60-Day Challenge Wrap-Up

How did it go?

What did you learn?

Are you glad you did it?

Should we do it again in a few weeks?

I still don't know what prize you should get if you made it through to the end. Any suggestions? It has to be either free or cheap. Maybe a scan of my high school graduation photo? I'm trying to think of something that will make you laugh.

Comments

[paola]

Am glad I took part in the challenge and will definitely take part in the next one, but with more challenging challenges.

Did well on my two easy one (ab exercises and reading something on a daily basis). Reading really helped with my concentration and memory and before I forget, reading/writing comments on this blog has definitely help revitalise my English. I live in a foreign country, where I use the local language all day except with my two kids and have recently found my English has deteriorated. Not great for an ESL/EFL teacher to not have even the most simple every day words just spring to mind instantly. Not to mention keeping abreast of new vocabulary that has entered the English language. Anyway, basically that was my motivation for making my reading on a regular basis one of my challenges.

My abdominals have definitely improved too and I plan to keep up the exerceis after the challenge.

Being more understanding with dh/improving communication with dh/initiating sex(with dh) went down the hole, and I won't even embarrass myself talking about the frequency of sex I have had in these 60 days. I realise this was just the wrong time to expect certain changes as my dh has just started a new job and is stressed out most of the time, the rest of the time he is pretty grumpy and let's face it, who wants to shag a grouch? But at least we have been talking about what is wrong and we know how to change it. Hopefully as he starts to cope a bit better at work, we will find our equilibrium again.

As for a prize for completing, I'm easy. I didn't do the challenge to win anything.

[Julie]

Well, I didn't totally bomb. Even though it wasn't one of my goals, I've been near perfect with my vitamins the last 60 days and that is now a habit. My water consumption was fair, though not really enough, and my exercise and eating was all over the map. I started doing t-tapp with the GM/MM eating, then decided to hit the spin bike, now I'm in week 3 of doing the couch to 5K running program from cool runnings (which I am loving by the way)......I think the missing element for me was a daily written reflection for myself about how I'm feeling, what my goals are for my weight and how I feel about myself, my (poor) eating habits and how to improve them without anything too constricting. Eat less, move more.....it's not rocket science, eh? I started out doing some journaling about how I was feeling and how I was doing.....and upon reflection, I realize I started to slip when I started skipping that thoughtful element.

I would definitely be up for doing another one in a few weeks.....and will continue to be mindful of what my goals are and ways to reach them.....so really this 60 day challenge has been accomplished because I'm tuned back in.

[Alma]

I started out great the first day, then was sidelined by the flu, bronchitis and pneumonia, then inertia... until day 43. Then, I revised my goals and have consistently woken up before my 3 year old, done my 15 minutes of T-tapp, showered, brushed and flossed my teeth, taken my multi-vit and fish oil, cut the extra sugar from my diet, and upped my water intake - And I feel great! Thank you for the challenge, I may have had a slow start and never posted an update, but boy has it made a big difference in how I feel physically and emotionally.

[pnuts mama]

i loved it! of course, i tried to do one easy, one medium, one hard. and they were each of those things for me.

i was mostly successful with remembering to drink milk and take my fish oil/supplements. if we do this again i'll add extra protein in general to increase the challenge part of that.

i had to give up the sex 2x a week since the bedrest thing, tried being amorous in other ways but really replaced it with just being extra nice/appreciative to my husband in general. i guess i did ok with that- i'd add being more patient with all members of my family next time to increase the challenge.

i didn't do so great with reading/writing work for my dissertation everyday. this is the hardest thing for me- prioritizing my work is my worst fault- it is too easy to take pnuts nap time for mindless internet surfing, errands, household chores, resting, etc, etc. sigh. that is one challenge i really need to improve on, big time.

congrats to everyone for all of our successes!!

[Suzie]

Let's do it again! Not because I was super successful with all of my goals, but because I am totally game to start over with new ones and expand upon what I've already got going, thanks to the first challenge.

Here's what I've learned:

1) Reading makes me happy. So glad I started making the time -- even at the end of a busy day -- to read even a little something. It's good to be back

2) I don't miss soda! I had cut it out of my diet once before, but slowly let it creep back in. After 60 days with only a few sips here and there, replacing it with much more water, I don't miss the darn stuff at all.

