twilson

Hey, I'm still here, but I just haven't been posting. Let's see, two and a half weeks left in this challenge. I can make something out of that. I haven't been sticking to the strict sleep schedule. I need to get back on that. It was really helping a lot, just that one change. Forcing myself to turn off the computer and go to bed on time is the tricky part for me, not getting up since I moved the alarm across the room. In the evening though, I am at home alone and mostly sitting at the computer. I have been focusing a lot on being more productive at work and been finding success in that. I'm not really enjoying it much more, but I'm at least getting more done and that does help somewhat. I started talking with my manager about a few work related things and that helped me start on a more productive track. Also, just this week, I started using a web browser extension to block several time-wasting sites during work hours so I'd have to keep focusing on more productive ways to spend my time. That has helped me get through a long list of items I needed to get done this week. I've also been doing some reading. I read through the Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. I'm not really interested in being an entrepreneur like him, but there's also lot of advice and encouragement about reducing waste in your life (surfing the web at work) and just plain having more fun. I need more fun. I work way too much. I've been saying I need a day off for weeks now and haven't taken one. I'm sure I'll be revisiting parts of the book again and again as I keep trying to change my life for the better. I also just picked up another of his books, the Four Hour Chef. It's a book about learning new skills quickly with cooking as the main example. I love to learn and I need better cooking skills. Win win. I haven't read too far into the book yet though. Also, for this month, a Bible study is meeting at my house this month on Wednesday nights. I really need that social activity. Tonight has been mostly surfing the web and reading and sitting around. I'm tired and unmotivated. So, back to the strict sleep schedule tonight and trying to relax before bed. Oh, Monday night, I was awoken by a hung web server that didn't want to reboot. I feel like I'm still trying to catch up from that. I've not been getting eight hours each night. Sometimes, my mind also just goes around in circles. I love to play games, but I play too much. I want to do more productive/healthy things with my time, but I don't know what I want to do. If I give in and play games with all my free time though, I will feel guilty for wasting so much time. And so I sit and do nothing instead and it goes downhill from there. It's crazy, I need to break out. That's been going on for years and it needs to stop. P.S. It took a good week and a half after the filling was adjusted for the soreness to go away completely, but my mouth is feeling good again.

So I started those jumping jacks last night. Admittedly, it's not much. I'm going to kick it up to 45. I went to the office this morning aiming to get a few more hours of work in and I only managed an hour and 20 minutes. Then I got to a stopping point and didn't want to work anymore. This is a big area I need to work on during this challenge. I'm not enjoying my job. I'm not as productive as I need to be. I'm hoping that non work-related goals I'm making will help influence a more positive attitude at the office, but I also think I should make a goal or two that are directly related to work. Time to go fulfill mini quest 1 and recruit a couple of sidekicks. I am also aiming to decide on another small change sometime this weekend. I'm just going to keep taking small steps forward in whatever way I can. What I need from others is continual encouragement to keep fighting to level up my life. I've been fighting these problems for years and it's way past high time to start winning.

I was going to post this last night, but the forum was down. I'm glad it's back now. Just knowing that there are people here to encourage me is helping a lot. The stricter sleep schedule the past few nights has felt like a good first step. Just that tiny extra bit of self-discipline and rest goes a long way. I did accidentally sleep in an hour past my alarm this morning though. So, I’m moving it across the room. No more of that. I’ve been thinking hard about what my next steps should be. I’ve been re-reading many Nerd Fitness blog entries and not coming up with much. My thoughts are scattered about what direction I want to go next. With the weekend here, I have plenty of time to work on setting some goals for the coming weeks. I do have to go to work tomorrow for about 4 hours though to catch up on some hours I missed. So, I will just make this one small commitment for tonight. 1. Do 30 jumping jacks after I get up in the morning and 30 more when I get home from work. Just a little something to get my blood going for a bit and help shake off that “I’m tired†feeling.

Yes, there was some procrastination. I did not get a full week's worth of work in last week. I was feeling very unmotivated and had two dental appointments last week in the middle of that. I finished up the majority of my work for that project today finally. I just need to do a bit more testing and deploy it to the demo server. I think it would definitely be worthwhile to go back and reflect on the project this weekend and write up a quick post mortem to share with the project manager. We rarely do post mortems where I work, but we really should be doing them a lot. I've been sticking to my sleep goal the past two nights. I've been doing some reading and making myself a nice hot drink before bed. Tuesday night though I slept very poorly. That was the day I got a 4th filling and they adjusted the other filling that was giving me trouble. I woke up in the middle of the night with my jaw killing me. I had to take some ibuprofen to get back to sleep. Work on Wednesday was pretty unproductive thanks to that. I took another right before bed last night to make sure I could sleep and I slept pretty well last night. I'm looking forward to another good night of rest tonight. The jaw is still bothering me somewhat, but it's getting better. Just focusing on one small goal to start with has definitely been a lot easier than trying to change too much at once. I shall keep aiming for a slow, but constant improvement over the course of this 6-week challenge, adding another small change whenever I feel ready. Today was my most productive day at work in at least the past 2 weeks. Partly because I had to get that work done today and partly because I felt decent. It was also today and I went for a short walk in the middle of the afternoon.

