1st challenge Ready for Battle! (Jlailin's First Challenge)

[Jlailin]

Okay, let's do this!  First time challenger here!  Ready for battle! 

 

Goals

- Drop 5lbs OR reduce measurements (I don't mind if I keep the weight if it's muscle, but I'm not sure what a reasonable conversion of weight to my measurements would be)

- Memorize choreography for 2 songs and be able to run through them without a lead or video

 

Actions

1) Fitness - Start strength training 2-3 times every week.

Do this by...

- Beginner's Body Weight Routine

Started this on 8/8

...I will probably need to get an actual dumbbell or find something that I own that's heavier than my enamel cast iron pot (unfortunately, my heavy cat has refused to be my dumbbell substitute)

2) Fitness - Continue dancing class 2-3 times every week.  (Kpop, zumba, motown, etc.) 

Dance Goal - Become better at learning/retaining choreography 

Do this by...

- Retaining Goal - Practicing Playing with Fire by BLACKPINK & clean up choreography for first verse

- Clean up verse choreography for Rumor by K.A.R.D.

Stretch Goal: Learn chorus and dance break choreography for Ko Ko Bop by EXO

2) Food Habits - Intermittent Fasting every day.  Fast 14-16 hours and feast 10-8 hours, depending on my schedule.

No firm diet changes yet.  Trying to build the IF habit.  I will eat till I'm full and make sure I have enough protein to last through the fast. 

Technically, I started this on 8/7, since my eating schedule was pretty close to it anyways.

 

Personal Randomness

- Sketch 2-3 times per week

- Make Fennel infused liqueur

 

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Welcome to Nerd Fitness. 

[Diadhuit]

Hi and welcome!
How do you learn the choreos? Do you have a space where to practice?

Sent from my HTC Desire 728G dual sim using Tapatalk

[Jlailin]

10 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Welcome to Nerd Fitness. 

Thank you!  I'm so excited to be here!  I feel like this community just gets me.

 

3 hours ago, Diadhuit said:

Hi and welcome!
How do you learn the choreos? Do you have a space where to practice?

Sent from my HTC Desire 728G dual sim using Tapatalk
 

Thank you!  I typically learn the basics of the choreos in a dance class.  Because I'm a dork, I scoured the city of Chicago for kpop dance classes and found one.  ...Yes, I'm probably the oldest one there, but who cares?  It's fun!  xD  Honestly, I don't actually have the choreos memorized after the two classes we learn them in.  I'm a much better follow dancer--I blame swing dancing for training my brain to just turn off and follow the leader.  Playing with Fire was the first song I ever felt like I had a good enough handle that I could add stylistic flairs, but that was only because our class had a performance so we worked our butts off to make it pretty.  I'm now trying to see if I can do the same thing on my own with Rumor just because it's an awesome dance.  As for where I practice, when I'm at home it's typically in my living room, but I've been known to try to practice in spaces too small (E.G. bathtub) and end up banging my knees on things...

[Diadhuit]

That is amazing! I wish we had kpop dance classes here too!
I did learn a bellydance choreo, but I have no space to practice it, I tried few parts in the shower and ended up with bruises on my arms

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[Equinoxe]

How cool! This is also my first challenge, although I don't know if my goals are as cool as yours.  I mean, dancing? And an IF habit? Pretty neat!

 

Also, I'm super curious, what are you planning on doing with the fennel liqueur? Sounds very tasty... 
 

[Jlailin]

6 hours ago, Diadhuit said:

That is amazing! I wish we had kpop dance classes here too!
I did learn a bellydance choreo, but I have no space to practice it, I tried few parts in the shower and ended up with bruises on my arms

Sent from my HTC Desire 728G dual sim using Tapatalk
 

Belly dancing is so cool!  The isolation you have to do for those moves is super impressive!  I dabbled in a few classes here and there for it, and my ab muscles did not want to move the next day, haha.  Totally relate to the bruises from shower dancing.  I've got one on my knee from doing a jump from EXO's The Eve dance... right into my bed.  Not my brightest moment, but when my jam comes on, I just have to dance!  xD

 

3 hours ago, Equinoxe said:

How cool! This is also my first challenge, although I don't know if my goals are as cool as yours.  I mean, dancing? And an IF habit? Pretty neat!

