Scooter might appreciate the metaphor, I am seeing my challenges over the rest of the year (and maybe beyond) as a progressive climb upwards, from one base station to the next with a brief pause in between to regroup, refresh and reassess the new route to take before setting off again.

Why 49 days and not 52? I noticed that including today there are 250 days to year end. 5 x 49 days with one day in between each 7 week challenge would give me an opportunity to take part in 5 personal challenges before the year end. I like that kind of neatness and symmetry.

How did my last challenge go?

I was pretty pleased with it given all that I had going on around that time. I lost 14 lbs during the challenge (although I have since gained 5 lbs back) see below:

http://www.successvibe.com/forum/showthread.php?p=173373#post173373

But that was at a time when I was traveling heavily and also had a lot going on in work and at home.

3 weeks ago I hired an executive assistant and she is really helping me at work get a lot more done and while initially this has required time on my part to train her and reassess working methods with her, we are also getting a lot of positive things done too along the lines of marketing etc. This will be a continuation of this kind of thing over the next month or two, but I am feeling more in control at work now even though it is still crazy busy.

So what am I looking for in this next challenge. In two words growth and balance. As noted in the above thread, I did make some good accomplishments but they were done with a more single minded focus. That's fine and that's the way it works, but to move forward in several areas of my life at the same time I feel I can't give one area total focus for x months to the exclusion of others. So I need to do some balance here. For this reason this challenge is going to be an experiment of sorts.

The idea is to focus on 4 main areas of my life (outside of work), these will be: 1) Health and Fitness, 2) Family and relationships, 3) Spiritual, 4) Personal finances and organization. I was tempted to add a 5th along the lines of learning and growth, but I will only do that if the other 4 are going well (I can always do them even if they are not part of the challenge).

I liked what John KG has been doing with his thread and my plan is rotate my focus on each of these areas, one day at a time. i.e. today is Health, tomorrow family, Weds is spiritual, Thurs is personal finance and Friday is back to health and so on. This way I hit each area a minimum of 12 x this challenge. These are minimums and intended as stop gaps. In other words if I get busy with something I don't know about yet and find I am working too hard and need to take time with my family, this is the time to do it... just take a night off as a minimum. If I have not worked out for 4 days then working out or doing something physical is a must on health day. To be a little flexible depending on travel I may switch an odd day but the idea is to keep this schedule if I can. Also, this does not mean I won't work out except on health days, but it means that this is the minimum I will do.


So today is health day. I don't have my gear with me today which means I won't go to the gym, but I can do some weights at home tonight and I can also go shopping on the way home and get a few supplies in to cook for the rest of this week.

More later....

Great focus Paul, and good luck!

Seeing this thread this morning was a great way to start my day! This makes me happy to see you here posting and back at it. :thumb:

Hi Paul,

Just popping in to give you Cheers on your Challenge!!! :cheerlead:

You are writing a book! Awesome! What type of book? Is it work related?

As a fellow Christian, I can’t wait to hear about your “Spiritual” growth and/or renewal.

Do you have any ideas of what your focus will be or is it just to maintain a better and more consistent quiet time with the Lord?

Have you ever thought about doing a study on the Book of Proverbs and relating it to Personal Development? This can also be done with the many of the parables taught by Jesus and other parts of the Bible. I have had this idea in the back on my mind to officially do someday.

I like your formula for the “49 Days” which will take you through the end of 2010. I can also relate to your need to put a structure and time frame that makes sense to you personally.

I have been asking myself what’s up with the "52 Days”????? I just don’t get the significance of “52 Days”???? Why “52”? I just can’t put a formula to it that makes sense!!! :hmm: LOL!!!

Or maybe perhaps I missed something on the “52 Day" meaning while I was gone for a year.

Anyways, Cheers to your Challenge!!! :cheerlead:



Hugs,
GGG

Seeing this thread this morning was a great way to start my day! This makes me happy to see you here posting and back at it.

Seeing this thread this morning was a great way to start my day! This makes me happy to see you here posting and back at it.

Seriously, why are you copying everything I write?

Seriously, why are you copying everything I write?

They are/were a lazy spammer. They had links to some replica stuff earlier but I think one of the Mods took them out. I think they should ban them personally :)

You are writing a book! Awesome! What type of book? Is it work related?


It was just a chapter, and was work related.


