Fortuositea

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (Aug 15, 16, 17) 1. Taper off the smoking... yeah, that's not working so much. I tried to taper but I effing hate it. It's either all or nothing. I know I can quit cold turkey because I am just that damn stubborn, but I have to be willing to work for it and I'm just not ready for it. 2. Body weight workout? What body weight workout? It has been so hot that just walking is whupping my butt (I've also thrown in a bit of jogging.) I've been doing a lot of stuff around the house (in my effort to cut down on smoking, and also, I'm doing a lot of prep work for a baby shower I'm throwing for my sister-in-law) so I'm trying to throw in whatever workouts I can. 3. Water EVERY DAY - YES! Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday, I have had water every day. On Wednesday, I didn't have soda at all. I had iced tea and water mixed with lemonade. 4. Walk every day: Yep! Monday was SO brutal. I needed to walk 2 KM to hatch a Pokemon egg, but apparently, Pokemon Go isn't quite so accurate - a step counter on my phone confirmed I'd actually walked 1.94 miles. Well, damn. Tuesday: I took a freaking nap. I walked/ jogged .56 miles on the treadmill when I woke up. I was sweating my #$% off even after I hopped off the treadmill. Wednesday: Walked around a lovely town with my husband. Not sure how far we walked, but we bought 3 lbs of Jelly Belly jelly beans.... for SIL's baby shower! Now I have to count them all... Anyway, the walk was very nice until some [expletive deleted] jerks yelled homophobic remarks at us from their Jeep while we walked back to the car... First off, dudes. You're yelling at a heterosexual couple. WHY. Second, and more importantly: Just don't. It's so not ok. I don't even know how to express how disrespectful, disparaging, intolerant, backwards.... UGH. 5. 2/3 Dinners have been protein & veggies. OK, not bad. Definitely better than usual. I'll take it! 6. I'm working my way up to 100 pushups - I'm doing wall pushups and pushups against my desk. I did 10 Monday, 20 Tuesday, aiming for 30-40 today. Walk: 10/10 Strength: 4/10 Nutrition: 8/10

Thanks Fio! I started a daily battle log. Daily reflection on my progress really helps me stick to the program and stay accountable. I have used several different apps but I haven't found one that clicked with me (I loved Zombies, Run! but then I had to switch phones and they wouldn't honor the previous purchase, and I dislike their subscription model now.) I've been tracking distance with... Pokemon Go! I'm not sure how accurate it is, but my goal is to hatch an egg each time! I'm planning to cut out soda on Wednesdays. No specific reason really, but it's easier for me to avoid soda when I'm at work, and I can call it Water Wednesday. =) Ooh, but what about No Soda Sunday? Sundays would certainly be a challenge. Hmm, maybe when I'm ready to amp up to two days a week.... I was a runner before I and I didn't really do any consistent strength workouts, I was very scatterbrained about the whole thing. I'm a member of the Nerd Fitness Academy and I'm signed up for NF yoga, so I certainly have a lot of options! I'll be starting with bodyweight workouts since I can pretty much do them anywhere. YUMMM Fajitas! Yep, that's going on the shopping list.

Goals for this week: 1. Taper off the smoking 2. Focus on the NF body weight workouts. I dig them, it's nice not wasting my time doing "research" and just getting right to a workout 3. Water EVERY DAY 4. Walk with husband after work each day 5. Dinners: Protein & Veggies 6. 100 Pushups every day

August 11 - 14, 2016 My husband and I drove down to Virginia Beach for the weekend, and for the most part, I think I stuck to my plans pretty well. Walk: Walked at the hotel, walked while taking tours. Not as much as I would have liked, but OMG IT WAS SO FREAKING HOT. Like, melt your face off hot. Glasses fogged up every time I went outside. Had lots of opportunities to walk but husband didn't want to stop and get out of the car: "Too many people, too hot, too tired, just want to get home". I tried to express how important this is to me, I want to spend more time outside and off my butt, I don't want to let excuses get in my way. But when he's literally driving the car... 7/10 for working around circumstances out of my control. Strength: Didn't really excel in this area. We swam for a little bit so I tried to make the most of that, but there were so many other things I could have done and I honestly didn't think to take advantage of them. FAIL. 1/10 Nutrition: Not bad, I mean, we were on vacation, so yeah, I had some treats. I made sure to drink water with every meal. When we went out to eat, I tried to pick healthier things than I normally would have gone with - omelet with veggies, chicken caesar salad. I didn't snack as much as I would have. I feel really good about my choices. 9/10! 17/30 for the weekend.

Hi Scouts! Fortuositea here (formerly AgentSpiderMonkey.) I've been AWOL for a while, but this week I'm trolling forums, getting excited about jumping back in the mix. Getting excited about the next challenge - not sure if I'll remain with the Scouts, might venture out to do some exploring in other realms.

