Darkfoxx 45: I'm Home ... For Now

[darkfoxx]

 

 

This challenge cycle finds me home ... I think. At least, I don't have any scheduled travel at the moment. 

 

So ... since I'm home, and I got peer-pressured into joining a dragon boat team - I guess my challenge kind of writes itself, no? 

 

Goal 1: As always, Macros

 

It's getting hot here in Doha already and my face can't fathom butter at the moment (refresher: was flying high on keto, went to Sri Lanka aka the land of pineapple and other fresh fruits where it was hot, face don't wanna keto during sweaty temperatures)

 

It's back to low-ish carb paleo for me - at least for now. 

 

Old-school macros:

 

1500 calories (I'm actually aiming for 1350 here, but 1500 is maintenance)

70g protein

70g carbs (going for way under here though - I don't wanna return to my carby ways atm)

100g fats 

 

Goal 2: Activities

 

Paddling at least 2x a week. Saturday mornings is a good technique paddle and throw in either Monday or Wednesday evening. 

 

1 other active thing per week - I finally found a yoga whose time, location and price agrees with me - it's beach yoga within walking distance on Sunday evenings while DH is at BJJ. That, or my dragon boating team has a weekly bootcamp at that time. Eew bootcamp. 

 

Goal 3: Keep on top of my other shit

 

Social life

Adulting

Social media

Think about adding in something I can do for some $ or creative fulfillment (*cough* that dog rescue website design that got put on hold *cough*) 

Get my Residence Permit (hopefully)

If that happens, work on getting my drivers license

Plan our next travel - either Kiev in the late Spring/early Summer together or a visa hop weekend with a girlfriend in India in late Spring - or both, depending on what happens with life and visas and whatnot 

 

 

 

[thekatisalie]

Looks solid like always. Dragon boating is super cool. I hope you get a break from all the dust/sand, too. I watched your vlog about it and saw it lurked it's why back into your life when you got home.

[Elastigirl]

Can't wait to hear al about the Dragon boating. Do you allow for extra calories on days you are rowing? Seems to me like it would be a pretty intense workout.

[Terra]

I love that you are finding things to do that are both exercise and fun at the same time.  What are your summers suppose to be like???  

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following for more Sandpit-Dragon adventures.

 

Also, stick with that Yoga class.

[Echoceanic]

Wow I learned a new thing today!

 

Happy to follow your adventures.

[NeverThatBored]

Oooh, dragon boating! Cool!

 

Following.

[Raxie]

I assume there will be pictures of this dragon boating? I require pictures.

[darkfoxx]

@Raxie: of course - just may be a bit; the ones DH has been able to be at after are at night. Pics will def happen!
@Terra: literal hell. Like 120F and humid
@Elastigirl: we shall see. Don’t want to jump to that road before it’s necessary, lest my brain make that the norm. Luckily, the boats are 3 buildings from my house, and I’ve been staying after with a girlfriend for coffee and or food.
@therealkat: The sand .... ugggggggggh. It was sandy again he day after we got back - switched to fog - but now it’s clear.

Pupper is alll up in my shit and mail came!

Be back shortly!


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[Raxie]

13 minutes ago, darkfoxx said:

Pupper is alll up in my shit

 

Is there any other state for puppers to be in?

[darkfoxx]

 
Is there any other state for puppers to be in?

Nope, nope there isn’t.

She wouldn’t get off my arms last night so I could be on my phone. Damn that having to be present!




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[darkfoxx]

Yesterday

Breakfast: Coffee with almond milk & some of my stash of TJ’s Thai Lime Chili cashews
Lunch: Went out to one of my favorite local spots - had a bun less burger with fried onions, side salad and unsweetened mango tea
Dinner: Made Sri Lankan Style curried okra with rotisserie chicken

Calories: 1,011
Protein: 61g
Net Carbs: 23g
Fat: 77g

I was starving in the morning, hence the nuts.
Was starving after lunch, so dinner was early.
Ate enough at dinner so I didn’t need a snack.

Rested instead of paddling - I’m planning on going Saturday and trying my opposite side to see if that works out better for my wrist.

Met up with my Wednesday Group and caught up with two friends after my vacation.





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[Tanktimus the Encourager]

10 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

I was starving

 

10 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

Was starving

 

10 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

Calories: 1,011

Gee, I wonder why?

