TimovieMan on the Road to AwesomeDad™ - Pt. III

[TimovieMan]

TimovieMan on the Road to AwesomeDad™ - Pt. III

 

A new challenge, now with priorities and Epic Quest XP!

 

 

Challenge goals

 

The challenges this time around are going to be pretty similar to those of my previous challenge. But that previous challenge showed me that my sleep goals were more important than I figured, so I'll be setting priorities this time. Losing weight is still the main thing, so nutrition is going to be by far the most important aspect, followed by sleep, and only then exercise.

To give a bit more meaning to these priorities, I'll link them to my character's Epic Quest XP.

100 XP to be divided over the entire challenge:

- 40 XP nutrition (10 XP/week)

- 28 XP sleep (7 XP/week)

- 20 XP exercise (5 XP/week)

- 12 XP epic goals

 

 

Nutrition

 

Intermittent fasting

- Skip 7 meals each week -> 2 XP/week

   --> Bonus: skip 8+ meals -> 1 XP/week

- At least 6+ days with a 16+ hour fasted state -> 2 XP/week

 

No change from the previous challenge.

 

Limiting calorie intake

- Max 2 days of non-light snacking each week -> 2 XP/week

- Max 1 liter of soda each week -> 2 XP/week

 

Slight modification: 1 day of snacking less allowed, but days where all I "snacked" was a single piece of chocolate, or two pieces of candy, or a handful of Nic-Nac cookies (or anything that's obviously less than 100 calories in total) are no longer going to count. That way I can still accept without guilt when offered something small.

 

Water consumption

- At least 3 liters per day on workdays, at least 2 liters on other days -> 1 XP/week

 

This is new, because I've found that I drink more than enough water on work days, but often drink far too little when at home. This is mainly aimed at getting my weekend water consumption up.

 

 

Sleep

 

Curfew

- 7 days of compliance to the late curfew - 1 XP/week

- 5 days of compliance to the middle curfew - 1 XP/week

- 3 days of compliance to the early curfew - 1 XP/week

   --> Bonus: 4+ days of compliance to the early curfew - 1 XP/week

 

Early curfew: 0:00 before workdays or archery tournaments, 0:30 before my daughter's swim class, 1:30 on "sleep in" days

Middle curfew: 0:30 before workdays or archery tournaments, 1:00 before my daughter's swim class, 2:00 on "sleep in" days

Late curfew: 1:00 before workdays or archery tournaments, 1:30 before my daughter's swim class, 2:30 on "sleep in" days

 

The only change compared to the previous challenge is an extra day of early curfew each week.

 

Sleep length

- Maintain an average sleep length of 6 hours 30 minutes per night each week -> 2 XP/week

   --> Bonus: average sleep length of over 6 hours 45 minutes per night each week -> 1 XP/week

 

This is similar to the length of the second half of the previous challenge, but with a bonus if I can sleep more.

 

 

Exercise

 

Workouts

- 2 workouts per week -> 2 XP/week

   --> Bonus: 3+ workouts -> 1 XP/week

 

I'm no longer going to beat myself up over leaving two days between workouts (which often results in only doing 2 workouts per week instead of 3). To compensate, I'll require more off-day activity.

 

Off-days

- Max 1 off-day without activity each week -> 2 XP/week

 

 

Epic goals

 

My end goals are still mainly to lose weight and gain fitness. My weight on Saturday was 100.6 kg and my burpee AMRAP on Sunday was 20 reps. By the end of the challenge, I want to see this:

 

Weight

- Weight under 97 kg -> 6 XP

   --> Bonus: weight under 96 kg -> 3 XP

 

Burpee AMRAP

- Burpee AMRAP of 25+ reps -> 3 XP

 

 

If I'm consistent with the challenge goals, the rest should take care of itself. That's why I'm both giving myself a bit more leeway in some parts while restricting myself a bit more in others, for a balanced challenge.

 

[deftona]

Following! 

[Elastigirl]

Nice challenge set - up!