8/10/16, Wednesday Walk: It was very muggy out so I opted to not walk today. I added extra steps around the house to try to make up for it. Next time, I should jump on the treadmill if it's too icky outside. Strength: Desk pushups at work, and a quick bodyweight workout before I went to bed. Squats, pushups, door frame rows. It doesn't really feel like much, I'm hoping it's enough to be a good start. Nutrition: Yogurt for breakfast (and a Reese's peanut butter cup... only one!) Lunch: Chicken patties. I drank one soda today - and lots of water. YES! Lots of water. Probably 25 oz at work and another 6 at home (mixed with some lemonade for flavor.) Dinner: Burgers on the grill. Not bad, I wish I'd had some tomato/ peppers to throw on there. All in all, I ate three meals, minor snacks (the Reese's and half a Twix bar after work), increased water, and didn't sit on my butt all night. Feeling pretty good about it.

Cutting out soda is not as easy as I thought. My willpower is not as strong as it needs to be for this. I have brought a water and soda with me to work. After this ONE soda, no more today. Come on, Sarah, it's only one day. Also struggling again with quitting smoking. The first time I quit, it was because I was ready, I knew it was time, and I just quit, cold turkey. This is a lot different... I think I tricked myself into thinking, well, I quit cold turkey once, I can do it anytime. I find myself saying, "one more pack and that's it" and I totally believe it. Then I get to the end of the pack and I tell myself, OK, That's it, LAST ONE. and a few hours later I'm thinking "one more pack and that's it." I know it just takes a ridiculous amount of willpower and stubbornness (my husband will agree, I certainly have enough stubbornness.) I just have to be willing to change. I think I still don't like myself enough to care about me, to want to take care of myself. BAH! Depression, go away. Please. I have stuff to do.

8/9/16 Part 2 Walk: Right after work, I went to a park across the river in PA to walk (lots of Pokestops, very few Pokemon. Oh well, that's Pokemon Go in the country for you.) I'm not sure exactly how far I walked. At 7 PM, my husband's work-out alarm goes off and he says, "Ready to go for a walk?" so I put my sneakers back on and went to a different part of the same park, where I found like a Pokemon every tenth of a mile. So TWO walks in one day! Not bad! Strength: Just the push-ups. Nutrition: Dinner was chicken patties and green peppers. I sauteed the peppers in a little oil, added garlic powder, salt, pepper. The peppers needed more flavor (I had to use garlic powder instead of garlic, so I probably didn't go heavy enough with it), but on the whole, it was a really good dinner.

Thanks - I'm going to try to stick to it and hopefully prevent another respawn for a long time!

OK, so. This is my first battle log. I'm Sarah, formerly AgentSpiderMonkey. I'm embracing my new normal. I'm starting up a battle log to help myself respawn - long story short, I had a miscarriage, stopped running, started eating crap, gained a bunch of weight... ready to start taking care of myself better. I just needed a space to track daily habits I'm trying to create. Walk each day: I will track distance when possible. I'm not sure I want to go back to running... it was a lot of work for very little reward, and I have a lot of ground to make up. Suggestions on how to make cardio count are welcome. Strength workout each day: quick bodyweight workout, just something! Something's got to be better than nothing at this point. Nutrition: Aiming to cut out soda - starting with Wednesdays only (Water Wednesday!) Also attempting to get my husband to work with me and cook healthier meals. 8/9/16 Walk: Planning to walk after work. Strength: I did as many pushups as I could muster in one minute. 23 pushups, against my desk at work. I think... no, I know my form was bad. Maybe I should go back to wall pushups until my form improves. Food: Water mixed with a little lemonade this AM and soda with lunch. watermelon for breakfast, I have soup for lunch; it's one of those Campbell's microwaveable soups, chicken pot pie. I don't really eat much while I'm at work and I wind up going home hungry and making bad decisions, so I think this is better than nothing. Would it be healthier to make my own soup? This is just so easy, grab and go. I hate pre-packing lunches, stuff usually goes to waste in containers in my fridge. That's probably my own fault, I lack stick-to-it-iveness. Dinner tonight... I'm not actually sure what I have in my freezer right now. Husband confirms that we have chicken patties in freezer. Humph. OK, I have green peppers in the fridge and chicken patties in the freezer.... faux fajitas? I feel like this isn't going to taste very good.