 

[darkfoxx]

Welp, made up for it today.

Can’t properly track because I can’t spell att the straight diabeetus I had this evening when I found myself at the Qatar International Food Festival with a girlfriend who is also avoiding sugar.

Breakfast: Coffee; Leftover okra curry & chicken
Coffee: Hot tea
Lunch: Steak salad with 1 cracker
Coffee: Coconut flat white at Costa which it turns out is hella sweet
Food Festival: I traduced friend to Indian desserts - had 1 gulab jamon, 1 of those orange fried sugar thingies, 1 bite of something yellow and sweet and kinda gross, 1.5 ounces of some orange almost sweet cream of wheaty thing, 1 Turkish coffee that probably had milk in it, and 2 bites of kunafra just to figure out wtf it was (tasted like weak cheese in sweet shredded wheat and was weird).

Oops.

Got some walking in, but not enough to balance all that business.

Good gab time though, and met up with some new teammates at the event.

Tomorrow is a new day. A new day where I’m also going out with a girlfriend and am going to control my damn self.


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[darkfoxx]

[emoji38][emoji38][emoji38]

This is what happens when I relax my brain.

Breakfast: Post-paddle breakfast out with teammates - had an Indian breakfast (aka dosas with all the carby, fried and/or sweet fixins)

Felt bloated all afternoon.

Dinner: Delivery Egyptian - grilled meat & veggies

I did paddle yesterday, though - so there is that.

My ass needs to find a gear.

And maybe a scale?




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[darkfoxx]

Yesterday

1989 of 1350 - 1500 Calories
119 of 70g protein
21g of low net carbs
158 of 100g fats

Breakfast: Coffee with almond milk
Lunch: Texas Roadhouse because I was so hungry I couldn’t think - steak, shrimp, salad with ranch cause Murcia, veggies, all the butter
Dinner: Because I was starving again and still wanted “junk” - doner kebab salad box with the 3 sauces

Walked around the mall with DH looking for things he needed for his trip. Almost made Steps but didn’t.

Settled on Croatia for our next joint trip and Kerala India for my next visa hop with a girlfriend

Now on to planning while DH is out of town!

Planning and paddling tonight. I also got printed pics back from Australia, so I’m making my scrapbook for that.


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[Raxie]

Croatia sounds amazing and look so beautiful!

[thekatisalie]

All your travel makes me itchy to go do something somewhere that isn't Minnesota.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

14 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

Settled on Croatia for our next joint trip

@MattSkywalker, one of our very own rangers, is from Croatia if I'm not mistaken, and might have helpful tips.

[SkyGirl]

I actually thought of you and your dragon boating the other day! I saw this video:

 

 

And saw the dragon boats go by around 1:09, and was like "HEY! One of my Rangers is doing that!"   

 

Yay for Croatia and India! I dream of going to India someday!

[MattSkywalker]

Oh cool that you're going to Croatia, @darkfoxx! Are you going to spend time in a specific place or will you do a tour?

 

Things not to miss on a tour of the Adriatic coast are Dubrovnik (famous as a filming location for GoT, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the upcoming Robin Hood movie), Split (esp. emperor Diocletian's palace) and Salona (ruins of the ancient capital of the Roman province Dalmatia), Brač island (esp. the Bol na Braču beach; herbal fragrances are amazing on the whole island), and Omiš city with its narrow stone streets and the huge rock mountain towering behind it. All of those places are close (beautiful islands Korčula, Hvar and Mljet are also nearby). If you have time to go further north along the coast, you don't want to miss Šibenik, Zadar and Pula (with its intact ancient Roman arena). In the mainland, you don't want to miss Plitvice Lakes, Zagreb (esp. the old upper city) and Varaždin (the baroque city and a former capital) - you'll pass through 'The Shire' region (Zagorje hills) of Croatia to get there (1k mountains Sljeme/Medvednica and Ivančica are cool to visit if you have time - I live nearby the latter).

 

If you want to spend more time chilling out, I'd recommend islands Lošinj (the most amazing fragrances to encounter there), Cres (especially wild with unique birds) and Krk (the best combination of civilization and wilderness). They are less known internationally (except Krk - old towns Krk, Baška, Omišalj and Vrbnik are must see there; the latter has the narrowest street in the world), but are true oases for vacation, with crystal clear sea. And much less expensive than, say, Dubrovnik or islands near Split.

