The Villain Returns... With GIF's!

[V for Vetinari]

Hi y'all! I was on these forums 3 years ago, and I'm jumping back in to increase my strength and flexibility. Hiking has become my primary exercise ever since I moved to a city with many accessible trails. It's great, even if sometimes I feel like I'm dragging myself along.

 

 

I've lost a little weight this year, but my core and upper body strength are lacking. I was an assassin last time, hence the Vetinari name. I was doing urban parkour in order to get on American Ninja Warrior. Oh hahaha. That is not happening, and of course it was never going to happen, and trying to work on grip strength isn't super useful anyway. Now I just want to stave off the effects of mid-30's deterioration so I can remain badass for decades to come.

 

 

Goals

1. Diet: Avoid the free delicious carbs that are on offer 2x a week. No moderation possible here, I need to not bring them home in the first place.
2. Fitness 1: Do the beginner bodyweight exercise 2x a week. ***I need to find a milk jug or something for the rows.***
   1. Stretch goal: 3x a week.
3. Fitness 2: Do yoga 1x a week.
   1. Stretch goal: 2x a week.
4. Fitness 3: Stretch after hikes/bodyweight exercises, even if it's only for a few minutes.
   1. Stretch goal: full advanced stretching routine.
5. Life: FLOSS EVERY DAY. My old threads are filled with so much floss angst, it's amazing. Somehow I still haven't gotten this down.

 

My Baseline: walk/hike/bike for 90+ minutes every day. I usually manage this, but I haven't dealt with rainy season yet. One reason I want to incorporate more bodyweight/yoga is to have indoor options when I don't feel like hiking in the rain.

 

Plus I want to look as cool as this doggie:

 

[Ann of Owlshire]

Welcome to the Adventurers!

 

[WolfDreamer]

Welcome back @V for Vetinari. I don't think we've met because I've been a member for a little less than three years, but welcome to the Adventurers! Let me know if I can help in any way.

[V for Vetinari]

 

 

 

 

11 hours ago, Ann of Vries said:

Welcome to the Adventurers!

 

Thank you Ann! It's good to be here.

 

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

Welcome back @V for Vetinari. I don't think we've met because I've been a member for a little less than three years, but welcome to the Adventurers! Let me know if I can help in any way.

 

Thanks Wolf! It's a good thing I like meeting new people, because I can't imagine many folks from back then are still around.

 

Day 1:

 

 

Did 3 circuits of the bodyweight exercises, stretched, and flossed. I would have done zero of these things if I hadn't made it a public goal. I found a gallon jug for the rows, and I'm going to keep looking for heavier options.

 

I won't have time for a hike today, so the plan is bike to my errands, then go for a walk and do yoga before I go out for the night. No big deal if I need to push yoga to Sunday.

[WolfDreamer]

I use cat litter tubs and fill them with water, but those might be a little bulkier than you're looking for. I have cats, and the litter tubs are just handy to fill up and keep around the yard for when I'm in the mood to lift something. They're great for curls, rows, or farmer carries.

[Sciread77]

2 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

I use cat litter tubs and fill them with water, but those might be a little bulkier than you're looking for. I have cats, and the litter tubs are just handy to fill up and keep around the yard for when I'm in the mood to lift something. They're great for curls, rows, or farmer carries.

 

 

I also use cat litter tubs and they’re fantastic for carries and homemade stuff. 

 

Also following. 

[Snarkyfishguts]

I always love a good revenge of the villain story. Welcome back!

 

the best villains floss so their teeth gleam when they laugh maniacally.otherwise, you get tooth decay and plaque buildup and demoted to henchman. 

[V for Vetinari]

Hi @Sciread77 and @Snarkyfishguts!

 

Sadly I'm allergic to cats, so no buckets o' litter. I asked one of my cat friends, and hers comes in a bag. It's a good idea, though. If I think of other places I can get an empty tub, I'll try it out.

 

Stumbled on the diet challenge - I brought home free bread. I haven't eaten it, though! I was going to make avocado toast for a potluck, but I'm skipping the event. Now I need to find someone to pawn it off on. Maybe craft some doggie helmets?

 

 

I also rebelled hard on my baseline diet goal, which is to track CICO and try to get a deficit every day. WELL. I discovered last night that every calculator telling you how many calories you burn per hour doing X is a BIG FAT LIE. I thought I was burning 75 calories per mile, but really 30 of those calories would be burned if I sat on my butt and did nothing. WHAT IS THIS. I assumed those calculators were saying "these are the extra calories you burn doing X." Now I'm gonna end up with 150-200 fewer calories to eat every day. I liked those calories. I liked eating them.
 