3) Now, this is sort of a shame, given that I've started th t-tapp challenge, but I think I've discovered that this particular workout just isn't my cup of tea. I'm going to keep up with it for the duration of *that* challenge, but I guess I'm much more of a gym rat than I thought. Maybe if I lived somewhere where there are t-tapp classes, I'd feel differently about the whole thing; I just don't really enjoy working out by myself. :-(

Those were my original three. Along the way,I added in eating mindfully -- which has not been going so well! That's at the top of my list for now. The 60 days was definitely long enough to turn good changes into habits, which I am so happy about; that's why I want another challenge, to build more good habits. I may even tackle the sex challenge next time!!!

[onehappycow]

Did great in the beginning but then slipped up due to a variety of reasons. Did remain mindful of all of my goals, even when I had transgressions, so that counts for something in my book. Would be game to do it again with more specific goals for myself. Although as others have posted, some of my goals are just now a habit, which is nice. And, the others, I am still actively working on. Consistency, not perfection... I just love that! I'd take the high school photo, even though I did this just for me:)

[Much More Than A Mom]

Let's definitely do it again! I was on and off successful and I'd love to improve on it next time.

[sue]

let's do it again!

My three goals were to do t-tapp every other day, be nicer to my huband, and clean my kitchen every day (instead of passing the buck to my husband). It went pretty well. The kitchen cleaning didn't always happen, but it did make me more mindful of where the messes are and when it's my turn to clean them (I'm the messier one in the house) so i think I've shown improvement. The relationship with my husband significantly improved. We went from on the rocks to doing pretty well (we're even meting my original goal of sex 2x a week now!).

T-tapp is great. It's going so well that I felt in shape enough to run 5k yesterday. I've never done that before, and I'm *not* a runner. But I got up and did it. I didn't run the whole time, but i finished, and I wasn't even last in my age category (I did it in 45 minutes). I'm sore as heck today, but am really proud of myself for going out and doing it. My goal is to keep doing it, and train until I can actually run the whole 5k straight through. I'd like to be able to do that by the time I'm 35 (I'm turning 30 this year, so I'm being pretty generous with the timing). Even before I had all this baby weight, I would never have considered running. I just nenver had the energy or stamina. But t-tapp, even if I'm only doing it 15 minutes day (or less) makes me feel really strong and alert.

Wow, I'm like an infomercial!

[Slim]

I didn't do every one of my items every day, but I really liked the challenge and would do it again, partly because of my lapses. I found out which things are really worth adding to my day, and I realized that often, the reason I didn't do them was not exceptional, shameful laziness, but the fact that my day is pretty darned full already, and fitting in something new means dropping something else. Sometime the drop is worth it, sometimes not.
But overall, the challenge made me thing about what to drop and what to do, and it taught me to give myself a break when I deserved one, so Yay, challenge!

[pennifer]

I forgot what my 3rd goal was about halfway through. It's so hard to get back to specific posts in blogs like this, that I just found my way back to it today.

I did really well on the toothflossing and face-washing. I think I was at about 99% compliance, especially on the facewashing. Made a big difference too - my complexion is a lot better.

Less internet time was a mixed bag, because I've had to spend a lot of time on my computer for work, so it's legit, but still doesn't feel great for The Boy's sake.

The forgotten 3rd one was dealing with carpal tunnel. My PCP was uninterested in even touching me, let alone doing anything other than saying "wear braces at night and let me know how it goes". I suppose, I could have let her know, but we're packing to move, so I've been a bit distracted. I have been wearing braces, which helps, but I think that in addition to the CTS, I also have tendonitis. Sigh. I'll deal with it later. It stays at a dull roar, which is tolerable.

I'm not ready for another one of these yet. Maybe quarterly...but mostly b/c I'm moving for the next 6 weeks basically.

Baby calls!

[Emily]

I didn't check in during the 60 days because I was restricted from doing one of my things b/c of pregnancy, and I never really got into the second on the days I even had the opportunity. But the third thing worked! I DID start flossing again and this challenge was just what I needed to jumpstart the habit. AND MY HUSBAND IS FLOSSING TOO! Thanks, Moxie!

