Ciara

Hi everyone

Yes I'm doing ok, trying to keep up with my challenge but being at home now that the semester is over it is hard to make healthy choices, especially when my family isn't really that healthy so there's a lot of snacks and sweets. I've definitely slipped up a lot in the past few weeks but I've been trying my best to keep on top of things. My internship on the farm starts this Friday and I know once I move onto the farm I won't be able to make bad food choices because they won't be available. I made awesome broiled lemon herb chicken last night with herbs from the garden, and a really refreshing salad with lime and oil dressing. It made me feel so awesome and successful haha.

I have been thinking a lot about my future and I've decided I want to get an MBA. I think it will vastly improve my job prospects and I think it could be interesting! I want to look at management. I'm also going to get a minor in IT, because it's good to know something about technology and computers. I'm going to keep my agriculture major and hopefully tie that and business together somehow. I also want to go abroad to Korea to teach English as a foreign language and in turn learn Korean. I have big plans...I hope I can do it all. I don't even know if an MBA program will accept me and if they do how on earth will I pay for it? But that's further down the road. I'll just focus on my undergrad education for now and see what happens.

Despite the break up you are still doing good with your challenge!

 

Here is the article I was talking to you about today, Handstands!

 

*hug*

Thank you

Yesterday's recap:

Q1 Water

Fail. C

Q2 Dessert

Win. A

Q3 Paleo

Fail. C I ate pizza and potato samosas, and a rice bowl with rice instead of getting salad. I just didn't care. I still don't really, but I kinda do? I'm unwilling to go to the dining hall for fear of seeing James/getting sad because of the environment, and there are just not many paleo options in the food court....

Today's off to a great start water wise. Not eating desserts is something I don't really think about anymore. I mean, it might be nice to be able to indulge in the occasional ice cream, but I don't really care anymore and I don't think about it.

I don't think I'll eat well today either though. I got a teriyaki rice bowl for breakfast at 2:30pm...I probably will only eat once more after and then just snack. It's a lot of effort making good food choices while feeling like crap and I guess the habit hasn't stuck enough like with not eating desserts. It's harder to make a decision than avoid them. Advice?

I've been gone a few days. Yesterday was rough in the real world. I forgot monday's check in and I don't remember how I did. I'll do yesterdays now.

Q1 Water

1 glass. C

Q2 desserts

No problem. A

Q3 paleo

I only ate 2 meals yesterday. Neither was completely paleo but it was the best I could do. B

I broke up with my boyfriend yesterday. I didn't think the relationship had a future. I'm very sad though, I did love him very much. And I am sad knowing he's sad too.

Sorry I've been gone for a few days. Been spending the weekend with my boyfriend...and that means my quest kinda went down the tube. Oops

Friday

Q1 water

5 glasses B

Q2 desserts

Success A

Q3 paleo

I had an awful food day today and that led into the weekend...sigh. I ate only one paleo meal but I forgot what it was. I ate a lot of rice and potatoes on Friday.

Saturday

Q1 water

no water today. C

Q2 desserts

Success as usual A

Q3 paleo

I had one almost paleo meal...it had soy sauce but other than that it was paleo. Beef stirfry with veggies. It was actually really good. B

Sunday

Q1 water

no water today. C

Q2 desserts

Success A

Q3 paleo

I had 2 servings of leftover stirfry so I count it as a win. Also mashed cauliflour which I enjoyed. A

I just ate 2 corndogs and I feel really gross now. Whyyyy did I do that.

I'm ready for the weekend to be over. Hanging out with my bf is nice but all we do is sit in his room and play video games and I'm getting tired of it. I didn't even get a chance to work on the mini this weekend. Bleh. I also have finals that I need to be studying for and being with him doesn't help at all.

I love Lindsey so much

L sit!

Fantastic! I'm so glad the water bottle is working out for you. Great job!

Yeah, having it means I can drink wherever I am. I still want a fancy one though

Awesome read as usual.. Great progress all around!

You should totally learn electric violin. For my next challenge I'm gonna bust out my old violin and try to re-learn it too. I played for like 2 years back in the day and quit because I hated practicing when I knew people could hear me. But I've been itching to pull it out recently...and since I don't live with my parents anymore I think I can handle practicing. Maybe.

I second duolingo. I used it for Portuguese. It's fun! It's not perfect but it's a starting place for you to expand upon.

