FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11th - Weekly Check-In
(How are you all doing this week)!
Let us know how you are doing and how your week went! Did you stay on track, were you able to stay motivated, did you reach any new goals or milestones? Tell us about it here!
I stayed on track for the most part. My son came to visit me last weekend and stayed a few days, so I veered off course a little bit last Sunday and we went out to eat. But it was so worth it to have that family time and bonding again. Today is Veterans Day, and my husband is a Vet which means FREE Dinners just about EVERYWHERE for all VETS! Lol.... so... I'm hoping to continue to stay on track today as tomorrow is my weigh-in day.
I've done well with my water this week, I haven't exactly met "My" goal, however, I met the overall daily goal for water intake. Also, my sleep has been much better this week. I've actually met my goal a time or two ............. The only thing I haven't been able to do like I wanted was get outside and take my Regular daily evening walk through the neighborhood. Its been very chilly here in the evenings and my anxiety was up a little this week, so , I did get off course with that. However I got in ALL my workouts "INDOORS" and managed to make my 20,000 steps per day each night this week.~~ 
@PoliteOcean, that's fantastic! Well done, my friend.
Please let your husband knows that I thank him for his service. Thanks to him and many like him, we have the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy today and others elsewhere around the world have been helped and shielded. I'm so appreciative of all he and all our other veterans did and currently service men and women are doing.
@BridgetAileen
Awww... thank you so much Bridget! And yes I will tell him. Thank you so very much for all of your kind words. 
@AffyAvo @DancingAlong
@Laura @Amelia
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Unfortunately I did not stay on track this week, like at all. The political climate this week has been making me super anxious and stressed, which always kills my appetite, so they were several days where I only got one meal and that was junk food. I couldn't really get up the motivation to do any sort of exercise either. Kinda a bust all over. :/
I hope everyone else has had a better time this week.
@scarletBike2557, you know, that's OK. Some days...or weeks...can be like that. Just be gentle with yourself and either jump or ease back into things. The important thing is to nurture yourself and then not to give up entirely. *hugs*
@BridgetAileen
Thank you for your support. This new week has been going better so far, I'll keep working on it.
I went on 3 runs this week!
@Laura Good for you. :)
@Laura, woohoo! Well done, you! *high fives Laura*
@Laura
Whoa! Way to go Laura!!... (I only run if somebody is chasing me) 
lol....... I always wanted to be a "runner", I like to "sprint" or jog, but was never really a runner. Keep up the great work!
My progress seems tobe up and down...mostly up!
For the most part I was right on track! I have made a commitment and I am followng through.
I started to delve into the real issues behind my disordered eating. I even brought a list of all my core beliefs to my therapist 2 days ago - knowing in doing so, we were going to have to really look at ( and I will have to feel) the emotions that I have been running from most of my life - But , I am ready. I also have stopped going on my pro - ED website I used to LIVE on for my sense of support and community and to beunderstood - for now, 7 cups has replaced it in such a healthy way.
I have not Used disordered eating as a coping skill - excpet for a 2x times - but we all take strides forward and then a stumble back on our journey towards health and wholeness.
I have not succumed to self harm except 1x - but I was able to STOP it quite quickly and write my emotions out through poem and verse instead. And it worked very well - it was an emotional purging of sorts! A new coping skill I am now utalizing a lot.
I have talked to listeners quite often: to check in, to process emotions and for times of emotional crisis - I have been sort of raw because I am now starting to feel things I have been numb and running from my whole life.
I have not only practiced kindness and compassion towards others on a daily basis, but I have been practicing these on myself as well.
I am using CBT to LOOK at the reality behind my thoughts in order to fully understand what is going on with me and my emotions and enable myself to change difficult emotions into ones less painful and extreme in order to deal with them,
I was also able to look at the loss of my mother and write her a letter ( eeek - which I posted in the forum) ....this brought about such intense emotions I thought I would be eaten alive and never be free of them - but I made it through without using self harming coping skills ( eating disordered related or self harm). I utalized distraction ( taking a long walk) until I could lessen the intensity of the emotion. I have to admit I didn't self harm because I thought it would somehow be an insult to my mother's memory because she would not want me to hurt myself nor abuse food...though I really wanted to.
I am getting rid of toxic friends and making room for more non toxic, healthy spportive ones!
I think where I faltered this week falling into catastrophic thinking and snowballing into panic.I had some very distrubing news today that effects my life hard core. Serious issues that might leave me with no more medication for my anxiety, bipolar or depression after December...at ALL. All I could do was be stuck in the past of remembering the out of contol bipolar and pain that I was in - so much that I wanted to ( and tried) to take my life , many times. I let fear cloud my judgment that there MIGHT be a way around this, somehow(?)...and instead - flung myself back into helpesness and fear. But kudos to me, I did not act on these thoughts and behaviors and kept myself safe.
I have to give a big thank you to 7 cups for being such a great support system and help me along this journey to self healing . I don't know if I would have gotten this far without you ( every one of you). <3
@blissedNblessed,
Wow! You inspire me! You've been so strong and wise, my dear, and worked so incredibly hard.
