concretecavewoman

Yes, indeed! High protein, low carb pumpkin cheesecake. It was kind of a nice, novel way to pack in a ton of protein, but then I'm very averse to the splenda/xylitol sweetener flavor. I'm going to continue to try recipes that call for, say, cottage cheese or ricotta rather than non-fat cream cheese in the future, and perhaps sub in some real honey for the stevia since the carbs are nice on training days. Maybe this one next. I ate about three pieces while watching the Lion King and was oddly okay with this. Though I did have to take constant swigs of water to dilute the artificial sweetener aftertaste. Haha, I think next time a bro-scientist tries to "help" with my form at the gym I'm gonna say "homegirl, hell naw".

Think of what you will have to spend money on: Utilities power water garbage sewer internet cable Cell/Data plan Renter's insurance (20-30/mo) Food (anywhere from 150-$$$$$$ depending on how you roll) Clothes Furniture/housewares Dining out/entertainment Grooming/hair cuts Transit fares Travel/vacation Student loans, if you have them Gym fees And the list goes on. I recommend you start up an account on Mint.com; it will give you some good ideas about what constitute common categories of spending. You might also ask your parents what they currently spend on the above items to give you some kind of regional baseline. There are also lots of sites that provide average consumer prices depending on the city in which you live. Edited because CowboyMrIndependent's comment reminded me of a minimalist financial maxim: There are 5 things you need to always have taken care of: - Food - Shelter - Clothing - Health care - Retirement Everything else is icing on the cake, but if you don't have those key 5 settled, generally it's good not to burn money on everything else. Also, it's NEVER too early to think about building a nest egg. Compound interest baby. Make it work for you.

I work next door [did I really write 'next store'? cripes. don't post while napping kiddos] to a David Barton location. The gym apparently has a bar that serves apple-tinis. This confuses me. Though I have friends who really enjoy working out there.

Thank you! Well, took kind of a hit this weekend because I ended up having to give a small loan to a family member, but I'm hoping that since I had to push out the surgery it won't impact me much. Boy howdy it's been hard to avoid unnecessary spending but it's a good willpower muscle to keep exercised. Thanks Thank you! Not sure what happened in squat-land. It used to be my go to lift but now it's just all weak and wonky.

Challenge Day 15, 14 May 2012 Really good day! Though I caved in the afternoon and took a hit from the hot chocolate machine in the break room. Did the final walkthrough on my new apartment and I'm so excited to move this weekend. Lifts are coming along reasonably well. Feeling strong in the upper body. Fitness Barbell Bench Press 45/5 55/5 65/5 90/5 80/8 70/12 Yeah! 25lb plates here I come Barbell Hip Thrusts BW/5 30/6 30/6 Dip (negatives) 3 3 3 Pushups 4 4 3 1-Arm DB Row 35/10 35/10 40/8 Military Press 25/5 25/5 25/5 DB Lateral Raise 10/8 10/8 10/8 Wide-grip Pull-up w/band 4 3 4 4 Food (Work Day) Lunch: 12 oz chicken breast over 3 c salad greens and tomatoes, 400g steamed sweet potato Snack: 1 sm hot cocoa packet and a cup of coffee w/splash non-fat milk (bleh.) 1 c lowfat cottage cheese, 1 banana, 1 c strawberries. 1 larabar Dinner: 5 oz chicken fajitas with onions and peppers. the rest of the leangains pumpkin cheesecake Macros: 40F, 186C, 184P (yeah!) Cals: Goal Progress Leangains - 11/42 -- Back on track, currently at 92% assuming I hit all my numbers for the next four weeks. Get Faster - 7'35" / 6'40" -- Off Track, have not run 400s in a week Be Consistent - 9/36 -- On Track with Risk Save Real Good - 1250/2300 -- On Track

So do any of you deal with rest day hunger? For some reason I find it challenging to hit intake requirements on training days but SO EASY to exceed requirements on rest days. Maybe the exercise is just acting as a hunger suppressant?

Killer! It's amazing to realize just what weight training can do. I have to say that while I rather enjoy eating paleo, I'm letting myself just get used to the macros and timing first (eating primally, I suppose) before trying to clear out the dairy and that kind of stuff. And admittedly, having the freedom to squeeze in this or that treat courtesy of macros is kinda freeing.

