artemiscuous

Love your challenge! For the eating in moderation thing, I've struggled with this as well. Some things that helped me are similar to what other people have said. Reminding myself that can eat more later, when it is time. Sometimes I get caught up in wanting it RIGHT NOW and it feels so urgent...but there will be another meal. It's not like I didn't know that, but for some reason, saying this to myself helps in the moment.What I eat. Quality, as you say, is key. Real foods rather than processed foods, low-fat foods, or sugar. Specifically, lots of fat. That always increases my satiety and cuts down on my portion size. After overindulging on fatty, low-sugar foods a couple of times (avocado, meat, butter, etc.), I found it so much easier to push away my plate when I was full.Mindful eating - savoring, as you say. I always want to do something else while I'm eating - read, usually, or watch TV. But taking 10-15 is so worth it.When you've finished your pre-set portion and still want more, drink some tea and then see if you're still hungry or want food. Tell yourself that you'll have it if you still want it after that. That one is so helpful to me in the moment as well.I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but those things always catch me when I'm tempted to just devour everything in the fridge. I'm in the same boat as you with the climbing stuff, but I've made it my main quest to get back to my pre-climbing break skill level! So if you do climb I'll be interested to see if you have any breakthroughs or ideas for someone in a similar position. :-) Good luck!!

Kittehs! I love! And yay for climber assassins. We can all storm the castle WITHOUT LADDERS. :-) Great job on your first day! It's so good that you are keeping your recovery in mind with all of this, and you did an amazing job by ordering tea with all those trigger foods around. It's so hard to turn your focus back to diet after recovering from disordered eating, but you are really keeping perspective and being honest with yourself about it - amazing, amazing job, girl. I also do doyogawithme - so cool! I haven't done the shoulders one yet - and I do make it my business to look for the 30 minute ones to squeeze in while little artie is napping. I'm totally going to try it, especially after such a good review from a fellow climber!

The fruit thing does suck, you guys. But the reason I believe can do it is because I can eat whatever and however much I want on Saturdays. We shall see! So I'm thinking about leveling up. I guess I will divide the points for the goals the same as last time: 1. Climbing goal (+1 STR, +2 DEX, +1 STA) 2. Workout goal (+2 STR, +1 STA) 3. Nutrition goal (+3 CON) On the life quest front, my New Year's resolutions are as follows, after considering opportunities for improvement from last year: 1. Do not embarrass or criticize others in public, even in jest. 2. Be aware of this moment. 3. Stay in touch with friends and family. 4. Practice good self-care. My physical goals are better accomplished with shorter-term goals, so I never resolve anything related to diet or exercise. However, when I find myself indulging character defects or falling into unhealthy or inconsiderate habits, I try to keep those in focus for the year. I'm also going to add a life quest that reflects one of my New Year's resolutions. I'd like to focus on both "Be aware of this moment" and "Stay in touch with friends and family" and resolve not to check my phone when in the company of others, including and especially my son. Ever. This might be difficult to do, not only because it's like a compulsion, but also because other people (*cough* my husband *cough*) do it all the time, and I usually respond by doing the same thing. So it's going to be interesting to try to strike a balance between not criticizing that kind of behavior in others (in public - the point of this goal is to have tough, honest conversations one-on-one, in private) while simultaneously not ignoring it or engaging in it myself. Anyone have any ideas on how to do this gently?

Wow, very cool goals. I like that article you linked, and I think it's very cool to see gymnastics goals used to cross-train for another discipline - I'm interested to see your progress and results! Good luck!

I love this idea! Posting in the middle of the day, as I'm doing now, often leads to "I'm going to go to the gym tonight! Yeah!" and then I don't go and never post about my failure. Lol. Ugh. Self-sabotage.

Ha, great thread title! I love people's thread titles. Probably because mine are a bit dreary. Anyway, good luck this challenge! I am hoping all your housework motivation will rub off on me :-)

Nymeria, thanks for continuing to post through rehab! I love your thread title, btw. :-) If you are like me, you have really high standards for yourself - and it sounds like it, from the "huge burden on my family" thing. I do understand! I obviously can't tell you about your family, only mine - and I know that my husband would probably not always be the most cheerful while picking up my slack in a situation like that. But at the same time, he would not want me to feel bad about it and would want me to make a full recovery! So, you know, feel your feelings, let your family feel their feelings, but keep that perspective that they love you and that your value is in your presence, not just what you physically do every day for them. Try to keep it light - which is a challenge in and of itself. As G.K. Chesterton said, "It is easy to be heavy; hard to be light." But that's something my best friend has to remind me, no joke, all the time - "Artie, stop taking yourself so seriously! It doesn't matter! It's all okay. Just be here now." I think there is another dimension to it as well - that it's been your job and now you can't physically do it. I actually do worker's comp. That's an extremely common reaction to being put out of work and often leads to injured workers being prescribed antidepressants (especially if they are in pain from the injury). So what they have found is helpful for prevention is starting a project that engages the mind fully. So for example, writing a story that requires some research, or making something that can be sold (my friend once took up carpentry when she injured her foot playing rugby and made like a million coffee tables; another one did knitting, but I could never stay focused on that). I think re-reading Harry Potter probably does that for a period of time, but of course they are over far too quickly! So anyway, just a suggestion, since you can't do L-sits 10 hours a day. :-) I think it is great to keep on doing what you can, physically, though. I bet your shoulders will be ripped by the time you get back on the wall! Anyway, again, thanks for continuing to fight the good fight! It's so good that you're being proactive. I am excited to "watch" you make a full recovery!