As a fellow Christian, I can’t wait to hear about your “Spiritual” growth and/or renewal.

Do you have any ideas of what your focus will be or is it just to maintain a better and more consistent quiet time with the Lord?

Have you ever thought about doing a study on the Book of Proverbs and relating it to Personal Development? This can also be done with the many of the parables taught by Jesus and other parts of the Bible. I have had this idea in the back on my mind to officially do someday.


I have thought about doing that with Proverbs before too. In the past I have read one chapter of Proverbs a day for a month, but I am thinking of just doing one verse a day for a while and really reflecting on that one verse. But that's Proverbs.

What I would really like to do is begin a more systematic study of the Bible using Matthew Henry's Commentary (the full, not he concise) as a guide. I am thinking of one chapter a day, although this could be ambitious for some chapters and less so for others. But it would take about 3 years from a rough estimate (Matthew Henry's Commentary is about 5,500 pages alone).



I have been asking myself what’s up with the "52 Days”????? I just don’t get the significance of “52 Days”???? Why “52”? I just can’t put a formula to it that makes sense!!! :hmm: LOL!!!


Haha. 52 days was based on something that is a regular challenge at Men's Health. I like the way they did that and suggested it to some folks here and we gave it a try.

Day One - Focus on Health and Fitness
My major goals for the next 49 days are as follows:

- lose 10 lbs in body fat
- workout at least 39 days of the 49 days (80-20 rule)
- focus on eating better like I was earlier in the year


This is basically a continuation or return to what was working for me back in Jan/Feb and picking up from where I left off.


Today I did not work out but I did eat pretty good. In fact tonight I had a really nice dinner made of scallops, lima beans, spinach, garlic and onions inspired from a recipe in Men's Health that I just happened to buy this evening.

My focus over the next few days is to get back into the routine of having breakfast at home and making lunches for myself pre-packed. May not be able to do that tomorrow but by Weds this will be the goal.

I already know that I will be traveling around 22 out of the next 49 days so this will be a challenge as before, but that makes me all the more focused on making the days that I am at home count both in terms of exercise and eating good.

I have thought about doing that with Proverbs before too. In the past I have read one chapter of Proverbs a day for a month, but I am thinking of just doing one verse a day for a while and really reflecting on that one verse. But that's Proverbs.

What I would really like to do is begin a more systematic study of the Bible using Matthew Henry's Commentary (the full, not he concise) as a guide. I am thinking of one chapter a day, although this could be ambitious for some chapters and less so for others. But it would take about 3 years from a rough estimate (Matthew Henry's Commentary is about 5,500 pages alone).

Haha. 52 days was based on something that is a regular challenge at Men's Health. I like the way they did that and suggested it to some folks here and we gave it a try.


Hey Paul,

LOL! Thanks for clarifying the 52 days. I can stop doing this :crosseye: now!

I think just about every Christian has done the Proverbs a day for a month thing, having 31 Proverbs makes it so easy. I also like the idea of just taking one verse and just "chewing" on it for a while. The Word of God is so deep and can speak to you on so many levels when you take that approach.

Thanks for the info on the Matthew Henry's Commentary. I just checked out the website and it looks like a great resource. Your plans for the 3 year in depth study with the commentary sounds awesome and very rewarding. I think it is great that we have so many different ways to study the Bible!

Take care,
GGG

Great thread Paul... great name too ;)

I'm keeping an eye on you young man.

You can deal with the travel challenges Paul as I am sure you know, it just takes a little prep, most hotels have fitness centers, and you can either pack meal replacements or just pick as healthy as possible if eating out - there are some good sources of 'healthy' fast food recommendations on the web.

You can deal with the travel challenges Paul as I am sure you know, it just takes a little prep, most hotels have fitness centers, and you can either pack meal replacements or just pick as healthy as possible if eating out - there are some good sources of 'healthy' fast food recommendations on the web.


Travel can be a challenge. Here is what I do:

1.find a hotel with a fridge and a microwave.
2.Prepare food in advance. I divide my food into the correct proportions in ziplock bags. Then I freeze them.
3. On the morning of the trip, I take out my frozen proteins along with several bags of frozen green beans and asparagus and put them together in several very large ziploc freezer bags and then put that bag into several plastic grocery bags. I then put them into my checked luggage. Be sure to pack a bowl and silverware.

