June 04, 2014

Time... To Shake Things Up? Goal Support and Jord Watch Giveaway!


By Crabby McSlacker

Time has a way of marching right along, doesn't it? Somehow, summer is here!

(And never mind any foolishness you may have heard about summer starting on June 21st. Solstice, shcmolstice, I say summer starts in June).

Anyway, does anyone else find that sometimes the shifting of the seasons seems to call for new goals, or at least a change in emphasis?  Especially when tried and true approaches to living a healthy fulfilling life get boring or are yielding crappier and crappier results?

Or maybe it's just me.  I know the whole weird shifting from coast to coast thing we do every six months tends to magnify the impact of changing seasons.  

But whether you feel like it's Time for a change or not, it is at least Time for a fun giveaway:



It's a wooden watch from Jord. Besides being stylish and natural and classy, these comes from a sponsor who will ship internationally so this giveaway does NOT require that you be from the United States to enter!

They have both men's and women's watches, but I'm thinking the look is especially dude-friendly, and one might make a great Father's Day gift.  (More about the watch and how you can win one below.)

Anyway, so this is more of a personal goal update, not one of those "how to" sort of posts where I take stuff you know already and remind you of it, maybe dressing it up a little with swear words or a Natalie Dee Cartoon.


OK so I lied, maybe it's partly that. But let's make it quick:

Four signs you might need to make a change in your goals or your approach:

1.  You're not happy with the results of what you've been doing, and you discover an alternative, research-backed method of self improvement that looks promising and realistic.

2.  What you've been doing suddenly seems like too much of a pain in the ass to keep doing.

3.  Life f--cks with you and forces you to approach things in a different way.

4.  A shiny new approach suddenly sounds way more fun, and the hell with whether it makes and freakin' sense or not!

Sure, Why the Hell Not?
photo: wikipedia


But many of you are doing just great with whatever you're doing, and I mostly am too.  So keep the stuff you're enjoying that's working for you!  

However, a few weeks ago I started noticing signs #2, 3, and 4 above in a certain area of life, and decided it was Time for Something New.

Crabby's Possibly Foolish Weight Loss/Maintenance Experiment:

Yes, I am one of those annoying people who never got very overweight in the first place. I lost about 25-30 pounds decades ago, and mostly stay now within a ten pound range.  When I get to the top and am still gaining, I know it's time to do something about it.  Compared to the heroic battles some of you are fighting, this must all seem ridiculously trivial, but whatever.

One thing that has always worked great for me when my weight has started to creep up is to start tracking calories.  It's a huge pain in the ass, but logging what I eat and how much I exercise and making sure to run a slight calorie deficit has always been The One Thing that's enabled me to reverse a trend of packing on pounds and get myself back on track for healthy maintenance. 

Note: I eat a very healthy diet, and know how to get a lot of bang for my buck in terms of satiety and flavor and nutrition off the minimum number of calories necessary. So none of this is about sacrificing nutrition for the sake of weight loss. 

Not only has this approach worked for me before, but tracking makes so much sense! If I don't know how much I'm consuming, and don't hold myself accountable, I am way more likely to eat more than I need to maintain my weight. Plenty of research backs up food diaries, calorie tracking apps, etc.

And yet, I started going hardcore with MyFitnessPal at the beginning of 2014, and kept it up until a couple weeks ago-- when I lost my freakin' Fitbit One.  I took a few days of MyFitnessPal because I was feeling pouty because I couldn't automatically get step credit, and then realized I just didn't want to go back. 

Because with all that effort, I was not losing any damn weight!

True, some of it was periodic non-compliance: portion-control "holidays" well-documented on the blog, like the Natural Products Expo West, or the South Africa trip.  But sadly, 95% of the time, I was actually eating fewer calories than what I thought should result in weight loss, and I was using reasonable formulas given my age, weight, activity, etc. I know I was consistently eating less than I had before when in "weight-loss" mode.

My metabolism has apparently changed a LOT in the past couple years.  Thanks so much, post-menopausal weight gain!  

