Tell me about the program you followed to reach a goal, that worked.
April 10, 2019 3:10 PM Subscribe
Please tell me about the program you followed to reach a goal, that actually worked for you.
A few years ago, after trying several ways to lose weight, I followed a calorie-counting program, and it was a revelation to me that if I just stuck to the rules (count every calorie in, and don’t go over your daily allowance) I would lose weight without having to lift a finger. Within a few weeks I had reached a weight I had struggled for years to get to using various types of exercise. Please tell me about programs you have used to reach a specific goal, that actually worked for you. Learning an instrument? A language? Strength training? Learning to code? Anything where you had a specific goal in mind that a program or course helped you achieve. Preferably something I could follow myself from anywhere in the world. Thanks!
A few years ago, after trying several ways to lose weight, I followed a calorie-counting program, and it was a revelation to me that if I just stuck to the rules (count every calorie in, and don’t go over your daily allowance) I would lose weight without having to lift a finger. Within a few weeks I had reached a weight I had struggled for years to get to using various types of exercise. Please tell me about programs you have used to reach a specific goal, that actually worked for you. Learning an instrument? A language? Strength training? Learning to code? Anything where you had a specific goal in mind that a program or course helped you achieve. Preferably something I could follow myself from anywhere in the world. Thanks!
I'm a novelist. My self-coded Written? Kitten!-inspired macOS app has helped me achieve the goal of consistently writing 1,000 words/hour (twice as fast as my previous average of 500 words/hour). Basically, it serves up a pretty picture every 100 words I write. I am apparently super motivated by pretty pictures, so this works for me; YMMV. Written? Kitten! itself is great too, but it's a web app that runs in your browser window and I live in an area with frequent internet outages, so I needed a solution that would run locally without internet.
posted by yhlee at 4:25 PM on April 10, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by yhlee at 4:25 PM on April 10, 2019 [5 favorites]
At 44 I went from a non-runner to running a marathon. I followed a couch to marathon programme and it worked! Combining it with my social life (joining a running group) reinforced my success.
posted by frumiousb at 4:33 PM on April 10, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by frumiousb at 4:33 PM on April 10, 2019 [5 favorites]
A couple of years ago I decided to learn to run and signed up for a local 12km fun run, started the couch to 10km program and haven't looked back! Just about to start training for my first marathon :D
A caveat: twice over the years I've failed at the couch to 5km program, I think because I didn't really have a goal.
posted by eloeth-starr at 4:41 PM on April 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
A caveat: twice over the years I've failed at the couch to 5km program, I think because I didn't really have a goal.
posted by eloeth-starr at 4:41 PM on April 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Couch to 5K. I went from being a non-runner to doing really, really well on my first 5K and then immediately stopped and became a non-runner again. But the app totally worked!
posted by bondcliff at 4:51 PM on April 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by bondcliff at 4:51 PM on April 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
The adult Learn to Skate Curriculum legit works. I started with skill A on Level 1, and I'm currently in the midst of Level 5 and it is FUN and great exercise.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:53 PM on April 10, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:53 PM on April 10, 2019 [5 favorites]
My wife and I did Nutri-System way back in the day. It worked really well. Above all, it taught me how to balance my eating.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:56 PM on April 10, 2019
posted by Thorzdad at 4:56 PM on April 10, 2019
I used Shaxpir, a writing management software, to win NaNoWriMo 2018 (50k words) in 18 days. I'd previously tried a few times and failed. The word count bar graph was a strong motivator.
Any running habit for me has required signing up for a race as an end goal/motivator. I used to have Zombies Run on my old phone, but now I just listen to podcasts.
I used Duolingo to brush up rusty college French before spending a month working in France. I don't know if you can learn a language from scratch with it, but its spaced repetition style does work for remembering how to order un sandwich jambon beurre.
posted by basalganglia at 5:05 PM on April 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Any running habit for me has required signing up for a race as an end goal/motivator. I used to have Zombies Run on my old phone, but now I just listen to podcasts.
I used Duolingo to brush up rusty college French before spending a month working in France. I don't know if you can learn a language from scratch with it, but its spaced repetition style does work for remembering how to order un sandwich jambon beurre.
posted by basalganglia at 5:05 PM on April 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
NaNoWriMo worked for me.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:30 PM on April 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:30 PM on April 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
I got tired of smug hygienists telling me that my lack of flossing was why my teeth were how they were (partly true but partly growing up with unflouridated water, etc) So I decided I was going to floss every day, the end.
I got a habit app for my phone (Habit Bull, it's fine, it works) and set up three habits: floss, meditate, do PT exercises. I find that if I am going to bed and I haven't done one of them (I always check my phone before bed so I'll notice) I can fit it into the time I have before I feel I need to be in-bed-lights-out so I can go do it. After I developed flossing habit (most days I do it before I am going to bed, but not always) I added brushing to it figuring "It's two minutes a day COME ON" and it worked just great. I really do not like missing a day, am super fussy about it, so it keeps me on track and I like being "good" at something. I mean, I am good at a lot of things but I find it's not hard to be good at things I'm already good at, if that makes sense. Keeping this habit, especially at first, was difficult and now it's second nature.
