snark

I have been trying to do this mini-challenge, but I'm having a hard time. I feel like things are working for me in a way that they just haven't ever. I'm getting into a rhythm with being active, eating well (but with fun beer/ice cream times planned in), getting workouts in, and losing weight slowly but steadily. But I don't know why--it doesn't feel like anything special happened or is different. I don't have a magical workout song, I just get up and do what I'm supposed to do. I don't have a special meal plan, I'm just not snacking on candy. I wish I had a better idea of what changed so that I could use that tool to re-up in the future. But nope...

Man, I was super cheesy on Thursday. Week 4 summary: Diet: 10,239/10,500 calories, 586/525 g protein. Yay! Also discovered that I like spaghetti squash. I tried it in the past and wasn't a fan, not sure what the difference is now. Strength training: 3/3 workouts. I've also been keeping up mobility/stretching on non-workout days and have started mixing in some yoga (flexibility/release focused, so far, but I might start letting in some flows and a little more strength components). It's definitely less convenient to work out with my sister here, but I definitely like having her, and I manage. And she's leaving tomorrow, so I will get my workout room back! Walk: 6/8 walks during the work week. Definitely having a hard time fitting them in on busier days, but I clearly did better than when this came up last challenge. 30 min productive time: 6/7. Kinda half-assed when I hit it, but meh. I'll take it for now....

Sounds like you're doing great! If you can pull it off and have somewhere decent to walk, I highly recommend the midday walking break. Even better is if you can convince someone to take a meeting with you as a walk, which is rare for me but feels like such a win!

Thank you for the birthday wishes and for the compliment! I think this stuff is keeping me sane, so I hope I can keep it up! The act of preparing food is really calming to me most of the time, which is convenient as long as I make it a priority--I also tend to budget a lot of my daily calories for dinner so that it's easier for me to play around a little with it. Basically, I just typed all of this to remind myself of these things. While my veggies are roasting for tasty soup. Really, I keep wishing I'd done this years ago, or last year, or earlier this year, and it has become more and more clear that it's never a convenient or comfortable time to make changes. I'm choosing now.

Ugh, overwhelming week at work, but I am generally sticking to the plan over here. Week 3 summary: Diet: 10,521/10,500 calories. 586/525 g protein. Works for me, this is an approximation anyway. Strength training: 2/3 sessions. I had that weird back pain early in the week, and I wasn't able to finagle a second schedule in to make up. Back on track this week, back seems fine! Also, yesterday after working out, I had a brief "wtf is that? oh a tricep!" moment. Yay baby muscles! Daily work walk: 7/8. Again, rough week, overwhelmed. This is likely something that's falling down this week, too. 30 min productive/active time: 5/6. I took my birthday off, and i counted a couple of evening yoga stretching sessions during the week. Sunday was a big cleaning day for both of us, so our place feels pretty good. My sister is staying with us, so progress on my 2nd bedroom is impossible anyway. Maybe this weekend!

I got through about half of my strength workout yesterday and fell apart, just having a rough week in a lot of ways. Switched to about 10 minutes about sprint/slow cycles (HIIT-ish, I guess) to do *something*. Getting back on the horse tomorrow, it's going to be an awesome Friday. (Actually, I get to ride in a helicopter for work, so it should indeed be awesome!)

Looking good this week!

I did some yoga last night because I had incredibly tight shoulders and a weird back issue, and I thought I just wanted a stretching routine. But as part of it, the instructor said something like "you have nowhere else more important to be right now" and that really struck me. I should feel that way about each thing I choose to spend my minimal free time on, and I should be paying attention to that thing rather than letting my mind and attention run rampant on other tasks and worries. Been loving this Mother Goose (?): For every ailment under the sun There is a remedy, or there is none; If there be one, try to find it; If there be none, never mind it.

I forgot to wish you happy birthday! I hope you had an awesome meal last night! Nice start on the studying and pushups for the week yesterday!

Whether it's over maintenance or not, it's just one day and you've been doing great overall on hitting your calorie goal! I think it's great idea to add some macro tracking next time around--I'm biased because that's what I did, but I'm pleased with how it's been going with tracking calories and protein.

My back is definitely feeling better but not perfect--I tried my strength workout this morning and it felt tweaky in all the wrong ways after one circuit. So I called an audible and will give it another shot tomorrow. I had also tried to up some weight and am considering backing off of that for at least one workout, given the back thing and the time of the month thing...no need to rush and hurt myself! I also slept terribly because some dudes decided to hang out on my street chatting for like an hour at 2am. Great follow up to my grumpypants evening, but at least today is a new day! Thanks Grizzy!

