Lucky Fire Dragon has dawled for long enough

[lucky fire dragon]

Hey there, I finally made it back again (again) and aim to stick around for a bit longer again, squeeeee

 

 

This will be a proper respawn as not only did I take a break on forums, my less to little training slimmed down to none, which still shocks me tremendously and my body lost any hard achieved slimness instead (which kind of makes sense)

 

It got so bad, I finally did the thing and set foot into a fitness studio (gasp). Not that there is anything wrong with regular fitness studios, but they really aren't my thing at all, so this is my first time contract with a studio ever. In my defense it's a pretty cool fitness studio though.

It's got all those different stations for circuit training, free weights, boxing bag to punch, sling trainer or whatever it's called for assisted pull ups or rows, ropes to swing, medicine balls, and the like. There's only two treadmills and two rowing machines for warm up, no other machines and the mood is very different to what I have glimpsed from in regular studios. So I decided to give it a go

Main reason is that hubby goes there (or used to and is respawning with me now) and we can go together, yay.

 

For starters the trainer took an hour to show me around and spot me on the currently set up circuit training, plus he weighed me with one of those fancy things, taking body fat percentage etc and ... well, it confirmed what I already knew: too much fat, not too much muscle and too little water to top it off, meh. My metabolic age would be 7 years older than I am  

 

In numbers:

weight 70,5kg

of which 24,7kg  is fat (35%)

and 43,5 kg is muscle

the water percentage was at 46,4 % which is apparently way too little for women

My BMI is at 25,6

 

All in all this doesn't seem so horrible, but being someone who used to be underweight while eating whatever I wanted for half my life, it feels horribly wrong. 

 

Time to get active again!

 I've done it before (am practically at the weight again I had when I started with pole training in 2013), so I can do it again. I can't afford pole classes right now and am frustrated how much I can't do anymore, so why not try a different tack.

Action Plan for workouts is simply: 
- go to the fitness studio 2x / week and workout with the circuit training for at least 2 rounds (until I manage 3, then 3 rounds)

This isn't very much, but I figured, if I keep it that simple, but really do it for the next 3 months, when it comes time to step on that fancy scale again, numbers should look different already. Best of all, I should feel different! If not in size, at least in stamina and strength again.
Ideally, I will expand this to a third workout per week at home with the pole and see how I can get myself to have some fun there again. For now I'm glad if running up the stairs to catch the phone doesn't have me wheezing  

 

 

Now I know diet is the bigger part for the weight balance and to have a simple strategy there, I will PROCRASTINATE. Sneaky, right? Something I am good at anyway  
Seriously though, counting calories is simply not my thing, I don't keep up with it and I can't believe it as a necessity. Rather I will focus on what to eat and especially when to eat instead of counting how much. You can't call it intermittent fasting really, it's not as drastic as that, I'm rather easing into it somewhat.

 

Action Plan for improving my food intake:
- eat less often, meaning max 3 meals / day and having at least 12 hours no food intake over night, ideally more
- eat more healthy fats and veggies, meaning feeling full with less carbs
- drink at least 2 Liters of water / day

I started doing this (not the water part, but the other two) for about 10 days now and went from an average of 73 kg down to 71 kg (the 70,5 at the fitness studio were a happy surprise low) with a few cm circumference less as well. Both came off within the first few days and have stagnated since. I want to see what happens over a longer time.

 

 

 

The third ingredient for this challenge is upping my pride, joy and happiness. For some reason I keep slipping into phases of procrastination, distraction and waste time where I had originally planned some cool (or necessary) action. This is very unsatisfying long term. I feel guilty about it, frustrated with myself and in my bad mood look for more distractions to make myself feel better. Late at night I am full of good intentions and ambitious plans, once the kids are at school and I would have the time to get started, it all fades away into various modes of procrastination and hiding. It's become a habit and it's time to kick it! That's all there is to it.

