Bookish Badger

Day 2: Workout: Darebee Foundation Day 2. I couldn't do the lunge steps because of my knees and general bad condition so I did squats instead. Meal: Cobb Salad from Red Robin.

Day 1: Workout: Darebee Foundation Day 1 Meal: Leftover steak & veggies, eaten at about 10:30am.

I was active in these forums a few years ago and had some real success, then lost my motivation, got sidetracked... you know, all the same excuses. A few things have happened since then - I've changed jobs, including working from home full time, my husband nearly died a few times (he got better), he lost one job and left another, I've gone on anti-anxiety medication and am considering going off, a pandemic broke out and the world lost what was left of its mind, and my elderly cat passed away last month. And yet...I'm exactly where I was and where I feel I've always been. How can everything and yet nothing seem to change? So I'm respawning at Level 1 for a new playthrough. I'm starting at a weird time because I'm ready now and if I wait I might wander away again and who knows when I'll get back? I need to move more and since I've been working from home, I don't often bother to really eat during the day. This leads to inevitable overeating and bad food choices around dinner time and later. So I'm going to focus on two habits for the rest of this challenge & probably the next: Habit 1: Do a Darebees Foundation workout each morning as soon as I'm up. These are simple calisthenics that usually take about 15 minutes for the beginner levels. Habit 2: Eat a keto meal everyday before 12pm. Last time around, I had a cunning, intricate leveling and reward system based on my favorite Elder Scrolls character build. It was fun at the time but now just seems too much like work. And besides, I don't brush my teeth everyday for points and rewards, I do it because dirty teeth feel disgusting and clean teeth feel good - plus it's just what you do when you wake up, right? I want these two habits to become as ingrained in my daily routine as toothbrushing. A little accountability can't hurt either, so here I am. Thank you for reading and good luck to your own challenges.

So do I! I've been dealing with an up to 2-hour commute for over 10 years now, so saving some time and gas is a huge benefit!

So my weight has been bouncing all over the place. Since the last Tuesday (when I last posted) my weight hovered around 231lbs, then down to 229.4 on Saturday, back up to 231.8 on Monday, and 232 on Tuesday. This morning, I'm at 227.4. Let's see how long I stay there. I think I'm still mostly losing water weight, which is why I'm fluctuating so much. Which is fine, lugging around liters of extra water for no reason isn't good - I'm not a camel about to cross the Sahara, after all. And the ketosis will do its thing as long as I give it time. Good news on the work front: I'm now working from home 3 days a week, and after a few more weeks will work in office only one day a week. This gives me back at least 2 hours per day on non-commute days, and I can go to the gym before work on work-from-home days. On Monday, I went for a walk as soon as I was clocked out (my "commute") to reset from work mode to at-home mode. Yesterday, I mowed the lawn before the next round of rain starts today. And on Friday, I'm going to make a quick gym visit before I need to log in. More exercise and less time in traffic, yay!

Quick work-break update: My weight yesterday was 232.8 pounds (down from a starting weight of 236). As of this morning, I'd rebounded slightly less than a pound to 234.6. This is normal for me - rather than gradual, consistent loss, I'll suddenly drop 3-4 pounds overnight, then bounce back a pound to pound & a half (depends on how big the sudden drop was). Then that'll be my new normal for the next several days. I've been doing well on keto and as predicted, my hunger has dropped off. I get hungry less often and less food fills me up. Now I just have to tackle my bored-snacky habits!

Thank you! It's good to be back.

@Rookie Thank you for the horse pics! they're beauties!

The mind boggles at a Belgian/Quarter Horse cross. How many hands is she? Which side does she take after - is she the biggest QH ever, or the smallest Belgian? Also, was the cross intentional, or did someone's stud go wandering? Badgering minds want to know!