Of course, I could just accept that I'm getting older and allow myself to add another pound or two a year, even while mostly trying really hard not to, and stop giving so much of a crap. But I don't want to go that route yet.

Another sensible course of action might be to just ratchet the calories down further and keep tracking. Why give up the one tool that works?  And I may well go back to that.

But instead, it's summer, and what the hell, time for a new approach. So:  I'm using the lack of obsessive tracking as a bribe, to do something much harder: to stop eating when I'm not actually hungry.

Duh, right?

But that's hard, because I tend to think of eating stuff  'cause it tastes good as some sort of constitutional right. I'm very attached to it.  Life is short!  I'm still philosophically all in favor of eating things for the pure fun of it. And yet... with all my brain rewiring efforts, the ability to strategically say "no" more easily has started to feel more and more important to me.

The problem with tracking: it allowed me the sense that if I had calories available in my budget, I could use them, as I always have, for purely recreational eating. Which is fine if I weren't such an ass about it!  But it set me up for cravings, for entitlement, and for a lack of self control. I started to lose the ability to pass on tempting snacks, to stop after sensible portions, and I tended to rationalize that I could just walk it off later.  Which I'd been doing--the whole time I averaged over 15,000 steps a day, plus weight training and other miscellaneous activity--but somehow the numbers still weren't adding up right for weight loss.

I will probably go into more boring details of exactly what I'm doing differently now to make this "not eating if I'm not hungry thing happen...if it works.  Or, who knows, I may abandon it all tomorrow. It's too early to tell if it's helping, and I'm not weighing either, but I think I'm eating less by listening to my hunger more and exercising more self control than I was when I was tracking.  I figure if these changes still aren't enough, I'll add back in more accountability again, but least I'd like to have some better behavioral skills to add to the mix.

Whew!  I rambled on forever on all that, sheesh!

So let's get back to those cool watches and find out how you can win one!

Quick Product Review of Jord Wooden Watches:


In addition to being wooden and cool looking, the Ely watch they gave me has:


  • Hardened, Scratch-proof glass face: 26mm diameter
  • Frame / bezel: 34mm diameter
  • Band width: 21.5mm
  • Lug ends: 40mm
  • Single action locking clasp (stainless steel)
  • Premium Citizen Miyota movement with date window

It's hard to see from the picture, but the watch face (behind the glass) is wood too and has these great textured striations--unfortunately in my crappy photo, one of them caught the light and it looks like a crack in the face. It isn't; just a weird angle.

The watches are quite reasonably priced for a unique and fancy watch--the Ely goes for $129.  And Jord avoids using toxic chemicals in treating the wood, so allergic people are less likely to have a reaction. (Though Jord is not foolhardy enough to guarantee against allergic reactions).

They have lots of other styles and colors too, check out the Jord product page!

The downsides?

Well, they're a bit big in scale for small women's wrists; mine was the smallest size. Also, because they are made of natural wood, they eventually require cleaning with olive oil and lemon juice. And they need to be sized by taking out some links, either by a jeweler or by using a tiny screwdriver.

But otherwise, they are all kinds of awesome!  And again, a great Father's Day gift, though you may prefer to score one for yourself.

How to Win a Jord Watch:

Leave a comment relating to your summer goals (or lack of same, it's all good) either here or on the Cranky Fitness Facebook page, or both to up your odds. AND leave a reply to someone else's comment (here or FB). Some generous commenters do that anyway, and I love them for it!  But I'd like to encourage others as well.  The best comments will selected and pooled, then of these, one will be randomly chosen as the winner of a nifty Jord watch like the one I got for review.

Winner will be announced next Wednesday June 11th, be sure to check back an email me by the following Monday the 16th or a new winner will be selected!

And now comes the best part, reader comments!

How are things going with your goals or pursuits? What do you have planned, is it Time for any sort of change?