So the third part of my challenge will be counting battle points against the procrastination monster:
- every time I am tempted to not do something (delay or skip or whatever) and do it anyway it's a point for me
- every time I don't do something I know I would prefer having done, the procrastination monster wins a point

 

First win: I finally set up a challenge again  
 

 

[lucky fire dragon]

So far Week 1started out well enough

 

Yesterday I went to the fitness studio and managed

 

10 min rowing machine for warm up (2km worth of rowing)

 

and then 2 rounds of 40 sec each (with 50 sec break in between)

1)  kettlebell swings 

2)  hopping up and down a big tire with alternating feet (how can 40 sec get me so out of breath on that?!)

3) sling trainer for bodyweight rows (stood at about 45 degrees angle I'd guess)

4)  lunges while carrying a bulgarian bag (10kg)

5)  punching the boxing bag

6) pushing weight sledge (without added weights for now)

7) swinging ropes (those big ones, first 20 sec are a breeze, but then oh boy)

8) pushing up on an angled workout bench that slides the body up as you push your arms straight (not sure how to describe it) it's like a decline push up, but assisted by the bench holding you (will try to get hubby to film briefly next time)

9) ab roller

 

Did some stretches afterwards and felt awefully proud of myself

 

 

Workouts: 1/2

Water: 1/7

battle points zero for now, got some stuff done, but not as early as I could have so I'll count it even

[raptron]

HI! WELCOME BACK!

[lucky fire dragon]

2 minutes ago, raptron said:

HI! WELCOME BACK!

 

Thank youuuuuuuuu  

[Mad Hatter]

HEY YOU WELCOME BACK!!!  

[Elastigirl]

Welcome back! That gym looks like fun, and it will be cool to do it with your husband. Interesting how they calculate water weight , and that you are supposed to have more. I wonder why they want more?

[@mu]

Yihaaa! Jumping in of course!

I'm also intrigued by the water percentage! I'm a bit old fashion when it comes to hydration,  erm, like, what's my thirst feeling and eventually the colour of my pee... If it's too dark I'll drink more. That's it, I have no clue about percentages and stuff. But I was told by a traditional medicine sort of druit / herbologist here, that I'm on the dry side and that I should eat more cooked things for a while.

[lucky fire dragon]

2 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

HEY YOU WELCOME BACK!!!  

 

Haaiii

 

 

1 hour ago, Elastigirl said:

Welcome back! That gym looks like fun, and it will be cool to do it with your husband. Interesting how they calculate water weight , and that you are supposed to have more. I wonder why they want more?

 

Thank you!! Yes, it is fun actually and I'm so happy to have it as extra time with hubby  Not sure how the thing calculates the water weight. I had to hold two metal sticks in my hand, maybe it ran a slight electric current for measures? 

At school I was taught the human body consists of 80% water, later on I read 60% somewhere, so maybe I should have those 60%? I mean it does make sense that there is a lot of fluid needed both within body tissue as well as running through. What's our doctors take on that @annyshay?

 

Thanks for popping in, Elastigirl! You are still one of my top heroes with your amazing consistency and strength 

 

11 minutes ago, @mu said:

Yihaaa! Jumping in of course!

I'm also intrigued by the water percentage! I'm a bit old fashion when it comes to hydration,  erm, like, what's my thirst feeling and eventually the colour of my pee... If it's too dark I'll drink more. That's it, I have no clue about percentages and stuff. But I was told by a traditional medicine sort of druit / herbologist here, that I'm on the dry side and that I should eat more cooked things for a while.

 

Same here, pee color was the thing to go by for a while  But I did notice when I had a time where I regularly drank 2 liters minimum a day and often 2.5 or more, I did feel more energized and could focus better. Today I got my 2 liters in now and notice how it quenched the hunger before lunch significantly. So maybe there is something to those extra glasses, despite clear pee 

 

Still had a big lunch anyway though  Enough to consider skipping supper instead.

[annyshay]

Way to get back in the saddle, Lucky.

Not sure of an exact percentage on water, I tend towards what @@mu does with thirst and color of urine.  Low tech doctor over here.

