AriatikStarr

I’m a week late because I just got back from vacation yesterday, but I’m going to give this ONE more try... things should be calmer for a few months, no traveling and probably less busy with work. 1. Drink a gallon + of water per day. 2. Lift 3x per week. 3. Ride, run, or do some kind of non-work cardio 2x per week. 4. Research things needed to make this small business legitimate & make a checklist. Stretch goals: 1. Do mobility work before bed each night. 2. Finish the book I started on vacation. 3. Edit photos & update blog.

It’s alteady Wednesday. The most I’ve really done is meal prepped AND I took half of it to my boyfriend’s so that I’d have good there. Still hasn’t completely curbed gas station eats, though. Haven’t made lunch foods... I may need to buy a gallon jug of water to keep in the car and try to finish it off during the work day. Otherwise I tend to buy red bull or I just go all day without drinking anything. this week & next week involve longer workdays and I’m struggling to sleep. Haven’t been to the gym. Also realizing I have a little over two weeks to plan out each stop on my road trip. Basically, I’ve copped out of all if my actual goals so far.

Week 1 was an overall loss. bike-commute was only one day... then I got a rental car. The next few weeks are VERY busy and have groups every day, so I’ll need to park my car in that neighborhood if I’m going to bike. Can’t put my bike in the rental, so somewhat dependent on getting my car back. only drank enough water once. Only went to the gym once. Didn’t meal prep. i DID go on two fun rides this week. However, the first one was terrible because SURPRISE... when you’re underfed & dehydrated, you don’t perform well. Second ride wasn’t great, but essentially we decided to slowly poke around and have fun so that I would last. Today’s plan is to probably ride again & go grocery shopping.

Yesterday I did none of the things. I think I had 6 glasses of water, which is more than I was doing before. I drove a rental car everywhere though, ate from a gas station, and didn’t go to the gym.

1. Check. 2. Done, but because someone hit my car while parked and it was towed away. 3. I think I got a little over half, day sort of derailed once I started getting calls from insurance companies. Tomorrow may be rough because I need to schedule a consultation with a lawyer. All the things. 4. I took protein snacks for lunch. I did not eat them.

1. No gym 2. Fail, but I worked from 5-8ish this morning and decided to do laundry in between a few dogs. Not giving myself a pass, but in the name of productivity... (I also fully intend to drive to my next stop) 3. Didn’t cook lunches and my bananas are going bad. Prime bread making time. But I crammed a bunch of productivity in before 10am and then spent an hour cleaning my roommate’s bedroom in the afternoon. 4. Done. ...I basically ate pizza, and went from drinking coffee to drinking beer all day today while binging Netflix and cleaning.

I needed to exit this forum for a while, but I think I’m going to give it a whirl again. The entire structure of my life has changed. I moved into a new apartment with possibly one of the shittiest landlords around. I’m now working full-time (plus) as a self-employed dog walker. I own a car. I’m dating someone who is into bikes. How this changes my routine: - Previously, I was biking to all of my dogs. I now physically can’t do that every day because I’m dabbling in group walks to increase earning potential. - I’m struggling to get to the gym. By the end of the day, I’m too tired & evenings are set aside for social time anyway. In the mornings, I have a strong tendency to need at least an hour to eat and sip on coffee. - I eat like shit. I have been drinking copious amounts of Red Bull, then skipping lunch and ordering a lot of takeout. I’ve still lost ~20 pounds doing this, so it’s not a quantity issue but rather a quality issue. - I haven’t found time to read, study Spanish, or process new photos in a while. - I am riding more for fun, and socially. This has been lacking for a few years now, so I’d consider it to be a positive change. 1. Make it to the gym 4x per week. I started going back this week (well one day so far). The goal is to get there around 7am on weekdays, and if I don’t manage to get 4 days in, to go on weekends. 2. Ride-commute any days I don’t have a group walk. This seems self-explanatory. My next step here will be to drop my car off in the neighborhood with the group walk. I have done that once. The only negative is that i have to leave 20-30 minutes early. 3. Drink 80+ ounces of water per day, not including hydration during exercise. I’ve found that if I do this, I drink less coffee / Red Bull / beer. 4. Prep portable lunches each week. This one is going to be hard, but I need this as a first step in reducing my gas station eating & take-out. It can be fruit & nuts, but needs to be calorie dense and thought out (not just throwing a bunch of food in my bag). Bonus no-pressure goals: - finish the book I started months ago. - edit photos from a trip I took in July - study Spanish for one hour per week - do 2 “fun rides” per week, in the woods whenever possible