85 comments:

  1. I've been reading your blog for a while now, have it in my Feedly, but never commented before. Given my watch addiction (no wooden ones! How has this happened?), this seems like the ideal time to start yapping back to you! We just moved from FL to NC. My immediate goal is to have this house box-free, but that's a very specific one and will be achieved and there will be no backsliding. Over the past year I lost about 25 lbs and I invested in so many new shorts and jeans that it would be fiscally disastrous to gain it back. Luckily, western NC is much more conducive to exercise than the sweltering swamps of Florida. So my longterm goal and plan is to hit the greenway for long walks several times a week, and continue with my eating habits. The new locale and vastly improved climate are bringing very welcome changes to basically everything in my life, including activities.

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    1. Welcome Peggy, so glad you joined us down here, and good luck on the watch!

      And wow, congrats on the 25 pounds, and sounds like you have a great plan for the summer. And I HATE unpacking boxes--my sympathies. It's not so much the manual labor, it's the deciding where things go, or whether I should even still have them around etc. Hope the settling in process is relatively quick and painless!

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    2. The unpacking of the boxes. I still have two that have been following me around for years. This summer, they are getting unpacked!!!

      Congratulations on the loss, Peggy!!!

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    3. Greenway? Does that mean Raleigh, where I greatly enjoyed walking? (And where I moved seven times in seven years, the horror.)

      Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    4. Hey Mary Anne! No, I'm in Franklin, in the western mountains near the Smokies. I think a lot of towns are building greenways these days. This one is a beauty, runs alongside a river, with the mountains as a backdrop. It's a great walk! One section is only a mile long, but the other is about 7 miles.

      Crabby, YES the biggest problem with the boxes is where to put stuff. I refuse to let this house get as cluttered as the last one. I swear we tossed out or donated well over half our stuff before we moved, and even now are still tossing and donating. And in my zeal to get rid of boxes, I stuffed everything willy nilly in drawers, and now I can't find anything so I have to organize the drawers...it's endless. I related greatly to your previous post about trying to make boring tasks more fun or at least tolerable.

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    5. Glad to know the idea of greenways is spreading.
      (Boxes. Arrgh. Boxes.)

      Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  2. One of my summer goals is to drink a lot more water!

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    1. Good plan, just don't float away vdavey! :)

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    2. I'm not at all a water fan myself and so this is a constant battle for me. I did discover that if I buy a pack of the smaller bottles and then add just the tiniest splash of one of those new squirty things you can use to flavor water, then all of a sudden it isn't water any more, it's a tasty cold lemonade- or berry-flavored liquid. I'm sure those things aren't great for you but it takes less than 1/8 a tsp to inject flavor, and as a result I am drinking more water.

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    3. Good luck with your drinking goal!

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    4. I have a lemon tree, so I've been adding a little teeny bit of lemon juice to my water to give a little zip. Which in turn makes me drink it.

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  3. I would love to just know when to stop eating...that's much easier to say than do. One of our cats can and the other (and the two humans in the household) do not and we are all chubby.

    My summer goal since my Zumba class has ended for good is to use my 10 Jazzercise classes I got in February and haven't yet been. Hoping I like it!

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    1. Kristen, I DO marvel at people who can be too "full" for dessert and have no problem declining tasty treats if not hungry! But I'm trying some new mental approaches which seem to be helping. (More on that, no doubt!)

      Sorry about your Zumba class but hope the Jazzercise turns out to be fun!

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  4. My summer goal is to maximize every day even though I still have to work!!! I hope to have plenty of time spent lounging in the sun with a good book while still hanging with the boys and staying caught up on work - not too much to ask for. Oh, and I'm training for another race!!!

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    1. Holy cow Kim, you never stop!!! Just don't let that race prep interfere with lounging, you gotta have priorities. :)

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    2. Good luck with your training!

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  5. Death Ride GrandmaJune 4, 2014 at 2:26 PM

    Well, I am in the midst of that area (and I am very, very grateful to others who have blogged about this!) where I am mostly just eager to get my Death Ride goal over with. I've been traveling a lot, which is not exactly helping. But that reminds me - as of Sunday, I was just packing up & leaving Maui, & my stay there included two days (9 days apart) when I rode to the top of Haleakala & that is a very, very beautiful ride. Also a very challenging one for me.