[lucky fire dragon]

Still got my update game back on

 

Forgot to mention the food part for yesterday and now of course I can't remember the times between supper the night before and breakfast the next day... oh well

 

I do remember having a very late breakfast, because I went to gym first (feeling extra badass) and that I had yoghurt with some protein powder, chia seeds and cinnamon which was real nice. At lunch I ate less because it was so soon after breakfast, but I did not want to skip shrimps with zucchini  Just had less pasta with it and enjoyed with full pleasure

For supper I only had a few slices of cheese with tomato, along with a nice cup of tea.

 

Today I had two leftover buns from the kids for breakfast with cheese and salami and probably too early in the morning. Thing is though, I tried my hand at home made mead and tried a bit as I filled it into bottles this morning. It had such a kick I had to eat something to balance it  

 

 

For lunch I took so long tidying up an accumulation of pots and dishes that I ended up making just quick quesadillas for my boy and me (the others weren't home) and while the tortillas might not be best for my plan right now I made up for them with lots of cheese and tuna  had some quark with raspberries for desert mmmmmmh

 

Now I am feeling still full and it's 8 pm, I might really skip supper.

 

I am astounded how few meals I need and how easy it is to skip some. Not complaining though!! Just surprised.

[lucky fire dragon]

8 minutes ago, annyshay said:

Way to get back in the saddle, Lucky.

Not sure of an exact percentage on water, I tend towards what @@mu does with thirst and color of urine.  Low tech doctor over here.

 

Thank you 

 

Ahaha, that's wonderful, then we can keep going by that with good conscience

Will still experiment with the 2 liter rule for this challenge but am feeling less guilty anyway, thanks.

[lucky fire dragon]

First battle points on procrastination:

 

This morning I dawdled and had to now finish things I could have done then - 1 point to the monster

On the other side I got my challenge set up, yay, and got all things done today still - 1 point to me

 

Current balance:

 

Workouts: 1/2

Water: 2/7

battle points: 1:1 (monster vs me)

 

Food going well I'd say.

[Mad Hatter]

Meh I wouldn't be too concerned about what the scale says. Those are notoriously inconsistent. They're probably accurate enough to monitor larger changes over the span of a few months, but honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

I love the monster battle points system btw! It's going to be an exciting fight.  

[lucky fire dragon]

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

Meh I wouldn't be too concerned about what the scale says. Those are notoriously inconsistent. They're probably accurate enough to monitor larger changes over the span of a few months, but honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

Good to know thanks

It's just confirming what I suspected and that bummed me out somewhat but also finally kindled some flames under my ass. Will see if it aligns with my personal feelings in 3 months time again. Hopefully in a happier way  If I feel good and the scale doesn't show, I'll be too happy to care anyway  

 

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

 

I love the monster battle points system btw! It's going to be an exciting fight.  

 

Thanks, me too!! Already got 2 points in for today, BHAM

Did my meditation first thing this morning instead of fussing about the kids being ok in my absence (which of course they were) and went straight off for some necessary errands after. Managed to not only do those errands but even the shopping that was planned for this afternoon and still went on time to the dentist.

Was rewarded by dentist check up going quick and well and now I have a long day still open for less to do than planned.

 

[Mrs Van]

Going to catch up soon, but so glad to see you around again. Missed you a lot.

[lucky fire dragon]

15 hours ago, elizevdmerwe said:

Going to catch up soon, but so glad to see you around again. Missed you a lot.

 

Missed you too!!

 

 

I'm so sorry about being so silent during our time in SA. My phone doesn't take a non-european SIM card anymore (stupid new tweaks on phones) and roaming is expensive so I was limited to wifi and that was had so rarely... but I stayed safe this time, no injuries and you too, right  So there's that, yay

 

Also we had an absolutely AMAZING time especially at Kruger with 6 leopard sightings and twice right in front of our car  I was in heaven. We saw hyena nearly every day of the week there, with young ones even, saw wild dogs hunting, lots of eagles and vultures and those beautiful pearl-spotted owls, saw rhino within a huge herd of buffalo, saw klippspringer several times and lots of giraffe, elephant and more. It was absolutely awesome.

 

The weeks with our group were no less amazing, with wonderful people who were so easy to get along with and lots of beautiful sightings too. The whales greeted us plentiful from across the dunes, youngest went swimming with young seals on the beach - it was unbelievable!

