Troubadour Training - Accountability

[Haloquin]

Hi, I'm Halo, and I want to survive the impending apocalypse.* 

Storyteller by trade, writer by nature, author by accident... and PhD student by some strange twist of Wyrd.

A series of injuries and long-term toxic relationship contributed to my being quite unfit for quite a while. Dance gave me a taste of what was possible, now I want to take my passion for performance and my teaching skills on the road to see this glorious world we live in, beyond my beautiful corner of wet West Wales (UK).

 

Find my Intro here for my actual backstory...

 

Nerd-wise... give me the fantasy. I'm a proper geek for folklore, fairytale, myth and legends, both real magic and the fictional fantastical.

 

And what's a little fantasy without an upcoming apocalypse? Given my skills I figure I'd suit a wandering bard type role, and yes, I would VERY MUCH enjoy that. But I've got to get strong and fit enough to wander, and get my papers rubber stamped with authority (finish the darn thesis) so I can lecture along with it.

 

SITUATION: 4.5 months till thesis submission deadline (after 9 years of post grad study!)

BIG GOAL: Adventure please! I desperately want to go travelling somewhere exciting. (And long term I want to build a career travelling, teaching, writing, and performing.)

CHALLENGES: OMG distractable! (*squirrel!*) Have to work. Low funds. Fitness levels iffy (injuries, bleugh.)

 

CURRENT QUEST: Prepare for my next adventure by building strength/fitness and getting a step closer to digging my way out of this STUDYCELL. 

DEADLINE: Submission of thesis, 31st December 2019

 

I know I need to motivate myself to finish, and now I know travel might actually be achievable... Hell, let's say it is achievable.

Ready to dive into this month's challenges now... wish me luck, fellow rebels...

 

(*Actuality of apocalypse subject to debate.)

 

Resources! 

Exercises to do in bed for when I'm somewhere with literally no floor space: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/how-to/a35234/exercises-you-can-do-without-getting-out-of-bed/ 

 

[Haloquin]

AUG-SEPT CHALLENGES:

(Note: 3 weeks left of the challenge time)

* Calorie track for 14 days so I can plan for health.

* Create a meal list and batch cook x3 (weekly) to Squirrelproof my dinnertimes.

* NF Beginners Bodyweight x9 (3 per week)

 * Implement thesis notes for parts 1 & 2 and consolidate paperwork into one folder again!

 

Challenge Thread here.

[Haloquin]

So far I have:

[/] Joined the Rebellion

[/] Calorie tracked for 3 days

[/] Bodyweight training x3 (I'll count 1 towards the challenge as that was today)

[/] Batch cooked once this week

[/] Bought some apples!!!

 

 

[Haloquin]

Yesterday's logs:

Calorie counting: 1620

Exercise: rest day, so consisted of walking a couple miles. 

Thesis: nope. 

Daily magical practice: yes! Good. 

 

Thesis lack is an issue though I got a load of work done... No. That won't do, justification doesn't cut it. I had time just not the brain to focus, no excuses. *sighs* But my other goals are on target and this just needs cementing as a habit. Need to find a cue for starting studies! 

 

Calorie count seems low, like I've forgotten to include something, but my TDEE is only @2060 and it was a rest day so that's fine. The other days so far have come in higher so that's fine and I know I keep avoiding snacks because I'm counting and want to be doing "well"... And I know my weight has been slowly melting away since I've been eating as I did today so maybe it's right! 

 

Magical practice isn't listed here as a goal yet, but it will be next month as I'd let it slide for a little while but don't want to overwhelm myself by making it another official goal... I'm just tracking wins

 

Today is likely to be a rest day exercise wise because I'm at my partner's place and there is *no space*, so I'll probably have a walk later. 

 

[Haloquin]

Food:

Calory tracking... 6 days! Almost halfway to my tracking target! Went a little over intended consumption today (because I had a chocolate bar, damn those things are calorific!) but every other day I've been under target and, as I keep reminding myself, I'm not actually meant to be changing things yet, just tracking. 

 

Body:

Yesterday - walked a couple miles. 

Today - BBWW #4! Yay! Easier to start with than the previous days, but by the third set the squats were *haaaard* and the (knee) push ups almost defeated me. I prevailed, however

 

Mind:

Yesterday - couple hours thesis! Woot! Made some progress on Part 1, did some research for the penultimate bit of writing for that part, just gotta type it up now. 