    Still, I am on as good a track as I can be on to complete those five passes, and I am training with a friend, which has definitely gotten me past some rough spots on other training rides. I can keep reminding myself that she really wants to finish, so I just plain have to do it. I know I will be very, very happy to get my life back, and to be able to ride however I feel like riding for a while, once the big ride is over.

    Crabby, your weight thing is a lot like mine. I also lost 25-30 pounds about 12 years ago and have kept myself in a 5 pound range ever since. Sort of. I actually let it drop a few more pounds in honor of the Death Ride. I do not have the patience, or probably the willingness to acknowledge, all that I eat, but my variation is being certain I am hungry before I eat - and just making myself stick to it a bit better when my weight starts to creep up. With rides like the ones I am doing right now, it's not an issue, but what I find hard is coming down from this effort level. My appetite never levels off quite as fast as my efforts do.

    Anyhow, today I am grumpy (no, not crabby, that one's taken) & tired. I trust that will pass in a few days.

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    1. I wish I had your athletic determination DRG, so I could sidestep the whole "self control" thing entirely!

      And wow, I've ridden DOWN Haleakala, it is indeed beautiful, but whoa, that's quite a ride up...and you did it twice? You do amaze me.

      Hope the grumpies pass and that all goes well on the Death Ride!

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    2. Hi DRG, wishing you all the best and admiring your determination for the Death Ride. I find very strenuous bike rides mess up my knowledge of my appetite, so exhausted at the end that I can't eat even though I should. Hope your post-ride recovery goes well too.

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    3. @ drg. i repeat: you rule!!! :)

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    4. DRG, you are just too cool!!! I am a bit jealous of Hawaii and since I hate to fly so much, don't know if I will ever get there.

      Hope the grumpiness passes and that you feel rested soon!

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    5. Just googled Death Ride 2014 and it's next week!? I'll be thinking and (mentally) cheering you on DRG.

      LynM

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    6. No, anonymous, my Death Ride (aka Tour of the California Alps) is in the middle of July. Which is good since I have more prep time, and bad since I have to do more prep. Sigh.

      Crabby, the good part of climbing Haleakala is that there is plenty of time to check out the views and appreciate all the different ecosystems. Plenty.

      Fliss, actually, my biggest training issue is exactly that: after a few (maybe 6?) hours in the saddle, I really don't want to eat. That's why I didn't finish last year. 3500 calories out, 1000 in - doesn't work too well. So now I have been force feeding myself on long rides, and it has gotten easier.

      Thanks to all of you for your kind words.

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  6. My summer goal is to do more mountain hikes.

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    1. Love your goal, Leah.

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    2. I love the idea of more mountain hikes. Being outside makes exercise so much better.

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    3. I love the mountain and the sea as well.
      Nature is our best friend !

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  7. I have just achieved a big goal for me (New job ! Yay!) so I'm pleased, tired, nervous and excited.... and definitely thinking about what the next goal or goals is/are for me.

    In no particular order.....
    1) Physical stuff - I want a morning routine that works for me, to include some stuff with weights and some stretches and yoga. I recently came across a local yoga teacher who offers 1-1 sessions to devise a routine that works for you, and am thinking about hiring her for a one off.

    2) Food and nutrition - I really do struggle with knowing when I've had enough, as compared to when my plate is empty. And I have also noticed post-hysterectomy weight gain. I'm thinking of trying 1 thing first, for a week (it'll probably drive me crazy) which is to put my cutlery down completely, once the food is in my mouth, and then to chew / taste /swallow with awareness. Only when that mouthful is finished should I then decide if I am still hungry and pick up my fork again. (This may mean it takes me an hour to eat a bowl of soup...). I stole this idea from someone on the net, can't recall who but it may have been Leo Babauta.

    3) Now I'm not job hunting, ensuring I've got something fun or enjoyable every week if possible - whether alone, with friends or with my husband
    And of course dreaming about wooden watches - aren't they pretty !

