Adventure Prep - Fall Baby!

[Sciread77]

September 17 - October 14

Adventure Prep - Fall Baby!

So I've completed my first challenge, and it feels pretty good.  I feel like I'm finally prepped to begin Adventure Prep.  My aches and pains from odd weaknesses and inflexibility are diminishing.  I'm getting physically healthier and I'm in that magic period in which I can make some progress on all fronts.

 

I need to add another category to the long-term goals: Mental.  I've struggled with various issues for years, and the last several have been the best.  I need to find the middle ground between obsessing and framing my whole life in terms of these issues and becoming complacent or ignoring the problems.

 

Finally, the time has come.  Sometime during this challenge, baby 3 will arrive.  Her arrival marks the start of the next Grand Adventure.

Long-term goals:
Body fat: 12-15%.  I'm currently sitting at ~20%
Strength: I want functional strength.  Ideally, I'll be able to carry my whole family at once.  
Endurance: I'd like to beat Gaston in a push up contest.  With matching pull ups and lower body strength
Social: Build a stable, loving family with strong roots among friends and family.
Mental: Build strong, stable mental health by adopting good habits and shedding unhealthy ones
Professional: I want to move up, making a greater impact and more money.  I am also looking to build a business on the side, helping business owners and managers standardize and systemize so they can take back their lives, grow their businesses, and/or replicate their successes.
 
Challenge Goals:

Body fat: My target is to consistently lose fat while minimizing muscle loss.  
-> Lose an average of 0.5 to 2 lbs per week over the course of the challenge.  

*I keep a spreadsheet with daily weight, weekly highs, weekly lows, total loss, average loss since I began tracking, and lbs to go until I hit my goal weight.  Goal weight is a fuzzy, general number that corresponds to my 12-15% bodyfat goal.
 
Diet: To maintain muscle, I will want to ensure 
-> Consume 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean bodymass, 
-> Eat no more than 1 thing per day that does not support this goal via nutritional value, ie sweets, junk food, etc.

I expect diet to be a struggle.  With a new baby and being at home during the holiday season, I've got two strikes against me.  Over the weekend I ate myself a couple of extra pounds of pie, candy, and brownies.  I'm not strictly concerned with the one instance, but I am concerned with how easy it is to go back to my old, annual habits of eating desserts like a starving hippo.
 
Strength:  
->Increase my total push ups from 28 to 35 and my total pull ups from 6 to 8.  

I think those are reasonable goals.  Maintaining strength during the fat loss period is more important to me than gaining the muscle, but if I can improve during this magic period, I will! 

PT: I will continued to do calf/ankle exercises as a warm-up.  I am working on strengthening my wrist/forearm/grip while improving flexibility.  My goal is to do mobility and strengthening exercises daily, with an ultimate goal of being able to do traditional push ups and pull ups without pain. 
->Complete PT daily.
 
Rest:  My third kid's ETA is October 1st.  This is it.  She'll be here in less than 3 weeks. 
-> Obtain 8 clock hours of sleep per 24-hour period.  

The Fitbit will not really register sleep until you've been asleep for at least an hour, so with a newborn it will be substantially less reliable.  I'm the point parent post-partum for a lot of reasons, including 1) Not being the person just recovering from birth and 2) Having the ability to wake up, care for a child, and go back to sleep with minimal disturbance.  My sleep agility is excellent these days.  I have very little insomnia compared to years past, compared to my wonderful wife who will be up for hours if she wakens enough to care for a baby.  

Social: I've basically withdrawn socially during these last few months in preparing for the arrival of the baby.  We both have to work until she's born too, so most of what is left over is dedicated to taking care of house stuff and the kids.  I need connection with adults other than my wife. After the baby comes and we start getting into a routine, we'll start inviting friends over too.

-> Do something social, even if it's talking on forums, with an adult every day.  

 

Professional:  Since I'm looking to build something professionally, I'll list those goals too.

-> Accomplish one long-term development task per day.

Most of my job for the last 9 months has been a series of emergencies and tire fires. I can't keep doing survival mode (see Mental category below), and I have several development projects going.  Once the baby comes, I'll work on a career or business-related skill each day.

 

-> Complete one side business item per day, even if I don't feel ready.