 

Also, I'm super curious, what are you planning on doing with the fennel liqueur? Sounds very tasty... 
 

Yay!  I'm always glad to meet another first challenger!  We are in this together!  We shall conquer all!  Buwahahahahaha!    Dancing and IF are ironically the two goals that I'm closer to, or at least more likely to achieve if I just kept doing what I was doing.  It's this strength training thing that is kicking my butt.  I want to be all strong, so I can do all the cool dance moves!  Haha.

 

The fennel liqueur shall be used to make delicious sazeracs! ...Or just consumed straight.  It depends on how much self control I have...  I just got a sous vide machine, so it actually makes infusions very easy.  My waiting time is cut down from 1 week to 1 hour.  I just need to go and buy fennel, sugar, and vodka to chuck it in a water bath, and in an hour I'll have delicious fennel liqueur! 

 

 

[Jlailin]

Day 1 - 8/12

 

Starting Measurements

Weight: 135.8lbs

Hips: 39.5"

Thighs R: 22" L: 22"

Arms R: 11.5" L: 11.5"

Waist: 31"

 

Intermittent Fasting

- Stopped eating last night at 9PM, planned eating start is 1PM.  My actual eating time ended up being 1:30PM because I got distracted by pretty instagram pictures...

- Been doing well since 8/8 with the exception of dinner last night.  I ate ramen with a Chinese tea egg, sous vide chashu, shiitake mushrooms, and green onions.  Because my stomach has shrunk with the fasting, I couldn't finish my food and I ended up eating mostly noodles and not enough protein (even though there was enough in the meal). 

- Sure enough the lack of protein came back to bite me in the morning.  Despite the many, many cups of water I drank, I was so light headed.  I was freaked out about fainting during my strength training, so I had a tiny bit of juice.

- Oh, and I accidentally ate a sample cherry at the farmer's market because I forgot I was fasting.  Whoops.  ...But it was small, and I didn't have cream in my coffee today like I've been having this whole week, so I'm not going to count it.

- Dinner was at a wedding, so it was humongous.  It was relatively healthy stuff though because the couple likes to eat healthy. 

- Stopped eating at 9:30PM for a total of 8 hours of feasting.

 

Fitness

- Did my body weight routine today, and I even shaved off 30 seconds from one of my circuits!  Woo hoo! 

- It's not in my goals, but I did a 1 minute headstand just for kicks

- Ran through Rumor choreography with a video

- Ran through Playing with Fire choreography with music

- Ended up swing dancing and doing lifts/aerials at my friend's wedding.  Sure, I'm the one being tossed in the air, but it still counts as fitness, right? 

 

I think tomorrow should be a rest day... Maybe a light dancing day. 

 

 

[zeroh13]

Hi Jlailin, welcome!

 

Learning kpop choreography sounds super fun! And totally a good reason to build up your strength.

 

On 8/11/2017 at 9:47 PM, Jlailin said:

...I will probably need to get an actual dumbbell or find something that I own that's heavier than my enamel cast iron pot (unfortunately, my heavy cat has refused to be my dumbbell substitute)

What I did was fill up an empty cat litter container with water. It weighs about 15 pounds. I have an empty container that is a bit bigger which should be at least 20 pounds when I fill it up. Water spills out sometimes, so rocks or sand or dirt or something would be a better idea. But yeah, it works pretty well because it has a handle on the top. And if you have a cat, chances are you already have one around, or will soon.

 

Nice job on the fasting.

 

Good luck!

[Jlailin]

13 minutes ago, zeroh13 said:

Hi Jlailin, welcome!

 

Learning kpop choreography sounds super fun! And totally a good reason to build up your strength.

 

What I did was fill up an empty cat litter container with water. It weighs about 15 pounds. I have an empty container that is a bit bigger which should be at least 20 pounds when I fill it up. Water spills out sometimes, so rocks or sand or dirt or something would be a better idea. But yeah, it works pretty well because it has a handle on the top. And if you have a cat, chances are you already have one around, or will soon.

 

Nice job on the fasting.

 

Good luck!

Oh! That's such a good idea! The litter I buy comes in bags, but I think I could still use my spare full bag to lift. Thank you for the idea!