Oh golly, lots of retroactive updates. Challenge Day 10, 9 May 2012 Fitness Nothing, I worked from home all day. Typing is not exercise Food (Rest Day) Lunch:2 tbs coconut manna, coffee with heavy cream Snack: 1 square dark chocolate, some almonds, a crustless egg quiche Dinner: Roasted lamb stew with onions and bell peppers, a bit of curry over 1/4 c rice Macros: 99F, 50C, 85P (Boo!) Cals: 1440 Challenge Day 11, 10 May 2012 Worked out and went a little over on cals/macros today. Went to a friend's house after work for a dinner party and ended up eating a glutinous brownie (miscommunication on their glutinous state). It was fun, but then I came home and ended up working til 3am. Torched! Fitness Deadlift 45/5 65/5 95/5 135/5 120/7 105/8 Finally hit 135x5, time to crawl up to 140 Leg Extensions 80/5 110/5 165/4 150/7 135/10 One-Arm Cable Row 30/10 30/7 25/10 Face Pull 25/10 Pushup 12 12 7 Parallel grip Pull-up w/band 1 2 3 4 2 Food (Rest Day) Lunch: 12 oz chicken breast over 3c salad, no dressing. 500g of steamed sweet potato Snack: 3/4 c cottage cheese, 1/2 c raspberries, 1 peppermint patty Dinner: Assorted mexican food. A small (~3oz) serving of pulled pork, a black bean salad with tomatoes, a large helping of shredded cabbage slaw, 1 scotch, and a brownie (gasp, gluten stomach ache) Macros: 37F, 250C (+50), 143P(Boo!) Cals: 2000 I'm calling this an on track day because even though I ate of the devil wheat, I was only 150 over on cals and close enough on macros Challenge Day 12, 11 May 2012 So after working late, I was beat the next day, and realized at the last minute that I had tickets to the opera after work. Oops. So I zombied my way through work and then went to see Madame Butterfly. Nice. Fitness Rest/Coma Day Food (Rest Day) Lunch: Roasted duck breast and duck leg. 2 c lettuce Snack: Dinner: Blergh, emergency food before opera, gluten free granola, goat's milk, a banana. Macros: 70F, 115C, 96P (Nope) Cals: 1460 (ok) Challenge Day 13, 12 May 2012 Hurrah for Saturdays. Slept in, worked out, watched cartoons. Fitness Squat 45/5 65/5 100/4 90/5 80/8 Squats are feeling very weak. These used to be my best lift, but after laying off for about 8 weeks they've rapidly become my weakest :/ Barbell Lunge 45/5 65/6 60/8 55/10 Barbell Shoulder Press 30/5 45/5 65/2 60/5 55/8 Chin-up, no assistance! 1 1 1 Parallel grip pullup, no assistance! 1 1 Food (Work Day) Lunch: (pre-wo) banana, chobani, some almonds, 1 sq dark chocolate Dinner: Paleo fajitas - 8 oz chicken breast, a bunch of onions and bell peppers, salsa. 400g sweet potato. 2 slices of leangains pumpkin cheesecake (wasn't super tasty, and some weird franken-ingredients. not sure if I'll make again) Macros: 33F, 186C, 135P (Nope) Cals: 1530 (under! what?!) Challenge Day 14, 13 May 2012 Ran errands, went on a long walk, hung out with friends. Fitness Walk 5 miles Chin-up, no assistance! 1 1 1 1 Food (Rest Day) Lunch: almonds, a spoon of coconut manna Dinner: Roasted duck with a tbs of plum sauce, lettuce cups with chopped fish and daikon radish, 1/2 c coconut yogurt. Macros: 66F, 73C, 80P (Nope) Cals: 1200 (under again, giving myself a pass on this since it was a super sleepy day) Goal Progress After two weeks I've got baseline pace numbers, I feel like I'm getting a better grip on this lean gains thing, I'm down 5lbs, and I've done all my lifts over the last two weeks despite an insane work schedule. I'm pretty happy! Leangains - 11/42 -- On Track with Risk, currently at 92% assuming I hit all my numbers for the next four weeks. Get Faster - 7'35" / 6'40" -- Off Track, have not run 400s in a week Be Consistent - 8/36 -- On Track with risk, the current best I could do for this challenge is 88% Save Real Good - 1250/2300 -- Super on track!

New Balance WT101 and VFFs sprints. The NBs are great for all terrain as they have minimal drop but also a rock plate for those "gravel gravel gravel!" moments. The VFFs are more for road/treadmill.

If you're going to be running in them, you should definitely be walking in them, tons.

I've used a fitbit for over a year. I like it mostly for making sure that I keep walking throughout the workday. That said, yes, I run with it, though I don't log it as an activity with the tracker (the UX is poorly designed, IMO). What do you mean by "can't get into it"? Like you don't know how to use it? Or you just don't like it that much?

This. Also, think of 'like' as 'respect'. The way you treat yourself is a model for how others ought to treat you, and sets expectations for the kind of treatment that you expect or allow. There is a variant of this trope: "you can't love someone else until you love yourself." I think that's equally true.

I think most people are just trying to make conversation, and what are people able to talk about? Kids. Nothing wrong with this. But because it's so universal I think a lot of people feel that it's something that can be prised into without being stopped by the normal social taboos. Also, having a family represents a social value, like religion or education or home ownership or any of a number of things that lots and lots of people do, so when someone deviates from that, it looks like an implicit rejection of a more common lifestyle (I refuse to buy a house; I regularly take crap for this, for example). That said, I don't think a snarky retort really helps anyone, other than making people feel more justified in their position because they pushed your buttons. If it were me I'd just be honest and say "I'm happy, I don't want children". What is there to argue about? (I've gone from being someone who was against having kids to being more pro, fwiw)

Agh agh agh. Been working 'til 2/3am the last few nights. But I -have- been working out. Must make updates tomorrow. Aaaaand I shall assign my point to... STR! As I put 10 lbs on my bench this challenge

Ugh, I say "socialize" all the time. For a while I fought it, now I've just joined the vernacular masses and let 'socialize' 'knowledge transfer' itself into my speech. I only hate myself a little.