I read an article by the World Economic Forum today about overcoming perfectionism, procrastination, and anxiety.  A particular quote stuck out to me:

"Anything worth doing is worth doing badly."

Nobody starts out as an expert.  Even experts usually aren't the best.  I'm not worried about doing intentionally shoddy work.   I have a graduate degree.  I have years of experience. The fact is, I'm entering an new stage of my life and the time for action has come.

Mental:  The summer and fall are the worst times of year for me. (Even though fall and winter are my favourite seasons). I'm quite sensitive to sunlight.  More tends to be bad for me, and the summer peak usually throws my moods off throughout most or all of the fall.  This year I'm sort of stuck in a rut at work, with an understaffed team putting out fires all day every day.  It's been a disappointing summer in that regard, and I've been feeling the weight of it pretty hard the last couple of weeks.  It's the early stages of  burnout, which I've had before and I must be proactive in addressing it.  I have a few goals to help mitigate it until I'm out with the baby, and to help me prepare for my return afterwards.

 

-> Avoid news.  Reading an article someone shares with me is ok, looking on my own is not. 

I like knowing what's going on in the world, and it's normally not an issue.  But one of my bad habits is constantly checking news ad nauseum, and it does nothing good for me.

 

-> Disconnect each day for at least half an hour mid-day and in the evening with the family.

 

-> Read a physical book for fun at least 10 minutes each day.  

I 've read a paltry 6 books this year.  It's basically a book desert in my life; I've never read so few.  I still read a lot, but blogs and other online content hardly count.  I've also read several business books and technical guides beyond the ones I counted, but I'm basically not counting it if it isn't on Goodreads.  I'm partway into the biography of Robert Moses, Jurassic Park (which I'm reading to the boys), and Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by JV, which I'm reading along with an audiobook).  But I've really not read anything for fun since coming back from vacation in mid-July, and prior to that I'd not read anything since March.  I had an ok first three months, but for comparison I read 4 books last November and 5 books last December.

 

-> Listen to "good" music each day.  

Defined as music that helps me achieve feelings of calm, ambition, laughter, happiness, or otherwise helps condition my mind.

The good thing here it that the goals support each other.  Right now, I waste several hours a day on the obsessive checking of news and Facebook.  I can replace that with healthier, more productive, more enjoyable alternatives.  Plus, I'll have about 4 months off when the baby arrives.  It's a lot of little stuff.  I can do it.  Only a few short weeks before the newest Grand Adventure arrives.

[WolfDreamer]

First to reply! And your goals look freaking awesome.

 

Following!

 

[Sylvaa]

So exciting that the baby is almost here!

 

Loving that your recognize this time of year isn't the best for your mental health and are making an effort to work through those issues. 

[Sciread77]

2 hours ago, Wolfen said:

First to reply! And your goals look freaking awesome.

 

Following!

 

 

Thanks!  I think that my goals all support each other.  I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew here.  On the other hand, they're pretty easy targets if I can manage to avoid mindlessly wasting time with stuff that mostly just upsets me and makes me feel small and powerless.

 

And I love the GIF.

 

18 minutes ago, Sylvaa said:

So exciting that the baby is almost here!

 

Me too.  I LOVE babies and children.

 

21 minutes ago, Sylvaa said:

Loving that your recognize this time of year isn't the best for your mental health and are making an effort to work through those issues. 

 

Thanks!  It's something I've faced for years.  I have a pretty good idea of how to take care of myself and what works for me as long as I'm aware of what's going on.  The nature of my problem is sneaky and makes it difficult or impossible to be objective.  Fortunately, my wonderful wife is able to bring attention to issues changes as they arise without the anxiety and obsession that my parents did when I was younger, and she is incredibly supportive.

 

I also know from looking back at journals, grades, etc. that things usually get worse around this time of year.  Over the last 7-8 years I've been increasingly proactive and, fortunately increasingly successful in mitigating the effects. 

 

*Disclaimer: I also religiously take medications as prescribed by my doctors, following evidence-based medicine.  Without those, other strategies are far less effective or useless.

[CallunaTook]

Wow, so many exciting goals! And a new wee one! It sounds like this challenge period represents a tremendous growth period for you - it sounds like you'll be on top of it! 

