MsLouise

Haha! Hi! Sorry to hear your foot is acting up, take good care of yourself. I've been banned from the treadmill for now (my knee is such a demanding princess!). How are you coming with your other goals?

Targaryen, you've got to stop comparing yourself to dragons. In human terms, you are AMAZING. You have been a total machine with your exercise, and you've seen big improvements in your circuit time and other performance stats, which is awesome. You are also killing your food goal almost all of the time! I blame midweek slump for this. I seem to get a bit down in the middle of each challenge week and then come back up again. I know you'll come up again. Make yourself something delicious and healthy to soothe your spirit and reinvigorate your body. Me, I'm chowing down on some cauliflower risotto, and it is freaking delicious. I also love a nice green smoothie when I need a pick-me-up. Ohhh, pizza. I've been so good about my allowed nonplan meals, having them be just barely off plan, that your pizza is making me drool. Maybe this weekend I'll really splurge on a nonplan meal. Or not. It's up to me! Get back at it tomorrow, Ripley!

Bwahahaha! Um, there are people for whom that's resting?! I know there are, but I think that's going to take me a while. That said, maybe we should work on our downward dog? I know there's a Jason Crandell class for it. The only time I felt like I had mine "right" was in an iyengar class with very active correction and a teacher whose instructions made total sense for me. I remember what she said, but haven't been able to duplicate that feeling of stability in the pose since then. Yay for yoga variety, and for shavasana! I'm with you, I so look forward to how I feel after doing yoga.

Way to go! Side planks for 45 seconds?! Your arm and core strength is amazing, well done. Most of my exercises just got downgraded to baby my delicate flower of a knee, so I am in awe of your strength. What's a judo stretching routine? In my head, I'm totally picturing two people holding on at your feet and head and pulling, but I'm pretty sure that's not it.

WOOT! I am so impressed with you for doing a morning workout, and meeting all your goals yesterday! You are really developing some great momentum.

Oh, Wednesdays, you are my least favorite day. I'm planning to either grab healthy sandwiches and go to the park tonight, or cook something special after work to brighten my day. I'm exhausted, despite getting a really solid amount of sleep this week. I'm just tired, it will pass. Thankfully, the zombie apocalypse has not appeared on our block yet, so it's ok to be tired right now. Honestly, the only thing keeping me from falling back into eating unhealthy stuff right now is knowing that I'd have to count it and report it here. Instead, I'm having leftover ginger lemongrass meatballs and some fruit for lunch. Maybe a green smoothie later. I had a physical therapy appointment this morning where we adjusted everything to deal with my sad knee, which is frustrating but also good. It is very encouraging to have new exercises I can do and know that I'll be able to stay active without hurting myself. I also found a bunch of injured knee yoga classes at yoga glo, so I'm planning to try those as I can. You're right, paddling is something that doesn't involve my knee at all! I'd love to get Igor out for a maiden voyage, but we're not quite ready yet (no paddles, etc). We'll get there soon. We will probably initially focus on area lakes, as most of our local rivers are either icky or are part of the watershed and therefore closed to recreational activities. There is a beautiful river I know our kayak could handle that runs past my uncle's back door (about 90 minutes from us), so I imagine that will be one of our first. I'm really looking forward to it. I can't imagine being able to balance on the squishy kayak floor while on the water, but you can bet I'll attempt some in-kayak yoga poses anyway. I'll keep you posted on how things go at the yoga basics, I'm really hoping they'll know how to deal with my knee. It would be incredible to learn a yoga flow and/or modifications/substitutions that work for me so I can eventually go back to the power vinyasa class. Thanks, Oshika. I am so excited for us all to finish this challenge strong. I wish we could have a picnic in the park together to celebrate at the end.

Yes, it's possible. My stomach measurement regularly goes up and down by 3" suddenly, probably has a lot to do with water retention and other variable factors.

Much as I know that everyone who ever taught me anything probably could have used stiff drink during, I *think* Ripley may be asking about whether to allow 1 drink/day until school starts back up, not "Can I drink on the job?" I guess it depends on where you're coming from. If you were at 3x drinks/day before the challenge, then 1x/day is a great change. If you were at more like 5-7x/week, then dropping to 3x/week for the challenge seems more reasonable. Which thing will you feel better about having done at the end of the week?

