Mekong

Placeholder for a longer post. I'm moving to Fort Collins at some time to be determined. Husband has already moved for his new job. I am selling the house and job searching. Every time I log in to NF I get really overwhelmed by all the notifications I get from following people, but I'm having trouble following an finding people/threads without following. So anyone with tips on how they've set up their content and stuff since the new forum updates, please share. Ironically I have more time at home to be interactive here but now I don't have wifi (husband took the modem, I didn't see the point of buying one for a month or so until the house sells) so the excuses keep on coming. I've been checking in with my phone a little more, but I don't really want to write entire posts that way. But I did suck it up and watch Game of Thrones on my phone last night, so this is probably a hindrance I can navigate. 5/9 update- Okay, longer post. I'm exhausted and tired. I seriously just typed that because I yawned halfway through a 5 word sentence and lost my train of thought. I'm moving to Fort Collins at some point. Right now the plan, in order of immediacy, is clean and pack to put the house on the market, in 2 days go to NYC for a week*, at which point the realtor will be putting the house on the market, get back from NY, job search while working and doing normal things except without most of my stuff which is now packed and without messing up the house, eventually accept buyers' offer, do all the house closing stuff, pack the rest of the big stuff and take it up to CO, along with the dog if it's after a certain date when the husband will actually be in CO and not on a business trip otherwise the dog stays with me, move into in-laws winter home across town with very sparse stuff, figure out if I should tell my job about all this and risk a less enthused response or keep working and long-distance job searching. And maybe actually finding a job. So this plan basically covers my next 7 weeks or 7 months, who the knows. And meanwhile work is work and more stressful because I have a lot to do and on a possibly very accelerated timeline and basically most of my waking hours are spent with the feeling of a fist closing around my heart. *pre-planned trip right before we found out about moving, at which point the planning part flew out the window so now it's more like going to New York, ???, profit I also just found out I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding in October (I've known about the wedding for awhile, I just wasn't aware of my status as a bridesmaid until the bride offhandedly mentioned it this weekend). This is actually not any more stressful because I've already been helping plan the wedding, but a little stressful in that I should probably be focusing a little (lot) more on my health (attractiveness) for the next 5 months. So with all this, here are my modest base goals: -Walk 3x a week. Generally laps at the dog park, generally 2-4 miles -Bodyweight or gym exercises 3x a week, it will be very hard getting to the gym for awhile -Study German 1x a week + some other job/personal development 1x a week -Track it all here/ bullet journal Extra credit possibilities- things I want to do but don't want to scare myself away by demanding I do them: -Get a fitness tracker and start paying more attention to steps/being less sedentary on the daily -Maybe try Couch to 5k -Job search stuff- pimp LinkedIn, resume, start talking to friends in CO, go to PMI meeting -Put together a study plan for myself for German now that the class is ending. -Become pretty -Figure out how people do spreadsheets here. Sidenote: Here was an Excel formula I made today. =IF(C3<>"",CONCATENATE(A3,LEFT($C$1,6),C3),IF(D3<>"",CONCATENATE(A3,LEFT($D$1,6),D3),IF(E3<>"",CONCATENATE(A3,LEFT($E$1,6),E3),IF(F3<>"",CONCATENATE(A3,LEFT($F$1,6),F3),IF(G3<>"",CONCATENATE(A3,LEFT($G$1,6),G3),IF(H3<>"",CONCATENATE(A3,LEFT($H$1,6),H3),IF(I3<>"",CONCATENATE(A3,LEFT($I$1,6),I3)))))))) It's not that complex for Excel people, but it took awhile for me to get it right, so I'm kinda proud.

I don't know if this is feasible, but for my schedule trying to reduce the number of impromptu trips would be pretty effective. I know there are days that I won't be able to eat if I don't allow myself buying food, but I can plan those things, e.g. "My options will be these places, I will eat one of these things, I will eat these things for my other meals to balance it out." Going out to eat last minute usually gets me in trouble nutritionally, motivationally, and then it's a snowball effect of not cooking, no leftovers for lunch so eating out again, since I have to get something for lunch may as well get breakfast too, crappy food makes me too lethargic to make dinner again..... Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Lololol. This month was a bust. But We did decide to relocate (husband has already moved, I'm staying back to sell the house) and work is continuing under the principle that whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Onwards to May and whatever that may bring. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Welcome, welcome. Maybe right now you can't say the last 5 years were awesome, but you can certainly say "I learned a lot in the last 5 years and I'm going to apply the shit out of those lessons in the next 5." Good luck with your goals! Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Officially moving to Fort Collins. The jury is still out on whether I'll manage a real update this challenge, though.

