pages completed. YAY!

SUCCESS!

Establishing small doable targets works for me, but accountability (to someone other than myself) is key.

So, I’m doin’ it again.

Here are my goals for the next week.

Goal: Increase physical fitness activities.

Target 1: Do one 20 – 30 min cardio session (bike or treadmill).

Target 2: Do one yoga/mindfulness session (Lyse and Diane shared links with the group).

Goal: Prepare gardens for winter.

Target: Clean out two garden beds before Monday.

Goal: Reduce the physical pain I’m in.

Target 1: Move into modified Keto diet (no bread, no sugar).

Target 2: Reduce Diet Coke consumption to no more than 3 cans for the week.

Goal: Work towards the completion of the current work in progress.

Target: Write one to five pages this week.

Goal: Lose the COVID weight plus the twenty pounds of pre COVID weight gain.

Target: Lose one pound this week.

Totally doable! Will let you know how I make out with an accountability update next week (also a goal).

Shoulder X-ray/Ultrasound Update:

Since I’m here, I thought I’d give you an update of the results of my x-ray/ultrasound appointment.

As you know, I went to my appointment fully expecting to be disappointed in the negative—we don’t see anything wrong—results. Well, that didn’t happen. The ultrasound technician found “a large chunk of calcium that must be really painful.”

Uh…say what? Calcium? I didn’t ask for more information, and she didn’t volunteer any because technicians generally aren’t allowed to offer their opinions. So, I went home and Googled shoulder calcium.

It’s a thing. Not a good thing. Specifically, it’s called Calcific Tendonitis.

Again…say what?

Here’s what I learned:

Calcific tendonitis (also known as tendinopathy) is caused by a build up of calcium in the tendons. From what I read, there are several theories as to why calcium may develop inside a tendon, but the key seems to be the interruption of the normal repair process leading to the forming of calcium crystals.

While most commonly found in the shoulders, calcific tendonitis can also appear in the elbows, hands, hips, knees, ankles, and feet. The calcium build up causes a reaction with other muscle tissues in the tendons causing varying degrees of pain and assorted mobility issues.

Symptoms—pain and stiffness—can occur at anytime but are often worse at night disrupting sleep and in the early morning making movement difficult.

Caucasian women between 30 and 65 years old are most affected, and people with disorders like diabetes, hypothyroidism, autoimmune diseases (like arthritis), and metabolic disorders that also cause kidney stones, gallstones, and gout are at higher risk of developing calcific tendonitis. (Helloooo, that’s me.)

Current evidence suggest calcium build up may stem from:

  • Genetic predisposition
  • Abnormal cell growth
  • Abnormal thyroid gland activity
  • Bodily production of anti-inflammatory agents
  • Metabolic diseases

Okay, I don’t want calcific tendonitis, maybe the technician was wrong. Nope. For once, the reports have been added to my online medical file fast, and the doctor reviewing the ultrasound has confirmed the diagnosis.

Calcific tendonitis it is.

Son-of-a-bitch.

So? What’s next? How do we treat this shit? What’s the plan?

Bottom line. Don’t know yet. Need to have a conversation with my doctor.

New goal: Figure out what a calcific tendonitis diagnosis means for me.

Target: Call to make a follow up doctor appointment.

That’s it for now! If you have any tips and tricks for managing calcific tendonitis please share!

Take care, and Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating this weekend.

Until the next blog—peace out pain sufferers.

Current pain level 6/10.

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