1. Bridges. I usually do 2-3 sets of 20 reps. 2. I'm not sure what they're called so I can't find a gif, but you lay on your back with one knee bent so your foot is flat on the floor. Rest said foot on a small ball, like a baseball or lacrosse ball, and roll your foot forward until your leg is extended straight, then roll it back. The ball will move from under your foot to about mid-calf. The challenge is to keep the ball under your foot/leg in a straight line and the rest of your body still. The PT said that this is to retrain my body to recognize what straight and not hyper-flexed feels like. Do a couple sets of 10, or as many as you want in one long set. 3. Another one I don't know if there's a name for it, but a doc suggested it back when I was in college: sit on a chair and secure one foot under something fairly heavy, like a piece of furniture or the toe kick under a kitchen cabinet. (I use the crossbar under our coffee table.) Your foot is close to the floor and leg is extended straight. Flex your quadricep so that your leg is rigid and your kneecap is pulled up. Now from the hip, try to lift your foot, pressing against the immovable object. Hold for 10 seconds, then relax. Do 3 sets of 3 on each side. This one is to bring the kneecap back into proper position and tighten the muscles/ligaments around it so it doesn't float around so much. IMO, that is the exercise that's really effective. If I'd been doing it consistently for the past couple of decades, I probably wouldn't have such problems now. 3. Hip exercises to address my hip weakness - side leg lifts, side leg extensions with a resistance band secured in a door, and "crab-walks" - again, not sure what they're really called, but you knot a resistance band in a loop that lets you stand with feet about hip distance apart. The band should be snug but not stretched. Next, sidestep by stepping one foot out as far as you comfortably can and then step the other foot in to the snug-but-not-stretched position. Sidestep in one direction for a bit, then back to work the other side. I crab walk up and down my hallway a few times. Horse talk: I haven't been involved with horses since high school, when I was involved in 4-H and FFA, and had a lovely Quarter Horse/Morgan gelding. But I still tend to use horse terms - I recently found myself telling my boss how dealing with a particularly stubborn and obstinate client was like riding a barn-sour horse.

Following for mutual keto-weight-loss goals!

You're on!

Thank you! Wish granted.... Update: Last night's dinner wasn't very keto - my husband had picked up stuffed peppers from Costco, which were really tasty, but the stuffing had rice in it. Not a huge amount of rice but some. So I just had one and a small salad to minimize the damage. And now I'm thinking of a recipe for "unstuffed" peppers - ground Italian sausage browned with just enough tomato sauce to give it some cohesion, and served over sautéed sliced peppers and onions. Maybe topped with mozzarella and parm and run under the broiler? I think it'd be faster than stuffing the peppers and baking them for an hour+, and certainly less fussy. This warrants research. Predictably, I'm HUNGRY since my metabolism is trying to avoid switching to fat burning. And some of the appetite is normal resistance to restricting foods. I had to stop by the grocery store on the way home and it was bad. Voice in my head: "Oooh, look! Double-stuff Oreos are on sale! We must get them NOW!!" (Never mind that I can't remember the last time I ate an Oreo.) So I'm treating the voice in my head like a cranky three-year-old who needs a nap: "Not right now." "What about chocolate milk?" "Not right now." "Buuuut I want piiiizzzzzaaaaa." "Not right now." "Pleeeease?" "Not right now." And I've stocked up on fat-bomb-like stuff; salami, some full-fat cheeses, unseasoned pork rinds and guacamole to dip them in, mixed nuts. If I'm hungry between meals, I eat something that's mostly fat and don't worry about the calories. I know that if I keep the carb count low, I'll transition by the weekend and my hunger will drop to nothing (then I'll just have to deal with habit and appetite.) I did my knee exercises yesterday and this morning, and got in two short walks yesterday and one today. My knee complained about walking down the stairs but doesn't seem to mind walking up them, so I've been walking up and taking the elevator down. And now I'm off to read for a bit before I need to start dinner.