[Kristie]

For some reason my first instinct was to think that I had totally blew it on most of my goals. Then I realized that I have been really consistent with two of the three. Maybe I need to adopt the "positive thinking about self" goal I've seen others have.

My goal for daily 20 mins of exercise has been really easy. Five days a week I have a 20-30 min walk, all uphill, from school to my apartment carrying my 25 lb. 14mo on my back. This challenge did help me get started running and doing Pilates again, but that has somewhat fallen by the wayside as my coursework increased. Good thing for the walk home. One thing, I keep the temptation to take the bus home at bay by remembering that I need to do the walk if I want to exercise at all.

My second goal of daily Bible reading has become a habit, although I tend to take weekends off. I was really missing this in my life, so thanks to the challenge it is back again.

My last goal, into bed by 11pm was a total bust.

I, like Julie, feel that the best thing about this challenge was getting tuned back in. To thinking about all the things I have let slide in my life. Not to mention the peripheral benefits of being reminded by others' goals to drink enough water and take my vitamins!

Yes, yes, let's do another challenge. I have discovered that I have way more than three things that need fixing.

[caramama]

Overall, I'm happy with how I did. I choose goals that I'd been hoping to make as lifestyle changes, and I really think that even though I wasn't perfect, I have overall changed my lifestyle in at least 2 ways.

1. My goal of doing yoga 3 times a week was not really met. But I was doing it at least once a week, and up to 3 times some weeks. This is way better than the nothing I was doing before. By having this goal, I was reminded of why yoga is so important to me and how much better I feel when I'm doing it. I think I would have finished this goal pretty strong, if it weren't for the sleep regression. I've had to prioritize my sleep and time with hubby over yoga, and I'm okay with that... for now.

2. My goal of cutting back on HFCS has gone really well. I didn't make an unrealistic goal of cutting it all out, so I didn't ever feel like I blew it. What I did do was start paying attention to all the things that have HFCS and making choices for things without it. I've also started baking my own bread and trying to cook more healthly meals so I don't resort to things with HFCS. I have really cut back on HFCS in my diet overall, and I see this as a lifestyle change.

3. My third goal was buying more organic fruits and veggies, preferably locally grown. I had to modify the goal to remove the locally grown, since I couldn't find any locally grown and finally realized that the local farmer's market does not run until May. But I did expand this goal to include organic diary products and meats and everything else I could find! I've made a lifestyle change here too, and I know regularly shop at Whole Foods. I'm about to start up at Trader Joes and look into finding cheaper organic foods, as my budget can't take Whole Foods all the time!

I would do another challenge in a few weeks. I found this challenge and the check-ins especially helpful! I also started using facial lotion every day and have been keeping up with flossing and my vitamins and fish oil because everyone else's challenges made me think of those!

To everyone - I'm really impressed with how everyone did and the positive attitudes during the ups and downs!! Way to go, everyone!!!

[hedra]

My results were a small step in the right direction. But I think I need to think through more the next time what I want to focus on, and why, and how hard it might be.

Definitely in for the next one.

[Joceline]

Goals:
1. Omega 3s-very successful. I've maybe missed 5 days total, as opposed to maybe taking them 5 days out of 60 before the challenge. I don't think I'll have a problem continuing.
2. 5x's veggies every day-not spot on every day, but much better than before, and I became more mindful about it. I'll continue to work on this one, as it has made me cook tastier and healthier dinners as well.
3. Cleaning something every day-I'd say this one was decently successful, although it was kind of a silly goal in retrospect. Some days I cleaned a lot, some days I had no time at all, but it balanced out. My house is decently clean at all times, so I probably don't need to worry about making this a goal.

I'd do another challenge in a few weeks for sure. Also, I had several other improvements in my life just from reading about others' goals on a regular basis, so thanks Moxie and everyone else!

As far as the prize goes, yes please to the graduation picture! That sounds great!

[Beth A.]

I was very consistent through the entire challenge - I did extremely well with exercise and traded off doing okay and completely neglecting my other two goals. I didn't seem to be able to ever keep all three up at once. It seems like for me, I have trouble developing that many new habits at once, or at least habits that require that much work. I would love to do this again, but either with fewer goals or choosing goals for myself that are a bit easier.