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    1. Congratulations on the new job, Fliss!!! Yoga rocks and finding a routine that works for you would be awesome.

      Good luck with your food, nutrition, and fun plans!

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    2. Yay for the new job, and those sound like great goals Fliss! The "routine" thing can be a bit of a pain to set up and get started with, but I bet as you experiment and tweak and discover what you really enjoy it will become a natural part of your day.

      And that putting down the fork thing... sheesh, I should try that sometime as I'm a bit of a wolfer. Even if it's not sustainable, it would be interesting to pay more mindful attention to the earlier sensations of satiety and get familiar with what a reasonable portion size really is! It might be less than I think. Thanks for the tip!

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    3. Congratulations on the new job! I too am in the job hunting boat, so I empathize with the stress & hopefully will be able to empathize with your relief and nervousness at finding a job sooner rather than later :).

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    4. Thanks for all the replies - I really like these monthly goal posts, they are so encouraging !

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  8. hi crabby! my summer goal is to do my second 10k in juli. i just won an online training course from the lovely shauna reid and am all exited to get the second 10k under my belt. my big life project is a book i am writing ( must be insane!) ... life is good in berlin at the moment...
    cheers,
    puja

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    1. Good luck on your next 10K, Puja!

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    2. Wow Puja, that's great! Love that you won a course from Shauna, my wife did her course and found it really helpful. And a book?? You must tell us more at some point!

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  9. I don't have summer-specific goals but I am working on goals. I have two, year long goals of walking a minimum of ten minutes per day and of not smoking. So far so good, on both counts!
    Recently, my 13 yr old and I took on two 30 day goals for specific exercises that increase in in difficulty. We are on day four.
    That is all I care to tackle right now. As you know, I've been struggling a bit, but I am still hanging in here and I think I am going to get back to a weight I am happier with as well as a life I am happier in!
    (ps, you don't have to enter me in the give-away as I won within the last year and want others to have a chance)

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    1. Sherri, that's great that you're sticking with the walking and not smoking! Can't think of any two habits that have more impact on health than daily activity and not lighting up!

      And yeah, I know it's been a struggle this year, but you are battling it head on and not giving up when so many people would just go into denial and rationalize like crazy as to why giving up would be so much easier. I really admire your courage and tenacity!

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  10. Summer as of June 1 is fine with me! I am still meditating daily. I slacked off when I was in Miami Beach, which was funny as I was alone a lot and had the opportunity to really get down to it. I got right back to it when I returned home, except for a couple of migraine passes…and I let myself get away with that.

    I started a new job today and will be working on Fridays for the summer…originally I wasn't supposed to start until September, but am happy to be working once a week until then.

    I am going to continuing meditating, going to yoga at least three times a week, and avoiding food that doesn't work for me…and have a ton of fun! Wheeeeeeeee!

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    1. New job, meditation, yoga, healthy eating and FUN... sounds like great stuff! Plus, I'd say that when you were very mindfully enjoying Miami Beach, that kinda counts as a different variety of meditation, giving you a break from the regular kind so you could come back refreshed. :) At least in my book!

      And Kimberley, I SO appreciate the way you always support other people in the comments here and are a fun facebook supporter as well. You rock!!

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  11. I am beyond curious to know about your Secret Plan, Crabby! How long do you suppose you'll be in the "beta test" mode?

    DRG - UP freakin' Haleakala?! Man!... Just going DOWN I think they have asbestos on the bike brakes so they don't flame out, right? I would also imagine that you might have to reinforce the seams on your bike shorts due to the pumped-up-edness of your quadriceps from the effort! You are one amazing woman!

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    1. UltraKaz, thanks for your interest in the Secret Beta plan! Though other readers may curse you because all it takes is a tiny bit of encouragement for me to launch in to 100,000's of words detailing every thought, scheme, trick, bribe etc not to mention specifics of the what's when and hows.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... be forewarned!

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  12. The good news is I'm retired now, and the bad news is I'm retired now! I'm at home walking through the kitchen all the live long day. Well, to be fair I've been going to the gym and the library etc. Plus I'm cleaning my own house, so that gives me "activity points" I can spend on food, right?!! I've been eating fruit as a snack a lot.