Hello Fellow Rebels! I'm returning after a long and unintended hiatus. You ever get to a point where you just don't feel like participating in the forums, even tho you know it helps you stay on track? Coming up with new challenges (that are really the same old challenges), posting regularly, the pressure of finding new and relevant cat gifs... I just didn't want to do it anymore so I stopped, telling myself that I'd just keep going on my own. I don't think I need to tell you how that worked out. A few weeks ago, I started lurking again. Not posting anything, just wandering around the forums and seeing what some old friends were up to. And even though I'm still feeling resistance to starting a new challenge, I decided to jump in anyway. A little background: I'm now 51, in the throes of menopause (with all the hormonal absurdities that go with that), and about 100 pounds overweight. I'm starting to get issues with arthritis in my knees and ankles, and I'd really like to get a few more decades out of them. My parents are both 80ish and mostly healthy - except my mom has HORRIBLE issues with osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, and I can't remember the name of it now but it means degenerative arthritis of the pelvic joints. Those are footsteps in which I do not want to follow. Recently, the knee issues got bad enough to send me to my doctor, who sent me to physical therapy. X-rays showed that while I have some minor bone spurring, the gaps in the joint are normal so I still have plenty of cartilage. Neither my doctor or the physical therapist found anything to suggest tendon or ligament damage - but they both found extreme laxity in my knees and particularly in the right one. None of us could pinpoint any specific cause - it just seems that a lifetime of bad habits have finally caught up with me. If you lie on your back, prop a foot on a slightly elevated surface and relax, and then someone measures the angle of your knee, a normal knee will be 0 degrees - a straight leg. I tested at -8 degrees on my left and -10 on my right. The PT also found weaknesses in my hips and stiffness in my ankles, which with the knee laxity added up to my kneecap floating around in unhelpful ways and not tracking properly - which led to swelling and pain. I was given exercises to address the strength imbalances and retrain my body to what a "straight" leg actually is. A neutral knee actually feels slightly bent to me, like I'm about to begin a squat. The PT pointed out that when I stand, I lock out my knees like a sleeping horse (the horse comparison is mine, not the PT's) and my ligaments are holding me up, not my muscles, and they're doing it with a negative bend. To make matters worse, I tend to shift my weight to one side or the other, so one knee is taking the brunt of it. I've been trying to be mindful about keeping my knees "soft" (which is actually straight) and my weight distributed when I'm standing. This led me to realize that I have rubbish posture, rubbish core strength, and rubbish balance. So yeah, I've got some work to do. If you're still here after that giant wall of text, thank you! Without further ado, let's ado further with my challenge goals. The Goal: Lose 10 pounds by June 23 This is the first time I've set an outcome goal for a challenge, and this is an aggressive one, but I think doable. Especially since I'm skipping zero week and starting now. To accomplish this I will: Eat according to Keto guidelines. I've followed Keto in the past and I know that it takes weight off of me faster than any other eating plan. It has the advantage of being anti-inflammatory and diuretic, which will help with my knee swelling/pain. Meat, above-ground veggies, and high-fat dressings, cheese, and butter are my friends. Do knee/core exercises each morning, 7 days a week. Since finishing my PT sessions, I've not been consistent with these exercises, and guess what? The knee is starting to nag again. Walk as much as my knee will let me. My PT actually recommended that I NOT walk so much & recommended riding a stationary bike instead. I'm all for it, and will do so as soon as my schedule changes and I can get to the gym before work. Until then, short walks 2-3 times a day during the work week and moving around on the weekends (yard work, chores, etc.) will keep my circulation going. Read a book for at least 15 minutes per day, every day. No, this one won't help me lose weight, but it can't all be about the knee, right? Reading is my truest pleasure and I haven't made enough time for it lately. I need to get back in the habit. Thanks for stopping by!

That doesn't surprise me; at the time this took place, you would have been one of the 20-somethings getting it explained (assuming you would've been hanging around in the ladies' room).

1. [about 15 years ago] Monday morning and I was one of several women in the Ladies' room before work started. There was general chatter and gossip around the sinks when someone said, "I guess Eileen is already having a bad day; her rabbit died." "Eileen is pregnant?!" "No....her rabbit died." "So she's pregnant." "No, her...wait, what?" Which led to the 30-somethings explaining the Rabbit Test to the 20-somethings. Me: "So now you know the meaning behind that Aerosmith line, 'can't catch me 'cause the rabbit done died.'" 20-something: "What's an...ae-ro-smith?" Me: "Don't make me hurt you." (No, she really did know who Aerosmith was.) 2. [a few years ago] Doing group introductions on the first day of training for a group of new hires, and realizing that I was old enough to be the mother of the youngest in the group (he was 23) - even if I'd had kids at a normal age! I didn't even have the consolation of "old enough but only if it were a teenage mistake."