[jlg]

Sixty days already! I am really glad we did this -- thanks Moxie and everyone else who participated.

I defintely achieved my goal of taking my vitamin and calcium every day, and I think it is now a part of my nightly routine.

I started out doing great replacing sweetened drinks with green tea, but definitely started slipping toward the end of the challenge. It is much harder to drink hot tea when the weather is warm, and I can't drink unsweetened iced tea. As the days got warmer, it just became too easy to reach in the fridge and grab something bottled or canned.

I did HORRIBLE on my third goal of trying to do something creative (quilt, scrapbook, crochet) at least two evenings a week. On several occasions my most creative activity was coming up with the meal plan for the week. Deadlines at work, illnesses, DH working lots of overtime, and the temptation to just zone out in front of the TV all worked against me. Maybe the goal was too vague?

I would definitely be interested in another challenge. I'd like the chance to try again with the hopes of doing better next time.

[JB]

I did only so-so with my goals -- sidetracked by illness -- but even the progress I made has made a big difference to how I feel. I'd really like to try again and, as hedra said, pay closer attention to what I want to change, and why, and how hard it will be. My goals would be different this time, but I love the challenge and it's really helped. I have also loved being in on it with like-minded women. Thanks, Moxie!

[Joy]

I've been doing better over these last 2 weeks than I did at the beginning, workout wise. I didn't have even a sniff of chocolate, which I had given up for Lent, until Easter, when it went completely down the tubes and I've pretty much had some every day since. And I still struggle with the water thing. I just have a hard time remembering.

I'd definetly like to continue, though, and switch out my chocolate goal for something else. Cleaning, maybe. (other than the panic variety, that is! lol)

Who needs prizes... the accomplishments and the forum to share them in is enough for me!!

[Katie B.]

Hmm. The exercise thing has gone pretty much by the wayside, despite my best (?) efforts. Still, I have gotten more, especially in the process of moving and beginning to garden (as my body lets me - not nearly as much as I'd like at this point) and walking around my new neighborhood - which is a very walkable place. I haven't done much for my pelvic floor, which isn't so great with childbirth looming ever closer, but I feel more fit overall.

The water thing has done quite well. I don't always succeed, but I have become much more mindful of what I'm drinking overall, and I have successfully cut back on my soda drinking as a result. It does help that as a result of pregnancy I'm pretty much only interested in one flavor of soda, but even so, I'm drinking more water, tea, and milk than I am soda. I find it interesting that on days I have soda, I don't want to drink anything else, and on days I don't, I'm happy with water. Probably says something about HFCS.

Although I haven't done the massage thing with DH as often as I'd have liked, we have maintained spending snuggly time together, be it on the couch with a movie, or in bed getting frisky (or just snuggly, although in-bed snuggly often leads to frisky...). I won't say we've had sex x number of times a week, but we have definitely kept that portion of our relationship alive and well, even on days when one of us wasn't so much in the mood, but made an effort, to good effect. :)

I would definitely like to do this again, and soon. I'd need to change my goals significantly, especially with being realistic about having a baby in the middle of it, and what I think I could maintain through that, but that's ok. I think this challenge has given me an opportunity to assess and reassess what areas of my life I want to change, and how and why, in ways I'd never have considered. Becoming more mindful about my life in general is more than enough reward for me!

[Nick]

HOW DID IT GO? -- It went very well, but not great

My goals were:

1. start running,
2. remove HFCS from my diet, and
3. try to eat five servings of vegetables a day (later amended to five servings of fruits and vegetables).

My results, after sixty days:

1. I am now a runner and last Thursday ran a ten-minute mile (just the one!)
2. HFCS is now basically out of my diet-- there's nothing it's in that I need to eat.
3. I'm proud when I get FOUR servings of fruits and vegetables in me, which is pathetic. I don't do a lot of the cooking and my husband is meat and potatoes oriented, so it's on me to eat them at the meals we don't share, breakfast and lunch, and to be creative about getting him to work them in when together-- or just doing a side myself.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN?