Awesome workouts, and I love that you've got so much derby goin' on. Are you in a league? I go to see the Rat City Rollergirls pretty regularly and the athleticism is impressive.

Love the jacket. Haha, I was totally gonna ask what shoes you were pairing with it. Btw what kind of macros are you doing? And are you carb cycling with your crossfit schedule?

Killer OHP! Your challenge is Serious Business.

The results of your hard work this last week are definitely clear in your photos, awesome! So what is your threshold for hitting your macros? 100%? +/- 10% etc? I'm being very rule-of-thumb-y in my assessment of whether I'm hitting my macros. More of a "do not exceed, but at least meet, and heck, if I get within 30g of my protein goal it's awesome" approach. Also, uber kudos on the nailbiting. Here are a few favorite AoM articles: Rope Climbing Finance by Ben Franklin The Art of Conversation

Great attitude to have about moving on; I really like the perserverent spirit of your challenge thread! I've read in a number of places that people feel like giving up [insert processed food here] was more challenging that other substances that we consider more classically addictive (I can say the same about coffee, hoo boy).

I just wanna level set the 30,000 foot view 'cause we should leverage our core compentencies to push value up the valuestream, but maybe we don't have the necessary bandwidth here and should take this offline. It'd be more Agile.

1. Go to [Express | Gap | JCrew | insert your favorite non-offensive menswear store here] (as you're a teacher I would encourage JCrew) 2. Find well-dressed male clerk 3. Request 3 pairs of nice dark wash jeans, 1 pair of slacks, 3 shirts with 3 matching sweaters, 1 dress shirt and 1 dress sweater. 4. Get a black belt with a burnished buckle 5. Get one 3 season jacket 6. Rock it. Also, one pair of casual (casual != slip on vans), slightly sporty leather shoes will work for 90% of what a guy wears, other than dress occasions. Lastly, +a million to whomever posted the art of manliness link on proper shaving.

Challenge Day 9, 8 May 2012 The previous night I ate a spoiled yogurt (it didn't taste bad but gave me a killer stomach ache, or maybe I'm just being reminded that me and dairy do not a match make) and ended up awake all night with an angry stomach. Spent the first part of the day doing my final pre-op for laser eye surgery! The good news: surgeon confirmed that I'm good to go for The bad news: I'm getting PRK, not lasik, and due to extended recovery time I have to postpone the surgery 6 weeks (in crunch time at work and can't afford two weeks of recovery). More time to save I guess Then spent the latter part of the day at the office. Fitness Rest day Food (Rest Day) Lunch:Unintentional fast Dinner: Most of a roasted chicken, coconut skyr, a few raspberries, a spoonful of coconut manna, 2 oz dark chocolate Macros: 76F, 50C, 126P Cals: 1350 Goal Progress Leangains - 7/42 -- On Track Get Faster - 7'35" / 6'40" -- On Track Be Consistent - 6/36 -- On Track with Risk have 3 more running workouts and two more lifting sessions i need to fit in this week Save Real Good - 625/2300 -- On Track

This! Designed to increase your pushup and pullup volume. It's been working really well for me thus far.

Challenge Day 8, 7 May 2012 Did well, food and fitness-wise today. I had to take my car in to get assessed today because I was rear-ended last week. When I arrived at the adjuster's office... no one was there :scowl:. This is after the person who hit me gave me the WRONG insurance information and then got belligerent when I tried to get the correct insurance information from her. So I'm hoping it'll still be possible to get my baby repaired sometime this week. In happier news, I signed the lease on a new apartment! About this, I am super happy. I live in a somewhat sketchy suburb at the moment; the new place is a condo in the city center just a few blocks from Pike market and right on the waterfront; jazzed. Move-in is in two weeks. Fitness Bench Press 45/5 55/5 65/5 90/3 80/8 70/10 Dips w/band 4 8 10 Chin-up w/band 2 2 3 3 2 Push-up 7 11 10 Farmer’s Walk 53lb/80’ 53lb/160’ 53/100’ Food (Work Day) Lunch: 2 grilled chicken breasts over about 3 c mixed salad greens, shredded beets, and shredded carrots. 500g steamed sweet potato Snack: 1/2 of a small iced nonfat latte, kinda blech. Dinner: 7 oz turkey meatballs with 2 c. vegetable marinara, chobani yogurt, 1.5 oz dark chocolate Macros: 22F, 202C, 167P YES! Cals: 1670, oddly, I find it harder to eat high cal on workout days than on rest days. Goal Progress Leangains - 6/42 -- On Track Saying I'm back on track because no faltering this week (thus far) Get Faster - 7'35" / 6'40" -- On Track Be Consistent - 6/36 -- On Track Save Real Good - 625/2300 -- On Track Whew! Starting the week off right.