Defining

Well, uh. I guess that's pretty self-evident. I did none of the things I talked about for 2023. None. Of. The. Things. Where the actual eff did the year go. I am currently posting because I'm putting off some tidying/decluttering I've committed to. I had the house to myself for a few weeks and figured I'd take advantage.... and in reality I just have @#$&ing piles EVERYWHERE. I have .....let's say 16hrs (including sleep) to at least make the piles manageable enough that they are not preventing use of the public spaces of the house. I can do that. But I am thinking ahead for the next year. There is SO much that's changed in 2023, and yet I'm still stuck exactly where I was. I'm honestly a bit exhausted by thinking about it. But I need to create a better space for workouts. I need to edit the kitchen so I'm willing to do meal prep. I need to modify my bed area for superior sleep hygiene. I need to figure out my shit. I'm not setting goals for the whole year, there's no point. I'm going to set a goal for Q1 (because my 35th bday is at the beginning of Q2): decluttering. I can't effect change in the same environment. The clutter is causing actual anxiety for me now. This is the priority. I lied, I'm going to set a goal for 2024: the year of 'No Purchases'. I'm banning myself from buying anything (net healthy groceries). I will permit myself trades, and/or treats bought with $$ from selling clutter. There's so much more I could say, but really it'd just be more procrastinating. I don't even know anymore. Here's to the next 5 months.

Technically the EPOC effect exists after both aerobic or anaerobic activity - it increases in a (I believe) somewhat linear relationship to intensity. That is to say: if you're breathing hard or 'feeling the burn', you'll likely experience at least some "after burn". FWIW, you can do HIIT with bodyweight exercises. Bodyweight exercises are just as effective as any other resistance training, as long as you are following a program which uses progressive overload to increase strength over time. However, this really shouldn't be a major consideration for a fat loss journey. Resistance training helps to preserve muscle mass in a caloric deficit and aerobic exercise will typically have beneficial effects on your cardiovascular health, but exercise has relatively little power to adjust the energy/calorie balance (even if you're working out every day). EPOC accounts for an even smaller proportion of potential energy expenditure than the exercise itself. The most effective strategies for fat loss will mostly be diet focused, which is to say creating an energy deficit by eating fewer calories than your daily activities burn. TL;DR - EPOC is not going to make or break your success with body recomposition, but what you choose to eat absolutely can. Things that I WOULD pay attention to for a fat loss journey: - quality and quantity of sleep; 8+hrs/night is ideal for most adults - stress management; if you are super stressed out, your body will resist fat loss to the detriment of your overall health - total caloric intake; you could either try a 'slow and steady' approach at 80-85% of your TDEE, or intermittent energy restriction (eg. 2wks at 70%TDEE, 2wks at 100% TDEE, continue to alternate with regular recalculations based on your new weight/TDEE) - total protein intake; 0.7-1g of protein per lb of bodyweight a day is a good guideline to get going - if you carry more fat you can err towards the lower end of that range, if you are already lean(ish) then stay at the higher end of that range - 5-8 servings of veg & fruit/day; fiber and micronutrients are good for you - minimum 150min of exercise a week, ideally 2-3x resistance and maybe another aerobic workout or two - staying sufficiently hydrated; aim for 0.5-1oz of water per lb of bodyweight a day - err on the higher end of the range on days you're working out Good luck, and welcome to the forums!

Not sure where you got the impression that all 'super bio products' are always safe or healthy, to be perfectly honest - anything that says 'super' is typically just marketing wonk, rather than a guarantee of quality. Prop 65 warnings can be a little alarmist, they require warnings at much lower concentrations than many other standards. That being said, I am always dubious of the quality control around 'medicinal mushroom' products which don't have full transparency of where they source their materials (call me paranoid). I also think that some of the benefits which are touted by mushroom products are not always backed by quality reputable research; YMMV, but I'd take it all with a grain of salt. You could try chocolate malt (roasted barley) as another potential coffee alternative, or even explore herbal tea options instead. 'Mushroom coffee' is typically just normal coffee mixed with the mushroom stuff in order to cut the caffeine content, so you could also experiment with just normal decaf instead (bonus: much cheaper).

Thank you for checking in! I have clearly already fallen down on checking in weekly. 😄 Um, good intentions are great, but without action are useless? I spent some time last week trying to see if visiting with a therapist might be beneficial, but after several hours of reading bios of professionals in town (or with online availability) I just can't seem to find a fit which gives me confidence that it'd be a good use of anyone's time. I feel like I need help to get my ass in gear, and I don't know where to ask for that help. I am so fatigued by setting the same goals, starting with different strategies and then just falling on my face. So, TL;DR - thank you Jan 2023, for the quick reminder that setting goals means diddly squat if I don't get get things done every day. Same old, same old.