[Arkania]

 

 

 

Following

[Tobbe]

1 hour ago, TimovieMan said:

Sleep

 

Curfew

- 7 days of compliance to the late curfew - 1 XP/week

- 5 days of compliance to the middle curfew - 1 XP/week

- 3 days of compliance to the early curfew - 1 XP/week

   --> Bonus: 4+ days of compliance to the early curfew - 1 XP/week

 

Early curfew: 0:00 before workdays or archery tournaments, 0:30 before my daughter's swim class, 1:30 on "sleep in" days

Middle curfew: 0:30 before workdays or archery tournaments, 1:00 before my daughter's swim class, 2:00 on "sleep in" days

Late curfew: 1:00 before workdays or archery tournaments, 1:30 before my daughter's swim class, 2:30 on "sleep in" days

 

The only change compared to the previous challenge is an extra day of early curfew each week.

 

Sleep length

- Maintain an average sleep length of 6 hours 30 minutes per night each week -> 2 XP/week

   --> Bonus: average sleep length of over 6 hours 45 minutes per night each week -> 1 XP/week

 

This is similar to the length of the second half of the previous challenge, but with a bonus if I can sleep more.

 

I like the detailed goals and XPs here!  

 

Good luck with your challenge!

[Salinger]

That comic strip is brilliant hahaahha !

 

Goals look good, you will do great x

[iatetheyeti]

I absolutely love this:

 

21 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

Burpee AMRAP

- Burpee AMRAP of 25+ reps -> 3 XP

 

And the 100 consecutive burpee aim you have.

 

(I may borrow that goal when I'm cleared to do burpees again...)

 

Following along  

 

[TimovieMan]

22 hours ago, deftona said:

Following! 

Thanks!

 

22 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Nice challenge set - up!

It's very similar to the previous challenge, though.

But I'm getting an activity tracker for Christmas, so my next challenge is going to be very different in the "Exercise" department.

 

21 hours ago, Arkania said:

 

 

 

Following

Thanks!

I can't shoot arrows at that speed, though. Nor would I want to.

But it sure is awesome if you can do that.

 

20 hours ago, Tobbe said:

 

I like the detailed goals and XPs here!  

 

Good luck with your challenge!

Thanks!

The sleep has proven important.

I used to be tired all the time. Working on my sleep stopped that, but I only noticed it after a couple of shorter nights made me tired again.

 

5 hours ago, Salinger said:

That comic strip is brilliant hahaahha !

 

Goals look good, you will do great x

Scott Adams can be very funny.

If you don't know Dilbert, go check it out! Especially if you work (or have ever worked) in a cubicle.

 

1 hour ago, iatetheyeti said:

I absolutely love this:

 

 

And the 100 consecutive burpee aim you have.

 

(I may borrow that goal when I'm cleared to do burpees again...)

 

Following along  

 

Before I joined here, I had started attempts at getting in shape a bit more. I built a 10-minute workout around burpees and planking. I didn't want to let go of the burpee goal.

[Elastigirl]

1 hour ago, TimovieMan said:

t's very similar to the previous challenge, though.

But I'm getting an activity tracker for Christmas, so my next challenge is going to be very different in the "Exercise" department.

 

Sometimes having similar  set up for several  can be helpful. Yay, an activity tracker! I love mine.

[jonfirestar]

On 11/20/2018 at 4:40 PM, TimovieMan said:

But that previous challenge showed me that my sleep goals were more important than I figured, so I'll be setting priorities this time.

This lesson is often learned the hard way I like your goals. 

[TimovieMan]

2 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

This lesson is often learned the hard way I like your goals. 

I spent years being tired all the time. I even think that's why I suddenly had blood pressure problems despite being pretty stress-proof.

I haven't taken my blood pressure meds in a few weeks. I'm having a phlebotomy in two weeks, so I want to find out if the blood pressure is still within normal ranges then. If it is, then I've pretty much proven the importance of sleep for me.

[Elastigirl]

8 minutes ago, TimovieMan said:

I spent years being tired all the time. I even think that's why I suddenly had blood pressure problems despite being pretty stress-proof.

I haven't taken my blood pressure meds in a few weeks. I'm having a phlebotomy in two weeks, so I want to find out if the blood pressure is still within normal ranges then. If it is, then I've pretty much proven the importance of sleep for me

That's a really good point I often forget when people ask for advice on hypertension. I've really made sleep a priority, and I'm sure that helps my blood pressure

[jonfirestar]

4 minutes ago, TimovieMan said:

I spent years being tired all the time.

