Miss Ruthie

Yup. Sugar cravings still SUUUUUCK. By the end of the evening, I just want to dive face first into a bag of candy. I've been managing them with a bit of fruit or a glass of milk. But dear lord. Still tracking my calories, still staying on track. Still not doing beans about setting up that home gym. I know there are a ton of studies that say that will power is a finite resource, and boy does that feel true. Like, it's all I can do to keep myself away from sugar and booze, I don't have anything left to add in building a gym. I expect next week will be easier, though. I seem to remember that the cravings drop off after about a week. Here's hoping.

Ok! Two days into week one. Still haven't gotten the gym set up, but I HAVE been tracking all my calories. I do pretty good at work - I've got a system down there. Turkey sausage breakfast sandwiches and pre-packaged salads, with dark chocolate covered almonds as a snack. It's at home that everything falls apart. I've gotten in a bad habit since the pandemic started of just ordering delivery and having whatever I want magically appear at my door - and then usually washing it down with wine or a cocktail. And then snacking on candy and cookies. Basically eating my stress. Just cutting down on the sweets and alcohol is going to have a huge impact, I'm sure. It's been a rough two days for cravings, though. So yeah. My biggest goal for this week is beating the cravings. Cut sugar down drastically, and alcohol down to one day on the weekend.

Well. So I fell so hard off the fitness wagon in 2020 that I died. Now I'm respawning and have to make a corpse run across half the continent. And I was just starting to venture out of the newbie area, too. I'm starting off with a clean slate. Back to basics. My goals: 1. Track everything I eat. Keep my calories down and my protein up. Week one is to baseline my current habits, sans candy and junk food. Will set numerical goals in week 2. 2. Get a gym set up at home. I have a ton of stuff for it that is just collecting dust around the house - weights, yoga props, etc. 3. Actually use that gym 3x a week. Once I'm back in the saddle, I'll probably add more goals, or expand these. But this first week? This is just about overcoming inertia.

Oh, you are speaking my language. I'm another all-or-nothing type, out of shape, and with a BMI over 30. I was doing good pre-covid, but 2020 sent me right back to the beginning. Lost a whole year's worth of work. I'm starting over. My goals two years ago were lifting weights and running. Now they are "get off the couch and stop eating sweets." So here's my two cents: don't mock your own goals. They are neither poor nor weak. They are simply new. And new is ok! New is fun and fresh and exciting. You've set goals you know you can meet. Heck, you've set goals you already know you can BEAT. So go beat them! Don't stare so far down the road you stumble over what's right in front of you. And don't look at anybody else's road either. They started playing this game a long time ago. Just because Nancy Nerd is beating the final boss, doesn't make the tutorial area less necessary for you and me. Now tear the packaging off this brand new game and go play!

That seems like a good idea. I think part of my issue is that it's been a crazy month, so I FEEL like I've been doing this way longer than I have.

Anyone else notice that when starting out on a new diet/exercise regime that there's a long lag time between starting to eat at a calorie deficit and actually losing any weight? I've been tracking my calories for three weeks now, hanging out around a 500 cal/day deficit, except for one week that totally blew up on me (and even then it averaged out to a zero calorie deficit). I'm 5'-6", female, weight about 200lbs, hit the gym 1-3x week - cardio and strength training. My weight hasn't budged a bit. My pants don't fit any differently. So I'm super confused. Even accounting for my fitbit overestimating my calorie burn, and me underestimating my intake, I would have expected to be down a pound by now. I weigh every morning, and my weekly average has actually gone UP a pound. As far as how I'm tracking things: calorie burn via FitBit. Calorie intake: measuring everything I can, buying prepacked salads from Trader Joes (and using <1/2 the dressing), trying to generously estimate portions of things like sushi. 2 meals/5 days a week (breakfast and lunch at work) are pre packaged yogurt cups and salads and cold cuts. Things with nutritional labeling ON THEM. So they should be accurate - right? Now, I'm trying REALLY hard to convince myself that weight loss isn't the actual goal - getting stronger is. And I'm definitely doing THAT. But I would like to lose the extra rolls of squish. (Ok. Honesty time.... what I REALLY want is to cosplay Yeoman Rand from the Mirror Universe - mid riff uniform, miniskirt and all.)