I really hope the medication issue gets worked out. They're so helpful in our recovery, aren't they? *hugs*
@BridgetAileen : (((hugs))) Thank you so much for your encouragment! I very much appreicate it <3 ..and yes yes yes - meds help so much! But you know what? after talking to a kind and loving listener, I have come to understand that meds are not everything. No, lol, I am not sane without them - hahhahaha - but I also have to give myself ( as does everyone taking meds for mental illness) credit for we have a large part in getting better, stable and healthy! Meds only do so much - it is the fight for a better life and the daily work we put in that accounts for a lot - so let's give ourselves some credit too :)
I hope this situation I am in does work out for me , and yes, I am still afraid :s . But I am a fighter and will not stop fighting for myself and will have to exhaust every possible outcome, and then exhaust even more, before I give up! I am worth fighting for. And you know what? Every one of us here ( and outside of 7 cups too) is worth fighting for the good life and healing <3
@blissedNblessed, you're so right. Meds help a *lot*; however, they're just one piece of the puzzle. They're to help stabilize so that we can do all the rest of the things that we need to do...just like you said. I do hope you'll keep me updated on how you're doing. *hugs*
I had a pretty good week. Exercised some and ate fairly well. No depression flareups this week. My husband is also a veteran and we both had today off so last night we went away for the weekend, and had a fabulous day today. My biggest ongoing challenge is to stop picking the skin on my fingers. They are looking pretty bad.
@SadMe70, please thank your husband for me for his service to the country. We wouldn't be the wonderful country we are without him and those like him who are willing to defend and protect.
@SadMe70
Great job on exercising and eating fairly well this week! Every little bit helps. And its great that your Depression didn't get to you much this week. Thats ALWAYS a good thing! Its great that you got to get away for the weekend! (Thats a great way to meet your Mental ad emotional health goals)! 
@PoliteOcean it's hard to get outside when it's so cold, I feel that! Great job on accomplishing your indoor work outs though... there's always a way!!
My week was awesome as far as my fitness goes. I hit all my work outs and upped my weights on some. I'm pouting right now because it's my rest day from the gym but I don't want it to be lol. I know I know, rest is just as important as the work so here I am.. sitting on my laptop... :) I am a little extra hungry this week and I think it's a combo of PMS and upping my work outs. I start training for a half marathon in 2 week and since I sit at a desk for work now instead of being a server like I used to, I felt the need to pretrain for training lol. I use to be on my feet all day, but now I'm not, so this week I started tracking my runs and busted out a solid 6 miles yesterday. It's no wonder I'm starving. I have done a little extra snacking the past two nights BUT... but... it was on apples and oranges, so screw me, huh?!?!? Haha :)
@NeWoman
Way to go!... Yes, I know what you mean about working the "desk job"... When I was on my feet, I wanted a desk job, and then when I finally got a desk job, I had already became so 'Active" and started my Healthy Living Journey that I just wanted to be on my feet and up and moving again! lol..... Great job on your goals this week, keep up the great work!! (I cheated a little too this week shhhhhh!)...~~
Noooooo! 
I just typed a really long post. I moved to get a sip of coffee. I must have done something because now it's gone. Don't want to type that all over again. It was really long.
To make a long story short:
Doctor visit on Monday...new prescriptions for meds, blood test, urine test. He fussed at me for "not taking care of" myself.
Health coaching session with Insurance Nurse: We set new goals for exercise and discussed what I was doing. She was happy with me.
Got exercise in.
82 day streak of checking in at Patients Like Me and MyFitnessPal. I'd be close to that at 7 Cups, but I missed one day and had to start over.
Eating is OK in the calorie and carb department, still need to work on sodium level.
According to 7 Cups my sadness has gone up from moderate to severe and my depression from normal to moderate.
I continue to use the apps Balanced (iPhone) and Momentum (laptop) to make sure I get all of my self-care activities done each day/week. That's working great.
Need to get back into the habit of using my Fitbit.
That's a pretty long post as it is. Imagine how long the other one was! 
@BridgetAileen
GREAT Job on meeting the goals that you met and set for yourself, as well as Great job in "Knowing" where the weaknesses are as well. I am sorry that your Depression has seemed to gone up for you. I know how much of a challenge that can be when trying to accomplish your health goals. But its great that you are aware of whats going on, you acknowledge it, and are taking the steps to improve it and your "Overall" health! I will surely have to check out some of those "apps" you mentioned, Thanks for sharing those with us! (and I know what you mean about the FITBIT, I'd be lost in my day without mine!)...... Keep up the great work that you have been doing and the great strides you've been making for yourself! I'm so proud of you
@PoliteOcean, thanks for the encouraging note. I am trying, but sometime I feel like I'm only falling behind. That's why 7 Cups is so important. It helps me to keep a more accurate view of my progress (like the apps do). It's there in words and figures. I can go back and look at it and readjust my thinking.
I did 5 walks and 4 yoga classes. Made some whole wheat bread pudding for snacks
@soulsings
Way to go Soul!!.... Great job this week! Keep up the Awesome work!
@PoliteOcean Thank you Ocean :)
@PoliteOcean My eating habits haven't been the greatest this week :( I wonder if it's PMS. But I have lost 9 pounds since I started my "diet"!
@Mellietronx
OMG!! I'm so proud of you! 9Pounds!!! WOO HOO WAY TO GO!! (And yes, hormonal imbalances can cause us to veer off track during those times) but its OK! Just get back on track and keep up the great work that you've been doing! So proud of you