I also pack oatmeal, almonds, and protein powder. I measure out the protein powder and mix in my glutamine and put them into the really small snack size ziplocks.

4. For the plane ride and day of travel, I bring about 3 meals plus one back up in case I get stuck someplace. For these meals, I bring a very large tupperware container of defrosted green beans. This works better than putting them into ziplocs and then trying to eat them right out of the ziplock because the fork spears through the plastic and its just hard to eat it that way. I usually bring an entire bag of frozen greanbeans and put them into one or two containers and that is usually enough to last me throughout the day when I travel.

I also bring along cooked chicken breasts cut into 2 oz. strips which are very manageable and do not need a knife to cut.

I also bring several packs of tuna. Buy them in the pouches, not the cans if possible. They are less messy and when you try to go through security with 6 cans of tuna, you will get stopped. They will give you the tuna and let you go when it is all said and done, but it can add another 5-10 mins to your security screening so the pouches are much better. also, sometimes the pull top on the tuna cans breaks and if you dn't have a can opener, you are screwed. I try to eat them before I am on the plane if possible because people don't like the smell of fish on a plane but there have been times when my meal time was mid-flight and you gotta do what you gotta do. I like to time it so that I am eating my chicken on the plane instead of the tuna.

On days that i travelled and it happened to be a high carb day where I get to eat oatmeal, it can be tough to make oatmeal while you are at the airport or on a plane, so what I do is just throw the oats into a plastic protein shaker containers along with my protein powder and glutamine. Then after I've gone through security I fill it up with water and let the oats sort of soak in that for 5-10 minutes before drinking it to make them softer. Yesterday I forgot my oats, so I bought some pretzels and ate half the bag. Not as good as oats, but still pretty low in fat and sugar and I got in my carbs.

5. If you have to eat at a restaurant, just order your food cooked in no butter and no oil. Skip the bread, order a salad and eat it with vinegar and oil. Avoid Mexican and Chinese restaurants. Stick to grills that offer lean steaks, chicken, and fish. They will always be able to cater to your diet and offer up some grilled veggies on the side. If you are forced to go to a Mexican restaurant, order fajitas and ask them to bring the veggies raw. Don't eat the tortilla. Tell them not to bring the sour cream or guac out. If you are forced to go to a Chinese restaurant, ask if they can bring you a large side of steamed broccoli and get a grilled meat, nothing fried. Load up on the brocolli instead of the rice (I think most restaurants bring you somethign like 6 cups of rice out to your table which is a lot of carbs!!!) If you end up at an Indian restaurant, don't eat unless it is your cheat meal. If you go out for sushi, try to stick to the sashimi instead of the rolls and just eat the fish. Eat edamame. If you do get rolls, get the ones that don't have tons of mayo and be conscious of how much avocado you are eating on the rolls too. a little is good, but not too much.

If you need to eat fast food, there are a few places with some healthier options. Panera Bread has as turkey sandwich. Get the apple as a side. Skip the cheese.
Wendy's has grilled chicken and baked potatoes.
KFC has roasted/grilled chicken
Subway has grilled chicken and other lean cuts of meat. Skip the chips and get yogurt or a side of apple slices.
Long John Silver's has grilled tilapia and green beans. Its awful though.
Tokyo Joe's and Wok and Roll have healthy fast food. They are all over Colorado but not sure if they are in other states but if you are ever in Denver, check out Tokyo Joe's. It is sooooo good!

Great post, Meredith.

The level of detail you put into your planning shows great commitment. :thumb:

Great tips for traveling!

Tom

I don't know how you cook your chicken Paul but Meredith told me to boil it, what an awesome idea! I boil a bunch. Measure 4 oz, freeze them, like she does. Thanx for all the tips Mer :thumb:

Also, True Protein bar is fantastic for a quick meal but I'm not allowed to call them candy bars, my PT gets angry :o

There are many ready to drink protein drinks that will come in handy as well.

I can't imagine traveling all the time since I am so anal about preparing foods in advance. This will be a challenge in it's self.

Day Two - Focus on Spiritual Walk
My major goal in this area of my life for this 7 week challenge is to deepen my walk with God.

I have tended in the past to focus on reading the Bible, or reading a devotional or book in some ways as the "goal" (or at least that is how it has felt at times, especially if I have "fallen behind" in completing the goal). The danger I think with "spriritual" goals too is that sometimes if you don't complete them or fall behind you feel guilty for not having tried hard enough or made enough time or whatever else comes to mind. But all of this is a hindrance not an aid to my walk.