Me too. I generally don't like  to sleep but I've learned the importance of it and I'm working on the problem. 

[TimovieMan]

4 minutes ago, Elastigirl said:

That's a really good point I often forget when people ask for advice on hypertension. I've really made sleep a priority, and I'm sure that helps my blood pressure

 

14 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

Me too. I generally don't like  to sleep but I've learned the importance of it and I'm working on the problem. 

 

My doctor didn't ask about my sleep either when I started having severe hypertension (before I started taking meds, I was at 240 over 140).

The hypertension appeared rather suddenly. I have a phlebotomy every two months on average, so my blood pressure gets measured occasionally. It was only 200+ over 110+ for a month or two. But when asked about it, my doctor only mentioned "stress" and "anxiety", not something I have issues with.

 

The blood pressure started rising not long after my son was born, and reached those heights in less than a year. Lack of sleep is the most likely culprit. Especially since I was very much in a "I'll cut my sleep short to have more time for hobbies" mentality, aided by a "being tired at work is ok, it's only work" mentality. Coincidentally, those were my bore-out days where work was an autopilot thing.

Now I'm mostly looking to see if getting more sleep also means I won't need those meds any more.

[TimovieMan]

I think I could use a stern talking-to.
 
I'm doing great on the nutrition front and if it weren't for the kids I'd be doing great on the sleep front, but the exercising has been dismal this week.
 
I didn't miss two in a row. I missed three in a row...
 
 
 
Monday:
 
I had a very poor night's sleep, with only 4 hours 45 minutes. It just took me ages to fall asleep, something I'm not used to. I'm used to laying my head down and have my lights go out in seconds.
Either it was the very first time I've ever noticed the effects of drinking a lot of coffee (I almost had a full pot by myself on Sunday afternoon), or it was caused by sleeping in on Sunday and thus waking a couple of hours later than usual. Or both.
Anyway, because I was tired and wanted a bit more sleep, I decided to skip my workout and go to bed earlier.
 
The plan: look for a good Dilbert comic for the first post of this thread, posting it, and going to bed no later than 22:30.
What I did: look for a good Dilbert comic for the first post of this thread, spend an entire evening reading past Dilbert comics (75% of which I've already read before), and going to bed at 23:50.
 
 
Tuesday:
 
The missus has started dieting again (a few weeks ago) and had her second appointment with her dietician. Apparently, despite a lot of efforts these past two weeks, her weight has stayed exactly the same.
She came home completely demotivated and down (and the fact that I'm currently shedding weight like it's nothing doesn't help), so we had a relaxing quality time evening in front of the TV.
Which is actually my bullshit way of saying that I just didn't start my workout despite having plenty of opportunity to do so. I didn't do it because of me, not because of the missus.
 
 
Wednesday:
 
After the kids were in bed, I just sat on the couch and started browsing the forums instead of working out first. And a bit later, my youngest (who had taken a nap in the afternoon) came downstairs because he couldn't sleep, which definitely resulted in me not bothering with my workout at a bit of a later time.
But, frankly, I just didn't start, and I should have. So that's three missed in a row.
 
The missus also blamed me for not being able to ride her bike (on rollers) in the evening, because I came home from work ten minutes later than I had said.
Despite her originally wanting to start biking half an hour before I got home, and despite me not needing her help to get the kids in the shower but getting it anyway. All time she could have been spending on her bike.
Her excuses are just as much BS as mine.
 
 
 
At least I biked to work yesterday, so I had *some* activity.
And I went for a walk today during lunch, and I have archery practice this evening, so today's covered.
 
But I'm definitely a workout behind schedule because of procrastination, not because of the excuses.

[TimovieMan]

Oh, and I had my first can of Ice Tea in three weeks last night. Because I wanted to have one.

Intuitive drinking?

 

Would've been more awesome if I'd worked out on Tuesday or Wednesday, though...

[TimovieMan]

We didn't have anything in the house to eat this evening, so I was to go to the supermarket after work, to get something for dinner, and something for lunch tomorrow.