First week or so of 2023: ..... let's just say that I'm kind of jealous at how far this little girl got! 'cause it's a damn sight further than I've managed

I'm not going to set up a challenge, because it would feel like wasted space. I aim to check in at least once a week in this thread for 2023. My strategy this year is 'face what you fail'. The premise is that rather than working towards goals (which clearly hasn't worked for me), I'm going to work AWAY from the stuff that I don't want. To that end, I have taped up three photos in my room: a photo of myself without clothes, a photo of my living space in its current state, and a photo of my bank statements. These are my daily reminders of what I haven't done - and what the consequences of my inaction are. The crux my of challenges come down to not being happy with: - my body (I want to improve my strength, endurance, pain levels, flexibility, nutrition, sleep quality, BF%) - my housing situation (I want to live in an organised/uncluttered space, and to have my own functional independent space) - my professional choices (I want to feel financially self sufficient, and it'd be nice to be excited about my work) I know that all the 'happiness' metrics & research suggest that the PEOPLE you spend time with are hugely important to your wellbeing and satisfaction with life. At the moment though I cannot imagine a lifestyle which requires more people, so I'm going to put that on the backburner for now because otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd just self-sabotage any goals in that area. Strategy #1 - Accountability: BUJO every morning, remind myself what a lack of execution leaves me with Strategy #2 - Reward: Roll a die for anything accomplished in a week; every time I roll a 5, I can add $5 to a slush fund to buy a new DVD series or something else fun Strategy #3 - Discipline: I am not allowed to watch ANY movies/TV shows unless I'm on a treadmill/bike/rower/elliptical or tidying; if I do, I forfeit all earned rolls for the day Strategy #4 - Follow Bad with Good: Any time I open any social media or want to watch a YT video, I need to do 20 of a bodyweight exercise first (and/or for every 10min spent). I may also revisit my 'on the hour every hour' physical activity goals at some point. Actionable habits: I will be trying Habitica to track habits & 'to do' stuff. We'll see how it all goes!

As always, thank you for starting the thread! I have no idea what to do with a reading goal this year. I find myself going through binge sessions and then returning to 'old familiar' materials to refresh, and then feeling frustrated at not finding new stuff to read that I can really get IN to. Will have to put some thought into it...

As per usual, I fell on my face. But when it worked, I was more active throughout the day! 😅

I don't really have any updates to offer. This week I need to sit down and physically write out everything I've tried in the last 5yrs, in my attempts to kick my own ass into gear. I don't know what to do anymore, so I may as well take stock; maybe I'll luck out and see a really obvious gap.

Carb cycling is often used more for fine-tuning energy for different types of workouts. For fat loss, the more relevant metric to look at is total caloric intake. If you keep your intake the same and just cycle your carbs, it will not typically result in fat loss. You can create a caloric deficit by taking in fewer calories, or burning more calories. Those are the only options. Some other things that are beneficial to take a look at for fat loss include: - getting enough quality sleep (7+hrs /night) - increasing your non-exercise activity (eg. get up every hour to move, go for a walk outside, etc.) - ensuring you're consuming enough protein to favour fat loss instead of muscle loss (1.2-1.8g/kg/day is a good starting point; the higher the better) - resistance training will also help to push your body towards fat loss rather than muscle loss - stress management; journaling, meditation, colouring books, walking outside, yoga, visiting with friends, etc. - eating at or below your TDEE; this could involve prioritising more nutritious that have less caloric density (eg. increase vegetable/fruit intake, whole grains instead of refined, etc.) Remember that successful changes long-term for body composition require you to make lifestyle changes, not just 'going on a diet'. Start as you mean to go on: with habits that improve your health and wellbeing, rather than thinking of your choices as 'restriction or bust'.

I think I may have mentioned this idea before, but I figured I'd offer it up in case anyone else wants to join me in it. I want to do 20 reps (or 30sec) of a bodyweight exercise on the hour for every waking hour (more or less). So: set an egg timer as a reminder, and keep track with a basic BUJO or something. 15 sets/day - this is easy enough to do in a public bathroom, on the way to your car, getting up from a desk, etc. Encourages regular movement, marks the passage of time, adds 60min(ish) of NEAT/week, improves daytime alertness, might help with ROM and strength stuff, and I'm sure some other fun benefits. I'm aiming for 2500 total sets before reassessing, which takes us to the beginning of Dec, give or take. Some ideas for bodyweight (or light banded) movements could include, but are not limited to: Bear Crawl, Liard Walk, other crawls, Turkish Get Up, Supermans, Mountain Climbers, Donkey Kick, Clam, Knee Circles, Push Ups, Band Pull-Aparts, No-Moneys, Reverse Plank, Glute Bridges, Reverse Lunge, Ass to Grass BW Squats, Lateral Lunge, Skater Hops, Dead Bugs, Bird Dogs, High Knees, Jump Squats, Skater Hops, Froggers, Burpees, Jumping Jacks So, uh.... any takers?

There are lots of ways to program progressive overload! Weight (or leverage, as is typically used for calisthenics) is only one of them. Other ways you can make exercises more difficult: do more reps, do reps slower, try to increase ROM, take a pause at the beginning/end of each rep, shorter rests, doing the exercises more often, etc. Depending on your long-term goals it may be worth having a chat with trainer or physio though, to ensure that you're doing everything safely in a way that will benefit your health.

Delicious fat ruins my tummy, unfortunately. And no, no direct causes that I'm aware of, probably just shitty sleep quality recently or something. 👋

I WISH! Unfortunately I'm just enough of a jerkface that I don't typically find it very motivating to have a buddy keep me on track - I don't really 'care' what they say/think/do. I wish it weren't true, but that type of external accountability just doesn't do anything useful for me, or at least it hasn't in the past. I didn't really keep up with tracking here on the forums for the last challenge, but I'm mostly ok with that. I like the 'roll the dice for a reward' approach, but I utterly failed on the 'no junk movies/tv' part of it, so I didn't exactly accrue a ton of points this time around. I think I'm going to skip the challenge this time 'round, but will probably check in on this thread once in a while instead.