Harihead

> my trainer is very good about recommending regressions That's one of the best things I learned at Camp Nerd Fitness-- alternate ways to proceed around an injury (in my case, my knee). Hooray for trainers! I'm going at this challenge a bit differently, putting "mindfulness" front and center. So I'm not logging (except exercise minutes and diet macros). I'm working on, "Put the big rocks in, every day." Priorities over busy-ness. It also helps that I'm in for the really really long haul. There's no "get there and then live", it's, "Live as best I can, and eventually I'll get there-- even enjoying the ride!" It seems to be working. It's good to shake up my approach now and then, or I'm tempted to game the system. Hang in there!

So sorry about the fatigue. I went through that on Monday, and finally caught up to myself. Now I'm an energized dynamo. Sometimes when you're tired, it's best to just go with it. Here's hoping for a revitalization soon! Hang in there.

Thanks so much! I just lost my 3rd pound of "bread bloat" this morning. It's clear sailing into uncharted territory. Just took my annual stats from MFP, and I lost 15 pounds over the last year. Very encouraging! The weather cleared up so I'm hitting my steps. Life is good! How are you faring these days? All healed up?

Yeah, Week 1 was a dead loss. The only metric I hit was fish. I did lose 2 of my 3 pounds, however. Starting Sunday, I got back on a healthy diet. Here's to acing the next 3.5 weeks! Congrats on your progress, NeverThatBored! I appreciate you checking in.

Terrible! I got back from the conference terribly sleep deprived and 3 pounds heavier from the type of food I was able to access, primarily sandwiches. I thought I ordered a healthy supper and it came back fried (apparently "fried" is implied in Kansas). I had heaps of veggies with me, but it wasn't enough all by itself. Oh, well! I came back home to two parties (one at work, one off), but the main problem is the weather turned cold and rainy, so I couldn't get my walking in. I exceeded my daily step count every day at the conference. So, tomorrow is another day. Despite the challenges, I lost one of my regained pounds already, and expect to be back on track soon. So, it's a rocky start, but I've got 5 weeks to pull off a poundage miracle, which I will do. I want to see the doctor gape. It's my pat on the back for living clean. Thanks for asking! How's your challenge going?

Thank you, Never Bored! Yeah, I actually punted on my old doctor. I'd lost 22 pounds and brought my levels down, and he said, "I'm going to put you on meds. Too bad the diet and exercise program isn't working." !!!! So I punted that pinbrain and got a new doc. I like her loads better. She can actually look at patterns and assist me on my way-- a real asset.

In reviewing my past challenges, I'm pleasantly surprised by my progress. I've continued to make slow but steady improvements in health and fitness. My doctor's office has requested a cholesterol follow-up, and that got my ambition working. I now want to wow my doctor. This has been a very up and down year for my weight, due to the massive fail to handle work stress. But, I managed to overcome it and break my previous low point by 5 pounds. This puts me at over 50% of my total quest. Yes, it's taking a good, long time. And yes, the changes are sticking. Massive yay! Life Goal: Return to the weight and fitness I had when I worked from home, instead of someone else's office. 4 Week Challenge Goal: Wow my doctor. I have my cholesterol retest the 3rd week of September. I want to wow my doctor by: * Improving on my already improved numbers * Blowing her mind over my weight reduction Exercise: Cardio = elevate heart rate at least 45 minutes 6x weekly. Meet my MFP walking goal 4x/week. A = >6/week, STA +3, STR +2 B = >5/week, STA +2, STR +1 C = >4/week, STA +1 Diet: Track all my cholesterol reducers, plus track sugar and coffee: - Reduce red meat and poultry in favor of fish, <2 red meat and >=3-4 fish or seafood/week - Reduce meat overall and substitute legumes for protein >=2-3/week - Dairy <=6 servings/week - Alcohol <= 5 glasses/week, target=0 - Processed meat or grains <=1/week, target=0 - Sugar grams <= 90 grams/day, target<=45 - Coffee <= 3 cups/day By processed, I mean anything that isn't a fruit, vegetable, natural protein, or healthy whole grain (oatmeal, rice okay). A = 0 fails/week, CON +3, DEX +1 B = 1-2 fails/week, CON +2, DEX +1 C = 3-5 fails/week, CON +1, DEX +1 Refresh: Time to pay more attention to sustaining practices. My choices are 1 per day: - yoga of => 5 minutes per day - Tai Chi or meditation every day A = 1 fails/week, CHA +3 B = 2-3 fails/week, CHA +2 C = 4-5 fails/week, CHA +1 Something with Fiction: This challenge starts right after I return from WorldCon. I'll pick something appropriate as I'll likely have homework. A = 5/week WIS +3 B = 4/week WIS +2 C = 3/week WIS +1 I'll start this challenge ASAP upon WorldCon return, which will probably be Mon or Tues after the challenge begins. But I'll be tracking. Best wishes to all my fellow Rebels.