Yesterday recap

Q1: water

6 glasses again. A! I took a gatorade bottle and used it as a water bottle for the day. You're right...it's sooo much easier. The bottle is 36 oz I think so technically I drank more than 6 x 12 oz but close enough.

Q2: desserts

There was an event going on regarding food yesterday. I went with my friend and resisted everything except I had a bite of a Nutella sandwich (I didn't like it for some reason???) and 2 chocolate covered pretzels (I liked these more). I'm not sure if this counts as dessert.......I am going to say yes? B

Q3: paleo

Because of the food event all the dining halls were closed so I had to go to the real money food place (good thing I have $100 to spend on my student card. it came with my meal plan). I got chicken and salad for lunch and a beef bowl with lettuce and tomatoes and sour cream. I'm going to count that as paleo even though there's a debate on whether or not dairy is "paleo" because I am not ready to give up dairy and it only give me stomach problems sometimes. A

Sorry to hear about the lack of house, but it sounds like you made the right choice given the situation. Keep your chin up, things will work out eventually.

Yeah, I've been wondering if a cooperative version of these challenges would work as well. The only thing I could come up with was a combined competition with our past selves.  So the next 6 week challenge would have us doing the same workouts but to beat our totals from this challenge. But that just sounds painful

Oh my gosh I would feel so bad for some of you guys if that was the next challenge 

Finished off some bunnies and creeping up on my first solo boar. I'm honestly amazed at what I'm capable of because of this thing! Not nearly as impressive as a lot of people but WAY higher than I expected!

Yeah!!! It's so cool what a little friendly competition can push you to do. I know that if I were doing these workouts on my own I would stop a lot sooner than I do knowing I have a team to support. It's really incredible, especially since I haven't seriously worked out in months.

Well done on the progress. Lovely to hear how much easier you're finding things!

Thanks! I'm happy about it. I look at desserts and I'm like, it's not worth it to eat that. And I walk away! I hope this keeps up.

Paleo meatloaf sounds a lot like a thing I want to eat.

 

Awesome job yesterday!

It was meatloaf with mushrooms, so yum! And thanks!

Great progress! Speaking of water bottles, I have a camelbak, which I love! Maybe look into one of those?

Yeah I want this one eventually. I like the flip top more than the huge opening that a Nalgene has. I used to have a mouth guard on the Nalgene so I didn't get water all over my face but I don't know where it went. Plus my Nalgene is a boring grey...I want something prettier hahaha

I just updated my signature to reflect the fact that I participated in the Joust. I didn't realize we got STA from it, and STR from the hunt too! All the more reason to participate. I updated now as opposed to at the end of 6 weeks because I know I'd forget otherwise.

Also, my school is having some sort of event that requires all the dining halls to be closed. I am forced to resort to eating at the real money dining areas and my paleo options are slim to none....I found chicken and salad (again) but the dressing is probably not paleo and neither is the marinade I bet. Oh well....still counting it because the meal comes with rice and I asked for no rice so I tried at least.

But I did find a Cave Man bar in the campus store. Way cool! I ate it, not bad at all. Not something I'd buy regularly but as a quick snack between classes it was a pretty alright option.

 

Day 4

 

 

Another hectic day for me (roll on tomorrow!). Dentist visit this morning and my dentist is a 45 minute drive away so that stole all my free time. Still managed to enjoy a trip to the park with my boys in the sunshine. Have I mentioned before how happy I am when it's sunny?

 

 

Goal 1 - Kick ass workouts 3 times a week - done (3/3 for the week)

No rest for the wicked - it was power day on day 3 of the fighter's codex. So I completed 5 sets of the following:

10x push ups 

10x squats 

10x push up and double punch

10x squat and front snap kick

5x push ups

5x squats

 

Most of the push ups were on the knees but in the first set I managed 9 full before I flaked. Not perfect form on the last few but I was pretty happy with them. Also - squats count for the mini!

 

Goal 2 - Stop binge eating (pass)

I tried SO hard today to eat enough calories but it's so hard. It would've been easy to add in some serious carbs or junk food but I didn't want to so I've even an absolute TON and I'm still 500 calories down. I need to research some healthy snacks that aren't carb filled.

 

Goal 3 - Complete 20 good form push ups (current level = 7)

As I said earlier, I managed 9 in total but the last couple were ridiculously shaky etc so I'm going to count it as 7 achieved. Happy!