Monday: 0/1: didn’t meditate. Was pretty much running around until I went to bed because of a later meeting. 0/1: didn’t get enough protein. I’m considerinh using a supplement because it seems like if I don’t chow down solely on chicken breast & eggs, I don’t come close to enough.

Sunday: 1/1 Successfully meditated & stretched. 0/1 Didn’t get enough protein. Since I’ve been pretty scatterbrained I may try to do small daily updates on these.

It’s zero week! My last challenge was focused on not falling apart, but I made so many goals that my head was spinning the entire time. I’m going to take a different approach and chill out with the 30,000 goals. Lifting: I’ve started a program. Finished up the first cycle last week. Technically this week is my de-load, which means I’ll start my challenge with a new cycle. My actual goals for this challenge: - make it to the gym 4x per week. - don’t be so rigid about what those days are. I have historically tried to get all of my stuff in during the weekdays, but now I think I need to be open to weekend workouts. - push myself in the plus sets Meditating: Every challenge I make a stretching goal. I think instead I need to call it meditating. Every day I need to find time to just focus on how my body feels and not whatever is going on in my brain. If this means stretching, great. If it means just sitting on a yoga mat, fine. Spanish: I was a bit overzealous on this one during the last challenge. This time, I want 2 hours of Duolingo per week. As a stretch goal, I’d like to find conversational practice. Eating: I’m changing this one up, too. Every challenge I focus on not ordering takeout or eating out. I’m getting better at that, but only out of necessity (still not gainfully employed). For this challenge, I want to focus a little more on macros... specifically protein. I set a protein goal in myfitnesspal and I want to hit that goal. Additionally, I want to get back into regularly drinking tons of water (at least 8-10 glasses while not exercising).

To be fair to myself, I was out mountain biking from like 8-11:30 or 12 or something. A “slow and clumsy” ride after which I discovered that neither wheel was spinning freely (first time ever I’ve been the fastest in a group AND at a severe disadvantage) thats slightly productive

Week 4 & Recap: updating this now because I don’t see myself doing anything productive today, unless eating a ton of peanut butter and watching Netflix is productive. Schedule: this week I did a more proper wind-down twice. Once resulted in better sleep, then the Airbnb upstairs put the kibosh on my sleep the next night. i did write down future appointments & did a weekly google keep schedule every Sunday, so this part was done. $$$ didn’t list things for sale. ate takeout Sunday, chipotle yesterday. i think I lost momentum on selling stuff because I was either getting no responses, or garbage responses. learning & practicing: I did no Duolingo, no photos, and no baking this week. Id like to move forward with Duolingo & baking. Maybe a little less overzealous on my time goals, though. I’m not forcing myself to carry a camera on my dog walks anymore. The dogs didn’t love it. Hobby stuff: gym 2x and mtb ride (!) I think my biggest thing will be getting into a proper schedule that utilizes my morning hours better, since I’m awake at 5:30 anyway. If I can study for half an hour in the mornings & go to the gym, then start my day, I should be good.

The only real negative is that nobody in the planet (or in my house) is like this - at least nobody in my life - so I’m usually battling noise, messages, or invites to be social *sigh*

Sleeeeeeeeep update: i finally got over 8 hours of sleep last night according to Garmin and I mostly trust it. I will say that Fitbit was better at figuring out when I wake up in the middle of the night. Important points: - didn’t drink water for hours before bed. Really wanted to, but didn’t. - started my winding down at 6:30. That’s right everyone, this grown ass adult called it quits for the day when everyone else was having dinner. - stretched thoroughly. My body has been feeling pretty beat up and I haven’t even been lifting weights. Felt so much better afterwards. - read a chapter in a book I think I finally went to bed around 8, and Garmin has me sleeping just before 9. First alarm was set for 4:45 but I reset it and stayed in bed for another half hour. Now lets see how squatting feels when all you’ve done for two weeks has been excessive cardio.