Today - shhhh... *looks shifty* plans got scuppered today by cancelled trains and I didn't adjust for the changes... 

 

BUT! I don't have work until the evening tomorrow, so I'm setting an alarm to get me up with time to do that typing tomorrow! 

 

[Haloquin]

Slowly, slowly... 

7 days of calorie tracking done, taking a break due to dentistry. Back to it tomorrow! It's interesting to feel like I need to pay more attention, can definitely see how literally just starting to track it can help restrict calories (partly by adjusting my portion sizes slightly and partly by being aware of macros a little in order to tip the balance towards fewer calories... And partly by discouraging boredom snacking!) I'm trying to pay better attention to whether I'm actually hungry or not, too. 

 

On average I'm definitely slightly below my maintenence level of calories, which makes sense of why my weight has been very slowly dropping off over the last year (since I stopped comfort eating, because I removed myself from a toxic relationship!). 

[Haloquin]

Today, inspiration struck! Today I'm at my partner's place with *literally* not enough floor space to lay on. Last week this meant I didn't do my exercises... I mean, there was walking, but no training. Today I woke up and wondered... Can I find some bed-based exercises to do instead? The answer was yes! 

 

Exercises for bedspace! 

 

I did the first three, then planking and (knee) push ups and a few yoga stretches. I'm thinking I'll gather a few exercises, work out which are the most efficient, figure out a bed based warm up (not like that!) and have an alternative to the BBWW which I can use when travelling too. (Outdoors often isn't an option and lots of my friends who I stay with don't have much floor space... I'm happy to move furniture at mine but it's a bit rude elsewhere!) 

 

Obviously the main reason for this is to keep up momentum and make it harder to self sabotage, though more moving parts = more squirrels... I'm hoping, however, that giving myself options and problems to solve will also keep my interest engaged better to allow this to become a habit! 

 

Day 9 of calorie tracking - getting bored... But not long to go! 

 

Starting a new job (kinda) on Tues where I'll need packed lunches again so batch cooking is planned for Monday... With serious motivation! (if I don't, I don't get lunch...) 

 

And studytime... Right. Where are my books? 

[Haloquin]

Aug-Sept Challenge... Challenge # 1 was to calorie track for 14 days... 

 

Complete! Progress report on the challenge thread 

[Haloquin]

On 8/25/2019 at 1:40 PM, Haloquin said:

Starting a new job (kinda) on Tues where I'll need packed lunches again so batch cooking is planned for Monday... With serious motivation! (if I don't, I don't get lunch...) 

And yay! Batch cooked! 

 

Challenge #2 : work out meal plan and shopping list and batch cook 3 times... 

 

Challenge #2: COMPLETE! Full report here! 

 

My biggest takeaway? I like roast sprouts!!! And breaking it down into smaller stages is much better for me than trying to spend an afternoon cooking. 

[Haloquin]

OK. So I got distracted. That's ok.

Life update:

PhD Deadline extended because of supervisory issues. Which, tbh, I'm glad of. I was not going to hit that deadline with any level of aplomb. 

NEW DEADLINE: June 30th.

Annoyingly I've been instructed by the new supervisor to restructure all my material and shift my focus. THIS WILL BE BETTER, but damn it is a lot of work.  It's fine though, I'm making a plan.

(10 chapters, 6 months, a month for printing/binding/proofreading... = 5 months. = 2 weeks per chapter...)

 

Recently went to an aerial hoop class! Much fun! And my partner has put up a hoop for me to practice on... so... win win. Which means I have the space and tools to do some serious strengthening. And a certain degree of obligation to do so...

 

I have a car. I still can't drive. This needs to change because I'm currently paying for a vehicle I can't use. And given I'm working minimum wage, part time... yeah. Silly plan. Insurance is arranged up until April so. Driving by then or SORN/sell the car.

 

So yeah. Next steps.

 

 

January Goals:

1. Chapters 1 and 2 rewritten up at a submissable level. (Damnnnnnnn that's terrifying.)

2. Hoop practice/strength exercises bi-weekly.

3. Scope out a driving instructor.

 

Ok. Ready, set... Go!