Congrats on making to into week three! Yes! Let's get there! The over-my-head class I went to last Friday was chock full of handstand masters, and prepping for that might be something my knee can handle right now. When I was young, I remember being able to pull myself up into a handstand from a face down flat position and hold it for a small while, maybe I can get that back. I'll be sure to ask if they can work with me on prep poses for handstands at my basics class this weekend. That's interesting that they've all felt so similar. It may turn out that you like a lot of variety in your yoga styles. I was also thinking of doing meditation in a future challenge, but then I've been enjoying short guided meditations at yoga so much that I tried one on my own last night as pre-bed relaxation. It was beneficial, but I definitely have some work to do on reducing outside distractions. Ooh, can't wait to hear what the yoga for backpackers is like! Have fun!

You are making progress! The scale is a big liar, and is less reliable than most of my high-school boyfriends, which is saying something. Celebrate your victories, and ignore that silly scale. I sometimes ignore my tape measure, too. My stomach measurement can easily change by 3" and back suddenly, but I know that overall the numbers are trending downward. I am enjoying a yummy frozen banana smoothie right now. Hope you're having a great day!

Congrats on sixteen days in! Way to go! I know, Warrior III is kicking my ass right now. Mine has gotten worse and worse. Keep at it, we'll get there! Hey, the boxes could always be worse! As a book nerd, I know book boxes are heavy, but I promise you that moving geologists and record collectors is even worse.

Welp, good news and bad news. Doctor says tendonitis (which I already struggle with in my arms) in my patellar tendon, probably contributed to by the fact that my knee is too loose. That's the bad news, plus of course feeling frustrated at having to totally revamp everything to stay active while resting it. Good news is the universe clearly took me at my word when I said: So now I get to put my money where my mouth is and kill this challenge by focusing on my health and not on how many squats I can do, or how hard I can work out. You can bet I will be putting extra focus on my food, and on learning what healthy exercises I can do that won't aggravate my knee. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not happy about this, but I do view it as something I will overcome. In other good news, this means it's time for some payback at my physical therapy! Bwahaha! They're always rewarding me for being awesome by making things harder, and now I get to turn the tables on them. Now they not only have to help me come up with a modified routine that addresses the original problem (sciatica), but they have to do it while taking care of my knee. That'll show them for being good at their jobs. If anyone has ideas for warm-up exercises, bring them on! Treadmill, elliptical, and stationary bike are all out. I need a way to warm up to do the exercises I can still do that isn't weight bearing, and doesn't aggravate my knee or my sciatic nerve, and no, I don't have access to a pool. Hahahaha! Ash, we really are peas in a ridiculous pod. My husband actually had to get my scary dad on the phone to threaten me into going to the hospital when that kidney stone happened. I had my gallbladder out two and a half years ago, and waited to have it out until I thought I was going to die every time I ate anything. Melyssa, that story about your date is too funny! That must have made a big impression. My understanding is that your knee(s)(?) is not flexible, or is there something else going on with it? Maybe we should have a knee-modifying yoga thread? I am pretty cranky about having to give my advanced yoga class a rest, but I am still going to my basics class on Saturday and hoping they'll be willing to work with what I can do, because giving up yoga class until this is better is something I'd really, really like to avoid. I am totally with you about doing the smart body aware version of Never Give Up! Never Surrender! Oh, the funny things we do when our brains don't work right. If you think MY organization is amazing, check out AshPS's thread--she plans out her grocery shopping in advance for an entire month. That's some organization right there. Good for you for recognizing what was going on the second time! I was...less smart than that on my second go round, but in my defense, my grandfather had just died and I was pretty sleep deprived, so I thought I was just dragging when my 3/4 mile walk home from school took me almost two hours and had me walking bent in half. After my third go-round, I got crazy hydrated and haven't had them since. You? I'm making another appointment at physical therapy to get started on modifying exercises for my sad knee, and I'll be thinking hard about food this week. If my exercise will be getting less intense, it may be time to step up my game with what I'm eating.

Thanks for the comic relief, you guys! I don't know why all these writhing on the floor stories are hilarious, but they totally are. I'm putting on my big girl panties and going to the doctor now, wish me luck!

Ditto what Raev said. Check with your doctor. Could be nothing, could be something, could be minor muscle issue, could be a treatable problem. As a fellow GI sufferer, I can report that I have terrifying stabby pains in my lower right abdomen that turned out to be my colon spasming, and it did used to freak out when my abdomen was stretched long. It's controlled by medicine now, thankfully.