I had a miscarriage in December. I basically immediately stopped functioning like a stable adult. I stopped working out altogether, my nutrition went down the drain, gained thirty pounds, went up a pants size, started smoking again after having been quit for three years, and I also started feeling really bad about myself. It is time to respawn. I'm starting with very small steps. I would really like my husband to jump on the bandwagon, so I'm trying to suggest some healthier dinners and more walks. For at least a month, I plan to walk every day - I'll track distance when I can. Cut out soda one day a week. Do some kind of strength workout (really minor stuff, no more than 15 minutes) every day just to try to build a habit. I need to figure out how to make changes that work, I'm basically going in circles. Most of the times I try to get healthier, I always choose the same foods, same workouts, and I don't really see a big change in me. Maybe it's partly that my dedication falters, and maybe I'm not doing something that works for me. Also, when my husband falls off the bandwagon, I usually tend to jump off right after him, but now I am going to be more stubborn about staying on track. I will be making healthy foods I like (stir-fry, fajitas) instead of just eating whatever he cooks. Time to start a daily battle log.

Aaah, life is pulling me in too many directions lately. I haven't been running as much or doing any workouts; instead I'm mostly focusing on projects and people, which is what is making me happy at the moment, so I'm going to stick with that. I should run a little in preparation for my race on October 31. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thank you awesomesue, it is so nice of you to say that you look forward to my updates! ugh. Yes! So busy planning food, crafting, and arranging fall outings. Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year, so if I can get out and enjoy some autumn, I am out the door! I also don't sit at a computer too often when I'm not working, and I've been trying to be more productive at work, which means less time to wander the internet, and I don't update on my phone, so it's created a bit of radio silence for me. It's nice, I get to do more real-world productive stuff, but I've been absent-minded about NF. Food planning is going extremely well - we have been cooking real food and the fridge has been full of leftovers (that are actually getting eaten!) so that's a huge benefit. It's already making a change in my wallet and my weight, I think - I was a bit bummed about spending a bit more money than normal on a shopping trip, but I was stocking up on items that can be reused for future meals, and my husband pointed out that we would be spending the same amount for one meal out, so it's totally worth it. I want to find some more simple recipes that we can throw into the mix that produce several servings so we can have lunch leftovers. We have a few tried and true meals that yield lots of lunches but I want to make sure we don't get too repetitive. Running has slowed a bit, after shark week I went out and did 2.5 miles on Monday? and for the next three days my thighs were KILLING me! Just the bend to sit down in a chair was rough! I took a little time to let them recuperate and then did another 2.1 miles on Saturday. Not sure of my weekly mileage, but we also walked in a haunted house and haunted cornfield Saturday night. Apple picking last week. So fun! I've got a 5K coming up in like... two weeks! It's on Halloween, and it's funny that it's the first time in... forever... that husband and I have been invited to a Halloween party, but I can't go because we'll be in Maryland for the race weekend. Actually, we've been invited to TWO Halloween parties, and we can't go to either. This anti-social shark is delighted, yet disappointed that she has to say no. Crafting, oh yes, crafting. I'm making little pumpkins to decorate my office, and I'm working on this VERY involved cross stitch. If I work on it a little each day, maybe I'll finish in time for next Halloween. I'm also spray painting an old school desk to replace the night stand in the bedroom, and... what else...trying to keep the house clean. Yikes! And now, a giant pumpkin:

ooh! I'm in!

Shark Week knocked me down a step. I planned to run on Sunday with my sister in between other events but we didn't have enough time. I've been busy doing some Halloween decorating, so there's like, five new projects right there! Lots to do if I find myself sitting down to watch TV. Planning a little run tonight with strength if there's time before I go to hang out with a friend. It's tough to schedule a two mile run when I know it will take me at least forty minutes when it's all said and done (changing, showering, etc, and that's only if I run on our treadmill, it's at least an hour if I include driving to the park.) Current mood is incredibly jealous of people who can run ten minute miles. I don't have enough time in the day to run so slow! On the positive side, I've been meal planning for about two weeks and it's going very well. The first two weeks went great with leftovers actually getting eaten, and lunches actually being planned - we ate out less often than we normally do. We sat down to plan the next two weeks and found that we had a lot of stuff that we had purchased the first time around leftover, so we don't need to replenish too many things. Yay, saving money!

Wow, your apartment hunt / house sale is moving really fast - we searched for a house for two years before we were finally able to move out of our apartment. Could the closing be pushed or maybe you could rent it back from the new owners for a month or something. Yeah, it takes a lot out of you!

Kind of apropos for this challenge, but it's Shark Week. Didn't do any running last night as I was feeling a little cruddy. I probably won't be running tonight either, but I will attempt to walk on the treadmill and watch TV when I get home. I am also looking for a good dumbbell workout for these days when squatting and lunging and ab work are not really ideal. I'm sure NF has some ideas... I also want to say that the medication I am on has really saved me from the severe mood depression, irritability, and mood swings from PMDD that normally come with Shark Week. It feels like someone saved my life. For real. Like, I have a completely new brain, and it's not broken. Food has been going really well for me - I know that wasn't part of my challenge, but it's what I'm working on. It's like, you're driving down one road following your GPS but you see somewhere else you want to go, so you turn, but your GPS is like, trying to route you back to your original track, and you're like, "Nuh-uh, Life, I am going this way!" So.... recalculating! I've been trying to do a lot of cooking and food prep because most of my meals go sideways. Instead of picking a bunch of healthy things I don't like, I've taken some very good advice from AwesomeSue and I'm creating a pretty basic two-week meal plan. I've planned a few easy to cook meals with leftovers so I can have lunches. I also went apple picking and came home with about a hundred apples, so I'm set there for a while.