First, that I'm in better shape than I thought I was. This was a huge shot in the arm, because since the baby came, I've just been feeling bad about my general state of un-in-shape.

Second, as my husband has taken over the majority of the cooking since the baby was born, I have let my husband's eating habits become mine-- and his are pretty unhealthy for me, and probably for most people. I've got to learn to resist falling into the "tap of the easy." And be aware of when I've fallen into such a trap, in this are as well as others in my life. And I've got to get past what has grown into a big block of annoyance that my desire to change my eating habits has to work around his. I've got to learn to be adaptable and creative when faced with with my dear husband's bafflement that suddenly the food he's been serving me off and on for years is suddenly not good enough--I think this must be how a parent feels when his or her child becomes a vegetarian after years of being a happy carnivore. And I'd better learn to be as creative and adaptable as my mother did when my brother went veg, because neither my husband nor my DD are going anywhere, and they have to be taken into account when I try to change my life in even relatively minor ways that I thought would not affect them at all.

ARE YOU GLAD YOU DID IT? YES!

SHOULD WE DO IT AGAIN IN A FEW WEEKS?

My first answer was "yes, you bet!" but then I thought maybe a little more time between burst of concentrated self-improvement would be better. But then my next thought is maybe I could adapt my goals to choose something a bit less time consuming than running, and less overwhelming than two major changes in my diet at once. Funny, they didn't seem that huge when I signed up.

[WireGryphon]

It went great. I learned that next time I need to set tougher goals for myself, though I am glad I've gotten these goals to become habits. (And really, they felt almost unmanagable at the time I set them.) I think it really helped to know so many of you were out there working on it, too.

I am definitely in for another challenge. Already thinking of new goals!

[Emily]

Definitely glad I participated!

I did great on two of my three: I worked out three times a week almost every week, and I prayed nightly. The scripture reading didn't work out so well every day. I know I could have substituted another challenge, but I guess I was feeling pretty good about the two, so I kept focusing on them.

My body is in better shape and better toned than it was 60 days ago, and that feels great! I moved from doing the ellipse machine in our basement to running outside, which I hadn't done since before Z was born three years ago. Hooray!

Another challenge would be fantastic! Thanks, Moxie!

[Mommy-O]

I am very glad to have been involved and I learned a lot from the other commenters along the way. Yes, another round would be great.

I increased my exercise level, therefore, increasing water intake. I was more mindful of my eating and have the whole family eating more veggies and healthy grains.

More aware of how I treat my husband and still considering counselling to deal with some issues from my upbringing and how they effect me now.

[Toni]

I did learn a lot. Chocolate is my friend. Not having it in my life is sad. So it stays.

Vitamins ARE in my life. They stay too.

Half veggies/small plate. I will continue to try. But it's not a habit yet.

I'm happy.

[welter]

As I explained on or about Day 17, I suffered a Life Implosion toward the beginning of the challenge involving a severe marital blowup. Checking in on the challenge became a way of focusing on all the positive things I am doing.

Dissertation drafted in its entirety. The reader who was most critical sent his comments for revisions today. Within the next 60 days, I expect to officially be "Dr." So that is a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Still nursing my 5-month-old exclusively and doing some good Playful Parenting (thanks for the book suggestion, Hedra!) with both him and my preschooler.

Have gotten really good about my supplements because, hey, it's a lot easier goal than the other two.

Doing some very good thinking in marital counseling and individual therapy and feeling a lot less conflicted about the complicated identity that results from choosing to be a working mom (nice to have even a modicum of choice, I know). Seeing people struggle with similar kinds of issues, both in the context of the challenge and on this blog more generally, has been extraordinarily strengthening. Moxie, you'd be amazed at how many times I invoke you and your commenters in therapy! I will be thinking of my whole life as a series of 60-day challenges for awhile to come, so I would definitely welcome having the BOWW (Band of Wise Women) to check in with....

[paola]

Oh, I should learn to read to the end. Graduation photo...yes please!!!! (or any photo for that matter- I wanna see Moxie.)

[cs white]

Overall, I think I did really well with the challenge. Don't you know that today is like the 2nd time in 60 days that I've forgotten to put on sunscreen? Kinda funny.