My dentist appointment went fine today and they adjusted the one filling that was giving me trouble. Hopefully that will feel fine in a couple of days. Thanks for your words of encouragement terosx. I think that's what I really need the most right now, help in breaking bad habits and forming much healthier ones. I live by myself so it's all too easy to hide at home, play games all the time, and not take care of the things I should be taking care of. So I think I will start with the goal of enforcing more strict sleep habits. I'm not a night-owl or a late sleeper, but they could still use improving. The stress does also cause me to not sleep well some nights. It can take me 30 minutes to an hour to fall asleep sometimes. I like rising early and going to the office early so here's what I'm going to aim for the rest of the week. 1. Go to sleep at 9:30 PM every night and get up at 5:30 AM every morning, including Saturday and Sunday. 2. Make sure the computer is off by 9 PM and spend the last 30 minutes doing something to relax and get my brain to stop. I think that's all I can commit to tonight. I didn't have any lunch today so I'm pretty tired already. I'm so sick of eating out and that doesn't make it any easier to get through the work day. I think bringing healthy lunches to work should be my next goal after I get into a more regular sleep cycle. I could probably manage something good for lunch by Friday. I will keep posting here once a day. Just having people to talk to helps me feel not so alone.

I don't know if I should be in here since I did so poorly on my first challenge. http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/34519-twilson-stepping-up-to-the-line/ I'm not sure where to begin, but I want put forth some very different challenges this time. I believe I did so poorly on the first challenge because I'm struggling so deeply with two much larger issues, depression and stress. These aren't directly diet or fitness related, but they are certainly health related. I feel like crap most days when I should be taking over the world. Main Quest - Battle the Depression Demon Depression kinda runs in my family. I've never talked to a doctor about it. I have no desire to take anti-depression meds. That would probably make things worse. I want to work it out naturally. Goals 1. Document what I get depressed about. Sometimes, I don't even know why I'm feeling so down, and that's the toughest part. 2. Research and do many different things to fight depression. 3. Get help from other people. Maybe start talking with a professional, talk with real-life friends, and of course make and talk to friends on this forum. Second Quest - Battle the Stress Demons <-- plural :-( Goals: 1. Document what I get stressed about. Work of course, but more specific than that. 2. Sit down with anyone directly related to the things I'm stressed about and come up with ways to mitigate or solve the stress. 3. Seek out and experiment with methods for dealing with stress (massage therapy, a hot bath, chamomile tea, etc...) So, here goes Day 1. I get depressed about the fact that I'm still single. I turn 30 my next birthday. I live in a small town with few options. I moved here 3 years ago to keep my job from a larger town 90 minutes away where most of my friends are. I've made a few friends here other than co-workers, but it's not easy for me. And then I feel like I'm not even emotionally stable enough to have a spouse and I get more depressed. This subject probably isn't the best place to start this thread, but oh well, it's the easiest thing for me to write about right now. And since I get depressed so easily, I don't often visit that other town to see my friends. Just yesterday, I was supposed to go to a friend's wedding, but it was 2 hours away and I was in a terrible mood. I stayed home and gorged on junk food instead. I played a lot of Borderlands 2 last weekend as well. Though when I'm really depressed and/or stressed out, even gaming is not enjoyable. On the stress side, I've been working on a small API the past couple of days to support a mobile app. We have a short deadline, this Friday, and we're still discussing application flow, API details, design, etc. And I feel the mobile app developer is being demanding about progress on the API, asking me tons of questions, and asking for too many changes. I really should've had it done sooner. Today would've been nice, Last Friday would've been even better. I got 2/3 of the way through today though and I couldn't handle project work anymore. I had to go work on something else that wasn't stressful. I was literally working on server documentation. It doesn't get more boring than that. Another big stress item right now, dental work. Two weeks ago, I had a sore where I bit my mouth that really hurt and I also got a small infection at the same time. That led to my first trip to the dentist in 10 years or so. Some antibiotics and I was on my way. That led to a cleaning and exam last week and 3 fillings on Wednesday. That went fine, but at least one filling needs adjusting and my mouth has been sore since. I'm going back tomorrow for one more filling and to get the others hopefully adjusted correctly. It's made eating awkward and has not made me happy. So, there it is. I really need encouragement and advice from everyone here to help me win these battles. I believe I need to start winning these battle before I can start making progress on diet and exercise goals.