Prepping for my next challenge: In reviewing my past challenges, I'm pleasantly surprised by my progress. I've continued to make slow but steady improvements in health and fitness. My doctor's office has requested a cholesterol follow-up, and that got my ambition working. I now want to wow my doctor. This has been a very up and down year for my weight, due to the massive fail to handle work stress. But, I managed to overcome it and break my previous low point by 5 pounds. This puts me at over 50% of my total quest. Yes, it's taking a good, long time. And yes, the changes are sticking. Massive yay! Life Goal: Return to the weight and fitness I had when I worked from home, instead of someone else's office. 4 Week Challenge Goal: Wow my doctor. I have my cholesterol retest the 3rd week of September. I want to wow my doctor by: * Improving on my already improved numbers * Blowing her mind over my weight reduction Exercise: Cardio = elevate heart rate at least 45 minutes 6x weekly. Meet my MFP walking goal 4x/week. A = >6/week, STA +3, STR +2 B = >5/week, STA +2, STR +1 C = >4/week, STA +1 Diet: Track all my cholesterol reducers, plus track sugar and coffee: - Reduce red meat and poultry in favor of fish, <2 red meat and >=3-4 fish or seafood/week - Reduce meat overall and substitute legumes for protein >=2-3/week - Dairy <=6 servings/week - Alcohol <= 5 glasses/week, target=0 - Processed meat or grains <=1/week, target=0 - Sugar grams <= 90 grams/day, target<=45 - Coffee <= 3 cups/day By processed, I mean anything that isn't a fruit, vegetable, natural protein, or healthy whole grain (oatmeal, rice okay). A = 0 fails/week, CON +3, DEX +1 B = 1-2 fails/week, CON +2, DEX +1 C = 3-5 fails/week, CON +1, DEX +1 Refresh: Time to pay more attention to sustaining practices. My choices are 1 per day: - yoga of => 5 minutes per day - Tai Chi or meditation every day A = 1 fails/week, CHA +3 B = 2-3 fails/week, CHA +2 C = 4-5 fails/week, CHA +1 Something with Fiction: This challenge starts right after I return from WorldCon. I'll pick something appropriate as I'll likely have homework. A = 5/week WIS +3 B = 4/week WIS +2 C = 3/week WIS +1 I'll start this challenge ASAP upon WorldCon return, which will probably be Mon or Tues after the challenge begins. But I'll be tracking. Best wishes to all my fellow Rebels.

Just popping in belatedly to thank everyone who cheered me on during my 3-month fest. I came home 4 pounds heavier, which I promptly lost, in part due to immediately coming down with a serious cold. I've finally got my wind back this weekend, and hope to get a nice hike in Sunday. So I'm stable at the new weight, and flirting with the next 3 pounds. Yoyoing a bit, but definitely heading in the right direction. I'm not tracking calories, but trying to apply my diet learnings going forward. After all this time, I know what constitutes a good meal and sufficient calories. So I'm going to do my summer thing, which includes swimming every morning and hiking at least once a week. I'm violently glad my work this Spring is helping me have a better Summer. Thanks again to everyone here. Long live the Rebellion!

