WEEKLY HEALTHY LIVING CHECK-IN DECEMBER 28TH, 2019

**This past week has gone pretty well "Mentally and emotionally" in Not having to deal with any regular/normal weekly stressors!... Its been nice to just be "off" from (teaching classes and doing the "usual") to just having time at home to get things done, Rest up, AND mostly spending time with my family!.. The Christmas Holiday was awesome just being with my family.... Gifts were great, Food was Amazing, and quality time together was PRICELESS~

**As far as staying "On track" ... well it did Not happen this week. I knew that it wouldn't and I already planned that fact. I tried to increase my water and stay on track with Workouts and Activity. And that part went pretty well. However, I do find that I have felt "Horrible" in terms of ANY kind of energy!.. I have felt tired and lethargic since Christmas and I know it has EVERYTHING to do with the foods that I ate and not being used to eating that way. It just goes to show how sticking to a healthier "diet" is so much better for us in the way we feel "Overall"!... All I wanted to do was "sleep" the past few days, and my body felt tired as well as "Sore" joints, and "puffy" lol.....

**The weather has been really mild and nice. So I've actually been able to get out this week and "Walk-off" some of what I did. It wasn't easy though with the way I felt. It felt harder and I was out of breath easier. I also went to others classes. I know we can't "out-run" a poor diet, However, keeping on track with activity and increasing fluids can help combat some of those effects when its done in moderation.

**I have No NEW Years Eve plans as of yet... but you never know. I'm just looking forward to being with loved ones regardless of where I'm at or what I do. I never expect too much from the new year ahead or "get ahead" of myself. I just look forward to it always being a "Good One" and to continue on in reaching my ultimate healthy living journey goals I have for myself... Today I intend to start the morning with a Zumba class, and meet up with my mom afterwards to walk as well. Then a little "After Christmas shopping" in the afternoon with the Hubs~ He wants to spend his 'Giftcards' lol...

ENJOY THE WEEKEND & NEW YEAR AHEAD~

@PoliteOcean

Hey Everyone! How have you been this past week?!

**If you celebrated the Christmas Holiday how did that go for you?!What was the BEST part of the Day for you?!

This past week was mostly ok, I've attempted to sleep through most of Christmas lol

**This is our LAST CHECK-IN for BOTH "DECEMBER & 2019"!!....How do you feel this past year has gone for you overall? How would you "Sum" up this past year for yourself?

I think I've had my highest highs but also my lowest lows this year, but it doesn't feel right to make it a net neutral. So I'm opting to see it as a pretty good year

**What "Last" goals or plans would you like to work on or complete before this Month/Year ends?!

I'd like to not skip anymore meals for the rest of the year, I already skipped lunch yesterday cause I was too lazy to make some food.

**What are you looking forward to the MOST about the New Year Ahead in 2020? What goals, plans, resolutions will you have for yourself or like to work on for yourself?!

Hopefully moving out and starting volunteering work

**What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week? OR YEAR?

I've struggled with suicide and depression, which was really hard. But I've also become a little more aware of my own emotions and needs

**What are your weekend Plans?.... What New Years "Eve" Plans do you have?! How will YOU celebrate?!

No plans yet, depending on how I feel I might end up sleeping through it again, might be hard with all the fireworks though

@PoliteOcean

**Hey Everyone! How have you been this past week?! It's been very up and down tbh

**If you celebrated the Christmas Holiday how did that go for you?! What was the BEST part of the Day for you?! It was a bit sad because I was alone most of the day, but I did enjoy dinner with a few friends

**This is our LAST CHECK-IN for BOTH "DECEMBER & 2019"!!....How do you feel this past year has gone for you overall? How would you "Sum" up this past year for yourself? I am so glad to be going into a new year! There were a lot of transformations in 2019

**What "Last" goals or plans would you like to work on or complete before this Month/Year ends?! clean my room...lol

**What are you looking forward to the MOST about the New Year Ahead in 2020? What goals, plans, resolutions will you have for yourself or like to work on for yourself?! I hope to be better at my job...for sure

**What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week? OR YEAR? I struggled with heavy depression but it eased up a few months in and I have been feeling a lot better.

