Search the Community

Well helloooo, all you fine and foxy Monks! I'm back and ready for business to bust out this 6-week challenge before Christmas rolls around. Ohh yes, it's that holiday season challenge time. Will we be able to meet our goals while navegating all the craziness that this time of the year inevitably brings? Only time will tell! It's a rather good test for me though, because this challenge for me is all about BUILDING HABITS. If I can make these habits work in November/December, there's no way I can't make them work the rest of the year! Habits are built by taking repeated action, so I'm going to have to REALLY be bringing the action to make these guys stick. Goal #1- Muay Thai Training Punch punch punch. Now that my week has freed up substantially (I'm happy to say that my outpatient program for EDs is nearly complete!), I'll be able to make more MT classes. If the potential is there, it's up to me to realize it! Goal- Attend Muay Thai classes 2x per week. Goal #2- Fitness it Up! Getting those abbbbbs. Alright, not really. But I liked the rhythm I was getting into on the last challenge doing some exercise three days a week in the mornings before work. So Let's make that a habit, shall we? Goal- Interval Training/Conditioning 3x per week (for less than 30 min) (See? I've got a time cap on there and everything! Not only am I super responsible, but I'm gonna make it to work on time. Double super responsible.) Goal #3- Eat for a Happy Belly (bye, FODMAPs!) (Disclaimer; hard cheeses and berries are generally considered fine. Thank goodness, because they're amazing together) So all my life I've had a super sensitive stomach. In fact, it kind of goes beyond that, I have hereditary issues that have crippled myself and members of my family from the inside for as long as anyone can remember. For a long time I just sort of took pills and avoided dairy. But one of the big current advantages of my eating disorder rehabilitation is bouncing things off of a nutritionist constantly; now that I'm comfortable eating (because eating's the best), we're starting to focus on what's up with my insides, how can we heal them, and what kind of foods make me feel good or bad. Turns out there's this way of eating that's supposed to help folks with digestive stuffs, and it's about limiting FODMAPs, which are types of sugars (essentially) found in certain foods. I read the list, and things immediately began to click. So for the third goal, I'm going to give this as good a shot as I can to see if I start to feel better. I have high hopes! Goal- Eat more low-FODMAP foods on a regular basis (and cook at least 1 NEW recipe per week). I'm going to score this day-by-day. A day where I mindfully eat few FODMAP foods will be a win. THere will be some testing thrown in too, just to see how I react. It's an experiment. LIFE GOAL - Back to School Hahaha, alright, not actually going to school formally. A BA's enough for me right now. But I have this job, where I get to do the coolest things, involving making marketing art/designs for video games. I also have this insatiable drive to get better at stuff! So I want to supplement my skills with extra training, and find some great online classes that inspire me! Goal- Start and complete an online creative course. I've actually already chosen one! It's going to be a Learning to Storyboard class (which is super appropriate to my work, we do cinematics a lot), and I can't wait to start! Heck, I can't wait to start on ALL of these! I'm treating tonight as the first night of the challenge; after all, habits are in it for the long haul!

For the next six weeks I have only one goal: Listen to What My Body is Saying. I'm going to focus very hard on the feedback that I am getting from myself in all aspects of my life. Luckily I enjoy sitting retrospectively drinking tea! I've broken my goal up into Nerd Fitness friendly bits: 1. Exercise! [sTR+2] [sTA+1] + 3 points possible 1.1 Exercise while traveling 1.2 Thumb recovery 1.3 Return to bike commuting I am traveling at least twice this challenge. I'm taking a long weekend vacation to New Orleans with my mom! Two weeks later I'm going to a week long conference in Orlando. I hurt my thumb badly in the beginning of February and I still can't use it to "grip" anything. I rewrote my work out plan and have a new "Thumbless" routine that I enjoy. I feel confident that by the end of this challenge I will have transitioned back to the Dumbbell Division workouts. Major priority is healthy thumb recovery. Another side effect of hurting my thumb is that i can't grip my bike's handle bars. I miss biking very much. I think I can return to biking soon, probably before I'll be able to grip a heavy weight I'll be able to put weight on the handle bars. But we'll see. 2. Food! [sTA +1] [CON +2] [CHA +1] + 4 points possible 2.1 Fodmaps 80/20 2.2 Chia + Flax + probiotics 2.3 Add more veggies! Again, I'm traveling, so I'm going to focus on consistently achieving the "spirit" of my diet. I have found that consuming chia and flaxseed daily is very helpful. I'm quite on the fence about probiotics, though I want to believe. Diligence will be required to eat my nastly little chia flax shakes publicly on the road. As for adding more veggies, fodmaps eliminates quite a few vegetarian complete protein options so my diet is the most meat heavy it has ever been in my life. In addition to being in conflict with the lifestyle I desire, my body has been telling me to go vegan for the past several weeks. I'm going to focus on snacking on veggies instead of fruits to see if that helps at all. At the end of the day it isn't about being fodmap free, but about feeling good. I don't want to miss the forest for the trees. 3. Intermittent Fasting [sTA +1] [CON +2] [CHA +1] + 4 points possible 3.1 Determine right fasting length 3.2 Determine the frequency of fasting 3.3 Be flexible Let me be upfront about why I'm experimenting with IF. I'm not in it for weight loss or training benefits I'm in it for less pain. Food will sit in my stomach for longer than normal and in my guy for waaaaay longer than normal. On 'bad stomach' days I might literally have no room in my stomach for more food. This can make eating painful....so why not skip the meal? This has been very successful for me: immediate relief. The first time I fasted, my body's response was 'do this again immediately' I was hyper motivated when I finally measured my abdomen (at the mole by my belly button) on a "bad stomach" day (defined as days I puke or can not push my stomach/abdomen outwards) and I had gained 3 inches. No wonder I couldn't push my stomach out anymore it was at it's max! Also exciting because I now have a better measurement (other than weight) to track "bad days." 4. Anxiety and Depression [CHA +1] [WIS + 2] [CON +1] + 4 points possible 4.1 Honesty - Be clear about how I feel, even if it changes 4.2 Action - Go to the mother ****** doctor Without going into all the details, 500 bad things happened last year and are continuing to happen. My cat is mysteriously sick and probably dying. My husband is taking a job 2 hours away (and moving). My grandpa died after Thanksgiving and my grandma isn't so healthy. I think times are ripe for anxiety attacks and good ole depression. I don't have much experience with either but I know what i would do if it was a physical injury. If I was hurt I'd go to the doctor - duh! So, if my feelings be broken, use the HSA and go to the counselor. Damn the torpedoes! I mean my prejudice! I think focusing on goal # 6 will help. Bonus Goals. 5. Food Diary - form follows function. How to I want to analyze the data I collect from journals? Figure this out and the journal will follow. 6. Say No! - There are a few people (one person in particular) that I can not say no to. Then I get myself into trouble and have to struggle my way out. Last month, I realized this is a major weakness of mine and I made a New Years Resolution on the spot to "say no." While I may mange to do this one or twice during this challenge, this is a major lifestyle change that I will have to revisit several times before it becomes a habit.