[Diadhuit]

@Jlailin I had more issues with the shoulders having to keep my arms up in the air for so long I do miss it so much!

Sent from my HTC Desire 728G dual sim using Tapatalk

[Butternut]

On 8/11/2017 at 9:47 PM, Jlailin said:

Make Fennel infused liqueur

 

What is that?!?!?

 

and I think your goals are very neat. Welcome!

 

 

[Jlailin]

6 hours ago, Diadhuit said:

@Jlailin I had more issues with the shoulders having to keep my arms up in the air for so long I do miss it so much!

Sent from my HTC Desire 728G dual sim using Tapatalk
 

Oh yes, I remember that part!  I dreaded when the song came on for keeping your arms up.  ...If it's shoulder problems for you, maybe you could try modifications with your hands on your waist or down?

 

3 hours ago, Butternut said:

 

What is that?!?!?

 

and I think your goals are very neat. Welcome!

 

 

Thank you!    Fennel infused liqueur is pretty similar to herbsaint or absinthe (but without that hallucinogen that makes it illegal in the US).  It typically goes in sazeracs--my drink of choice.    

[Jlailin]

Day 2 - 8/13

 

Intermittent Fasting

- Did really well today!  Stopped eating at 9:30pm yesterday and started at 1:30pm today for a perfect 16 hour fast.  Didn't feel light headed or woozy at all.

- Ate the most delicious mushroom burger ever (shroom burger from Shake Shack) with cheese fries for lunch.  For dinner I had hummus, chips, and a peach.  I need to buy/make more hummus.  That stuff is an awesome protein shortcut when I don't want to cook.

- Stopped eating at 9pm today for an early 7.5 hours of feasting.

 

Fitness

- This was supposed to be a rest day, but I ended up running through the chorus choreography of Rumor to clean it up a bit.  Nothing too intense.

- Walked a few blocks from a friend's house to go to a cat cafe--getting to pet kitties is a great exercise reward.

[Jlailin]

Day 3 - 8/14

 

Intermittent Fasting

- Started eating at 1pm for 16 hours of fasting. 

- Ate fried noodles with chicken, pork, egg, and stir fried veggies for lunch.  Ate bulgogi, garlic ong choi, rice, and a peach for dinner.  Very full and satisfied.

- I am somewhat struggling to finish my feasting in 8 hours just because of the time to exercise, food shop, and cook.  Today I finished feasting at 8.5 hours.

 

Fitness

- Went to zumba class today

- Hit 10,000 steps today!  My usual average is usually around 7,000 steps.

- Excited for strength training tomorrow!

[Jlailin]

It is the morning of day 4, and I am so, SO HUNGRY.  Like hangry hungry.  I don't understand why.  I ate a ton of food yesterday, and I thought I ate enough protein...  I wonder if it's because yesterday's activity level was higher?  

 

Drank some tea and two glasses of water, and I feel a little better.  Now I just have to keep myself distracted until 1:30pm (which will be a bit of a challenge since my client is a food company... <_<)

[Wobbegong]

THIS CHALLENGE IS SO COOL. 

 

If I had kpop classes around here I might actually pay for/go to a gym! I always think about just learning from the dance videos but I have no experience with dance or choreography so I'm always nervous I would miss obvious things. But kpop dances are so fun! 

 

2 hours ago, Jlailin said:

It is the morning of day 4, and I am so, SO HUNGRY.  Like hangry hungry.  I don't understand why.  I ate a ton of food yesterday, and I thought I ate enough protein...  I wonder if it's because yesterday's activity level was higher?  

If you're just starting IF and you usually ate breakfast in the past, it's probably ghrelin. If you typically eat on a fairly regular schedule, your body is used to releasing ghrelin around those times to remind you. Even if you don't actually need the food, your body's stats are maximized for stability, so you'll feel hungry at the usual time anyway. After a few days you'll learn the new routine and find your morning hunger just magically vanishes.