 

For hiking, I recommend Velebit (from which you can see the Adriatic sea and islands, sometimes even Italy) and mountains of Gorski kotar (both are in the region of Plitvice lakes), or for more rugged and stony mountains, go for Mosor, Biokovo and Dinara (the highest in the country).

 

As for the eastern region (Slavonia), well, tbh, not much to see there, unless you really like flat plains where you can't see a hill anywhere around, fields of grain and corn and old wooden houses. There's is a Papuk mountain and Kopački rit national parks, cities Osijek and Đakovo with red brick cathedrals, but nothing special (you should visit it only if you're going to visit Serbia, as it's on the way there). That's kind of cruel to say since my father, mother and wife have roots from there, but honestly I wouldn't lose my time there. Much more to see in other parts of Croatia, esp. the Adriatic coast.

 

So that's some first-hand insight. Hope it helps.

[darkfoxx]

@MattSkywalker: ooh. Thanks for the tips!

We haven’t quite landed on an itinerary yet, but I’m thinking of a mix of hiking, beaches and town walks - definitely popping into GoT territory, am debating on a coastal crawl vs island hopping. I believe we are flying into Zagreb - still have to 1000% nail down dates. Probably working with 6, maybe 7 days and 2-3 locations with day trips.

Still in the early stages of planning there.

Kerala is still in early stages of planning too - planning on relaxing by the beach, drinking, some yoga, and a temple tour or two. Won’t have too long there (2 maybe 3 days), and I’ll be with a girl friend I have not yet traveled with.

Dragon boating is still going well. Didn’t injure myself with my Monday paddle at least. Form was still shit, but it was definitely getting better with speed.

Food yesterday wasn’t terrible - had a pool day with a group of friends.

Breakfast: Coffee with almond milk, a few smoked cocktail weenies and a piece of jerky
Lunch: Fruit plate and a glass of rose
Second lunch: Niçoise salad with like no potatoes and a glass of rose
Dinner: Sri Lankan Style curried eggplant and the last of my rotisserie chicken
Snack: More smoked cocktail weenies with mustard

Macros to follow


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[MattSkywalker]

10 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

@MattSkywalker: ooh. Thanks for the tips!

We haven’t quite landed on an itinerary yet, but I’m thinking of a mix of hiking, beaches and town walks - definitely popping into GoT territory, am debating on a coastal crawl vs island hopping. I believe we are flying into Zagreb - still have to 1000% nail down dates. Probably working with 6, maybe 7 days and 2-3 locations with day trips.

Still in the early stages of planning there.

Np! Yeah, with that time, it's best to skip Varaždin and 'The Shire' (Zagorje) region - just see the most important locations in Zagreb (basically the old upper town) and head straight to the seaside. Islands take more time because of ferries, but even if you do the coast crawl, you could squeeze in Krk (connected with the mainland by a bridge) after/before seeing Pula and you could also squeeze in Brač (a ~45 min ferry trip to Supetar on Brač) after seeing Split. And yeah, I suggest skipping the travel on Friday and Sunday, because the traffic can get pretty crazy with people from all over Europe arriving/departing before/after the weekend. Probably best to find some nice place to stay in during that time.

[Fonzico]

Following along! Sounds like a lot of awesome up in here

 

Although I'm a little sad to lose my keto buddy...

[darkfoxx]

Forgot to come back and macro, apparently.

Calories have been a bit high this week, and carbs are higher than Keto but not crazy high - I’ve been starving to damn death all week, so I know my body is still figuring out what to do.

Wednesday I had a crappy steak salad out, all the leftovers in my fridge for second lunch, and a bunless burger for dinner. Met up with friends for said crappy salad and DH came home in the afternoon. Also got my hairs did.

Thursday I grabbed some nuts for breakfast, had Turkish grilled lamb chops & salad mezze for lunch, and grilled wings for dinner. Hung out with a friend - grabbed fabric at the fabric souq, and visited her fav tailor to get a shirt made.

Today I’m having sushi for lunch (aiming for more sashimi than sushi), and am going to have to find something mo better than that for dinner. I’ll also need some breakfast soon - lunch doesn’t open until 1. Also snagged tickets for a world gymnastics competition and will check that out after.

Tomorrow is another paddle day!




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