30 Day Challenge Updates

Today completes the Mormon challenge!

• Weight: 117.6 (down 4.4 lbs)
• Body Fat Percentage: 31.2 (up 0.4)
• Authentic Happiness Inventory:  3.13 (42-55th percentile vs 20th-30th percentile)   

1.  caffeine

The worst part of this was the desire to self-medicate to stay up late helping MacGyver prep for his 30th birthday party home-work.  Have not found a consistent breakfast substitute.  I hit sugar and ginseng pretty hard as compensatory chemicals.
Verdict:   tea is fine.  Quota on coffee consumption so as not to get too habituated-- i.e. one social drink per week.

2.  alcohol

I like the weight loss more than any of the decompression properties.  It was a little lame not to be able to taste new and fancy stuff.  I think portion size is my main problem.
Verdict:  Whenever possible, flight or sampler-sized portions.

3.  expletives

Heavenly Father heard a good deal of swearing in the car driving myself places, so stressful!
Verdict:  Cultivate alternative transportation options

4.  tithing

Good way to find peace with guilt about not helping everyone who asks.  Surprisingly feasible financially.
Verdict:  Would rather be debt free first and would prefer to contribute time rather than money to charity where there is a possibility of picking up friends and skills in the process.

5.  health

I completed a sprint triathlon and took 2nd in my division in a company 10K.
Verdict:  find more adventures to train for

6.  2 meal fast

The worst part was unfixable bad breath.  General irritability and sluggishness.  
Verdict: worthwhile to skip a couple meals to stay in touch with hunger and self-management at your worst.  Water is OK.

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Extreme Financial Transparency Challenge

I didn't publicize this one too much, but I have also been keeping track of what I spend and what others spend on me for almost 30 days (except mortgage payements).  It's not exactly a budget because that feels too restrictive.
Verdict:  this is worthwhile.  Keep doing it.

Lessons learned so far (besides Google spreadsheets being extremely under-powered at the minute)

• Cars are expensive!  11% of spend to drive around in high-anxiety, swearing up a storm.
• Utilities add up!  9% of spend even after I throttled our internet bandwidth.  Now I'm thinking about scaling back on phone plans or at least consolidating them.
• Being a "regular" at a restaurant is not worth it.  3% of spend went into a bakery where I get the same comfort food every time and a subsidized campus cafe that messes up my order more often than not.  Meanwhile, a high price tag date at a foodie restaurant we'd been meaning to try cost about as much as all those smaller stops but was totally worth the experience.  Now I'm enrolling in rideshare benefit and on the hunt for diy breakfast and lunch options.

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On Deck

• Blog a day:  A friend mentioned my angst about house progress might be something to work on next.  He suggested a house project a day, but anyone working on house projects and full time jobs knows this is far too ambitious.  Instead, I will be posting about something (hopefully home improvement related) daily for 30 days.  Allowed to schedule future posts.

• Bike to work:  Contemplating what I have learned about the expense and anxiety of car ownership, but not quite ready to completely quit.  Also not sure if swearing off cars is feasible with imminent Thanksgiving travel.  Instead, I will set out to bike at least one direction to work a day (approx 10 miles).  Stacking an out and back is allowed.