    All over the place, that's me! Gonna start looking for a job (something fun) just to get out of the house and away from the kitchen! My goal is to stay positive and continue to eat healthy. too general a goal you say! hummm, Okay, how about...I'll try out one new recipe per week.

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    1. Oh, I also lost about 25-30 lbs. but have kept it off for over a year! Yeah!

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    2. Bob Ben, that's awesome about the 25-30lb lost maintained for over a year! Yeah indeed! You should feel mighty darn proud of yourself.

      And that's awesome that you retired and can now focus on whatever's most fulfilling and engaging, plus have enough time to take good care of mind and body!

      And hey, if you want a job with no pay, no benefits, and a clueless space cadet running the whole enterprise, consider a position at Cranky Fitness! :)

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    3. Sounds right up my alley! I haven't written a resume in about 18 years! haha It's on my To Do List. I'll keep your position in mind. I'd kind of like to start a blog.?!?

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  13. ok so this is the MOST ODDDD THING EVER.
    I dreamed about wooden watches last night!!
    I had no idea they were even a thing.
    AT ALL.

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    1. So spooky, Miz Carla, but it makes me strangely happy to think that my blog could be sending you weird dream-messages through the ether!

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  14. My plan is to stay healthy (other half currently sick with a cold) & get some consistency going! Wish me luck!

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    1. Good luck Lizzie, consistency is the hardest thing to get going but once you do it keeps ya going!

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  15. Lately one of my goals has been to improve my gift giving skills. I am one of those people who never has the slightest clue what to give as gifts, even to my closest friends and family, and in the past I've just accepted this quality of mine and explained away my sub-par gifts with that excuse. However, my dear girlfriend is one of those people who understands affection best when expressed through thoughtful, meaningful gifts. Since she has been in my life I have been working to up my lacking gift giving skills. I've gone so far as to create a list on my phone & every time I hear her mention an object or experience she would like to one day have, I take note of it as a future gift idea. The next occasion will be her birthday, and she's actually a huge watch aficionado, so this post was great inspiration for a unique gift option. Thanks for the help, Crabby :)!

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    1. Oooh yeah, good luck in the giveaway because it would indeed make a great gift Christine!

      I honestly find "those people who understand affection best when expressed through thoughtful, meaningful gifts" to be rather frustrating myself! I come from a gift-certificate kinda family, and we all just sort of know our limits in terms of guessing the perfect thing someone wants but doesn't already have. So often people who THINK they are good gift givers actually are just wishful thinkers, because no one is gonna say "this gift sucks."

      Anyway, good luck on your quest, it's one I gave up on a long time ago! :)

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  16. My goal is to do more core work. I've had some back issues and my running can use all the boost I can get with my running!

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    1. I always use ice after running on my back.

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    2. Great idea Margaret to build up your core to make running less painful! And planks a lot for stopping by! (groan, I know...)

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  17. I only have one functional watch and it's looking weaker lately, so I definitely could use an up-grade!

    One athletic goal I have is to improve my martial arts skills.

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    1. Best of luck in improving your martial arts skills (and in this contest) but keep in mind that athleticism is only part of the training. Repetition, memorization, and concentration are all just as important as any physical ability.

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    2. I have every confidence Dr. J that you will approach improving your martial arts with the same determination and success that you bring to everything!

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  18. I work all the time. And I don't mean that figuratively as most do I am literally on call 24 hours a day seven days a week and have been for nearly a decade. This means that there are no weekends, there are no holidays, and there is no summer. This of course these things exist, just not for me in any real way. For me there are only two times: the times when I am very worried about missing a client call when I go to the movies, the grocery store, or out to dinner with the family, and then there are times when I am less worried.

    So this summer my one and only goal is to spend a weekend with my family where they don't see me worry. Hopefully this is during a quick vacation to Niagara Falls but I will be just as happy if I can find the time not to worry during an afternoon picnic and an evening movie.