Okay, so I haven't been updating. Here's a summary: Week 1 = Yay! Week 2 = Boo! (in Training class all week, with all the carbs and restricted movement that implies) Week 3 = Yay! I'm in the home stretch. I leave Saturday and I'M 2 POUNDS AWAY FROM MY GOAL!!! Yes, my crazy goal to lose 15 pounds in 3 months is almost met. I can taste the success. I practice posing sideways in the mirror. My bathing suit is too big. ALL GOOD THINGS!!! Let's hope I can nail the goal. If not, who cares? I'm on vacation! And when I come back, I can get into some serious summer tuning. I think this is the first time in my life I'm going into summer in fairly good shape. It feels Awesome. Hugs and high fives to all my fellow Rebels! Cheers.

Wow, it's BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to see it grow.

Ash? Ash? *looks around wildly* I DON'T SEE YOU ANYWHERE! ...nice lurking. I'm feeling so much better about myself. Amazing what sleep and good food can do.

New challenge posted: Here's to the amazing Rebels out there. Salut!

I wasn't going to do the 4-week challenge this month. I was too busy, too exhausted from trying to reorganize my life, tired of tracking, yadda yadda yadda. Then I stepped on the scale. I'M DOING IT! The 3-month goal is ACTUALLY WORKING! I would be NUTS to change my routine now. This is more remarkable considering that I survived a Death March and maaaajor stress rebound at work. And I'm learning. When I focus on the day-to-day ("Eat a healthy meal tonight. Not forever, just tonight"), all those good choices add up to a solid win. This is amazing! So forward I go. Life Goal: Return to the weight and fitness I had when I worked from home, instead of someone else's office. 3 Month Goal: Lose 15 pounds before I go to France this June. March & April: Down 10 pounds. It's working!!! 4 Week Challenge Goals: Regain a little muscle mass. Consolidate the diet gains. Restore equanimity. Exercise: Cardio = elevate heart rate at least 30 minutes 6x weekly. (Failed this last challenge, so here we are again. Easy to track in MFP.) A = >6/week, STA +3, STR +2 B = >5/week, STA +2, STR +1 C = >4/week, STA +1 Diet: Continue focus on my 2 worst stress-handling fails: processed food and alcohol. But I'm eager to tackle coffee use as well. - <=1 processed food/week - <=3 drinks/week total - <=3 coffee/day total By processed, I mean anything that isn't a fruit, vegetable, natural protein, or healthy whole grain. I allow myself <= 6 dairy/week. A = 0 fails/week, CON +3, DEX +1 B = 1-2 fails/week, CON +2, DEX +1 C = 3-5 fails/week, CON +1, DEX +1 Refresh: Let's revive that spirituality. My choices are 1 per day: - yoga of => 5 minutes per day - Tai Chi or meditation every day A = 1 fails/week, CHA +3 B = 2-3 fails/week, CHA +2 C = 4-5 fails/week, CHA +1 Write My Way Out of a Paper Office: Bringing this one back. Fiction => 100 words per day, or equivalent in editing. Time to nourish the soul. A = 5/week WIS +3 B = 4/week WIS +2 C = 3/week WIS +1 I won't be able to report, as the challenge ends after I get on a plane, but I'll be focused on the long-term gains right up until that moment. Salut!

> I applied for more than 20 jobs this month. That was my main accomplishment. I meditated almost every day. That was my second most successful goal. Wow, that's excellent! I've only applied to 7 jobs so far. Some are still in limbo. Very wise reflections on the purpose of goals. I give myself permission to switch a goal if it isn't serving the need, like a couple months ago when I switched to "renew" mode. I don't like to get too picky about dotting the i's. I want to look and feel better! Hang in there. Good luck, and share the news when you get some!

Thanks so much, Shaeon! It was great having you as a buddy engaged in the same journey. A tough job situation is... tough! Right now, the jobs seem to have slowed down. I'm looking them over and being picky; will this really be a better situation? I'm grateful for the experience I got with the one company; it helped settle me down and get focused. And there's that old rule of thumb: one month of looking for every $10K of salary you want. It helps to put the journey in perspective. Good luck to us both, my friend!