Um, teachers tweeting about your kids without your permission? That's so not OK! I can't imagine the school would be too happy about that, either. Good job with all your food choices, sometimes I find that it's tough to actually sit down and just eat the healthy food I packed for myself when other people are eating delicious looking things in front of me, but you're obviously stronger than me!

My husband made mini meatloafs in a muffin tin. Lunch for tomorrow prepped! Threads read! Strength Workout: 3/18 17%17% Did a Pilates workout tonight. 1 weekly strength workout done! Weekly Runs: 7/24 29%29% Too late to run tonight. I feel really guilty about not doing any miles yet this week - starting these 6 week challenges weeks on Monday messes with my head a little. Like, I still have five days to squeeze in my 8 miles, but it my brain sees "Tuesday" and thinks, oh the week's half over already. I want to run tomorrow - It's supposed to rain buckets here, so they will have to be treadmill miles. I need to make them easy treadmill miles... the last two times I ran on the treadmill, I intended to alternate walking and running and just take it easy for a few miles, but the first time, I busted my butt and ran my fastest mile ever - 14:22! The second time, I pushed harder and ran my new fastest mile ever: 13:50!!!!! I ran at 5.5 mph for a sustained amount of time .I feel my super shark speed increasing!

Keep on those teachers, or maybe call into the administration office? It's a busy time of year, too (but really, when is it not busy?!) but they should be giving you more feedback. Don't get me started on the American school system! Sorry to hear about your mother-in-law: my grandmother has Alzheimer's. It creates very complicated emotions for all of us. I think it's tougher for us to deal with than the people who actually suffer from it. Look at those progress bars go! You've catching up to me on the way to Rivendell. Make sure you yell hi to me when you zip by!

Yeah, I left mine in for fifteen-twenty minutes instead of the recommended twelve. Woohoo on house sales! My husband and I bought our first about a year ago - I wouldn't have minded renting longer, but we're in NJ, so renting in walkable areas is super expensive, and I kind of like having guaranteed parking. Sorry to hear your mom's sick - I hope things turn around. I'm going through stuff like this with my grandparents right now. It's so weird and complicated to watch our elders get older and have trouble taking care of themselves when they used to carry me, in more ways than one. Keep your chin up.

Oh, also, pushups are still going well. Sticking to knee pushups or pushups off the edge of my desk at work so I can do a few here and there throughout the day.

Week 3, Day 2 Couple of days away from my computer, time for a quick recap! I did not do a third strength workout last week. Partly lazy, partly because I couldn't find the right time to do it in between all the other workout things I was doing. Week 2 Strength workouts: 2/3 I ran with my sister on Sunday after an awesome apple-picking adventure. Week 2 runs: 4/4! SCORE! and I think I did 9 miles altogether. Social interaction: Doing just ok with this right now - I have logged on to type up recaps at least twice in the past five days, but keep putting off writing here because I want to read your posts first. Just gotta sit down later and get reading. What's coming down the pike this week? I should have run last night but I worked on a house project and cleaning, so you know how that goes. I will be pushed one day behind by today: I am going to hang out with a friend tonight and make an awesome painting, but that means that I won't be able to run... maybe I can squeeze in a mile after I get home, which will probably be like, ten o-clock, right after I prep my breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. Joy. Maybe I'll make chili, it's pretty quick and easy (once I get the meat defrosted!). Cue the music!

One of the things this cooking / meal planning experiment has taught me is to pay attention to serving sizes! This casserole my husband made on Tuesday was 8 servings, so I cut it into eighths and I wasn't stuffed, but satisfied after dinner - normally I probably would have eaten twice as much.

OH MY GOD THIS IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER! I am seriously laughing out loud. This is literally what the experience was like. I had just taken a shower, too, so i'm trying to hold up my towel, while wielding a spatula and a BREAD KNIFE (I thought the serrated edges would help!) and just praying that my husband wouldn't choose that exact second to walk through the door. The original plan was to split it up right after I got home from the grocery store, and then just freeze it in 3 bags, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. The remaining 2 lb chunk was still frozen, and I didn't have enough to split it for my next meals of meatloaf and chili, so I'm going to repeat this whole thing tomorrow night!