So I didn't lose much weight last challenge (like a pound or two maybe), although I did gain a good amount of strength and was able to level up on my climbing (from onsighting a 5.8 to a 5.9). I'm very happy with that, but I do think that to break the 5.10 barrier I need to drop some poundage. So I am going to try Tim Ferris's Slow Carb Diet from the 4 Hour Body. Other goals remain. Main Quest is to (free) climb a 5.10. 1. Climbing skills: climbing-specific workout 2x/week. A - 2x C -1x F - none times :-( 2. General fitness: workout each day. I've got a good rotation right now between climbing, HIIT, a spinning class with weights, and yoga). A - all 7 days (including active recovery day) B - 6 days C - 5 days D - 4 days F - 3 days or less. 3. Nutrition: Follow Slow Carb Diet. Rules are as follows: 1. No white carbs (dairy, grains, potatoes, etc.) 2. Eat the same few meals over and over again. 3. Do not drink calories (Tim makes an exception for red wine, and I am going to make an exception for coconut milk in my coffee). 4. No fruit. 5. One binge day per week (woo!). This will be Saturdays for me. A - Perfect week. B - Cheated on a non-cheat day. C - Cheated on 2 non-cheat days. F - Cheated more than 2 non-cheat days. I have my first week's meals ready in the fridge and freezer. Looking forward to giving this a shot!

I got that way too, towards the end. Didn't want to record anything. Low motivation. I just kind of withdrew. Part of it I think is the time of year - holidays, probably some drama, old year closing out, new year starting up - I think it ignites introspection and a certain amount of withdrawal from the public eye. But anyway, it seems like you made some great gains. In the end, I think it's important to have that perspective - you accomplished more than you would have without the challenge! And that's awesome. Selfishly I hope you do another, but you do you!

From this: 1. Rock climbing 2x/week (+1 STR, +2 DEX, +1 STA): Final grade: A, +1 STR, +2 DEX, +1 STA 2. Four workouts plus active recovery day (+2 STR, +1 STA): Final grade: B, +1 STR, +1 STA 3. Whole30 rules (+3 CON): Final grade: C, +1 CON

I'm so sorry to hear about this. And crutches do totally suck. I hope you can find a good way to take care of yourself mentally in the waiting period before surgery and the recovery period after. Working out and climbing for me are a critical part of self-care, and I know I needed a huge amount of replacement rituals to compensate when I couldn't work out. I actually wasn't great at it and ended up pretty depressed. So I guess overcompensating (at least that is how it might feel) is the way to go. Regardless, I am hoping for the best possible outcome and a speedy recovery for you, Nymeria. Also, I would totally miss your posts if you didn't keep a log. We need you!

C's across the board for my final week. Overall grades: Climbing: A- Workouts: B Nutrition: C (Whole any-amount-of-time was a big FAIL for me, psychologically) Overall: B- I'm not thrilled with my inability to stick to a 100% clean diet, but I am what I am, and it's more productive to deal with the psychological barriers that I know exist than to aspire to be someone I'm not. So tracking was better for me. The funny thing about tracking, which I did in the first challenge, is that just getting in the habit of tracking meant that I didn't necessarily have to track every day to eat mindfully and to get the benefits of the habit, but I couldn't skip too many days without breaking the habit. So I don't like spending the tedious minutes entering my food intake for the day, but I think overall it's worthwhile. Especially since I lost 10 pounds during the first challenge and I believe maybe 2 pounds during this last challenge. I'll have to think of another twist for the next challenge. This goal of working out every day has actually been wonderful for me. Even if it doesn't work out one day, it's ingrained into my mindset. I'm always thinking about the best way to fit a workout into my schedule, and my husband is now trying to find ways to support that, which is key. I think I am going to start doing winter hikes, as well, after doing one this weekend and really seeing a big mood lift from that. I've definitely seen gains in my climbing from my skills goal. I flashed a tough, overhanging 5.9 route in the gym the other day. This is getting me so close to my Main Quest (become a solid 5.10 climber) I can taste it! I tried a couple of 5.10a routes after my 5.9, but I was not able to get the crux moves on either of them. Still, I have a slabby 5.10a project in my sights and can't wait for that satisfying feeling when one move after another clicks into place... I feel like I'm starting to figure out my exercise groove. Hopefully I can find my nutrition sweet spot again. On my Life Quest: I know where I am headed and I know that I'm going to be able to do grad school full time next September. So I'm really excited about that.