Teeny tiny update. I may be moving to Fort Collins, not Denver. Somewhere between a 10% and 80% chance. Today's breakfast: split pea soup. Also, lunch. Hopefully not dinner. I bought a dot grid notebook so I can bullet journal like all the cool kids. Back to work.

Late start because I'm bad at forum-ing and in general I'm an ill-bred person of poor repute, I assume. Also because my only real time to update is at work and lately I'm so busy I can barely breathe, which is no different today, so this will be fast. Nothing new with me except that I might be moving to Denver so that's a thing. Goals! I've been doing them, just not updating How many times do I write that sentence. 1. Walk 3x a week. Last week I went to Flagstaff and hiked everyday while there, so that was all 3+ at once, but then I walked during the week also. This week I walked on Saturday, and I'll probably go again tonight. 2. Incorporate bench press and deadlift every time I go to the gym. Because I like to deadlift and my bench press is depressing. I did this last week but I didn't go to the gym as much as I should have. I should go tonight so we'll see. I'm already ready for my post-work nap. 3. Some nebulous eating healthy goal. Just to stay on the radar and because honestly the above 2 goals are enough for me right now. I made a pot of soup for lunches this week and I have a couple dinner ideas so this may work out pretty well this week. Today's breakfast- steak, half an avocado, raw sauerkraut, coconut milk in cold brew coffee brewed with chai. Lunch- soup. Dinner- probably bleu cheese walnut spinach salad. Last week was pretty good. Really the weeks are fine, it's the weekends that are killing me. And the social drinking. Neither of those things will be changing soon as we have houseguests this weekend coming down for a party for another friend and we'll be heading to New York in a few weeks (and then the whole moving to Denver thing), so I probably need to work on strategies to be a little more moderate. People say that I'm losing weight but the scale doesn't budge and I see no progress in pictures. So I just take it to mean that I'm still fat, but I'm well-liked enough that people try to make me feel better about myself, and that's a nice consolation. Anyway. That's my general plan. Aaaaaand back to work.

I like your goals, you seem to have hit a good stride picking stuff that can make real changes for yourself without being too ridiculously unrealistic to actually accomplish. And as usual, I very much enjoy your narrative. I'm very excited for you and your mom's makeover montage. I'm really sorry about Jax. I love my dog so much and sometimes I'll just be sitting in the car and I'll think about how she's going to get old and die in a couple years and start crying like a crazy person and thinking about the possibility of that coming sooner and unexpectedly just kills me. You have my sympathies, for what internet stranger sympathies are worth. Good luck this week. Your meal options sounds great. You may like http://mybodymykitchen.com/ for some ideas if you start getting bored. It isn't Paleo, but it's meal planning emphasizing whole foods, so there are a lot of potential options.

I've been updating a lot in my head, so that counts, right? Everytime I log in I see the new format and my inner Luddite panics and I back on out slowly again. Um, I didn't do great at this challenge. My gym-ing is much more consistent but my daily activity-ing and adventuring not so much. I'm spending some time this week reevaluating how I approach this constant roadblock and testing out some future goals. Short week at work, heading to Flagstaff for a long weekend. So ready to be done tomorrow afternoon, even though I know I'll be walking into chaos the following Monday.

Yes! I've thought about getting one of those light alarms but really, I think most of my desire to wake up with the sun has as much to do with the other implications of being able to sleep well and wake up on my own schedule than just the gradual light thing, so I don't know how much an alarm would help. Maybe if it also sprayed aromas like fresh cut grass and citrus to wake me up, that'd be worth it though. Glad you're getting back on track!

I'm in a food coma from the potluck at work so what better time to update instead of actually work? Our entire floor coordinates so every department does their own potluck on the same day and then everyone runs around sampling everyone else's potlucks like kids on Halloween. It's quite fun. Our department did a chips, dip, and finger foods theme, another did tacos, another did brats, I don't even know what anyone else did because I was full by that point. Last weekend was great. I can't really put into words the high I'm still riding from all the fun, good food and conversation. We went out a lot but I was pretty mindful of what I ate. Drinking was definitely in excess though. Calorically, but also the kind of excess that compels you to bring out a trumpet and try to serenade your poor, tolerant neighbors. When I open up, I tend to go on long-winded tangents about really obscure subjects and one or my friends is like that so it was great to have another motor-mouth to bounce off, and another friend is just one of those awesome people with whom you can have really long figuring out your life kind of conversations, so yeah, gemutlichkeit all around. All this being said, I've been pretty good with my goals but I still need to get out and do my good weekend hikes. I plan on doing one this Saturday. Gym has been good. Daily activity is incrementally improving. I didn't do anything Monday and Tuesday because my quads were ridiculously sore from the gym on Sunday- to the point that I've been using the handicapped bathroom so I can use the rails because I can't actually bend otherwise- but that was more mindfully resting than forgetting like usual. Now off to find some coffee/a hidey hole for a nap.