Congratulations on a great week two! I love that you've found a yoga that works for you. I'm laughing in sympathy with your changed level of tolerance! I went from having a pretty high tolerance to being a total lightweight after my gallbladder came out, which isn't one of the things associated with that but happened anyway, and had a pretty embarrassing hangover as a result. re: food guilt, look forward! You can't change the past, but you can take charge of the future. Holy cow, wait, you're an ACTUAL rockstar! You are so brave for doing karaoke in public. Cheers to a great week three!

Well, the knee thing is more serious than I realized. Grrr. I will take appropriate care of it while still rocking my challenge. My husband rightly pointed out tonight that I could stand to work on paying attention to stuff that hurts before it gets really bad. What an idea. I think I just assume that life is painful, and that anything that isn't cripplingly painful will just get better on its own, which it doesn't always. This would be why I didn't notice my first kidney stone until I started crawling around on the floor because I couldn't stand up anymore, and even then, I was like, "I'm fine! I don't know why I'm on the floor, I'm sure it will get better!" I also need to work on separating out painful stuff. I tend to lump all the pains together and go into system shutdown rather than trying to think about each one and ask whether there are pains that are traceable to a specific cause and/or are new or unusual. Bwahaha! Cavemom, I am with you on that whole pre-planning thing. Planning can be good, but I do tend to overplan. My husband and I are totally in the opposites attract camp. I can tell you right now what I'm doing every weekend from now till October, while my impulsive husband has trouble letting me know what time he will be done with work every day with more than five minutes of notice. Hey Artemis, you too! Heading on over to your thread(s) to see how you're doing. Thanks, Elastoman. Now you've got me wondering how they'd taste if I added bacon fat and then braised them. Hmmmm. Melyssa, I can't wait to see paddleboard pictures, yoga or not! Far as I'm concerned, standing up on it IS yoga. I tried Warrior III at the gym today, but didn't do so well. Then I tried eagle pose and realized it hurts my knee. Hmpf. I will definitely be working on finding yoga I can do that will help my body and not hurt it. Well, it's frequently a bass-ackwards pod, but I'm glad to be in such good company! It always makes sense at the time, right? Like, "I have finals and my doctor is in a different town and my knee will probably be fine!" YES, so very irritating. Learning to operate within my physical limits is a lesson I will be re-learning over and over. Thank you, Darwins Demon. House Stark is the best!

Way to go on week two! You have been so consistent with your exercise. Is it time for a healthy reward? Two more ideas for your Friday night side quest: musical events and theatre. I don't know about where you live, but our town is full of various musical and theatrical performances. I especially like the more formal ones rather than shows at bars as they are less centered around food and drink. Keep it up in week three!

Congrats on the start of week three! About the pictures...you know, I have a hard time looking at pictures of myself and get pretty negative about them. BUT. We've been going through old family pictures with my Grandma lately, and seeing how the pictures bring back memories for her has helped me realize they're not really about how I look, they're sometimes about having these memories for the future. My dear husband is a photographer, and I struggle constantly with him always taking my picture. He made me a book filled with ten years of my/our outdoor adventures for my birthday, and while I do struggle with hating how I look in the pictures, it's also pretty cool to see all the amazing outdoor things we've done in that time. Anyway, what I think I'm trying to say is, take the pictures! You'll enjoy them someday. Keep it up in week three!

WOOT! That is made of win! Keep it up!

Hey Arya! Look at you running like the wind and crushing the yoga! So proud of you for all the progress. You'll be ready to outrun the white walkers by the time winter comes. What poses are you working on with the yoga? Ha! Clearly we will need a map-reading team member to help us navigate the frozen north. I don't so much have spatial skills, but my impaired map reading isn't consistent, so you can't just always go the opposite of the direction I think it is. re: the new things goal, what ideas do you have, or what areas are you looking to explore? Way to go on week two! Can't wait to see how week three turns out.

