The Monthly Practice Report – February 2012

 

 

Welcome to The Monthly Practice Report, where I detail my practice of healthy living: the commitments, goals, and other metrics!

 

 

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Why I’m doing this:

• To be completely transparent with what my practice of healthy living and full-time travel looks like
• To share the actual numbers with you in hopes that it makes this lifestyle (or any part of it) seem a little more attainable
• To publicly track my progress among several categories
• To provide cool resources that I find helpful

You’ll see information below on my expenses (food, travel, etc.), how I’m doing with my practices, travel I’ve taken, and anything else (hopefully) relevant!

I’ll also share some lessons learned and plans/goals for the future.

 

Please let me know what you think!

If anything is unclear, if you’d like more information on a certain topic, or if there’s something I’ve left out, I’m open to hearing all feedback and questions. Just leave a comment below.

Thanks – and I hope you enjoy this month’s report! :-)

 

Where was I in February?

• Grafton, MA: 2/1-2/6, 2/9-2/15
• West Barnstable, MA: 2/7-2/8
• Philadelphia, PA: 2/16-2/21
• Somerville, NJ: 2/22-2/23
• New York, NY: 2/24-2/25
• Washington, DC: 2/26-2/29

 

Onto the Numbers!

FYI: some of the links below are affiliate links that will earn me a commission if you purchase through them. If you do, I absolutely appreciate it; if you’d rather not, that’s cool, too. If you have any questions about any of the products or services, please let me know!

 

MEDITATION

• Ideal/Goal: to meditate for at least 15 minutes in the morning, before other activities
• Continued the daily practice for another month, bringing the total to 650 consecutive days!
• How long did I meditate each day?
• 15 minutes:  5 days
• 30 minutes:  24 days
• Most often amount: 30 minutes (83% of the time)!
• Last month: 30 minutes (24 vs. 7)
• Continue to use my Blissitations tracks
• They’re really helpful for concentration, and one of the best parts is that I never have to think about how long it is – I just keep going until the track is over.

 

NUTRITION

• Ideal/Goal: since December 2010, I have been following the Paleo diet, which is lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. No legumes, grains, starches, processed foods, or sugars. Dairy is OK (raw/unpasteurized is best), though I tend to avoid it.
• When a guest in someone’s home, I defer to gratitude and do not refuse meals; that does not, however, give me free reign to eat whatever I want – everything in moderation.
• There are also “non-paleo” foods I still enjoy, mostly pizza, bread, and other baked goods. I occasionally allow myself these items – I’d rather be flexible and have a good time, than rigid and mopey. :-)

• Animal Products (red meat, chicken, pork, fish, eggs, and dairy)
• Ideal/Goal: 20% OF THE TIME (or less)
• For the month: 21%
• Last month: 29%
• Breakfast: 7%
• Lunch: 28%
• Dinner: 52%
• Snacks: 9%
• Not Paleo (the “no” list above)
• Ideal/Goal: 10% OF THE TIME (or less)
• For the month: 9%
• Last month: 18%
• Breakfast: 0%
• Lunch: 7%
• Dinner: 24%
• Snacks: 7%
• Alcohol
• Ideal/Goal: 0-1 drinks per month
• For the month: 1
• Last month: 0

**Above percentages calculated for 30 days with an average of 90 meals + 70 snacks

 

EXERCISE

• Ideal/Goal: some form of movement every day; could my morning options (see below), hiking, biking, or walking – something to keep me fit, to maintain and sustain me! 
• At least 20 minutes of activity before meditation
• Includes one or more of the following: yoga, energization exercises, tai chi warms-ups, balance poses, pull-ups, and stretching
• Days: 25 (86% of the time)
• Last month: 29
• Other Exercise
• Lots of walking in Philadelphia and Washington, DC!
• Stationary:
• Driving and riding in trains

 

JOURNAL

• Ideal/Goal: to express my Highest Goal, my Path, my ideal Partner, my Hell Yes’s, my Strengths, my Zones of Genius, my Gratitudes, and any Big Ideas.
• Days: 27 (93% of the time)
• Includes a 5-page brainstorming session when I took my journal to dinner (cheap date – ha!)
• Last month: 31
• If I don’t get to journaling in the morning (before email/work, etc.), it usually doesn’t happen.