Day 7 Measurements: Weight: 234.4# (<3.4 pounds!) Blood Sugar: 103, fasting (<23) Blood Pressure: 131/83 (>4/11, but still not too bad) Pulse: 74 I lifted on Thursday, which felt really good, but skipped working out on Friday evening as I'd worked late and Mr. Bear was cooking chicken wings for dinner at my request. Can't let a perfectly good chicken wing get stale! I didn't get much exercise yesterday unless you count touring assisted living facilities. My MIL's condition continues to deteriorate. The situation has become more urgent because the home health nurse gave us two weeks' notice that her employer is discontinuing home health services. So we're looking at getting her into respite care this week and getting her moved to a permanent residence near us in the next few weeks. Then there's her house to clean out (her dementia has led to some mild hoarding), pack up, and sell. Today, at least I mowed the lawn, which I'm counting as an hour of walking. And I've been mostly Keto this week. I stepped out of bounds yesterday at breakfast because our favorite local-dive-bar-that-happens-to-have-an-amazing-kitchen had a pork schnitzel special. I ignored the potatoes but used half a slice of toast to scoop up the sauce and eggs over easy. I regret nothing! And it seems not to have hurt me any, since my weight and blood sugar are both down. Now, to keep it going in that direction... It was a challenging week. We've been understaffed for a while (I've been training newbies as fast as they've been hired, but as we don't have a Matrix brain interface yet there's only so fast that the knowledge can be crammed into their noggins). On top of that, there were mechanical/technical issues which led to much higher call volumes for us, and we weren't told the cause of the problems which left us with nothing to tell the customers but "sorry, we're working on it..." All the stress brought out everyone's inner toddler and led to some bickering about who wasn't pulling their weight. This sort of thing usually doesn't happen with this team so it just goes to show how frayed everyone's nerves were. It turns out that some of the fingers were pointing at me, with grumbling that I wasn't taking "enough" calls. (Part of my job is to take support calls when call volumes get overwhelming.) I found this out from one of the team leads who told me that he was going to talk to the dept. manager. He'd run the numbers and found that I'd taken more calls each day than the three finger-pointers put together. The whole thing was news to me, so while I was very grateful that he had my back, I was pissed and frustrated that my back needed having at all. Hence my desire to punch things.

The shag carpeting was in my room (pink and white - my whole room was pink and white and I'm allergic to pink to this day) where it was perfect for concealing Monopoly pieces, Lego bricks, and jacks until found with a bare foot. And since this was in Los Angeles, feet were bare more often than not.

And gets me out of the building before I start punching things. Which has never been more tempting as it has been this week.

My parents managed to dodge the fork-and-spoon thing, but they had at least two clusters of lucite grapes (gold and dark red).... .... the living room had fake wood paneling, of course, and a giant oil painting of surf directly over the couch.... My grandmother had an oil painting that was truly hideous; it was a reddish-orange desert scape with perspective lines converging on the mesas in the distance like a racetrack to nowhere. In the lower-left foreground was a pale blue egg (the only contrasting color). It was signed by someone named something like "Voltan," which I only remember because any time there was a local street event with "art" for sale, a few of my cousins who grew up in the house would go around pompously asking if they had "any original Voltans, we only collect Voltan's works" as a joke.

That yellow, orange, and brown screams "70s." I'm having flashbacks, and they aren't nearly as fun as I'd been led to believe. At least it doesn't include avocado green. That would make the 70s color palette complete. Even Malibu Barbie's Dream House?

Update: Still eating keto, though it's been hard a couple of times. Mainly because it's been a stressful week and I was looking for comfort. I skipped the gym yesterday because I was wiped out (see above). Mr. Bear was late getting home so I made a really easy frozen-meatball-and-salad dinner and climbed into The Way of Kings for a few hours. It did a badger good. Tuesdays and Thursdays seem to be the days to hit the free weights so I may need to tweak my schedule a bit. The weather had continued to be beautiful so I've gone on walks during my breaks at work, which has helped keep me from breaking things.

Update: Keto foods: Check Exercise Daily: Check Lifted weights on Monday Walked on treadmill on Tuesday (didn't do C25K or Zombies!Run, because I forgot my earbuds - they're in my gym bag now) Walked on at least one break at work. Update Thread: Check

Welcome!

Teas with mint and/or ginger work well for me. Ginger is especially good for nausea.