A few weeks ago I had a Lancaster Brewing Papaya Milkshake IPA and it was one of my all-time favorite beers. Turns out, one of the more local breweries also brews with lactose... so I bought two 4-packs of their IPA... not as good. Very pricy. and I bought southern tier thin mint beer because I had to try it.

In order to wake up between 5-5:30, I’ve been going to bed before 9... but I can’t fall asleep quickly. I just don’t think regularly shooting for 8pm is feasible. Although last night my Garmin registered me as having gone to bed sometime after 6pm, which is incredible because I was literally speed walking to a bus around 6:30 and then walking home around 7. I watch dogs when folks are away sometimes. I try to stick with my regular customers though because I already visit them midday and it wouldn’t be an additional visit. Plus they love me & are willing to pay my rates... Rover suggests that sitters charge $25/night (they receive $20) so I don’t get bookings on there (I have it listed at $75/night so I’ll get $60). In all reality, where I am right now is great but one of my customers is temporary. I can’t exactly find a long term replacement yet, so I’ll just have to be patient. I have several friends who do this apparently and one is debating on giving me one of his more unruly afternoon dogs. This dog would pay my taxes, so crossing my fingers (only if it doesn’t work for him, but I guess it doesn’t get along with his dogs)

Well, I have one dog walk around 5:30am. It’s 5x one week and 2x the next. I pretty much have to get the gym in either after that walk, or at a similar time, because if I wait then I’m completely beat. Im trying to consistently wake up at 5am and it’s a struggle.

Week 3 update: Ugh. So today I had two last minute check-ins and both involved cleaning up piss (and one nice gooey pile of shit). I still was way happier than what I’d imagine myself to be sitting at some shitty desk job working for some shitty company. But I’m also still panicking about, you know, the prospect of paying bills. I have it in my head that by next June I want to live in a van with my cats so that I can afford self-imployment taxes. For reasons that are likely very obvious, this is causing me anxiety... but I love all of these dogs and have put myself in a strange and precarious position where I love what I do but struggle to see myself earning a viable living doing it. Anyway... Schedule: I have been neglecting the written schedule, but to be fair this week there weren’t any out-of-the-ordinary appointments. Next week there will be. I’ve been doing great at the daily google keep schedule though. I actually installed brakes & fenders one morning before my first dog walk. ...I think I did a “pre-bed” routine one night though. Several nights involved beer, which means I’m not reading or stretching, in addition to not sleeping well. Related: wearing a heart rate monitor is fascinating. $$$ I think I ate takeout twice, and some gas station / grocery store snacks. The times I drank beer weren’t on my dime, except when I went to the grocery store and accidentally spent $56 on 14 beers. Didnt list anything for sale this week. Learning & Practicing: Duolingo: a pathetic one hour and 17 minutes. Planned to do it on the bus today, didn’t. Photography: I took my camera around on Friday and I think I got 3 good shots, but I haven’t loaded the photos yet. Havent baked yet because I was still working through meal prep. Planning to bake tomorrow. Hobby things: I literally did none of this. Didn’t make it to the gym and didn’t ride for fun. My hip has been incredibly sore, and my week starts off with squats so every day I told myself I’d go tomorrow. It doesn’t help that the mornings this week were cold again, with some crazy wind and precipitation. Interestingly enough, this was a really light activity week with 25 bike miles and 95,400 steps over the last 7 days... but I’ve still been insanely exhausted.

Week 2 update: schedule: nope. $$$: well, definitely ordered takeout more than once and met someone for food once or twice. Also didn’t list things online this week but DID sell something I listed months ago (one of my roommate’s relatives bought an RC light up dragon). picked up a temporary client and with intermittent friend help, am at or close to max capacity. Technically didn’t get my goal but this will hinder my goal. Learning & practicing: only did 15 minutes of Duolingo yesterday, for a total of 3 hours... so one hour shy of my goal. Also didn’t take my real camera out at all because of weather. Hobby stuff: Made the gym goal (3x). I’m following 531 again and like last time, I’m missing day 4 every week so basically not doing overhead press. Hoping I can get into a proper schedule this week and make it all four times.