I started out my day by spending an hour or so today starting to read "Knowing God" by J I Packer. It is a modern "classic" in the Christian World but I have never read it fully before. Over the next week or so this is my aim, but not to just read it but to reflect and meditate on what it is saying, what it means, and what it means for me personally.

One of the most powerful parts that I read today was what it means to "know" God, as opposed to just knowing about God or knowing of God. Also, the awesome truth that God knew me, and all of me, even the parts of me that are hidden to others and even hidden from myself, and loved me, before I even knew Him.


Another area that I really want to focus on this 7 weeks is my prayer life. I am sporadic at best in my prayer life at times and even then it tends to be a one way conversation. I intend to read more about deepening my prayer life over the next few weeks and spend more time in prayer. All of this to deepen my connection with God. Not just learning about Him, or knowing of Him, but knowing Him.



In my other main categories that I am focusing on during these 7 weeks....

I eat pretty good today... not perfect... had a bit too much to eat this lunchtime (Panera soup and sandwich) but overall it was much better than it has been this last few weeks. I cooked a really good dinner tonight.


Tomorrow is personal finance and organization day, and I am going to be focusing on catching up with a few outstanding claims.


One other point of reflection. I felt quite proud today as I worked this afternoon. The degree to which I am now focusuing better both at work and on personal goals is a huge difference from say even 6 months ago. I feel like a different person at times and not only have I got better focus, but I have more energy and more momentum about me too. It's not perfect and for example, yesterday afternoon I fell off a bit, but it tends to be shorter lasting and overall something I am really pleased about.

You can deal with the travel challenges Paul as I am sure you know, it just takes a little prep, most hotels have fitness centers, and you can either pack meal replacements or just pick as healthy as possible if eating out - there are some good sources of 'healthy' fast food recommendations on the web.

As you say John, I think it is a combination of

1. Better preparation (or at least as much as I can)
2. More determination and willpower when on the road. I find it easy to make those better choices for a few days, but on week 3 of travel it is so easy to start to slacken off and lose that same focus.... I need to do better in that regard and I will use this place as a better resource and accountability place for this in the future.
3. I think another difference this time though will be that I had a big back log of stuff still snapping at my heels on the last bout of trips whereas my decks are a bit more clear moving forward this time. I guess something could always come around the corner, but I am hoping to build in a bit more "me" time on the road in future trips where I can work out etc.

Tokyo Joe's and Wok and Roll have healthy fast food. They are all over Colorado but not sure if they are in other states but if you are ever in Denver, check out Tokyo Joe's. It is sooooo good!

I am so hungry now :nono: :D

Seriously, this is fantastic stuff Meredith. Especially the eating out guide. I have one of those eat this not that books for restaurants which is okay somewhat, but this is great stuff here.

How long do you usually take food that you have prepared for? I find it a challenge in that my trips tend to be 4-5 days which seems a long time to keep food in the hotel, even with a refridgerator I am not sure if the food can last a 12 hour trip say before I get there. Maybe I should get a cooler box, but then this is really going against my travel as light as possible philosophy too.

Sigh... can't have it all I guess :)

Finding good choices though esp. on travel days is excellent advice. These are the worst days... airport food is so bad usually.



And I have never seen Tokyo Joe's but I will look for one now.

Hi Paul,

I think you hit the nail on the head with your observation of setting goals of just completing books and "IF" we are not careful of our "foucs" it can possibly get in the way of our ultimate purpose of knowing God and hearing from God if we get "too busy".

Again, it all comes down to a "balance" of both "studying and quiet times in prayer" while "waiting for God to speak to our hearts".

As Christians, knowing God and having a close and intimate relationship with God our Father and Jesus our Savior is our top priority. Having this relationship and staying filled with the power of the Holy Spirit will make our walk in everyday life much easier and abundantly rewarding. As you already know, the best way to do this is to sit at the feet of Jesus! I believe this to be as equally important as reading the Bible.

Just slowing down and sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus and communicating with Him in prayer is the most beneficial thing that we can do spiritually. However, in this fast paced world of “Go, Go, Go" and "Do, Do, Do”, sometimes it’s hard to slow down and just enjoy this solitude and blissfulness with our Savior.