[Sciread77]

17 hours ago, CallunaTook said:

Wow, so many exciting goals! And a new wee one! It sounds like this challenge period represents a tremendous growth period for you - it sounds like you'll be on top of it! 

 

There's lots of excitement in the air.  I hope the laundry list of goals is not too much.

 

[Sciread77]

-> Lose an average of 0.5 to 2 lbs per week over the course of the challenge.  
I ended last week up  a bit less than a pound, and this week I'm starting out a bit more than 1 pound over that starting this week.  So hopefully I can get back on the right track.
 
-> Consume 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean bodymass, 
Major fail Friday and over the weekend.

-> Eat no more than 1 thing per day that does not support this goal via nutritional value, ie sweets, junk food, etc.
The reason the protein was a fail over the weekend was the consumption of this stuff.  
 
->Increase my total push ups from 28 to 35 and my total pull ups from 6 to 8.  
I actually did ok on this most of the week, but only a handful of negative pull ups on Friday.

->Complete PT daily.
Mostly hit this, actually.
 
-> Obtain 8 clock hours of sleep per 24-hour period.  
I only had about 6 hours of sleep last night but I took about 4 hours worth of nap yesterday.  I don't feel great today but it's not quite as bad as I thought.

-> Do something social, even if it's talking on forums, with an adult every day.  
I've been able to do this so far.  
 
-> Accomplish one long-term development task per day.
I started the day by filling out a questionnaire for a promotion within my department.  Here's hoping.

-> Complete one side business item per day, even if I don't feel ready.
I completed zero of this over the weekend or on Friday.  I've otherwise been doing pretty well.

-> Avoid news.  Reading an article someone shares with me is ok, looking on my own is not. 
The Jason Stockley verdict has the whole community on edge.  Half my friends are out there protesting.  I've only checked the news for specific things, but even with the shared articles it's been a pretty bad news cycle.
 
-> Disconnect each day for at least half an hour mid-day and in the evening with the family.
This, fortunately, has been a major victory.  It's been helping my mental state a lot and it's freed up quite a bit of time.

-> Read a physical book for fun at least 10 minutes each day.  
I'm slowly but surely meeting this one.  I think it'll be easier after the baby comes.  One thing I've noticed is that my wife reads a lot when the TV is on, which I find to be nearly impossible and incredibly stressful to attempt.

 

-> Listen to "good" music each day. 
And perhaps avoid "bad" music atm; sometimes it's cathartic but it's been too easy for me to fall back into old thinking patterns.  Listening to music has been extremely helpful.  

There's a ton of stuff to do before the baby arrives.  And she could be here any minute.  On the flip side, a lot of what we're trying to get done becomes an SEP once she arrives. Friday our work location shut down due to the protests.  I can easily work from home when that happens, but I need a better plan on how to deal with eating and activity.  At work, I have a routine.  Even putting out the daily fires isn't too bad for my stress or eating habits.  At home, though, I noticed some issues: I didn't drink nearly enough water, I didn't follow my normal eating routine, and even when I had time to work on stuff this weekend I spent most of the time effectively spinning in circles trying to figure out where to start.  I usually work best off of lists, and I need to create one for the must-do stuff at home too.

 

In any case, I'm off to a bit of a rocky start but I'm pressing on.

[Teros]

Gaston pushup competition?

[Sciread77]

On 9/19/2017 at 4:49 PM, Teros said:

Gaston pushup competition?

 

Yep. 

 

 

Disney has stringent requirements for their character cast, and the Gastons have to be in amazing shape. Sadly, this gentlemen died in a tragic fireworks accident two years ago. But he inspires me from beyond the grave. 

 

In other news, things took a turn. I gained 5 lbs, my stress levels dropped to zen levels, and we're at the hospital with the imminent arrival of the baby. My wife is napping so I'm catching up. 

 

[CallunaTook]

omg! Baby! Best of luck!

[Sciread77]

We've had the new baby for a week. Her older brothers are smitten and obsessed with feeding and changing her. So far, so good on that note. I've been able to read to the boys regularly and an edginess I hardly knew I had developed has been easing until until about the last 24 hours. 