**What are your weekend Plans?.... What New Years "Eve" Plans do you have?! How will YOU celebrate?! I am just chilling this weekend. Me and my boyfriend haven't made NYE plans yet.

@PoliteOcean One thing I forgot to mention was that last week on Friday I connected with a long lost friend named DeVonne. It's something I've been wanting to do for two years. She was glad to see me and wants to be friends. The last time I had a friend in real life was 8 years ago. She is really busy though, so I don't know how much time we will actually spend together, maybe 30 minutes a month. A friend of mine, Casey who is 38 years old, had a heart attack. She is definitely not a scammer, but I don't know if I should ask her to be my girlfriend. My move out of my sick home fell apart. It was due to a misunderstanding. People might say "Well then, it wasn't meant to be". Okay, but I live with 4 creepy room mates and I want out of here. For next year, I hope I can get healthier and get off disability.

@PoliteOcean hello! I'm new here!

Hey Everyone! How have you been this past week?! Pretty good! I've been working all through the holidays so that's been keeping me busy, haha!

If you celebrated the Christmas Holiday how did that go for you?! What was the BEST part of the Day for you?! It went very well, I spent Christmas Day with my family and pets. It's hard to pick a best part, just being with my family was enough for me.

This is our LAST CHECK-IN for BOTH "DECEMBER & 2019"!!....How do you feel this past year has gone for you overall? How would you "Sum" up this past year for yourself? It's been a rollercoaster! This year was all about setting boundaries and understanding my limits. I've had a lot of things happen this year, new people have entered my life, toxic/negative people have been cut from it, and I've been working on a healthier mind and body (which will be a massive part of my life in 2020).

What "Last" goals or plans would you like to work on or complete before this Month/Year ends?! I do bodyweight training at home, and have done so for the past couple of months! I need to set aside some money for a gym membership because I'd love to use their facilities and make a habit of going to the gym!

What are you looking forward to the MOST about the New Year Ahead in 2020? What goals, plans, resolutions will you have for yourself or like to work on for yourself?! My resolutions are to work on my health and fitness (that includes sleep), not biting my nails and to plan my months. I'll do this by including at least one positive thing to do a week (travel to see friends, allow myself to make a purchase, visit an exciting place) and balance it out with a necessary but less fun task (sort out my wardrobe, deep clean the entire house, sort through all my emails). I'm applying for loads of new jobs in January, getting that sweet gym membership as mentioned above, if all goes well with the job searching then I'll be buying a new microphone and starting a podcast (and/or ASMR).

What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week? OR YEAR? What would "YOU" like to talk about or share with us?! WE want to hear from "YOU"~ yes (I've put these two together because I rambled a lot here).

I've really struggled with my mental health, which is one of the many reasons I got into fitness. One of the highlights was playing the Metal Gear games. One of the characters from the games (Solid Snake) really inspired me to take care of myself and try new things. Throughout the game he teaches many life lessons such as; trusting your instincts, knowing your worth and that you aren't defined by your genes or past, always being one step ahead/being more observant, knowing that love can bloom even when times are tough ("Do you think love can bloom, even on a battlefield? Snake: Yeah, I do. I believe at any time, any place, people can fall in love with each other. But... if you love someone, you have to be able to protect them."), and that violence isn't glorious. Even though he's a video game character, his outlook on life and persistence made me want to start training. It may sound silly but I get a lot of my inspiration from video games, anime and books. Maybe I'll talk about these things if/when I start podcasting, or combine them with fitness and do game/anime themed workouts and videos?!

I am disabled and I always let that hold me back, but now I'm saying "despite of/having ___ I did ___!" instead of "I have ___ so I can't do ___." and hearing myself say that is mind blowing. I used to sit on the sidelines and feel like I couldn't amount to anything for over a decade. I've modified workouts and found ones I can do that work the same muscles but just in a different position/way. I've scrolled fitness forums/blogs and watched YouTube videos of people who have the same or similar disabilities to me KILLIN' IT in the gym or at home workouts. I've always been this really lanky, skinny guy, but I've always wanted to gain and define muscle. I've improved so much from last year and I will continue to do so. I can't wait to share it all with you and hear other people's fitness and wellbeing journeys.