So, I’m realizing my goals may all need some re-evaluating. Duolingo: one hour per day is lofty. So far this week I have 2 hours and 48 minutes in (goal would be at 6 hours after today). I think I should look at this as a weekly goal, and not set it at 7 hours. So, maybe 4 hours of Duolingo per week? Dog photos: it rained all week. Not carrying my camera out in the rain for 4-6 hours. Took a bunch on my phone & regularly updated my new dog Instagram (@kitwalksyourdog if you like that kind of thing). I think that should be my goal with a stretch goal to use my real camera when the weather is nice. Dog client: I picked up another 2x per day client on the app. This doesn’t count towards my goal (since my ultimate goal will be to build business without the app) BUT it does hinder my ability to pick up another. I’ll still try, of course, but my daily openings are now before 10:15 and after 3:45... so unless I find folks with weird schedules, it’ll be ruff. Sell stuff: i haven’t done this yet this week, but Craigslist has been wildly unsuccessful. I need to find other avenues for selling. I won’t pay fees to do this. Any suggestions? Fun ride: I have something like 55+ miles in so far this week just commuting. Garmin also tells me that I’ve averaged over 14,000 steps per day for the last 7 days (yesterday was 26,093). To my knowledge Garmin differentiates between bike & steps because both are tracked on the device. I’m tired. Also the weather this week was terrible. I’m not going to force myself to ride in the rain for fun when I’m already on the bike for so long. New goal: one maintenance day per week. My bikes are getting grimey. Schedule & takeout these two things I want to keep working on as-is. My schedule was terrible this week. I had a 10am run to squirrel hill and several evening appointments which threw everything off.

I did my hour of Duolingo Monday. Didn’t wind down before bed. yesterday I drank a bunch of beer and gave someone a break-up pep talk and didn’t get anything done.

I wish. Getting out of paying back my student loans would be a dream.

So far this week: I ate take-out yesterday because I got stuck dogsitting for an extra 7 hours. Today, I decided to call unemployment to see what was holding up my claim. Oh, they sent me a financial determination on the 15th and I thought it was something else (you get 15 days to file an appeal) AND it was rejected... BECAUSE THE STATE HAS NO RECORD OF ME HAVING ANY INCOME. I will still do Duolingo, Stretch, and read. I will. I will be able to tone down my frustration and focus. I. WILL. FOCUS. ON. MY. SHIT.

Week 1 update: Well, I haven’t quite folded in on myself. I do feel like I’m going through some kind of life crisis which doesn’t need to be discussed here (but may be obvious). Work on a schedule: I bombed this with flying colors. My early morning dog cancelled every day, so I managed to convince myself not to wake up early. Then I had a last minute 7:30am meeting on Tuesday and an 8:30 lecture on Friday, and I didn’t trust myself to do the gym first. I think I successfully did a wind down routine one night... but actually not positive. I slept for shit this week, too. So uh, obviously hoping for improvement on this one. Learn & Practice things This one went a little better. I definitely took my camera with me on dog walking errands and I think I got a few good shots. I also made some funky messed up beef & sweet potato handheld pies (but I used pork) but they actually taste really good. Slacked on Duolingo. I definitely hate the mobile platform and have found that sitting at a desk is less likely than sitting on the couch with my work laptop (no longer in my possession). I had a few strong days but nothing to write home about. Dollars! I ordered takeout today (actually waiting on it now). I also think I bought lunch at a gas station once, while my meal prep was in progress (crock pot food). I listed 5 things on Craigslist Sunday. I had someone offer me $1100 for legos, then came back and said her son changed his mind. What a tease! I picked up one more dog client, but she found me on the app so it doesn’t count. I also finally walked Rosie, whose owner I did meet on the street... but it’s not a regular walk and I met her before this challenge (also that dog bit me and ran away so I’m not even sure I would want her daily). I did give my number to 2 dudes at the gym, and a third today told me he’d get in touch for dog stuff (via social media? Although I may have given him my number a while back to give to his wife). Some progress. Hobby things lifted 3 days this week, following 531 again. Didn’t do a fun ride though.