Second week results: TPK. So yeah. Last week SUUUUUCCCCKKKKED. Only got one of three workouts in, and totally blew up my calorie intake one day, and then proceeded to track nothing at all for the rest of the week (though I did make an effort not to go over - I just didn't track it, so I don't know if I did.) ON THE PLUS SIDE, however, definitely made progress on my life quest. Dealt with some serious emotional build up, which is what was getting in my way all week. I'm autistic, so I process emotions... weirdly. Like, most people will have something happen, feel an emotion about it, and deal with the emotion. I have something happen, and then days later realize I felt an emotion about it. And then a few days after that I'll figure what the emotion was. And then later I'll deal with it. Meanwhile, I keep adding new emotions to me "figure this out" box. And then I end up dealing with weeks or months worth of emotions all at once. According to my husband, most people operate with a streaming data system, while I work on a burst data system. So got a whole bunch of emotions sorted out, and feeling much refreshed and ready to take on week three. I have also added a layer of accountability. A friend and I have agreed to begin demanding timestamped workout selfies from each other. (We have very different schedules and different gyms, so we can't actually go together.) But within 15 minutes of the time we each SAID we'd be at the gym, the other one had BETTER be getting that selfie coming in.

First week down! Goal updates: Protein - Averaged 96g/day last week! Woo! Calories - Net average 1531/day, 31 over goal, so I'm TOTALLY calling that a win. Gym - got in 3x last week, and my tracking shows an improvement in every single exercise! I can do 25lb single arm rows and while my pushups are still on easy mode, I'm able to do more of them! Cleaning - eh, not doing SO great on this one. Did SOME tidying and the house DOES look better, but was not as habit-focused as I wanted to be. @Lady Morbuks - I'm actually down in the Portland area, unfortunately! Let me know about your pull-up progress, too! I've never even attempted one, so this is SUPER new territory for me. I can do the 25lb rows that NF recommends as a starting point for the pull ups, but I'm finding I'm suddenly really timid about trying the inclined pull up. Heck, I've been going to this same gym for a year now and this is the first week I've wandered into the free weights area. Which is bloody silly, there are lots of women there. There's this one black hijabi girl that does deadlifts, and every time I see her, I feel silly. She's overcoming WAAAAAY more in the way of funny looks and prejudices than a pudgy white girl, even a Jewish one, and she's out there just absolutely kicking ass. Never talked to her, but find her totally inspiring.

You know what? You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. And shame on me for not being body positive. Working on not internalizing society's BS should probably be another one of my Grand Epic Quests. I *still* have a "booty that could walk away with your drink", and even though it's attached to a much squishier body it's STILL HOT. Butts for everyone!

I discovered NF and the challenge a bit late to get started on Day Zero. But hey, better late than never, right? And I don't want to wait until the next challenge. I want to start NOW! A quick about me: Hi there! I'm Miss Ruthie. About ten years ago, I was in hella good shape. But then I moved away from my fencing team, got injured, and got married (which resulted in packing on what my sister calls "happy cohabitating pounds") So now I'm about 40 pounds over my "fighting weight", and 60 pounds over what some BS chart says is my "ideal" weight. (Screw that noise, honestly. I was sparring out of doors in Florida 2 - 3 x a week and running up hill and down dale. So what if my butt was big and my thighs didn't gap? A big butt and thighs on an otherwise on a fit, skinny girl is cute. ANYWAY....) I have moved from the muggy swamps of the south to the outdoor walking and hiking paradise of the Pacific Northwest. I've also become a heck of a shutterbug. Combining the two - I want to be in good enough shape to go for a hike with a pack full of camping and camera gear and get pictures far off the beaten trail. I also REALLY like the idea of lifting heavy things. That's my overarching quest! But any good quest must have smaller stops along the way. So for this challenge, I am focusing on the following: DIET Increase my protein consumption Start with 90g/week, and add ten a week from there. Add lean protein (probably shredded chicken) to every meal Learn to properly spell protEIn every darn time. I before e, my aunt fanny. Keep calories under control Keep desk stocked ONLY with healthy foods (no cookies!) Hit Trader Joe's every Friday and get interesting, pre portioned food. (I even bought a micro fridge for my desk!) Aim for 1500-1600 net calories/day I plan to check this number at the end of the challenge and see if my weight has dropped correctly. If so, great! If not, time to start weighing all my food. Fitness Hit the gym 3x/week 20 minutes on the elliptical, rocking out to Flogging Molly and letting my anxiety chill the eff out. Do a full body circuit: Lunges/squats - push up progression - hip thrusts - planks Start NF's pull-up progression (I'm already at a 25lb row!) TRACK ALL THE THINGS Level Up My Life Spend 10 minutes cleaning and organizing every night Use "Fabulous" App to build habit Ask my husband to help instead of taking it all on myself Focus on one problem area every night. Don't try to do it all at once. QUEST REWARDS! If I complete some of my bigger goals, my quest giver is offering more than XP! (ok, so I'm my own quest giver.... where did I put that hat with the yellow arrow?) Complete one perfect pushup (currently I'm doing knee pushups, with elevated hands. Baby steps here): Hire a trainer and learn to lift!! Complete one assisted pullup: Take a climbing class at a local bouldering gym and see if I like it! So there it is, world! My goals - and my plans to get there. Time to level up!