What are your weekend Plans?.... What New Years "Eve" Plans do you have?! How will YOU celebrate?! A 1920's themed New Year's party! I've already got my costume! :D I'm going to participate in the countdown and celebrate with a drink (or several). If you're reading this, I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

- Otacon

@PoliteOcean

**Hey Everyone! How have you been this past week?! Busy as heck!! Amelia has been gone for some work things so its just been me alone. Also I have gained more weight as well but i kind of like it!! It feels good. I am starting to look a little different than last year and I like it!! I think its new and Amelia has noticed it as well. She is more curvaceous now too so thats new and great for her!! But at the same time she is still so fit!! Really inspires me to get my lazy ass out and do something!!!

@PoliteOcean

Very late to this party but just going to jump in and do some reflecting anyways :)

**Last week I was on holiday with family. It was a lot of ups and downs. Being that close to what I'm realizing is the epicenter of my self worth issues was simultaneously enlightening and devastating. I found myself slipping back into old reactivity habits but at the same time being able to step back and view these situations as a researcher on my own mental health struggles.

**Christmas day was spent in Florida at the beach which was awesome. Highlight of the day was spending the morning laying on the beach listening to music and the waves while soaking up some sun.

**Whew this year has been a doozy. It has been one of the most incredible years for travel, new experiences and self reflection. At the same time it has had this dark side of reallly struggling with depression through all of it: I'm learning to accept and find beauty in this duality. I made some memories that will give me happy goose bumps for the rest of my life and also had a complete break down of identity and had to look hard in the mirror at the habits and beliefs that have been leading to self destruction.

**Since the year/month has already ended I missed out on last goals but I think something I was unconsciously working on was being more observant of my own emotional patterns and trying to be more objective about identifying the source rather than juding myself for my emotions.

**I think that my resolutions will flow naturally this year as I seem to be riding on a current towards understanding myself better and I can't really know where that is going to lead so a resolution is to embrace that journey. Another resolution is that I would like to start writing more, I used to love writing and I do a lot of writing "in my head"; I would love transform that into a healthy outlet.

**Highlights over last week; spending time at the beach and visiting a national park I've had on my list for a while. Highlights over the past year; going to 3 of my close friends' weddings, working in a job and country that I love, paddleboarding in so may beautiful waterways, travelling to 9ish countries, reconnecting with a travel acquaintence from 8 years ago, meeting a friend who is a soul-sister.

Struggles over last week; migraine (blech), sliding into old reactivity with family, low energy and sleep issues. Struggles over the past year; low key battling depression that I wasn't really aware of for most of the year, coping with a suicide, feeling incredibly low self esteem.

**Last weekend was spent exploring a national park on vacation.

**Something I think I can conclusively say through my health experiment with nutrition is that there is a definite correlation between gluten consumtion and increased frequency and intensity of my migraines. I know it is part of a more complex system but gluten is certainly one aspect. I have such an emotional connection to food (as I think we all do) and this has been difficult to accept; how can I be one of those "gluten sensitive" hippies who I previously saw as a bit pretentious?! This is a difficult pill to swallow. I love bread, beer, and pasta; accepting that I have to limit or eliminate them if I want to feel healthy is hard for me.

@PoliteOcean This past week my house manager evicted a super creepy roomie named Max. It's a huge relief to get him out of the house. His room stank like feces. I was planning to move this past week, so I didn't have any appointments planned. I got a haircut on Friday, but I prefer going to a salon but wasn't able to work it out. When you're dependent upon another person for transportation, it makes life so much more complicated. I've watched more football in the past 4 months than the previous 20 years combined. I wish I could get back into poetry but my creepy roomies are stopping me. I am finishing up reading a theological commentary on the books of Esther and Ruth in the Bible. My friend Casey who had a heart attack is feeling better, and we are still deciding whether or not we want to be boyfriend and girlfriend. She seems very open to the idea, but I'm not in any hurry.