posted by jessamyn at 5:52 PM on April 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I got a habit app for my phone (Habit Bull, it's fine, it works) and set up three habits: floss, meditate, do PT exercises. I find that if I am going to bed and I haven't done one of them (I always check my phone before bed so I'll notice) I can fit it into the time I have before I feel I need to be in-bed-lights-out so I can go do it. After I developed flossing habit (most days I do it before I am going to bed, but not always) I added brushing to it figuring "It's two minutes a day COME ON" and it worked just great. I really do not like missing a day, am super fussy about it, so it keeps me on track and I like being "good" at something. I mean, I am good at a lot of things but I find it's not hard to be good at things I'm already good at, if that makes sense. Keeping this habit, especially at first, was difficult and now it's second nature.
posted by jessamyn at 5:52 PM on April 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I started a downsizing project last November 1, with the goal of getting rid of three things a day for a year so the total would be over a thousand. I keep track by marking x’s on a calendar, so if I don’t have time one day, I can do it on another, just as long as I’ve gotten rid of three things for each day by the end of the month. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep it up, but I’m still managing to find stuff to get rid of (today was a blouse and two tart pans that I’ve had for thirty years without ever making a tart). So I haven’t completed the project, but I’ve sent many boxes to charity and I’m well on my way to getting rid of over a thousand things. My ultimate goal is to move to a smaller place.
I tend to get very attached to objects, so this way, I can look at something one day and decide I need it, but then I keep thinking about it and eventually realize I really don’t. I’ve been ruminating over the tart pans for weeks because, you know, I might want to make a tart some day. Then today I finally felt ready to let go. This works way better with my personality than the massive Kondo declutter.
posted by FencingGal at 6:27 PM on April 10, 2019 [7 favorites]
I tend to get very attached to objects, so this way, I can look at something one day and decide I need it, but then I keep thinking about it and eventually realize I really don’t. I’ve been ruminating over the tart pans for weeks because, you know, I might want to make a tart some day. Then today I finally felt ready to let go. This works way better with my personality than the massive Kondo declutter.
posted by FencingGal at 6:27 PM on April 10, 2019 [7 favorites]
Disclaimer: I’m not fully done. But I started the konmari thing last summer, and it’s at the point where I’m happy to have guests over, despite having 2 kids.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 6:42 PM on April 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Valancy Rachel at 6:42 PM on April 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I started writing a piece of choral music a week — little short ones, mostly the length of a stanza or two of a hymn. The goal was a pretty nebulous "keep doing it until I get good," but this year I had three of them performed by an actual choir at an actual concert that people paid to attend — which, if I'd considered it as a goal back when I started, I'd have rejected as way too far-fetched and audacious.
I think two things helped me keep the habit. One was being flexible: there have actually been plenty of months I didn't manage to write one a week, and some when I managed more, and rather than say "Oh no, I've fucked it up, I've broken my streak, it's all over," I just sort of kept at it anyway. The other was actually enjoying the thing I was trying to do: without a fixed goal, I wouldn't have gotten around to nearly as much composing, but it still would have been a thing I genuinely liked doing when I did get around to it. (And getting better at it made it more fun, so convincing myself to write my piece for the week has gotten easier as time has gone on.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:51 PM on April 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
I think two things helped me keep the habit. One was being flexible: there have actually been plenty of months I didn't manage to write one a week, and some when I managed more, and rather than say "Oh no, I've fucked it up, I've broken my streak, it's all over," I just sort of kept at it anyway. The other was actually enjoying the thing I was trying to do: without a fixed goal, I wouldn't have gotten around to nearly as much composing, but it still would have been a thing I genuinely liked doing when I did get around to it. (And getting better at it made it more fun, so convincing myself to write my piece for the week has gotten easier as time has gone on.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:51 PM on April 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
Community reinforcement is helpful, even if it's an online community. I following a physical training plan and found a community of people who are following the same book. We post our workouts once a week and talk about what works and what doesn't. There isn't a ton of peer-pressure there -- nobody is going to nag you if you didn't post your workout -- but the community expectation that you're going to work out and post your results is enough to get me to work out when I otherwise might not.
posted by craven_morhead at 9:31 AM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by craven_morhead at 9:31 AM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
This is less of a program/course and more of a simple method that can be applied to anything you want to turn into a regular habit, but I've found that the Don't Break the Chain idea has helped me to to keep on track with goals.
posted by dadaclonefly at 2:46 PM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by dadaclonefly at 2:46 PM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Starting Strength.
It's an introduction to free weights, with a lean towards powerlifting and a bias *against* bodybuilding. You do it for 3-9 months, you then have a very, very solid basis for other strength based workouts. There's an online community that can help critique form on lifts; you get feedback so you don't wind up injured, and you wind up getting quite strong quite quickly.
I've never had much luck gaining weight or strength before, and I'm 40.
A year later, I can pick up 400 pounds off the floor.
posted by talldean at 12:41 PM on April 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
It's an introduction to free weights, with a lean towards powerlifting and a bias *against* bodybuilding. You do it for 3-9 months, you then have a very, very solid basis for other strength based workouts. There's an online community that can help critique form on lifts; you get feedback so you don't wind up injured, and you wind up getting quite strong quite quickly.
I've never had much luck gaining weight or strength before, and I'm 40.
A year later, I can pick up 400 pounds off the floor.
posted by talldean at 12:41 PM on April 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
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