Reinfire

Well, good news! so far, this week has been going much better; I've stuck with my meal plan except for the addition of a small bag of popcorn last night at the movies, and that didn't tip me over 1500 calories Now that it's finally warming up I tried going for a walk before work for the last few days, instead of trying to work out after work, and I've felt like my energy and mood is a lot higher and it's less of a struggle to keep up with them. Every year around this time it seems like my workouts get easier when I'm able to do cardio out in nature without freezing my butt off... hmmm, maybe come next fall I'll need to find ways to bundle up so I can keep up this momentum throughout the whole year

So, half way through the challenge update: Workouts: I'm keeping up on staying active, going on walks, etc. The additions of yoga and biking haven't quite made it into my routine, partially because it's rather chilly outside still (I've subbed in a stationary bicycle workout for one of the weeks), but generally between being sick this weekend and lots of social things going on I haven't made it a priority. Yes, I'm trying to avoid saying "I don't have time"; I have time, I've let other things push these off my priority list Meal prepping: the actual prepping has been going well, I'm still in the nasty habit of snacking on top of that over and above my calorie goal - curse you, work potlucks! Like I mentioned in my last post though, I'm finding lots of veggies and distracting myself to be very helpful. I'm all packed for my lunches for this week with healthy, filling food so I really want to tighten up on my calories this week! Confidence: I've essentially finished my first undershirt. Admittedly I should do another hemline around the neck and arms to make sure they don't fray, but I'm able to wear it to work. I feel like I learned a lot on this first one and didn't get so down on myself or frustrated when things didn't go my way, and I also learned a lot to make my next one better.

Welp now this is all I can picture "No I'm fine, just sitting in my chair, nothing to see here..."

That all sounds awesome @Mahalak! Thanks for the recommendations The last week has gone smoothly in terms of working out and working on building new skills, but my food intake...yikes! I've wavered back and forth between a small deficit (~2000 calories) and right at about maintenance, so on the plus side I'm not gaining weight, but also, y'know, not making much progress either. Today's actually the first day I've been at my 1500 calorie goal, and the secret was LOTS OF VEGETABLES. I can have an entire steak, feta, and blueberry salad for 300 calories, or my normal starbucks espresso + syrup drink for 240. Admittedly today I had both, but also spent the last couple of hours trying to distract myself from eating more and going over my calories for the day. So, distraction and veggies seems to do the trick! If anyone else has tips though I'm all ears!

Awesome! Do you have any recommendations of things to do, places to see, etc? My husband grew up there but he moved to the US when he was a teen, so he doesn't know how it's changed or what to do as an adult We've been bookmarking in Google everything that looks interesting within about an hour, so like Lynn Canyon, Capilano cliffwalk, horshoe bay and taking the ferry to Bowen Island.... it's hard because we're only there for a few days and there's SO MUCH to do we're having a hard time prioritizing

Wow, you're definitely playing life on hard mode Those look like great goals to get back to where you want to be!

Ugh - my coworkers need to stop offering me fast food! It's been awhile since I've eaten out and man there just doesn't seem to be a lot of low-cal options. I've been trying to get back into intermittent with a snack-y breakfast and lunch as my main meal, so lunch is usually 7-800 calories, but the amount of fast food you can get for that many calories is just sad. So mental note - if I'm gonna do the eating out thing I need to log the calories FIRST, that is not a pleasant surprise Tonight I got to work on one of my sewn tank tops. I installed my new sewing needle, got everything ready (I made a pattern off a tank top that fits me and cut out the pieces in the week between challenges so I was set!), I even learned how to and successfully used french seams! It was all going great! After I finished ironing, I figured I'd try it on and take a progress pic of the difference with just the straight parts seamed and once I do the facings to clean up the bottom part and arm/neck holes. And uh...Well it didn't quite fit, was more of a crop top I guess? The fabric just wouldn't stretch at all. I was super confused since I remembered stretching it at the store and it stretched just fine. So took it off, tried to stretch it horizontally and nothing, but LOTS of stretch vertically. I didn't even think about the direction, I just cut out my pattern trying to save fabric and get as many shirts out of the couple of yards as possible. So hey! Lesson learned! Even better, I wasn't even mad when I realized my mistake, I just started cracking up laughing. Welp. I guess I have an almost complete tank top for me in like 4 or 5 sizes? And better to figure this out now than to make both of the tank tops I cut out. Though now I'm wondering what to do with the second top I already cut out - testing fabric, maybe? Or use for the binding? I'll have to think about it while I'm cutting out the next top (after checking the stretch is the right way!)