    Anywho, I am not a longtime reader as some of your commenters are but I thank you for this contest just the same. I've had the opportunity to check out one of these watches and they are just as amazing in your hand as they look. Light as a feather, soft as silk, and beautifully crafted. In fact I went out of my way to try to find something wrong with this watch and my only small annoyance was trying to set the date on the 31st of the month while the watch read the first (you’ve gotta spin the dial 24 hours for every day you want to advance).

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    1. Your job sounds stressful. I'll keep you in my prayers. I just have to ask: what do you look like when you worry?

      Good luck on your vacation. You really need one or twenty.

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    2. My job is not particularly stressful by itself; stress comes when I might be physically unavailable to deal with the client because I'm swimming or at a restaurant. I'm not quite sure how I look, I'd have to ask the family, but they seem to know when I've begun to think less about swimming or biking or having fun and more about checking my phone or getting back to the home office.

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    3. Sounds like a tough position to be in Jim but it also sounds like you're pretty successful and the job brings a lot of good things to your life too. Hope you figure out a way to tweak things so it's less of a source of pressure all the time and you can fit in other important things too without worry!

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  19. Here summer starts whenever I can wear a t-shirt, which was pretty much June 1 this year. It's not very hot but we have to make the most of it. Ah, Canada...

    Watch wise, I have a story. While in China in 2010 I bought a FAKE Rolex (not because it's a "Rolex" but because I liked it). Came back to Canada, eventually had to replace the battery. Take it to a jewelry store, they refuse to do anything because they are not properly insured for watches in that price range. I paid that watch in the 2 digits! LOL Must be a great fake.

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    1. Forgot to add, my summer goals are yoga and meditation. Plus a couple nice hikes. :-D

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    2. Hi HSH - Really liked the "summer goals" above, sounds like inner and outer self in harmony !

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    3. Hi HappinessSavouredHot - Oh! I so enjoy hikes! I LOVED doing it almost daily in CO! Do you enjoy camping as well? Esp after hiking awhile!?

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    4. Too funny about the fake Rolex HSH! I've never understood why anyone would blow thousands for a timepiece just because they can.

      And yay for yoga, meditation, and hiking!

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    5. Ha! I love the idea of a jewelry store not being insured to take the 'risk' of working on a watch of that price!

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  20. I was looking at the Jord FB page and noticed your post which led me to your site. The watches are a definite maybe for Father's day. We do not have any travel plans for this summer. As soon as the tree pollen settles down, my goal is to get into the pool and back on daily walks. While asthma definitely plays havoc with exercising, the weight starts to creep higher. anyway, my son is back home in between jobs and his goal, like so many is to get back into the workforce.

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    1. Weclome BettyCD! Hope your son finds something ( I know it's tough out there!) and that's a bummer about the asthma. But great plan to start walking and swimming to the extent you can. So many people just give up but it sounds like you're not the giving up kind!

      Good luck on the watch and hope to see you back here again sometime!

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  21. Unless oiling the wood makes it magically waterproof and disinfectant proof, it would be no use to me. If it does, all I want to know is do they make floors?

    I'm here to announce finally achieving my goal from sometime last year: cutting back from working seven days a week to only five. (I had to leave my second job entirely, instead of keeping one day a week as I wanted to.) Jim Connor, I hear you. I've only been doing this for three years, but I'm about dead. Of course, I'm not on call, but I've been physically present seven days a week. Also it's sometimes my decision whether to call someone who IS on call. :)

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    1. Oooh, if they made floors solarity I'd be all over it, because they'd be pretty floors!

      So glad you finally have a couple of days to take care of the rest of life and get some rest Mary Anne, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!

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  22. Hmmm maybe summer isnt a good season for MyFitnessPal . I just ended my 100 plus day streak. It did help me make healthier food choices for meal planning, I no longer want to spend the time to enter anything. I'm hoping my 100 days established good eating as a habit and now I can just cruise by on that! My summer goal is to play hard with my family, surf 3 days a week, and weight lift 1...maybe 2 if no waves. And to not need to know the time, so I'm not commenting on a comment!