 

So, most blissful times there, with lots of good food of course, amarula and way too little exercise  but all worth it many times over

 

Hubby's parents moved during the time to Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo, which is the closest they can get to the farm where they used to live and he grew up (farm was sold many years ago) and where two of his sisters now live as well and it was such a joy to see them bloom there. They are beyond happy. Two daughters close by, my dad in law has siblings there too and the town is small and safe enough for them to go for easy walks without having to drive everywhere - they are shining.

 

With all that going on, I had little time for rest and yet felt as rested after the trip as I haven't felt in a long time. Funny and kind of cool  Proves how healthy happiness and excitement are, I guess.

[lucky fire dragon]

So, the second workout of the week is done as well, hah! Feel like a badass

 

 

Bring on the day now!

 

 

Seriously, week 1 is always such fun! With high motivation and excite and all that 

 

Last night there was choir rehearsal with youngest who is now singing in a choir for teenagers (same conductor) joining us with her choir, so we went together. It was a bit scary for her school friend and her as they had only joined their choir a short while ago and now it was more new people, new songs and all that. To top it off, the conductor had told my girl to switch from singing soprano to alto, meaning she could not sit next to her friend anymore. Boy, was she nervous! 

But they battled through it really well and in the end had some fun too, I think. It is awesome singing with a bigger choir and having enough people for multiple layers of voices!

 

Rehearsal went from 8pm to 10pm which is really late for the girls (they are 12 years old now) and by the time we got home and got her into bed I was super tired too. 

So this morning I did not meditate just yet, but rather stayed around for her to have someone check her being up and getting ready on time.

Will meditate just now instead, so that procrastination monster can't use it to get a foot in the door  

 

 

Food gap was 16 hours again, whoohoo, as I had supper at 6pm last night and the first thing today at 10 am only. That was hot chocolate though in celebrating my workout done  

And I don't regret any sip of it! Had a liter of water before and won't have anything else till lunch as I don't feel hungry really anyway. Chocolate was for treat, mmmmmh

 

Workout was the same circuit as on Monday, only that it went a little easier this time, even the hated jumping up and down of that tire. The thing where I push myself up while lying is called a gravity trainer I found out.

It looks a bit like this, just with a handle like a pull up bar at the bottom instead of that plate. One can either pull up from the top by holding onto the straps or push up from facing down by holding the handlebar that they have there, which is what I do

The angle pictured here is about medium angle at the bench there, so the angle I am using now. 

 

 

The combo of boxing bag, powersledge, this gravity thing here and swinging the big ropes is still killing my arms. The ab roller afterwards does train my core, but not nearly as much as my arms are dead, so I'm thinking of switching to knee tucks or leg lifts next time instead. There are so many options at this place I am still only starting to find my way around and only discovered the 3 different pull up bars today.

 

Blackrolled legs and back nicely afterwards as well as lower arms and then stretched a bit - I love stretching after a workout, I had forgotten how much. It's the best feeling 

 

Summary so far:

 

Workouts 2/2

Water 3/7

Battle points 1:3 (procrastination monster vs me)

 

Food going well still, with 16 hour night breaks two days in a row now and pants feeling a tiny bit more loose already, yay

[Mrs Van]

21 hours ago, lucky fire dragon said:

And I don't regret any sip of it!

When it's good and you worked hard for it, it's good!

21 hours ago, lucky fire dragon said:

My phone doesn't take a non-european SIM card anymore (stupid new tweaks on phones) and roaming is expensive so I was limited to wifi and that was had so rarely... but I stayed safe this time, no injuries and you too, right  So there's that, yay

No worries. I was in a bit of a bad space head-wise and I just couldn't muster the energy for anything, or anyone else. But glad you guys stayed safe and all sounds like it went well.

21 hours ago, lucky fire dragon said:

Also we had an absolutely AMAZING time especially at Kruger with 6 leopard sightings and twice right in front of our car  I was in heaven. We saw hyena nearly every day of the week there, with young ones even, saw wild dogs hunting, lots of eagles and vultures and those beautiful pearl-spotted owls, saw rhino within a huge herd of buffalo, saw klippspringer several times and lots of giraffe, elephant and more. It was absolutely awesome.