That's awesome you've been finding ways to get in exercise even when not feeling great (I'm in a similar boat!) Ugh my husband is the same way - eats a ton and doesn't really recognize that I can't keep up. Until....he decided he wanted to start calorie counting and he realized how low my number was compared to his The calorie counting hasn't stuck for him, but at least now he catches himself and will ask if I have calories left for the day instead of if I want more food

Sorry you're sick But hey at least you can knock something else off your to-do list!

And yes I know I'm a day late (whoops!) but I'm here now!

...to defeat the huns bad habits and low self-esteem. While my quests aren't as epic as almost single-handedly defeating an invading army, I love me some Mulan gifs and memes so *shrug*. Main Quest: Reach low-normal BMI (about 90 more pounds) I've gotten weekly meal prep pretty much down (thank you, Instant Pot!), but actually consistently eating that meal prep without adding in side trips, meals out, snacks at work, etc. has been difficult. So for the next logical step: Goal: 6/7 days of eating meal prepped food and 5/7 days of eating under 1500 calorie goal I also want to do a bit of training to prepare for.... a vacation. No seriously! My husband and I are taking a trip to Vancouver at the end of this challenge and have a lot of hiking, biking, and walking planned. I'm comfortable walking and hiking, but it's been a looooong time since I've been on a bike, and I don't want to get left behind on biking tours or feel anxious about riding a bike in a city. Goal: 5 workouts per week, with at least 1 bike ride, and an additional active rest day of yoga. Side quest: Build Confidence I've had an increase in anxious and repetitive/vicious cycle thoughts in the last couple years, and had a hard time with low self esteem. CBT has been a huge help in changing the most intrusive thoughts, but I still have a hard time feeling confident and handling not being good at things. So for this challenge, I'm doing a bit of exposure therapy - purposefully putting myself in low-stakes situations where I'm going to have a hard time so I can get used to laughing it off and dealing with it rather than being upset at myself for not being perfect. Goal: practice either of my new hobbies (sewing clothes and painting) for 15 minutes a day. I'd like to finish making 2 undershirts by the end of this challenge, but I'm not fully sure how long that's actually going to take, so I'm focusing on the daily practice rather than the end product (so I also can't try to rush through and do it all in the last couple days of the challenge) I'll be tracking all of these in my bullet journal along with some of my past challenges (to make sure I keep up on them ) but I also want to post in the forums (either my own thread or others') at least every other day to stay encouraged and active. Now let's do it!

I'm in a really similar boat and haven't made nearly as much progress this challenge as the last one, - we're moving forward, even if it's inch by inch, and that's still better than standing still or moving backward!

Ohhhh got it, that makes sense. Still, that's cool you tried - even though it didn't work out well, at least it's one of the options crossed off Sorry people were being jerks on facebook :/

OMG making tempeh?? That sounds so cool! I've wanted to try it but it seems so pricey, and we've enjoyed making seitan but I couldn't figure out how to make tempeh Tell us how it goes!

I can't believe it's already almost the end of this challenge! This has been flying by and I was inspired to head back to my Google Doc with the NF challenge planning info, and it was cool to realize that a couple of my main goals have already changed or been met (particularly kicking my energy drink and expensive coffee habit, and after additional planning being able to slash our South Africa visit budget in half, wooo!!) For meal prep this week I made a one pot Instant Pot dish with roasted asparagus, and this was by far the easiest and also tastiest meal prep I've done yet! I made burrito bowls but subbed in cauliflower rice for half the rice and honestly, I don't even notice the difference. I'm also varying between feta and laughing cow cheese instead of shredded cheese, so I get an amazing lunch (double portion of the recipe) that tastes probably even better than Chipotle for a meager 680 calories (including cheese and asparagus), which works out well since I'm not usually eating breakfast. On to a good rest of this week! Workouts: 13 Yoga/Stretch Sessions: 3 Calories tracked: 20/23 BONUS Calories under goal: 7 Meal Prepped: 3 Non-water Drinks: 5 YNAB updates: 2