I pray that in your hectic days, you will find the time to enjoy the peacefulness of sitting at the feet of our Amazing Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ! :)


Hugs, Prayers & Blessings,
Your Sister in Christ,
GGG

Day Three - Personal Finance and Organization

Day Four - Family and Relationships

I am taking these two together today b/c I didn't actually do much on the personal side yesterday. I actually felt quite run down and sick. Had a lot of work on and managed to keep focused on that, but once I got home I just wanted to crash.

Diet sucked a bit yesterday as a result. But on the positive side I got to spend an evening doing no work with my wife :)

Today (Day Four), I did some personal finance related activity in setting up an online bill pay service with my personal bank (and got $20 back as a result). It will also make it a bit easier for me to keep up with some bills.

Today also, in terms of family, we went out to see a movie tonight and just relax and enjoy ourselves.

I still feel a bit run down and diet was 50-50 okay/not okay today. Going to get some sleep now and hopefully feel better tomorrow. I worked hard today and barely was able to keep up with stuff, so have a busy day tomorrow doing all the things I hoped to get done today! LOL!!

I am so hungry now :nono: :D

Seriously, this is fantastic stuff Meredith. Especially the eating out guide. I have one of those eat this not that books for restaurants which is okay somewhat, but this is great stuff here.

How long do you usually take food that you have prepared for? I find it a challenge in that my trips tend to be 4-5 days which seems a long time to keep food in the hotel, even with a refridgerator I am not sure if the food can last a 12 hour trip say before I get there. Maybe I should get a cooler box, but then this is really going against my travel as light as possible philosophy too.

.

I usually take food for 3 days, but could take enough for 5 days probably. The food does fine for the 12 hours or so it takes to travel. When I put in the frozen green beans with the frozen proteins, it all stays cold enough that it does not go bad before I can put it in the fridge. If you pre-proportion your food into individual ziplocks that can stay sealed until you eat the food, you should be able to keep your food fresh in a fridge for 5 days. Even when I am not traveling, this is what I do. I cook about twice a week and portion it all out for the rest of the week.

The challenge is more with the food you take on the plane, and keeping the meat from getting to room temperature. I do not travel with a cooler. This is where the tuna comes in handy. It can be tricky trying to save the chicken for the plane ride, but also making sure you eat it before its to room temp. This is why I've ended up eating tuna on a plane.

Similar advice to Meri's Paul.

I cook 2 to 3 times per week, basically grill up chicken, pork chops, lean burgers and steaks. I also rely on meal-replacement-powders which are individually packaged and can be mixed with 8-12 oz of water for a quick 350-500 calories - just need a shaker container. There are also good meal replacement bars which I find to be best for the actual in-airport/on-aircraft travel portion - I do not normally take whole foods with me when I travel, I just buy and eat carefully - which is easy lately since my trips are to Japan.

The focused part of a good diet is helpful for me, I just sit down after a workout, and grill away - which I enjoy anyway. Finding meal replacements that agree with your body and taste good can be a challenge - I like EAS Myoplex (you could use the Myoplex Lite if you are watching carbs or are not working out strenuously), and am currently trying Pro Performance Amplified Muscle Meal - they are not bad, but I think the EAS products taste a little better.

I really like Atkins shakes and bars, but they are so low in carbs that they do not really fit into my current nutrition plan for more than one meal because muscle building needs carbohydrates.

If you have been eating out alot, as I used to, the cost of MRP's is actually comparable to eating out, especially if you can prepare some of your own whole foods like Meri suggests. You can also mix up your own MRP's with a combination of freeze dried fruits, protein powders and some good supplements like Glutamine, etc., but that may be more work than you want to do.

I really like Atkins shakes and bars, but they are so low in carbs that they do not really fit into my current nutrition plan for more than one meal because muscle building needs carbohydrates.


I don't do protein bars anymore, but when I did, I really enjoyed the Atkins peanut butter chocolate bar. It had a lot of fat in it but was really good!!

I also like True Protein bars. Strawberry shortcake was my favorite. They make a few chocolate flavors that are not bad tasting, but they have sort of a plastic aftertaste. They taste better if you eat them while drinking coffee.

Time for an update Paul, even if you are travelling!! :lildevil:

What up, Paul? How you doing?

Where are you Pauly?????

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo echo echo echo echo. Are you here? We miss you!! :wave: