stepping_out

Yeah, I need to get over the annoyance of the change. Finding that out about myself, I'm really not that into change!!

My weight doesn't depress me, I'm cool with my body at the moment :-) I was more interested in the impact of various different levels of calories and macro combinations, plus water fluctuations related to hormones, training and such (although I can still track those over time).

Quick recap of zero week! 1) Heart pumping: Did lots of walking but it was incidental rather than a planned training session. I'm going to let myself get away with it because it was zero week, but will make time for a deliberate walk today. 2) Feet thumping: Done, although maybe I did peak and the Aria has my weight a lot higher than my previous scale. It's fine, but it messes up my data. Ah well. 3) Mouth mumping: Various InstaPot dishes were cooked! I was visiting with family and talked my aunt into getting one herself (not that she needed much convincing, the gadget love runs in my family!). We made: more lentil soup (hers was better than mine, must steal!), 1-pot pasta dish (which I messed up because I underestimated the amount of liquid required to get the pot to pressure, but it was still mega delicious). When I got back home, I made: Chicken breasts from frozen in 20 minutes, so exciting!!! I used a piece of Maggi flavour paper (not what it's called, it's basically a bit of parchment with spices), so just wrapped that around the chicken, into the pot with a little water and more spices, and off it went. Quite good for chicken breasts ;-). Last night, I made beef short ribs braised in cola, rather delicious and went down well with the OH. Also made roast potatoes in the pot and really think I may need another one just to speed things up. Quite happy with this overall. Training is going okay as well, we're going up to 100% this week on squat and bench - squat PB already in the bag, will see about bench on Saturday, and then basically rest (with openers next Tuesday).

I know the IPF rules, but have no way of proving this other than saying I've successfully competed before ;-) I also have quite literally all the approved and allowed equipment at this point, and I shall be wearing ALL of it. Current (competition) 1RMs: 150/65/160 Our coach had us pick some 3rd attempts we'd like to hit and we've been training based on that. For me, this is 160/70/170, but I've actually done more in training. So, on the day, it may or may not look something like: Squat: 145, 155, 160-165 Bench: 65, 70, >70 Deadlift: 155?, 165?, 170 (It's possible I could go a little higher, but I really don't like deadlifts and don't think I can be bothered!) I generally don't think it's a great idea to get too stuck on these numbers, it's all about how you feel on the day and that can vary quite a lot. For me, a good meet plan is one that can be adapted, and that lets you walk away with the best total you can get on that day. So I'm personally not going to consider it a failure if I don't get those numbers. The real goal for me is to get a 325+ total to be safe in terms of qualifying for nationals, and to get out there again because I haven't competed in a while.

Like they had in the last Hunger Games movie? (Edit to say I guess there were books, too.)

Guess I'm doing another one... 27-29 May 2017 (I'm probably competing on the 29th) All England Powerlifting Championships 2017 Moulton College, Northampton, UK Website: https://www.englishpowerlifting.co.uk/national-events Will probably be streamed, but also probably won't have a link until the day of ;-)

Yes deffo. I bought a selection of different meats, now in my freezer, to try over the next few weeks. Because, meat! I think brisket will be first next Tuesday, nom nom nom nom nom.

April 30th, loads of time! Clearly didn't need coffee, brava, brava

Whatever you decide, we're 100% behind you (although obviously we're all not-so-secretly hoping you'll go for it!!!).

Cheers, will do next time, I didn't want to mess with it!

In for the sequel.

Over the last challenge, I've somewhat accidentally started decorating my batcave. Voila my new toys: Fitbit with heart rate thing-o Fibit Aria InstaPot This round, I'm going to build the challenge around these. So here goes: 1) Get that heart pumping I've signed up for the half marathon that goes past the house where I lived for 8 years. I've done it every year since it started (that's only 3 times, but still!), and I want to keep collecting the medals. This means I have to get back into shape. My goal isn't to run this, I may Nordic Walk it or maybe Jeff it (= run-walk, for the uninitiated). My resting heart rate is already quite low, according to the fitbit, but I want to see how this affects things over the medium term. Goal: Go for two 30min walks during the first two weeks of the challenge, and add a longer outing during the last two. (This is to work around my next powerlifting competition, I don't want to start running before that's done.) 2) Get those feet thumping I got the Aria so I don't have to mess about entering my weight manually into Fitbit and my spreadsheet each morning. I don't want to go back to obsessing about this, so the plan is to have the scale do this automatically and then copy a week's worth of measurements when I check in with the nutritionist. Goal: Step onto the scale every morning (unless I'm travelling), and don't look at it except on check-in day. 3) Stop that mouth a-mumping Okay, so maybe I looked at a website for hip hoppy rhymes and this was the closest to making sense. ANYWHO! Now that I've got the InstaPot, I'm out of excuses for not batch cooking, or even cooking, really. I'm enjoying looking up recipes, but ultimately I want to understand the basic principles of it so I can adapt recipes myself. My first try was tonight's green curry risotto with chicken breast. I looked at a few different recipes for risotto and chicken breast, and tried to figure out how to make that work. It's simple enough and everything was cooked, but let's just say this particular fusion was more of a con-fusion. Goal: Use the InstaPot at least twice a week. One of those should be a new recipe. There's the regular stuff as well, train, keep up with the food tracking etc., but I don't feel like setting goals for those because they're pretty habitual right now. Comp is on the 25th, much excitement.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, once again the virtual challenge coincides with a real life one. Competing February 25th. I've added myself to the spreadsheet, but it looks like some cells are still populated from a previous challenge maybe? Like, my age just happened to be there already. Some ranks are in there, and a few best attempts?

Following the assassin because then she's not behind me.

Just to say thanks for the inspiration. I've been reading a lot about the InstaPot, and been wanting to do more slow cooker meals for a long time, but the whole planning ahead thing doesn't really work from me (i.e., putting together the meal in the morning). So, I took the plunge and got one. So far, I've made a) steam and b ) hard boiled eggs. Both very nice! Expect to be doing a lot more batch cooking. Tonight I'm doing another whole chicken, pressure cooker this time. My slow cooker and my egg cooker are going to a new home, so I'll also have more kitchen space. I do love a new gadget.

Guess that's it for this challenge. Quite boring this end, weights were lifted, food was eaten, fun was had. So:

Oh no! But might explain the way you've been feeling? Hope things improve. *brews virtual tea*

Not exactly liking the post, but hopefully you know what I mean. Here if you want to talk.

Another week done! I don't know if time is passing quickly at the moment, or if I'm moving slowly. Maybe a bit of both. 1. Lift a horse: Week 3 of "all the volume" in the bag. Actually the first of the three where I was able to do all three sessions, so maybe it's not a surprise that I'm even more tired than usual. We also had an intro sessions for ladies at the gym before training on Saturday, where I helped out a little bit. Ended up being at the gym for over 6 hours and didn't manage my nutrition well - starving towards the end of training. But, survived, and next week is doubles, so that should be interesting. I haven't lifted that type of weight since October, I think... I guess we'll see if there has been any progress. Need to train on Monday this week, which is a day earlier than usual, focussing on recovery today. Very, very knackered. 2. Eat like a horse: Everything tracked, the shine has worn off a bit and it's no longer a "fun" activity, but it's doable. Kind of counting my fitbitting under this goal. I'm enjoying the heart rate feature, although it seems my resting heart rate is trending upward. Might be normal, as the fitbit "learns" about me? I don't know if it's supposed to be that smart. Also not sure how accurate the calorie estimates are supposed to be, but let's just say if they're anywhere close, it's probably not a surprise I was hungry yesterday because I spent nearly twice the calories I ate... (Which is what leads me to thinking it's probably not that accurate.)

Sorry you're feeling a bit off! Could it be leftovers from your cold? I'm kind of in a similar mood, I think. Everything's just that bit harder?

A random and belated week 2 contribution, crockpot roast chicken! It's the first thing I've made in the crockpot that actually turned out to be super tasty, I don't think I have the knack for it. But, here it is: A layer of potatoes and some whole onions in pot Rub whole chicken with spice mix (I used one I brought back from Lanzarote, didn't know what was in it, didn't care). I was feeling fancy so stuck a bouquet garni inside the chicken as well. Put chicken on top of veg Try to put on lid, realise pot is too full and plug the gaps with foil!!! Leave on low for approximately 8 hours Optional: Put chicken under grill for a few minutes to crisp up the skin after. EAT!!! The chicken melted off the bone. I also cooked mushrooms and peas in some of the chicken juices to go with it. This was just a delight. Makes about 4 meals like this. Yumm.

I'll PM you :-)

Sooooo fitbit came yesterday, it's quite pretty! If anyone wants to befriend me there, here's my profile: https://www.fitbit.com/user/266XZZ

Ohhh, this is good information, haven't noticed that before! But I think as long as my bum is covered, it's probably okay. I may be able to get a used SBD singlet from someone, so I'm parking the decision until I find out if that's happening AND BUYING A FITBIT INSTEAD!!! There is some really sound reasoning behind this: I've just switched to an adjustable desk, so I'm going to spend at least some time each day standing while I work. I want to measure the impact of that! And, I take my temperature every morning at the same time, the silent alarm will help with that. Aaaaaand I've been wanting to monitor my heart rate for a long time, I've tried the separate chest monitors but they chafe and aren't made for all-day use. I know the fitbit isn't perfect in that regard, but it'll be a start. So that's my justification, not sure why I feel it's necessary ;-) But I'm also just excited about it, I do like my toys. Lifting: Week 3 of our "all the volume" phase. Only one workout in and I'm already knackered. But, my bench was playing nice today, after a few weeks of plain suckage. Deadlifts, not so much, but they're not supposed to feel good - right? Food: Tracked. I'm back to fitting comfortably into my belt where I was before the British last year, and that was a pretty nice balance between being fat enough for a big squat, but not too fat for a reasonable deadlift! So everything's ticking along nicely. Booooring ;-)