Tank, you have been so incredibly supportive, there's no way for me to repay you. You're just going to have to accept the fact that you will have incredibly good karma elevating everything you do. At present I very much want to stay local. I have a tremendous network built up here of personal, professional, and writing friends. I'm even being extra picky and only searching for jobs north of downtown. (The valley's air is a little too polluted for me to breathe on a regular basis.) It's a slow process, but I'm keen to find my professional peeps in a work environment. I know they're out there! Come here, my peeps! *shakes kitty crunchers*

Week 4 Roundup and Challenge Outcome: I think I put in a solid performance this challenge. My most important problem to "solve," lack of sleep, showed steady progress. This last week I even got to an A! Maintaining a very good relationship with the revised diet. It feels very sustainable. Next challenge I'll have to work on bringing the physical aspect into par, but overall I am grateful for the gains made during this challenge and this wonderful community for keeping me on track through some fairly choppy seas! Exercise: Cardio = elevate heart rate at least 25 minutes 6x weekly. Snow contributed to C for Week 4, which gives me a C+ for this challenge. Must do better! C = >4/week, STA +1 Diet: Focus on my 2 worst stress-handling fails: processed food and alcohol. B for Week 4, which shows steady improvement and gives me B for this challenge. - <=1 processed food/week - <=7 drinks/week total B = 3 fails/week, CON +2, DEX +1 I learned a lot about my body during these last 2 months. By cleaning up my diet, I actually like clean better! I think I have established new, healthy habits, friends! Refresh: Make sleep and stress reduction a priority. A for Week 4, with 4 8-hour night wins! This gives me a B for the challenge. B = 2 fails/week, CHA +2 I still feel as if I have a lot of "catching up" rest to do, but the reappearance of an 8-hour sleep suggests to me that the crisis is over. What a battle. I definitely need to build in better self-maintenance protocols so this doesn't happen again. Renew: Job-seeking + fiction-writing activities. The ideal is 2 of each per week. A for Week 4, which gives me A for this challenge! A = 5/week WIS +3 Continue to deeply reflect on life priorities and options. And another fiction sale certainly helped! 3 Month Goal: Lose 15 pounds before I go to France this June. - Looks like the 15 will be a fail, but I'm certainly ahead overall! March: Down 4 pounds. April: Down 4 more pounds. May: I feel as if I'm ready for a little break now, where I don't record or report anything. I just want to live my life and do some deep re-evaluation of my priorities. I saw a TED talk featuring a procrastinator-- cute talk, but what struck me was a chart he put up at the end that showed a slide of little squares, where each empty box represented one week in a 90-year old life. I want to make this chart. Many of those boxes will be filled in. I want to use my remaining boxes wisely. I want to be able to look back on a life well-lived, where I'm proud of the accomplishments I made and the contributions I've made to others. I don't want to waste my squares. "Life is too short," I so often say. Well, it's certainly limited. I'd like to become a little more focused on the beauty and power of each of those glorious squares, the real gift I am given in this time on Earth.

Thank you! I'll be in Analog. I'll let you know when the issue is out. You're quite right! Busy week with story revision and work emergency. I'm amassing jobs to apply to this weekend. Thank you! It's so nice to get published once in a while. Boss is finally starting to chill. I guess she realized it's easier to just do business normally and not like a spoiled brat. We'll see if it sticks Monday. This weekend I have an old college buddy and his daughter coming to town to look at colleges. I'll be hostess today. Also trying to finalize will. I just realized I need to appoint a literary agent-- in case my screenplay takes off or something. Highly unlikely. Still, it will be a good weekend. Thurs stats: Sleep: 8 hours! 5 of it sound. Big sigh of relief. Renew: Looked for more jobs. Blessing: Tai Chi indoors, quiet day. Phys: Short walks, Tai Chi Fud: Clean, 2 gl champagne MFP projection = -0 pounds/week Fri stats: Sleep: 8 hours! UP not working, but at least 8. Win! Renew: Looked for more jobs. Blessing: Snow day, stayed home. Phys: Zip. Fud: Clean, some dairy. 4 gl wine, paying for it today! MFP projection = -0 pounds/week