I wish I had done better on this challenge, but this challenge didn't try to address the two main issues I'm struggling with right now and so was ineffective. Those two issues would be stress and depression. Stress from work and depression about my life in general. If don't address those issues, no challenge I put forth will be successful. I can barely enjoy the games that I play because of this. I'm a total mess on the weekends when I don't even have work to keep me occupied. Basic house chores are a challenge. I need help. I need some direction.

Well, hit my main quest, but didn't make any progress on my goals really. I've got to buckle down and do better this week. Maybe near the end of the challenge, I'll try Mickinnick again and see if I can do it faster.

Day 7 I went to Mickinnick yesterday with a few friends and they would not let me do any less than all the way, so we made it to the top. It was brutal. 2 hours and 20 minutes up, half that going down. http://sdrv.ms/16uHdAl

Day 4 I would've ridden my bike to work today, but I had guests over tonight and I didn't want to get sweaty on the way home with no time to shower beforehand. I was unmotivated for breakfast and I was tidying up some before work for my guests so Starbucks again. It's a terrible habit. It's literally a block from the office. Lunch was better than yesterday though. Another pita, but I also got a soda to drink. On the pitas, I get meat pitas and load it up with tons of veggies. No cheese or sauce, but I guess the pita itself isn't exactly paleo either. Dinner went great. I made some baked chicken with bell peppers and carrots. My guests loved it. They brought some scalloped potatoes. I forgot to take a picture before we ate it, but here was the last of it. http://sdrv.ms/12KlHZj It's all gone now.

Day 3 Would've ridden my bike to work today, but got up later than I like so of to Starbucks again for breakfast. For lunch, I was feeling really unmotivated and just had some junk food. Dinner was good. More chicken and raw veggies. Still haven't worked out.

Day 2 / 42 Diet was better. Eggs with chopped bell pepper and bacon for breakfast. A pita loaded with meat and veggies (no cheese or sauce) for lunch. And for dinner, I finished off the chicken and broccoli from the night before and added some canned yams. I did still go to Starbucks in the afternoon for a blueberry scone. I have such a sweet tooth. Didn't workout or ride my bike at all yet.

Will do. Even just a little ways up there's a great viewpoint so the top should be grand. Day 1 / 42 Diet was not great. Starbucks for breakfast. Arby's for lunch, roast beef sandwich and chocolate turnover. :-) Went back to Starbucks in the afternoon for a smoothie. It's walking distance from the office so it's really dangerous. Dinner was good. Well, decent. Some overcooked chicken with broccoli and cucumber on the side. Only water to drink. I did also invite a couple of friends over for dinner Thursday night so progress on the life quest. I've got to figure out what to cook now.

Main Quest - Hike to the top of the Mickinnick Trail Head. 3.5 miles one-way and 2150' elevation change. I tried it a couple of months ago and was surprised when I only made it .8 miles and 400 feet up. Goals 1 - Do the beginner bodyweight workout 3 times a week. 2 - Eat paleo for breakfast and at least one other meal each day (i.e. Stop going to Starbucks for breakfast) 3 - Ride my bike 10 miles per week. Life Quest - Invite some guests over at least once per week. I need to practice being more social and maybe it will help motivate me to cook a bit more and keep my house clean on a more regular basis. Motivation I am a software developer so I sit at a computer all day. Then I go home and sit at a computer all evening. I'm tired. I'm unmotivated. I put on a few pounds in places I'd rather not.

I am struggling with eating healthy. On a typical work day, Starbucks for breakfast, eat out for lunch and not much for dinner. I don't plan ahead on grocery shopping or cooking and I eat whatever is available. I'm 6 foot about 175, so not overweight, but turning some fat into muscle would be nice. I have no energy and just don't feel very good. I'm a software developer so I sit in a chair all day, then I go home and sit in a chair all night and play computer games. My current goals are to phase out my horrible diet and learn to shop, cook and eat healthier so I feel better and can be more productive. I think I'd also like to start out with the beginner body weight workout. That looks like a good place for me to start loosening up and become more active. I'm looking forward to joining the next 6-week challenge in a few weeks. I am concerned about my neck, shoulders and back. They're pretty much always bothering me. Whether it's stress tightening my muscles, a crick in my neck or just general discomfort. I'm only 29 so they definitely shouldn't feel like that. I should probably go see my doctor first before I start doing too much. I do have a friend and former co-worker who is also into nerd fitness and the paleo diet and he's going to help me get going.