 

I did cap the weight gain at 6 lbs, and most of that is probably carb swing since my diet includes more grains at home. I'm sitting steady with pull ups and push ups. For now, I'm happy with treading water on those numbers. 

 

I am anxious about being away from work so long and making sure the leave arrangements are good.  We also made the mistake of watching the new American Horror Story episodes that are on demand last night, only to wake up to the horrifying news of another mass shooting in Las Vegas. 

 

 

[CallunaTook]

Congratulations on your new wee one!  Looking forward to see how things are going. 

[Sciread77]

So we’re almost 3 weeks into having a newborn and things are pretty good, all things considered. I’m hovering at around 4-5 lbs of pre-baby weight but I haven’t gained since she was 8 days old. I’ve maintained my strength as of my last check (I’m planning another test tomorrow) and I’ve mostly gotten reasonable amounts of sleep. That wouldn’t be the case without having all the time off. I’ve been able to spend plenty of time developing and/or relaxing myself, especially reading and cleaning up. 

 

On another note, my oldest son was diagnosed last Wednesday with mild asthma and my youngest son was diagnosed with eczema. It should have happened earlier, but there were some issues with the previous pediatrician. It’s not fun to watch my little guy struggle to breathe or cough like he’s hacking up a lung. An asthmatic myself, I know it can be scary. He wasn’t sleeping and missed most of the week of school. Fortunately, medical technology is far better than it was 30 years ago, and he’s mild/allergy/pollution counts were much, much better today than they’ve been. He’s sleeping well now so I’m feeling slightly relaxed but part of me still wants to check on him every few minutes. 

[Sciread77]

Full disclosure though, I’ve been eating waaay more junk and skimping on protein. 

[CallunaTook]

Well, you're re-calibrating, right?  You'll be back on top of it soon.

Good luck to all of your little ones. I have asthma also. And yeah, treatments have advanced a lot!!! I'm 90% cured at this point after going to the asthma clinic. And wow, there is even such a thing. I'm sure it will help them that you've been through it, too.

[Sciread77]

On 10/17/2017 at 7:11 AM, CallunaTook said:

Well, you're re-calibrating, right?  You'll be back on top of it soon.

Good luck to all of your little ones. I have asthma also. And yeah, treatments have advanced a lot!!! I'm 90% cured at this point after going to the asthma clinic. And wow, there is even such a thing. I'm sure it will help them that you've been through it, too.

 

I’m definitely recalibrating. We’re starting to get back on track now although today (now yesterday) was our anniversary and we did some celebrating. 

 

I’m also about 90% cures of asthma, it’s basically gone unless I get bronchitis or encounter major triggers. It used to be exercise induced for me and that was awful. The little

guy is taking it like a champ. He’s already asking for the daily meds and he administers his inhaler himself. It makes me feel a lot better that he’s naturally gravitating towards it. I’m also happy that this far it does not seem to be triggered by exercise. I’m excited to say that he starts dance lessons tomorrow with a tap and jazz class. I’m sure I’ll post more after he tries it out. He’s been obsessing over the tap shoes since we got them. 

 

Also, I read you talk about dealing with arthritis in another thread, and thank you for that. I don’t recall the details but I think I’ve had similar struggles. Definitely with the periods of idlenss and excess game playing at the expense of physical activity. 

[CallunaTook]

Yay, dance class?!  How fun!! Good luck to him. (I get super excited about all things dance. And male tappers - gee are there some great ones out there! Have you seen Tap, with Gregory Hines? That was a good one.)

 

Happy anniversary! :-)  So many exciting things happening in your life. 

 

And you're welcome. Thank you for mentioning it; that's nice.

[Sciread77]

I hope he loves it. We enjoy dancing; my wife and I performed a fully choreographed foxtrot for our first dance at our wedding, and it was lots of fun. My wife has coached at least one high school dance team as well. She’s a great dancer.  I’ve never done tap but I enjoy watching it. He dances to music and along with movies all the time. He adores being on stage and the place we’re taking him feeds into the local professional musical theatre scene, offers voice and acting lessons, and gives him lots of room to grow if he wants to stay with it. 

 

Our other son is probably going to do gymnastics, although he worships the ground his older brother walks on so I could see him going into dance as well. 

 

I have seen Tap. It’s a good time!