Wow, so much going on. I'm sorry about your step-grandmother. Very sad. My job possibility didn't work out either. Just going to keep at it for the long term. Thanks for sharing your traveling stories. We actually did take home a random German one day. We met him on the bus and he had nowhere to stay, so we took him home. He kept saying, "Wow, people normally never take in strangers!" But we'd just got back from South America, where it's bad manners, for example, not to offer someone a ride, so our default actions were reset. He was nice, and scooted along the next day. Kind of fun. We learned all about Octoberfest. Hang in there. I'm sorry again for all your trials. Best wishes.

Work emergency temporarily beaten down. I wish the knot in my stomach would subside. Weds stats: Sleep: Almost 8 hours, 5.5 of it "sound." Prep last night included a soothing hot bath. Renew: Kept the relationship "open" with potential employer, in case they can ever afford me. Blessing: Sold another story to major SF magazine. Sweet! Phys: 2 walks + slow Tai Chi Fud: Super clean, 1 gl champagne MFP projection = -1.5 pounds/week

Trying to prove to the director at work that I actually can make reliable estimates when I'm not overworked. Just stupid pride. But it hurts having people dislike me all the time. My sister has a great saying. "All you can expect is a paycheck and an office not filled with sewage." She's right; there's no sewage. The job is a win. Tues stats: Sleep: A little over 7 hours, 5 of it "sound." Improving! I cheated by taking 1/2 a pill when I woke up. Good! Renew: Found some more jobs to apply to. Blessing: I'm going to World Con! Phys: Tiny walk + chanting Fud: Very clean, some butter MFP projection = -1 pounds/week

Work is tense. No promising jobs have turned up. I'm getting big into the chanting and meditation to cope. Mon stats: Sleep: A little over 7 hours, 4 of it "sound." Renew: More chanting and meditation; asking my body what it needs. Blessing: The idiot who peeled backwards out of his parking space without looking didn't hit me. Phys: walk + Tai Chi class Fud: Super-duper clean, no exceptions MFP projection = -1.5 pounds/week

Did a great deal of meditation and reflection today. Long hike in the mountains was perfect. Sun stats: Sleep: 8 HOURS SLEEP! Whahoo! 4 of it "sound." Renew: Lots of chanting, meditation; life thoughts. Blessing: Rocky Mountain bluebirds! Very beautiful and rare. Phys: ~6 mile hike, about half of it "up" Fud: Super clean. Tiny bit cheese, squint of port MFP projection = -2 pounds/week

Feeling calm. Yesterday was a full day of sister calls and my monthly writing workshop. I'm so fortunate to be a part of this group. It's been going over 40 years now, and keeps itself strong by continually admitting new members as older ones fall away, because their interests have changed or the group no longer serves their needs. It's been a lesson to me in how to keep things vital. Week 3 Roundup: Exercise: Cardio = only 5 workouts, and only one of them strenuous. C for week. Diet: Very good! 1 processed food (I let myself eat summer sausage at the workshop), some dairy, alcohol = 4. A for week! Refresh: I achieved >= 7 hours total a night for 4 nights this week. Improving. B for week. - Tai Chi and meditation much more routine this week. I've added chanting in the car. Renew: Met activity goals for the new job front + some fiction groundwork. A for week. Sat stats: Sleep: UP was off, so clueless. Less than 7, though, by the clock. Renew: Finishing getting volunteers for executing my will, last of the benefits to get done before I leave current company Blessing: Dinner with my dear, long-time writing friends. Phys: 0. Chair day. Fud: Very tough day to eat clean. Workshop's idea of food is cream puffs. I did scavenge an acceptable lunch and dinner, but with lots of cheese. MFP projection = +1 pounds/week