Week 2 summary: Pretty similar to Week 1, other than the crazy dinner on Thursday. Which honestly wasn't that crazy other than the beer (small portions, lots of protein) but was a lot of fun and was really a nice "cheat" meal overall. Food: 8753/9000 calories, 508/450 g protein. Excluding Thursday cheat times from the count, success. Workouts: 3 sessions on Mon, Wed, Sat. Success! Walks: 8/8 points (eight short walks). Needing to plan for an extra walk on some days has been really good for getting my schedule pulled together, and the walks have been great for keeping my head on straight. Also went for a hike with my husband on Sunday (3 months of marriage, also split a fancy beer on our porch!) Productivity time: 6/6 days (again, not counting Thursday!) Thank you for the great encouragement, I'm feeling a lot better (mostly) but am definitely excited to see changes over the upcoming months! The weekend was great, but this week has had a bad start--I had a kink in my back yesterday, and I woke up with back pains and stiffness in my back, shoulders and neck. I skipped my workout this morning in case it's injured and then did some upper-back-opening yoga tonight. I also just sort of fell apart this afternoon/evening, I think PMS-related. Mostly resolved by getting my butt into the kitchen and cooking, which relaxed me quite a bit, and then having some of my tasty ice cream! (with yoga time in between).

Get thee to the gym, Jerem! Maybe you are there RIGHT NOW! (Great week, keep it up!!)

Yay, you're doing awesome, kicking butt with those pushups! Good luck on your run tomorrow!

Exercise is supposed to be good for your immune system, so even if you can't go to your maximum level, try to take yourself out for a walk or do very light stretching (maybe avoid anything where your head is upside down!) or whatever else makes sense for you. Take care of yourself and don't overdo it, but also just get moving a bit if you can! I'm terrible at taking this advice when I just want to stay in bed all day, so maybe I'll need you to kick me out of bed later this year. Feel better!

I feel like there's a joke in here somewhere about sustainability and development being the class you weren't able to spend the time on today (at least so far?)

Unclutterer and Lifehack both have some great time management information (unless you spend all your time reading about time management... )

Oh man, I didn't realize that I hadn't posted a status update yet this week! Good thing I have you around, Jerem! My eating is tracking well so far, despite a beer tasting evening last night. Tonight is my fancy beer-pairing dinner, which is just going to be a time for enjoying food and good company, not worrying about calories or anything (other than not wanting to get super drunk, ha). The food menu does look pretty protein/veggie focused, which I'm excited about from a taste perspective along with any potential nutrition things. I'm planning to be good about my food intake at lunch today but basically not count today as part of my week when grading. I'm at 5/8 walks for the week. It's rainy today, and I have a pretty packed schedule, so I will plan on fitting in one walk today and having a double-walk Friday! Strength training is on track, completed workouts on Monday and Wednesday. Given the big dinner tonight (late night, lots of food/beer), I am planning to do my third workout on Saturday morning instead of torturing myself tomorrow. I've been good about putting the time into getting stuff done each day, although at varying levels of actual effectiveness. Tonight is just not happening, due to said big dinner. Same plan as with the food--I'm planning to just not count today in this goal. I'll do the same thing with the conference later this month and possibly some other evening-consuming plans, since feeling guilty about times when I am actually busy is not really the point of trying to form this habit! Overall, I'm feeling a lot more excited about fitness than I have in a long time. I know this is the honeymoon phase, but I'm optimistic about it lasting for a while...

Yay, way to avoid two bad ones in a row! That seems like the key!

Haha, it's starting to seem that way, now that I'm getting to know what your goals are! Thanks for stopping in!

Some days are just hard, don't kick yourself too much! And kick butt today!!

Yay, you're doing great this week! How did you prepare the black beans and pepper? I'm looking for some good protein-y lunch options to mix things up a bit, and that sounds like it has potential! Is your life quest about eating out under a certain number of times? I don't know how frequently you weigh yourself, but if it's most days (or even every few days), maybe you could try tracking with a moving average. I'm weighing myself most mornings right now, for various reasons, and I keep track on a spreadsheet that averages 7 days at a time in the next column, which smooths out the spikes and dips quite a bit.

I hate lunges too! I'm not at the point yet to tell whether it's something that will go away as I get better balance and stronger legs, or if it's just something fundamentally awful about them. Maybe both! Keep up the awesome work!

Right now, my primary weapon of choice is diet. My secondary weapon (and the weapon of my future) is strength training, with my bodyweight or lifting heavy things or some combination like I'm doing now. I'd love to learn a bunch of different skills and am currently establishing basic strength and working to lighten the load to help decrease the challenge of learning skills in the future. Badass on both the running and the lifting!

Nice first week! You'll pick up steam on the studies, I'm sure!