I just found you through Katrin, who just found me, so I'm here to say welcome and good luck on your goals. Ich lerne Deutsche, aber ihr Englisch ist besser als mein Deutsch.

Why, hello. Sorry to disappoint, you are correct that I am not German. Just a big fan. My husband grew up in Germany (parents worked on American bases) and I've gone back once with him. He mostly lived in the south- Nuremberg, Stuttgart, and Kaiserslautern- so Bavaria is 'home' for him, but I fell in love with Hamburg when we went. I loved the climate, the confluence of cultures, how global it felt. I also fell for St Pauli FC. Our travels were mostly chosen to see friends, so I know there are a lot of areas I should go back and visit properly, but we spent most of our time in Hamburg, Nuremberg, and some smaller cities like Ansbach. As for my language studies, I'm definitely still a beginner. My vocabulary is okay so I get the gist of what's being said, but I'm only just starting to really understand how to use cases and conjugate properly. Our friends from Hamburg will be visiting this year, so I'm hoping to be able to hold a conversation with them in German. They understand English just fine, but I'd like to be able to show them my progress since we visited them, when I didn't speak German at all. Anyway, though I lured you here under false pretenses, feel free to stay! And expect me to mildly stalk your page as well. Tschuss!

Hello... Place holder? Your recipes are a little different from what I usually see but they all sound really tasty. What's lecso? Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Nice goals! I too am turning 30 this year and am trying to set myself up for a new decade of awesomeness. My 2016 theme has been to train to be ready to accept opportunity as it comes, but I like how you articulated it much better- "Adventuring demands a lot! I need to be ready to answer the call when it comes." DuoLingo is very addictive. I've been doing German and I love that you can get a list of all the vocab you've learned. I've started making flashcards to keep around whenever I have some time to spare. Good luck! Happy Friday!

This week ended up pretty well. I haven't totally stuck to my "perfect days" but as that was only a tool to make it easier to have a plan each day and not have to waste as much time inputting calorie tracking, the end result is still valid. We have some impromptu houseguests coming tonight and then some more tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'll make it to the gym today and/or Sunday, but I still made my 2/week last week and have opportunities Monday/Wednesday/Friday next week. I wanted to get 1 of my 2 hikes/adventures in this weekend since German class is on Fruhlingsferien, but I don't think it'll be possible with all the last minute stuff coming up.

Yeah, I think a big part of Paleo and eating clean and stuff is the idea that you won't or shouldn't go hungry, which I need to unlearn. There's some truth to it- fat, vegetables, protein, are all satiating and you're going to feel fuller than you will eating fruit juice and rice cakes- but I think the cause and effect of 'healthy foods are satisfying' gets morphed into the end product of not being hungry being treated as the initial cause. I can eat a ribeye steak with mushrooms and onions sautéed in butter and steamed broccoli with pesto and easily be over 1000 kcal, but alas I probably shouldn't. It's just a weird mind shift I guess. Next you'll tell me that flour isn't an evil hellspawn sent to sow destruction and obesity wherever it goes.

I'm jealous you get to do chores all weekend. I have several last-minute house guests and parties to go to and I was really looking forward to just hiking with my dog and organizing my brewing supplies. 19 year old me is just disgusted at 29 year old me.

I feel you. Just want to chime in that I've done obstacle races before and the obstacles were pretty optional. Some of them had different difficulty levels and/or had people totally biff it and keep going (i.e. just jumping in the water instead of trying to leap from platform to platform), and plenty of people just skipped obstacles altogether (I skipped the wall climb and maybe another because the line was pretty backed up). I've never done either, but Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder both say it's fine to skip obstacles in their FAQs and if they're anything like races I've seen, you aren't going to be the only weirdo skipping something. And even if anyone were paying attention to you, which they're not really because everyone's just focusing on themselves and their race, it's a very convivial environment.

Fair enough. Listen to your gut, literally.

Not surprising your willpower is otherwise engaged, I know you don't want to talk about it so I won't, but I will say that I empathize with you so hard right now and I'm interested to see how this evolves. It's also really interesting to see a real life textbook example of how stress affects our eating habits, discipline, etc, And while it's much easier to recognize from the outside looking in, it gives me a good perspective on some of my own operating errors. And, I'll also say that this isn't your first rough spot nor your last, but I'd think it's a little fortuitous it's happening during a time in which you're changing and adapting a lot anyway, rather than when you're maybe in maintenance and being less mindful of your goals. I feel like it'd be a lot easier to slip into bad habits then and keep slipping a lot further than you're likely to do right now being engaged in improvement already. And ultimately you'll be able to roll these modifications right in with the rest of DFG 2.0, which we all know is way more seamless than a patch down the road. I understand you're probably in a more emotional place than you'd like to be when making big decisions, but I'm very interested in hearing more about the possible NM job. In keeping with my tendency to give advice I never myself take, I think you should go for it. Or at least, don't rule it out based on money (not a small amount, but small enough looking back in a few years) or loyalty to the new job (it's not ideal but it's life, and I don't think it's a stretch to say you could talk about it to your boss/whomever reasonably and they wouldn't feel betrayed or that you're wish-washy whether or not the job actually pans out).