 

For lunch tomorrow, I'd already decided to just get some carrots and a small pot of hummus for dipping. That way I could eat at my desk and use my lunch break to go for a walk.

 

For dinner this evening, I actually craved mashed potatoes and meatballs in tomato sauce, but that would mean very few vegetables for the day. So I went and got a cold dish instead (lettuce, tomato, carrot, cabbage, potato salad, various cold cuts and a hard-boiled egg), and then walked to the cash register. No trip to the crisps aisle, no checking for other foodstuff, despite not having eaten for almost 23 hours.

 

That's a major win for me.

 

 

 

 

Btw, happy Turkey Killing Day to our North American friends!  

[Kestrel Grey]

10 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

I think I could use a stern talking-to.
 
I'm doing great on the nutrition front and if it weren't for the kids I'd be doing great on the sleep front, but the exercising has been dismal this week.
 
I didn't miss two in a row. I missed three in a row...

Currently you only rate a raised eyebrow.  The first day of missed exercise was legit honoring your priorities.  

 (apparently Dilbert doesn't have eyebrows to raise, so you get Spock)

 

Skip tomorrow and then you'll get a stern talking to!

[Elastigirl]

6 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

or dinner this evening, I actually craved mashed potatoes and meatballs in tomato sauce, but that would mean very few vegetables for the day. So I went and got a cold dish instead (lettuce, tomato, carrot, cabbage, potato salad, various cold cuts and a hard-boiled egg), and then walked to the cash register. No trip to the crisps aisle, no checking for other foodstuff, despite not having eaten for almost 23 hours.

 

That's a major win for me.

 

Woot!  Very hard to resist those tricky chips that call out to you at the market

[TimovieMan]

8 hours ago, Kestrel Grey said:

 (apparently Dilbert doesn't have eyebrows to raise, so you get Spock)

Spock works just fine.

(and Dilbert does have eyebrows to raise, just check the comic in the first post of the thread )

 

8 hours ago, Kestrel Grey said:

Skip tomorrow and then you'll get a stern talking to!

Oh, believe me, I'm not skipping today as well.

 

6 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Woot!  Very hard to resist those tricky chips that call out to you at the market

Yes, especially since I always have the urge to just check the aisle to see if there are any new brands or flavours I've never tried before.

I'm something of a crispaholic.

 

 

 

And here's another thing I haven't done in a few days: posting a song from my Top 300.

Just because it's a new challenge doesn't mean I'm stopping the songs.

 

My RNG gave me #91, which is one of my kids' favourite songs (I love it when I can influence them like this).

It's the third entry out of four for Queen. It's... Bohemian Rhapsody!!!

So sing along, and don't forget to headbang Wayne's World style* at the approriate time!

 

 

 

(*)

[Salinger]

Incredible song x

[Arkania]

Number 91???? WTF!

And chips/crisps are THE best!!

[TimovieMan]

31 minutes ago, Arkania said:

Number 91???? WTF!

Everybody and their mother have this in their Top 5. Can't have my list be too mainstream...

 

 

 

Lunch today:
- drink half a liter of water
- go for a 25-minute walk
- eat carrot sticks with hummus
 
 
 
 
I walked the same route as the previous two times. Yesterday it took me 29 minutes (but I had to stop once to tie a shoelace and I went to the toilet afterwards), and the other time it took me 28 minutes.
Today it took me 27 minutes.
 
I still have some carrot sticks and hummus left over. I'll probably be finishing that at 4 o'clock. That gives me an excuse for this evening to workout first and THEN have dinner.
 
 
 
Dinner will be whatever I can scrounge together. We urgently need to do some grocery shopping, so there's almost no meat in the house.
But I seem to recall we do have 3 bell peppers left, a carton of eggs and some Parmesan cheese slivers. Methinks I'll be combining those for oven-baked eggs in bell pepper cups.

[Salinger]

SOunds yummy!!!! Photos please x

[Arkania]

33 minutes ago, TimovieMan said:

Everybody and their mother have this in their Top 5. Can't have my list be too mainstream...

 

Maybe not Top 5 but minimum top 10!