Teancum is Consistent

[Teancum]

So the holidays killed me. I gained 15lbs. I think a bunch of it is water weight that should come off fairly quick, but still. 

 

I've done some thinking recently, and realised that I never seem to stick with a plan long enough and consistently enough for it to become the new normal. I continue to fail because I've developed a scarcity mentality from years of yo yo dieting. When I'm "off my diet" I stuff my face and actively seek out bad foods because I know I'll need to give them up again eventually. 

 

So this year I'm simplifying. I'm focusing on consistency, habit forming, and changing the default. I'm taking it slow. I'm thinking in terms of years and days instead of weeks and months. 

 

So no fun theme this challenge, just three simple daily goals:

 

1. Stay below my calorie limit (no macros or anything yet, just tracking) 

 

2. Some form of exercise (may be a full workout, one set of pushups, or 10 minutes of walking - just needs to be purposeful) 

 

3. Scripture study (no minimum time, just must be dedicated time and purposeful) 

 

I am also participating in a bonus challenge for the year and walking to Mordor. I got a fitbit for Christmas and I think this will be a good use of it! 

 

Happy new year everyone!! Let's do this!! 

[peelout]

2 hours ago, Teancum said:

2. Some form of exercise (may be a full workout, one set of pushups, or 10 minutes of walking - just needs to be purposeful) 

 

The habit I'm working on now is daily exercise (which means every day).  I like what you said about even "one set of pushups, 10min walking - just needs to be purposeful".  I realize that there will be days it's impossible due to schedules, sickness, etc to get my planned full workout in.  What you said about "one set" is what I call my placeholder w/o.  I just have to do 1 set of anything from freebody squats or even curling a pencil (if I've got the dreaded and totally debillitating man cold).  It does nothing for fitness, but everything for developing the habit - anything, just as long as its mindful.

I'm coming along for the ride.

[Teancum]

57 minutes ago, peelout said:

The habit I'm working on now is daily exercise (which means every day).  I like what you said about even "one set of pushups, 10min walking - just needs to be purposeful".  I realize that there will be days it's impossible due to schedules, sickness, etc to get my planned full workout in.  What you said about "one set" is what I call my placeholder w/o.  I just have to do 1 set of anything from freebody squats or even curling a pencil (if I've got the dreaded and totally debillitating man cold).  It does nothing for fitness, but everything for developing the habit - anything, just as long as its mindful.

I'm coming along for the ride.

 

Great to have you here!! I totally agree with the habit forming part, and that's what I most need I think. The one time I actually had good success with health I did almost no exercise, so I'm definitely the 90% what you eat camp. But this time I also want to be more active, so the habit will be important. 

[WhiteGhost]

Here for the consistency

 

[Teancum]

3 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Here for the consistency

 

 

Thanks for the support! 

 

So I was kind of easing into it this week, and it showed. I did get some exercise most days, mostly walking. I also did quite well in my study. 

 

As for calories, I was below what my fitbit tells me my expenditure is, but above what my goal is. Based on previous attempts I think the fitbit, and most calculators, overestimate my metabolism, and I need to be at a greater deficit to lose any weight. 

 

So this week I essentially stayed the same on the scale. In the coming week I plan to track to the letter and experiment a bit to see how far below my measured expenditure I really need to be to lose what weight. It is fun to have this new data to play with. 

[WhiteGhost]

When I first got my fitbit I tracked meticulously to see how closely changes in weight correlated with changes in food intake.  What I discovered was that in the short term the correlation was extremely low, because my weight is more affected by varying degrees of water retention day to day than by changes in food consumption.  Your mileage may vary, but I suggest you keep this in mind as you analyze your own data.

[Teancum]

4 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

When I first got my fitbit I tracked meticulously to see how closely changes in weight correlated with changes in food intake.  What I discovered was that in the short term the correlation was extremely low, because my weight is more affected by varying degrees of water retention day to day than by changes in food consumption.  Your mileage may vary, but I suggest you keep this in mind as you analyze your own data.

 

Very true. I weigh weekly rather than daily to hopefully catch more real weight, but definitely still an issue. I plan to not put too much stock in it until I have a few months of data to review for trends. 

[Teancum]

I've been having a bit of trouble with my calorie goal this week. I've still generally been under my calories expended, but still above my calorie goal. The biggest problem comes at night. My baby stays up late, so I have to stay up late, so I get hungry again before bed. If I went to bed at a better time, I would eat less food and be less tired, which would be awesome, but alas. Last night I tried (baby was sort of asleep at around 8:30), but even though she never fully woke up, she tossed and turned and whined for 3 hours straight so I still didn't get to sleep till around midnight. Oh well, part of life I guess. At least I'm eating less than I did while I was on holidays.

 

Exercise and study are going pretty well. I enjoyed walking a lot last week when it was warmer and I was taking the bus. Now I'm driving again so the walk isn't built in, and it's crazy cold again so even if I was taking the bus I couldn't walk home. So I'm doing my push up sets (it's amazing how far back you can slide when you haven't been doing them consistently - I was up to an AMRAP of almost 8 at one point, now I'm back down to 4)

[WhiteGhost]

3 hours ago, Teancum said:

it's amazing how far back you can slide when you haven't been doing them consistently - I was up to an AMRAP of almost 8 at one point, now I'm back down to 4

Yeah, I get this.  It will be about a month of no workouts for me before I get back to it and I am worried what my pullups are going to look like.  I hope they aren't actually as bad as I feel like they will be...

[Teancum]

On 10/01/2018 at 12:53 AM, WhiteGhost said:

Yeah, I get this.  It will be about a month of no workouts for me before I get back to it and I am worried what my pullups are going to look like.  I hope they aren't actually as bad as I feel like they will be...

 

Fair enough. Knowing you though I'm sure you'll find something to maintain, even if you can't do full workouts

 

The last couple days I failed on my goals. I'm coming up on a run of travelling and interviews for residency. I think the stress of that is sapping my discipline. As I said last time, at least it's better than it had been over the holidays.

 

It'll also be very difficult to maintain while I'm traveling. I knew this going in, which is partly why I chose simple goals. I'll be eating a lot of unlabeled food though, so the calorie part might be tough. I'm hoping to stick with the study and exercise however. 

[Teancum]

Hey guys, 

 

Been a while since I updated. I've been traveling a ton. Coming back just to say I think I'm going to take a break from the monthly challenges for a while. I haven't been finding the time to keep up with the forums like I would like to, but more importantly, I think in some ways they're starting to interfere with my "days and years" mindset. I get excited for the start of a challenge, then lose steam, then count it as a failure and give up till the start of the next one. It's fueling my bad habits, and deepening the rut I'm trying to get out of. 

 

I'll miss the support, but I won't be gone for good, and I might hop in on a few minis still. Good luck to you all, and I hope when I come back I'll have made some good changes and be ready rock! 

[WhiteGhost]

You could always do a battle log.  That would let you keep the accountability and encouragement but without the challenge time pressure

[Teancum]

On 31/01/2018 at 6:25 PM, WhiteGhost said:

You could always do a battle log.  That would let you keep the accountability and encouragement but without the challenge time pressure

 

I thought about that, and still might... Part of the issue is not writing up here as much as I should though, which would still be a problem with the battle log. The accountability would be nice though... If I decide to do one I'll post the link here!