[Jlailin]

@Wobbegong Thank you!   It definitely makes a huge difference having a class to go to for learning the choreography.  I did try learning from youtube videos previously (there are some great tutorials out there), but it's so much easier to interact with a person than it is to pause, rewind, and rewatch eighty billion times (which is what it feels like sometimes).  If you're nervous about choreography, you could try a hip hop class just to ease into it.  They typically offer those at lots of gyms, and they're pretty fun.   ...Then when you're ready, you can try tackling the crazy complicated kpop moves through youtube tutorials.

 

As for IF, it's been working for the past week with no issues, but suddenly today is the day my body decides to yell at me to eat breakfast.  Plus, I haven't eaten breakfast regularly in months, so I'm not sure what the gripe is today.  Eh, well, the hunger pangs disappeared and it's almost feasting time!  I'll attempt to adjust the protein ratio again today and hope it fixes it for tomorrow.   

[Wobbegong]

8 minutes ago, Jlailin said:

@Wobbegong Thank you!   It definitely makes a huge difference having a class to go to for learning the choreography.  I did try learning from youtube videos previously (there are some great tutorials out there), but it's so much easier to interact with a person than it is to pause, rewind, and rewatch eighty billion times (which is what it feels like sometimes).  If you're nervous about choreography, you could try a hip hop class just to ease into it.  They typically offer those at lots of gyms, and they're pretty fun.   ...Then when you're ready, you can try tackling the crazy complicated kpop moves through youtube tutorials.

That's a good suggestion! I'll take it under advisement. Most of the gyms around here are crossfit-focused for some reason but I'm sure there are dance studios that offer hip hop classes. I'll look into it!

 

8 minutes ago, Jlailin said:

As for IF, it's been working for the past week with no issues, but suddenly today is the day my body decides to yell at me to eat breakfast.  Plus, I haven't eaten breakfast regularly in months, so I'm not sure what the gripe is today.  Eh, well, the hunger pangs disappeared and it's almost feasting time!  I'll attempt to adjust the protein ratio again today and hope it fixes it for tomorrow.   

Eh, sometimes you just have a hungry day. Best of luck with your tweaking! 

[Butternut]

On 8/13/2017 at 11:46 PM, Jlailin said:

Oh yes, I remember that part!  I dreaded when the song came on for keeping your arms up.  ...If it's shoulder problems for you, maybe you could try modifications with your hands on your waist or down?

 

Thank you!    Fennel infused liqueur is pretty similar to herbsaint or absinthe (but without that hallucinogen that makes it illegal in the US).  It typically goes in sazeracs--my drink of choice.    

 

Mmm the description I found is that it taste like anise? 

[Jlailin]

@Butternut Yes!  Exactly!  To me that flavor profile is pretty similar--anise, licorice, and fennel.  Weirdly enough, I don't really like licorice candy, but I like the flavor in other things (like sazeracs) or combined in a savory fashion.

 

@Wobbegong Yep!  I do feel like this day is an excellent test of willpower.  I was so tempted by the free doughnuts sitting on the counter, but I was good!  Hah!  Take that, doughnuts!  xD

 

[Jlailin]

Day 4 - 8/15

 

Intermittent Fasting

- Started eating at 1:30pm for 16 hours of fasting. 

- Ate leftover fried noodles for lunch and a bag of popcorn as a snack.  For dinner I had egg salad, bruschetta, chips, a peach, and chocolate.

- Finished eating at 8pm for 7.5 hours of feasting

 

Fitness

- Did bodyweight routine

- Ran through Playing with Fire choreography and focused on first verse

- Ran through Rumor choreography with a video

- Did a 30 second headstand without a wall nearby!  Shorter than my usual time, but I psyched myself out feeling like I was going to fall

- Did a 10 second crow pose

- Need to teach my cat that sitting underneath me doing a bridge is not a proper place to take a nap...

[fireandlight]

Welcome aboard and good luck with the challenge!

[Jlailin]

14 minutes ago, fireandlight said:

Welcome aboard and good luck with the challenge!

Thank you!

[Equinoxe]

Oof, I can imagine it's tempting when you're working with food clients! I admire your discipline though, sounds like you rocked it.

 

Haha, oh no, kitty... at least if she takes a nap there, maybe you'll surprise yourself with an extra-long bridge pose?  I've had to hold poses for a long time before, because a furry friend decided it was a great time to snuggle, and I wouldn't have the heart to tell him to move...