34 pushups! I call shenanigans! BRB, getting a divorce and changing back to my maiden name.

Yes. YES. YEEEESSSSSSS!!!! I'm there with you. I want an adventure. The weekends aren't cutting it. My husband's friend had a terrible few months in which his whole world blew up- found out wife was cheating, found out she'd spent most of their savings, got a divorce, sold the house underwater. He moved into the cheapest place he could, saved all his money, and as soon as he'd saved enough ($10k? No more than $20k but I'm not sure how much), he quit his job and has been traveling the world for almost a year now. I think about him a lot, or another friend of mine that got divorced, had no money, and so they had to move in with their parents up in the area of the country I'd like to live (PNW). They have a decent job now, but they never would have moved up there without everything falling apart. I keep thinking, do I have to go full Palahniuk and let myself hit bottom before I'm forced to finally make the decisions I want to make? Does my comfort in doing alright really keep me so easily from doing great big amazing things? Of course, as an outsider it's easy for me to tell you to do it! You have a skill, you can go anywhere with it, or put it down, go on an adventure, and pick it up again when you get back. I'm just a corporate cog, but you! Save yourself! My only point of disagreement is that you don't think your adventure lies within this world. I think you can find it. It's amazing what's out there.

Meh, alright. I spent most of it kinda being on track but not really because my dad was here and the rest of it kinda on track not really because my dad being here was just an excuse. Also, he kept buying beer and ice cream while he was here so I obviously had to take care of leftovers after he left. This week I was trying to do my 5 perfect days with 2 higher calorie whatever days and the results are... not quite what I was expecting. I've yet to do a day exactly as written, but I do find it easier to track calories when I have most of it filled it out each day. I usually only bother counting calories when I'm not really following Paleo. This time I'm doing both and very strictly measuring what I eat. I'm... understanding very well why my weight has more or less stayed the same. Actually closely tracking foods that I consider healthy I see now that I'm typically way over what I should be eating for my size and activity level. I'm not saying CICO is the end all, be all, of weight loss, but clearly the two methods are too disparate in my case to think them interchangeable. I know this is kind of Weight Loss 101 and I thought I knew better, I just wasn't doing the homework to verify it. So with that acknowledged, I am also acknowledging that if I really want to see results I'm probably going to have to be hungry occasionally. I tell myself it'll help me re-calibrate when I'm actually hungry, but I'm grumpy already just thinking about it. The husband is eating ice cream right now (and finishing it, nevermind that I ate most of it, I'm just annoyed I won't have it for my higher calorie day even if I'm probably better for it) and keeps asking if I want some and bringing me spoonfuls over and between being grumpy about this and actually wanting to say yes and knowing I shouldn't and then getting worked up about my efforts constantly being undermined by a loving enabler, I may have said NO a bit ruder than I meant to. Activity. Poorly! Fucking fuck! I continue to do the bare minimum and in turn I'm not really changing my routine at all and thus forgetting to do it until the last minute before bed when I don't want to and then I'm half-assing it. My plan to full-ass it this month is not panning out. I have a perfect opportunity to incorporate it into my new work schedule and really ingrain the habit, and I'm blowing it. I'm getting mad at myself just thinking about it. But I will mull on this and in the meantime I WILL go to the gym tomorrow, no ifs, ands, or half-asses. Sleep. I've yet to get a long enough nap after work to be probably getting to REM and after I wake up I'm not nearly as productive as I'd like, but I'm getting away with less sleep at night (which is good since I'm usually sleep deficient between staying up too late, not being able to fall/stay asleep, getting super anxious about things I can't immediately address because it's 3am, and the husband's snoring keeping me awake) and I'm actually pretty well rested at work for a change, so not a total loss. To end on a high note, my Big Important Project deadlines are done for the week (as long as this meeting tomorrow doesn't throw a wrench in it, 50/50 shot), so it's just motivating myself to do the thousand small things I've put off while accomplishing the big stuff. Also my German flashcards are WHOA amaze-balls.

My first thought was perhaps a change to your sleep schedule/stress levels could be affecting you. Were you losing weight before? Congrats on the new job!