Yeah, you haven't known fear until you have to search the pink aisle at Toys R Us for anything that doesn't have a princess on it.

Oh my god, I'm so sorry to hear this. That totally sucks! I hope you recover quickly and without complication. I always hurt myself in a really mundane way as well, but it doesn't make it hurt less (actually sometimes that makes it worse).

I wanted to go to the gym today, but my car is sad. One of the tires is almost flat and I'm not sure why. I gave it a little extra air but I need to make sure there is no damage. If it's deflated again tomorrow it will go to our tire guy. I want to go. I guess I need to do a boring old work out at home (grumble whine). Maybe I'll do a yoga video. That is less awful than running. And I'm so beat I don't want to do a big crazy bodyweight workout (my son has had some sleep issues, so I've been up several times a night with him for a couple of weeks...ugh). Last night I broke out this cookbook Paleo Lunches and Breakfasts on the Go, by Diana Rogers, NTP. It has been collecting dust, partly because I found the prologue a bit pretentious (You think I should ask for the restaurant to make my meal in a special, never-used for grains pan, Diana? Overselling it. Most of your audience does not have Celiac's disease), but mostly because I've tried to just make do with eating a bit of deli meat and some boiled eggs for lunch. With the occasional tomato to fend off rickets, I suppose. Breakfast is coffee, obviously. But how boring! I couldn't go on like this. So, today I made roast beef lettuce wraps with "ginger sauce" (and we're calling it "ginger sauce," really? It's just mayo and grated ginger, yes?) and tomato. You know what? I can dig it! Very nice to have a satisfying and interesting meal. The next meal I chose, however, requires me to roast a chicken breast. I'm going to have to try that "advance preparation" thing everyone is always going on about. We'll see if I can follow through. I've realized something this week. If I sleep in my workout gear, it loses some of its power as a "hard hat," as Steve calls it. It feels like loungewear, not kicking ass wear. Even if I do workout right away because I've worn it, I end up changing my clothes to feel like I'm getting "in the zone." Has anyone else experienced this? So weird! Moral of the story: I can't be that person that lives her life in yoga pants. It's not worth it. I'm never going to go to the gym with that attitude.

I agree about the lady-colors. It reminds of me the BIC For Her pen controversy. I got the light blue because I felt like it was better than purple, but yeah.

Can't use one hand or one foot - sounds like some kind of sadistic hokey pokey! Hope your injuries heal quickly. Also, hope you enjoy shoe shopping - I love my lace-up Scarpas. They're great if you like a stiffer sole.

I like these comics. I especially like the one that reminds us how valuable it is to raise kids. ETA - just to clarify, I think it's work that is routinely devalued. It's funny, because I can totally see that part where the guy's old boss visiting him happening to a dad who decided to stay at home - but I don't know of any stay-at-home mom who has experienced anyone trying to coax her back to the workforce. Anyway. Just something I've been thinking about lately. Anyway, nice posts. Great job. Such feelings. Very insights. Wow.

Good job on the 5.10s and the belay certification! :-) I have the same harness/chalk bag/belay device pack that Nymeria recommends. It's a really good starter kit (I actually got it for my sister for Christmas). If you're into credit card hacks at all, you can apply for the REI credit card, and they give you $100 towards your dividend (assuming that you are a member) - which, coincidentally, is just about exactly what the Black Diamond package costs without a discount. I agree that the gym harnesses usually suck.

Hey, I'm the Baltimore person. Following! Would love to meet some nearby-ish Rebels - I'm starting grad school in DC in the fall, anyway!

The I think there are definite benefits either way. I think the community at a smaller gym would be closer by default, while there are just too many people at EarthTreks to get to know a large percentage of them. I think most climbers are pretty welcoming and laid-back and free with beta, which is great, but there can be like fifty people in the gym at a time at my gym, twenty of them in the bouldering area alone, so people kind of naturally break into smaller cliques and groups. Also, free babysitting sounds like heaven! FWIW, EarthTreks does kids birthday parties that look like tons of fun. Indeed, I appreciate it! And I can't think of anything better than a good climbing day - maybe a good climbing day outside followed by toasted marshmallows around a campfire? That's the only thing I can think of. :-)

I'm down, jofalltrades! I'm Bmore.

I have Eric Horst's How to Climb 5.12, it's a great book as well. Not that I'll be a 5.12 climber in the next six months, but it gives me hope :-)

Your flowchart is great. I love it. Also, can't believe your bouldering gym is closing for winter!! Right when you need it the most, IMO. So sorry, that sucks. I always see people at my gym running on the treadmill with dead eyes, so miserable - for like 15 minutes and then just quitting. It's worse because the treadmills face the gym, so you can see everyone else happily clambering up the walls. I hate running, too; I only do it because it's an accessible and quick workout. I do try to do it outside, at least, so I can get some vitamin D on busy days.

Yay inspiration! I had a rough week last week, exercise and nutrition-wise, as well due to the weather. Here's to a better week, starting off with a strong Monday. :-)