Oh my word sounds like you had a magical time at Kruger! So envious, but glad for you!

21 hours ago, lucky fire dragon said:

They are beyond happy. Two daughters close by, my dad in law has siblings there too and the town is small and safe enough for them to go for easy walks without having to drive everywhere - they are shining.

I'm so glad to hear. Is his health improving now? If his stress levels are down then he should be feeling better, I hope.

21 hours ago, lucky fire dragon said:

Proves how healthy happiness and excitement are, I guess.

Yip. Sometimes rest is the thing you need, at other times you just need a bit less stress and find some happiness. I needed both, but am doing much better now.

 

That workout you did really sounds hard. So impressed with what you are managing to do

[@mu]

On 10/25/2018 at 1:07 PM, lucky fire dragon said:

So, the second workout of the week is done as well, hah! Feel like a badass

 

 

Bring on the day now!

 

I absolutely love that gif

[Elastigirl]

On ‎10‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 2:37 AM, lucky fire dragon said:

16 hour night breaks two days in a row now and pants feeling a tiny bit more loose already, yay

Woot!

[annyshay]

Gentle poke. How's it going?

[lucky fire dragon]

On 10/31/2018 at 12:14 PM, annyshay said:

Gentle poke. How's it going?

 

Thanks for the poke

 

It's going.

 

What's going well is workouts and food. This week I had to drive my dad to the doctor on Monday morning (he is not allowed to drive for a few months until some eye operations and I've got a bit of a schedule there. The good part is that it makes me spend more time with my parents and they love it), on Tuesday youngest had to go to the orthodontist and we went costume hunting afterwards, so no gym either, but yesterday I went (yay) and tomorrow hubby and me will go a second time.

 

So workouts - going well

 

The circuit training is still leaving me tomatoe red and huffing and puffing, but I can do the 2 circuits with good form and even swapped the ab roller for hanging from the pull up bar and doing knee tucks. Feel super awesome afterwards still 

 

----

 

Food wise I have not counted the hours much but left the 12 hour break over night every day and kept the carbs low. often the night breaks were longer than 12 hours and/or I only had 2 big meals per day instead of 3. Big yay on that.

Big meals don't have many carbs, so they are okay and they aren't even as big as I'd expect them to be.

Pants are definitely sitting easier, woot woot 

 

-----

 

Water is going less great. Only managed 4 days out of the 7 of week 1. This week I managed 1,5 liters on Monday, so it's getting closer, the 2 liters on both Tuesday and Wednesday, so I'm on a good start.

 

----

 

Procrastination is going really badly though   Seeing in my updates as well  

I don't even know how many points should go to the monster for last week, meh

 

There are some projects workwise that I keep procrastinating on, that I wanted to get done last week and still haven't and feel worse and more sluggish on them with every added day passing. Some other things I did get done, like finally tending the front yard and getting it ready for winter, catching up with other household things and I was always on time with anything related to the kids or the things I am helping my parents with at the moment.

So it's not all bad, I know that. But it's enough to make me really unhappy with myself and instead of just tackling it I find myself dawdling along  

 

Procrastination monster definitely won the first round in week 1.

For this week I'd put it at:

 

monster vs me:  6 - 4

 

that is putting it generously, so I have no excuse if I loose again.

 

 

Gotta dash take my parents to the graveyard for the blessing ceremony traditional for this day, will catch up with you guys later. Thanks so much for popping in!!

[Mad Hatter]

17 minutes ago, lucky fire dragon said:

Feel super awesome afterwards still 

Woot!

[Mrs Van]

Wow you are doing great, LFD. All the best for your dad, and you are awesome for trying to fit the extra driving into your schedule as well.

[Norgaard]

Sounds good with the training and food part!.

 

 

There have been new studies shown that both tea and coffee can be used to your daily drinking goals even though they are said to increase water expelling!

So all liquid counts.

 

Nice to have you back!