 

Life Side Quest - Have a kick ass wardrobe - no progress

 

Yes! You're doing fabulously. I wish I knew some good snacks for you...but I don't really calorie count so I have no idea I hope you figure it out. Maybe just eat more meals?

Way to go on the pushups. 7 or 9, either way that's fantastic. Pushups are hard!

Recap from today

Q1 water

6 glasses, success! It felt easier too. A

Q2 dessert

it's getting easier to look at something and say, nah, i don't eat that or want it. A

Q3 paleo

lunch was chicken breast and salad. I eat a lot of chicken don't i? dinner was meatloaf, potatoes, and asparagus. A

My first straight A day! I feel....pretty happy about that!

Also, DOMS. That is all.

I love your illustrations - they're so whimsical. And don't worry about what happened while you were sick. It happens!! Just be happy knowing you got right back in the game

 

Updating early because it is rest day and also because both stillskies and I need a freaking break, so tonight's plan is to turn off all electronics, put on sweats, make dinner and delicious hot tea, cuddle up on the couch with a fluffy blanket, and read books IN PERFECT BLESSED SILENCE.

 

No house stress.

 

No challenge stress.

 

No work stress.

 

JUST BOOKS AND TEA AND CUDDLES.

 

Good for you. Have a wonderful evening, I hope you feel better in the morning

do 500 squats tonight and 250 situps.  Do it for the team!!

You got it boss!

Okay, Week 1 Recap.

Q1- water

I did some fancy math and assuming I did it right, I got a 3.1 for this, or a solid B. Nice!

Q2 - dessert

Another 3.1, another B. Awesome job, me!

Q3 - paleo

Even better! 3.6, which translates to an A-. Sweeeeettttttt.

Overall grade for Week 1 is 3.2, or a B+. Not bad at all.

I should take a page outta your book, I'm just so damn competitive I don't want to lose! LOL (everything hurts...)

Haha yeah I'm not competitive at all, I like to relax and take things as they come. Sometimes I wish I were more driven, then I might actually get stuff done lolol

I was thinking the same thing earlier. I didn't realise how fun this would be.

It's a lot of fun! And at the end of the day, at least for me, the pressure to actually keep on top is minimal since I know my personal challenge comes first. 

I just got a water bottle from http://www.gocontigo.com/ I freaking love it.  I got this one and its got everything. It locks, it has a clip i can clip my apartment keys on when I got the the gym. It auto-seals when you're not using it so it doesn't spill even when unlocked. I put it in my purse on its side all the time. Love it. Highly recommend.

I like that bottle a lot! And it's pretty cheap too....hmmmm......

Totally way far away! (Rockford, IL) That's true, they aren't professionals but I bet they already know how to dance! I need like a beginners class "2 left feet and no rhythm? We got you"

Yeah that's pretty far from western MA haha. Don't compare yourself. Everyone starts somewhere, and I'm sure their community is as welcoming as ours. Maybe if you go once and like it, you can meet with some members outside the meetup and practice? That's what my salsa classmates do. We have class once a week but some of them rented a studio and just go for an hour and practice. I still think you should give it a shot. The worst thing that happens is you waste an evening and never go back, and that's really not that bad especially when you have made it a quest to meet people. Remember, sitting back on your heels gets you nowhere.

What's the hardest part of getting the water for you? Great job on the no sweets!

 

What helps me is chugging a 16oz or so of water before I eat my meal (also helps feeling full so I don't over eat!)

 

You are doing a great job! Sometimes we have set backs and we need to look at how to improve instead of taking the defeat. Learning from the bad is half the battle!

I found that just changing what water bottle I had at my desk at work really changed my water intake. Before I had a bottle I had to pour into a cup, and it seems dumb, but getting a 32 oz I could drink straight from increased my water intake by about 5 cups a day overnight. I wasn't any more thirsty, it was just more accessible. I had to think less about it and it became less of a chore.  I try to drink a whole 32 oz bottle over my work day so i can take the empty bottle home and refill it when I get there and then drink another bottle when I get home before I go to sleep.

 

Just thoughts. Might be the vessel is the problem.

I drink glasses of water. I have 2 waterbottles but I don't like them. I asked my boyfriend for a waterbottle with a spout that I could sip from instead of a giant hole that spills onto my face (i'm not very good at feeding and watering myself) for my birthday but that was nearly a month ago and he still hasn't gotten it for me. Guess I should get one myself, haha. But I think it would help if I had a proper vessel to drink from instead of just glass cups.