 

WEIGHT

• My Stats:
• 2/9/12: 135 lbs.
• 2/19/12: 132 lbs.
• Average:  134 lbs.,  19.37 BMI
• Last month: 137 lbs., 19.66 BMI
• Difference: -3 lbs, -.29 BMI
• Weight/BMI
• I weigh myself (usually) on the same day of the week, first thing in the morning – before eating or drinking anything.
• For body fat %, I’ve used scales that send electromagnetic pulses through the feet to determine body fat. With any device, I’m going to assume there’s a ± 2-3%.
• According to the BMI data, I am within the healthy range (18.5-24.9 for men and women)
• For my height, underweight would be below 127 lbs, and overweight would be above 174 lbs. (see this article from Livestrong.com for how to find the weight range.)
• Formula to calculate your BMI: ([your weight in pounds] x 703)/ [your height in inches]²
• Example:  (150 x 703) = 105,450/ (70 x 70) = 21.5 (within the healthy range)
• It’s tricky because I found many charts online where according to those, I was underweight – it’s tough to know the validity of those sites, so I think BMI is a much more reliable figure.
• Body Fat
• Average for men is 18-24%; athletes typically compete at 6-13%

 

TRAVEL

• Trip costs: $95.05
• Car gasoline in Massachusetts
• Amtrak, Philadelphia to Harrisburg (afternoon stop en route to New Jersey)
• NYC Taxi and Subway
• DC Metro
• Hacking Actions
• Used 3000 Amtrak points for Providence-Philadelphia trip
• Used 3000 Amtrak points for New York-Washington, DC trip
• Approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Continental OnePass (no longer available) credit cards
• In both cases when I applied, I was given a “we will review” page, so I immediately called the reconsideration department and negotiated an approval
• Current Points (selected accounts)
• American Airlines: 22,928
• Amtrak: 37,225
• British Airways: 107,391
• Club Carlson: 54,125
• Starwood: 26,798
• TOTAL: 248,467
• Last month: 253,382
• Difference: -4915
• Open Credit Cards
• Starwood Preferred Guest AmEx (Personal), $65 annual fee
• Chase Sapphire Preferred, annual fee waived for first year
• British Airways Visa, $95 annual fee
• Continental OnePass
• REI Visa
• Credit Score
• These scores are reported by two separate credit agencies. A credit union I use provides the Equifax score as an included service, and I signed up with Credit Karma (free) to obtain the TransUnion score. Since the numbers are so similar, you really only need information from one agency.
• Equifax: 793, as of 2/24/12
• Last month: 793
• Difference: 0 points
• TransUnion: 772, as of 3/13/12
• Last month: 771
• Difference: +1 point
• Context: between 700 and 850 – very good or excellent credit score

 

EXPENSES

• Food: $330.70
• Groceries: $232.61
• Dining Out: $98.09
• Average cost/day: $11.40 
• Last Month: $87.82
• Difference: +$242.82
• Travel: $95.05
• (see above)
• Last Month: $100
• Difference: -$4.95
• Lodging: $0
• Last Month: $0
• Difference: $0
  
• Nomad Life: $0
• Last Month: $6.57
• Difference: -$6.57
• Cell Phone: $59.26
• Verizon Wireless and unlimited Skype
• Last Month: $111.42
• Difference: -$52.16
• Entertainment: $10
• Last Month: $0
• Difference: +$10
• Health: $55
• Massage in DC
• Last Month: $444.55
• Difference: -$389.55
• Technology: $2.99
• Boomerang for Gmail
• Last month: $2.99
• Difference: $0
• Other: $0

•  Total Expenses: $553.00
• Last Month: $757.35
• Difference: -$204.35
• Financial Freedom (Ideal/Goal: income > expenses): YES!

 

PRODUCTIVITY

• Working Hours
• Ideal/Goal: 6-7 hours per day, with each chunk being only 90-120 mins.
• Days worked: 29 (100% of the time)
• Average hours per day: 6.35 
• Last month: 5.49
• Number of days where work was > 7 hours: 11 days (38% of the time)
• Last month: 6 days
• Most hours in one day: 9.25
• In February, I began tracking as part of my $100 a day goal
• Morning Creativity Practice
• Ideal/Goal: waking up an hour earlier to focus on creative work (before exercise and meditation)!
• Days with Morning Creativity Practice: 24 (83% of the time)
• Last month: 26

 

SLEEPING AND AWAKE

• Sleep Hours
• Ideal/Goal: to sleep for at least 7-8 hours each night
• Average
• For the month: 7.42
• Last month: 7.31
• Most often amount of sleep: 8-8.5 hours (!)
• Longest sleep: 8.5 hours
• Shortest sleep: 6.0 hours
• Number of days where sleep time was < 7 hours: 6 days
• Last month: 13 days