Anyway, I like the concept of challenging myself to take on something new and then giving a reasonable, set amount of time to follow through and make it a habit. The other excellent point in all of this was that you pointed out that we should be kind to ourselves if we weren't successful every day. That made the whole experience feel inspiring to me instead of onerous.

Whether there's another challenge on your site, I think I'm going to periodically start my own challenges - it just feels like a good fit for me. I'm currently working on the T-Tapp 60 day challenge so, selfishly, I'm not entirely gung ho on starting *another* challenge at the moment but hey, I could probably have my arm twisted.

And a prize for completing the challenge? Totally corny, but I think the challenge and the supportive comments throughout were the big prize [awww... ]. Seriously. Now, Moxie, if you need a laugh, I'll gladly send you my middle school photo where I'm wearing 3, count 'em, 3 collared shirts. All with the collars up. oy.

[hedra]

Not sure if anyone is checking this topic anymore, but definitely not putting this on Moxie's divorce notification thread...

I didn't get the job. They liked me so much they had to call me directly to tell me that it was really hard to decide, and they kind of said they liked me better but the other person had direct experience with the equipment, and they couldn't overlook that. Sigh. Booger. I wanted that job. Ah, well, plus side is I get to stay a contractor for a while longer, and that means still flexible hours. For another month, anyway. (Kind of month-to-month here right now...)

[hedra]

(Now I have to go eat lunch and try to stay mindful on that, as well. Sigh.)

[m]

I didn't participate in the first one as it started a week or so after my second baby was born and I was thinking that just surviving an infant and a toddler was challenge enough!

I'd like to be in on the next one, but I will need some time to think about it. Maybe a refresher of the 'rules' would be helpful, too.

(Hedra, sorry to hear you didn't get the job. Even if there is a great silver lining, it still sucks a bit.)

[WireGryphon]

Sorry about the job, Hedra. Better luck next time!

[pnuts mama]

hedra- so much sadness around today. so sorry you didn't get the job- sometimes i believe in fate, oftentimes it's more the path we take is the one we're supposed to be on. sigh. i can really feel your disappointment, and i feel it for you. hang in there, and i'm sending you good thoughts as well.

forget the mindful eating today- go enjoy some comfort food and start fresh tomorrow. hugs to you.

[Shelley]

Crap, Hedra :( Hoping something even better is around the corner.

Drink more water -- this didn't go so well. Not sure how to make this better -- tap water at work tastes crummy and I don't want to fill the world with plastic water bottles. Need to restrategize.

Less Internet/more read -- well, I guess I did dink around on the net less, but I can tell you I re-read three Jane Austens, which I just loved doing. Am reviving my English major reading habits, which feels very enriching. Definitely up for a good beach read now and then, but I'm reading more real stuff than ever since my daughter was born in 2003.

Keep mind in the same place as body -- now here I think I really did well. It's helped that work has been more interesting lately, but I've also been more focused on my kid when we are together.

[hedra]

@pnuts mama, thanks for the absolution. 'cause I ate about a dozen chocolate bites. :o

[Amy A]

My goals were:
1. Exercise for 15 minutes every day.
2. Clean for 15 minutes every day.
3. Use the computer less.

I did more exercise than usual, which is good. Still trying to get in habit.

I cleaned more than usual, but not an extra 15 minutes a day. Still working on that.

The first 2 weeks I did a great job cutting back on the computer, but then that fell by the wayside. If I cut back on the computer more, I would do a better job on the other goals. I need to figure out how to make cutting back a more realistic goal.

I would do it again, I think it was definitely a good start. Nice and small, not too overwhelming.

[Tor]

I did ok, but not great, on my challenges.
I did really like having the constant reminder with the posts here that kept reminding me to be more mindful about both my challenges and other peoples, even if I wasnt actually achieving what I meant to.
So I failed but still feel like I achieved something.

I did find the length intimidating. I would probably be interested in shorter challenges more frequently. That would let me keep things that needed more time to make a habit (like exercise) over subsequent challenges, but once I had incorporated easier things into my life (like vitamins) then I could move on to another thing for the next challenge without feeling like I was copping out by changing my things half-way through a long challenge. Cos I have much more than 3 things to change and some take a lot more effort than others.