Hahahaha! I should have known that you'd have a yoga hammock up your sleeve! Of course you do. You're also earning bonus inspiration points from me in the keeping the glasses on while upside down department. At this point, I wind up taking mine off once I get sweaty 'cause they'll just fall off anyway. Of course, then I can't see the teacher in yoga class anymore, but blurry yoga is better than no yoga. Although your omgym looks amazing, I'm going to give the antigravity yoga a pass while I'm working on my actual challenge goals. There's only so much stuff I can focus on at one time, and I have enough concerns about it to put the idea on a shelf to age while I get stronger. Your knee had better be improving, as mine is being a little gimp. Eagle pose is off the menu right now, and ice is back. I'm not sure which of the things made my knee so mad. Could have been Friday's power vinyasa class, in which I learned that the power vinyasa classes at my studio are NOT all created equal. I mean, it's good to have something to aspire to, but that was yoga way beyond my pay grade. You'd have loved that class, it was full of handstands and upside down moves. It did motivate me to finally sign up for a yoga basics class. That's awesome that you're branching out! It's all about fit. I just learned that one of the teachers at my studio is iyengar trained, so I'm planning to take one of his classes soon.

Hey House Stark! I'm using an icing break to check in here (nothing major, just a flared up knee). I did my week two roundup and update over at my thread, in which I told the numbers on my scale to suck it. I'm still re-tooling and adjusting throughout this process. For example, despite the warnings of my bendy yoga friend that the Friday class might be too much, we went. So much ow. I thought I could hang, but that was a seriously advanced class and I wound up attempting yoga that was way beyond my pay grade. Luckily, I didn't cause any lasting harm, but that wake-up call led me to finally sign up for a yoga basics class next Saturday. I'm thrilled to see so many doing so well! Those cupcakes are like temptation ninjas, I totally empathize. Congrats on declining the night out and on being such an exercise beast! So much word. I swear, I think hormones are the root of much evil. Hello, extra stretchy tendons and other icky crap? Oh, right, it's that time again. You are totally slaying your exercise goals, and I am beyond impressed. Congrats, Sacculina! That's something to celebrate for real. @Arya, this was a little bit back in the thread, but re: the morning quiet workout stuff, I don't have much advice for workouts that don't cause a need for showering, but...is there any way to work in a shower? Are there any super cheap gyms near your work? Sometimes if I exercise outside of the gym, I still use my gym as a showering facility as it's easier than going home. The other thing I do if there's no way to work a shower in is to do quiet yoga, like hatha, that won't make me sweat like crazy. Lastly, a message to MIA pack members: we miss you! If any of our House Stark folks who haven't checked in for a while are lurking, please know that we're here to support you and would love to hear from you. A check-in that says you're struggling is miles better than no check-in at all. We are a third of the way there!

Hi! I wanted to add my voice to those cheering you on about the cigarettes! Two weeks without them is a tremendous success, and I salute you. And to take that on while working on other stuff, well, that makes you a big damn hero in my book. Well done.

Welcome back, Melyssa! We have a saying around our house that goes: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear." Sounds like you and your gear rocked this weather challenge! I love it when the tent stands up to real rain. Your paddleboarding sounds amazing. I'm so impressed with your balance and strength in getting out there on your board! Surely those paddleboarding muscles will translate into your yoga practice. Yep, what Metalhead said.

Hey Elastoman! I so hear you about the scheduling stuff. To clarify, are Fridays and Saturdays the only days you work that early? If so, maybe you could give yourself a pass on those days. You've gotta do what works for you. Obviously, that will be different from anyone else, but I'll admit right now there is no way in heck in could get my ass out of bed earlier than 6 unless there's a serious motivator involved. If there is such a thing, I think I'm a broad day person. I get up early but am super cranky about it, and crash hard at night. My productive and awake time is really midmorning to mid afternoon/early evening. Thanks for the kind words re: reflecting. I am finding it really helpful. I'm relieved to hear that you'll still post occasional details about food. I have to say, your food posts have really inspired me to get back into cooking in a healthy way and explore the wide world of meat that isn't beef, chicken, and pork! In fact, I'm going to go ahead and credit you for inspiring me to seek out ground lamb and make these amazing lemongrass meatballs! They're pretty darn tasty, and the braised leeks were great, too. I know what you mean about the privilege of eating good food. I am so grateful to be in a position to feed myself things that are so good for my body. Looking at a plate full of delicious and nourishing food is so satisfying, and I do not take it for granted. How fun to work in that field! We'll be house sitting for some friends with a great garden next week, and I am already drooling at the thought of harvesting some tomatoes and blackberries. Hope the camping was great! Mad props on getting your run AND weight workout done on the same day. How's the advanced stretching routine working for you? I stretch, but it's a patchwork of stuff I made up and things I learned at yoga.