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    1. AA, wonder if there is something seasonal about MFP? Would love to know their stats to see if we're part of a predictable summer bail-out? It's incredibly helpful but also a major pain in the ass.

      Love the "play hard" summer philosophy!

      Oh, but don't feel like commenting on a comment is just for giveaway purposes--the readers who do that even when there are no giveaways are the most awesome thing about the blog. I LOVE comment thread discussions here and they rarely happen on other blogs!

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  23. Reading about the lovely JORD watches lead me to your blog. We are doing a lot this summer. We just opened up our very own burger place here in TX. It's called Deep South Burger House. You know, in case it ever makes it up north! etc. Lots of trial and error with this place. We hope to have it all banged out by the end of the summer! I just had my second child and he is 2 months old now. My girl is 3 years old. I will be working on getting into shape. I lost 32 pounds in two weeks, but now I need to tone up a bit. We are going to fly more when we get a chance! I can't wait. We have our own small plane and I am trying to learn how to fly it! It takes lots of patience and practice for sure!
    Our big goal down the road is to buy a bigger plane to do Angel Flights for sick kids. It would be a dream come true for us.

    alholm.co at gmail dot com

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    1. Deep South Burger House sounds wonderful HedgeHogi, I hope to see them all over the world at some point!

      And whoa, you lost 32 pounds in two weeks? Is there a decimal point missing, or maybe you meant months? That's incredible! But yeah, building more muscles will help you maintain and feel strong and fit, so great goal.

      And Angel flights for sick kids? What a great thing to do!! Thanks so much for stopping by HedgeHogi!

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  24. Hi, I'm a brand-new reader to your blog! I'm in the exact same boat with regards to weight loss--never had a ton to lose, and kicked 30 pounds about 8 years ago. I had two kids and have dealt with the post-pregnancy weight loss/getting back into shape (boy, did I ever use pregnancy as an excuse to eat everything under the sun!), but have spent the past 2.5 years really trying to get a handle on my fitness and health in general.

    My summer goal is to TRAIN for this fall's Army 10-Miler, instead of just sorta winging it like I did last year. I'll follow a training plan and everything!

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    1. Welcome to the blog. I love it! Planning is the ticket to success.

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    2. Wait, you can "wing" an Army 10 miler? Sounds like you're already in damn good shape, but love the idea of a training plan, and a specific goal like that, hope it's all going well!

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  25. Hi ! This summer i am planning to lose some weight. I am a medicine student and my time is limited, this is why i don't have time to exercise and i eat chaotically. But summer is here and i will have more time for myself.
    Another thing i want to do is read. I recently discovered Robin Sharma's books, they are so motivational !
    These are my plans for this summer ( of course, getting tanned and swim a lot are on the wishlist too ). Thanks for the chance !

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    1. Hi Bianca! Wow, medical school is a hard time to try to be eat right and exercise and be healthy, which is kind of ironic, isn't it? But sounds like you have some great summer goals. Good luck!

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  26. My summer goal is to develop pride in my big arms and shoulders! That might sound strange, but I use a wheelchair, and have done for years, so my upper body is quite strong and developed. I have difficulty wearing cute tops with tight capped sleeves, and I have always felt like my big arms looked fat. Seriously...I NEVER wore anything sleeveless...until a few weeks ago. It was the Carolina heat that finally made me surrender (we just moved here), but I am learning to be PROUD of my strength! My dog and I takes long walks every day, and I choose routes with hills so I get a good workout. We also play frisbee every day. By the end of the summer I plan to not only have big, strong arms and shoulders, but to LOVE them!

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    1. What you've got there is Functional Fitness! Be proud! :)

      Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    2. Wow Heather, to have big strong arms is definitely something to be proud of, and so glad you are realizing how awesome that is! Hilly wheelchair workouts and dog frisbee sound like tough but fun ways to be strong and fit, yay you!

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  27. My summer goal is to achieve a bigger butt. And yay!! I think I'm success with it.

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