• Naps
• Number of days with naps: 4 (14% of the month)
• Last month: 6 days
• Average amount: 20 minutes
• Mostly occurred on days with late classes

• Awake Hours
• Ideal/Goal: to be awake for 16-17 hours
• Average
• For the month: 16.50
• Last month: 16.63
• Most often wake hours: 16.5-17.0 hours
• Longest day: 21 hours
• Shortest day: 14.25 hours
• Number of days where awake time was > 17 hours: 8 days
• Last month: 10 days

• Going to Sleep
• Ideal/Goal: go to bed around 11 pm
• Average
• For the month: 11:25 pm
• Last month: 11:35 pm
• Most often sleep time: 11:00-11:30 pm
• Earliest sleep time: 10:15 pm
• Latest sleep time: 3:30 am (New York!)
• Number of days where sleep time was past 11:15 pm: 8 days
• Last month: 21 days

• Waking Up
• Ideal/Goal: wake up around 7 am
• Average
• For the month: 6:50 am
• Last month: 7:00 am
• Most often wake time: 6:30-7:00 am
• Earliest wake time: 6:00 am
• Latest wake time: 9:30 am
• Number of days where wake time was later than 7:15 am: 4 days
• Last month: 8 days

 

OTHER HEALTH

• Contacts
• Ideal/Goal: to wear 8 hours or less per day
• Days worn: 22 (76% of the month)
• Average hours per day: 6.68
• Last month: 7.75
• Average time I pop them in: 4:00 pm
• Number of days where use was > 8 hours: 2 days (9% of the time)
• Last month: 4
• Most hours in one day: 8.75
• Vitamins
• I picked up Alive! Vitamins at Whole Foods in January and have been taking 1 pill in the morning. When I was traveling through Montana last summer, Joe Withey (of ) recommended this brand as it’s entirely plant-based!
• Fish Oil: picked up the Whole Foods brand, and began taking 1000mg of Fish Oil (concentrated Omega-3 EFAs) daily!

 

CHEMICAL-FREE

• Ideal/Goal: to use few-to-no artificial or chemical products in my life: no deodorants, sunscreen, etc. I do use toothpaste.
• Showering
• On occasion, I will still use no products in the shower (no shampoo, conditioner, or soap)
• New to the equation: a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Castille soap – now occasionally using this on my hair and body
• I have a small bottle of olive oil and Lavender essential oil that I mixed together and will start using again on my hair, after showering.
• Shaving
• Using the olive/lavender oil combo – seems to work well; the blade needs a little extra cleaning, and only seems to last through two uses.

 

COOL FINDS

• Way of the Superior Man by David Deida – started reading this classic – grab a free PDF of the whole book!

 

• Eye Yoga, as taught by Sir Paul McCartney! :)

 

CONNECTION

• TA Discussion Hour – my radio show!
• Listen here! Super excited to be highlighting BIG Ideas from across many of the en*theos Academy classes!
• My two mastermind groups:
• Optimal Living Mastermind (formed shortly after Optimal Living 101) – our focus is moving forward into growth in all areas of our lives (in place for more than one year!)
• BizSoul (formed shortly after the World Domination Summit) – our focus is creating businesses that are true and authentic expressions of ourselves
• Met up with Kate in Brooklyn, New York!

 

What I Learned:

Or, “what worked and what didn’t?”

• Bedtime is challenging to maintain when you’re on the road
• There’s a definite social part of “staying up late” when you’re with people, so I’ll need to balance that with my desire to get up early!

• Sleeping and awake hours look pretty good!
• LOVE that my sleeping hours have increased, and that the extremes (going to bed late, sleeping little) has all decreased considerably since last month!
• I think it also helped that I set a bedtime for myself: 10-11 pm!

• Didn’t need that many naps – always nice!

• Massages are awesome, necessary and a chance for your brain to just THINK + DREAM!
• SO glad I nabbed one in Philadelphia – looking for my next one soon!!

 

 

Favorite Food Item this month:

• Veggie Stew Goodness: portabellos, zucchini, diced tomatoes, carrots, grated cauliflower, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and avocado!

 

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OK – that’s the monthly report for February!

 

How are your practices going?

 

I’d love to hear your response + any other comments you have below!

And if you have any feedback or questions about something you’re tackling, feel free to share!

 

 

Looking forward to learning more!

 

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