 

My mature reaction was to eat over a thousand calories at lunch without being all that hungry. There is a strong urge to say F IT and eat all the food. For now, I'm not going to try to lose weight. I'll go for maintenance instead, to get rid of my intense urge to throw it all down the drain. Ended up at about par yesterday, but I was resentful as all get out that my 6 miles walked didn't get me more credit.

 

Day 2:

 

Diet: Danger zone, brought home bread but can still get rid of it.

Fitness 1: N/A, recover day

Fitness 2: Did not do yoga, need to do today or tomorrow

Fitness 3: Stretched, very basic

Life: Did not floss, I was too tired after my midnight walk

 

YIKES. Not my best day. Ideas for flossing: do it before any big nighttime activities, when I still have energy. Or... that's it, that's my only idea. I don't wanna be a henchman, but flossing is so boring. Maybe I don't have to do it at night? It's better than in the morning, according to an old dental hygienist, but morning is better than not at all.

[Stronkey Kong]

I floss, once in the evening, as I'm winding down for bed, while watching "TV"... basically, I take care of it while I'm doing something else that's not boring.

[V for Vetinari]

@Curl Brogo - gah, I usually do that, but lately I've been eating during that time, and I tell myself I'll be awake enough to brush and floss after I eat. Then I fall asleep.

 

Day 3:

 

 

Diet: Ehhh I'm eating some of the bread but a normal amount. Pastries are the real danger, and I don't have any.

Fitness 1: N/A.

Fitness 2: Did yoga! This routine. I have lost so much flexibility. Hmph. It's almost like not stretching for ten years makes you less flexible.

Fitness 2: Did yoga on day 4.

Fitness 3: Stretched, very basic.

Life: Flossed!

[oromendur]

Welcome back, and welcome to our crazy #adventurerlife  

 

On 9/21/2019 at 8:00 PM, V for Vetinari said:

flossing is so boring. Maybe I don't have to do it at night? It's better than in the morning, according to an old dental hygienist, but morning is better than not at all.

 

Well, some is definitely better than none. When do you brush your teeth? It wasn't until I made flossing the first step in brushing my teeth that I ever managed to work it into a habit -- now they go together and I never miss it unless I miss brushing (and if that happens it's generally because I have bigger problems than remembering to floss). 

[V for Vetinari]

Thanks for the welcome @oromendur! I brush my teeth pretty late at night, since I'm prone to late dinners/snacking. I actually tried brushing my teeth earlier recently, and ended up having to brush again since I still ate. Sometimes I do fall asleep without brushing, but that happens less often. Maybe I can try flossing before I brush, I always assume that's less effective/more time-consuming since my toothbrush gets some of the easier stuff out of the way.

 

Day 4 (or Day 3? When is it? Where am I?):

 

 

Diet: Still eh. There's some bread happening. I've got two events tomorrow that I can bring the rest of the loaf to.

Fitness 1: N/A.

Fitness 2: Did yoga!

Fitness 3: Stretched, veeeery basic, but post-hike yoga also counts.

Life: Did not floss. Flossing this morning.

 

I think I mixed up my days. I did yoga yesterday, day 4, but counted it under day 3. Regardless, I've hit my 1x/wk goal. I might try bodyweight and yoga today, since I'm burned out on hiking. I found a half-full 5-gallon jug of water, so there's my 20-pound weight for rows!

 

Non-challenge: I got a scale and am going to weigh myself daily. Today is 136.2 (before eating). I was 144 (after eating) at the doctor's office two months ago. I'm not trusting an 8 lb difference. Scales can be calibrated differently, I don't know if the 144 accounted for my clothing, and there's the before/after eating difference. There's clearly been some loss, but I don't see how it could be almost a pound a week. With a consistent scale and weigh-in time, I'll be able to trust the trend.

 

ETA: I'm pleased with mid-130's! I've bounced between 130's and up to maybe 160 at my high point, so this is near my lower range. Even if I'm only losing 1-2 pounds a month, I'll be lighter than I've ever been as an adult within a year. I'm happy with how my body looks now, too. I don't want to place too much value on being thinner, but childhood messages die hard.

[Sylvaa]

12 minutes ago, V for Vetinari said:

Sometimes I do fall asleep without brushing, but that happens less often. Maybe I can try flossing before I brush, I always assume that's less effective/more time-consuming since my toothbrush gets some of the easier stuff out of the way.

 

First off - welcome! I'll be following along, because that's what I do.

 

Secondly, I floss first and brush secondly. There have been some studies that show it doesn't really matter, but that they also do two different jobs (i.e. the things that brushing hits aren't usually thing things flossing hits). There was a study done in 2018 that shows that flossing first is more beneficial (link to overview here). BUT I actually use prescription toothpaste and am required to floss first (because I'm not supposed to do anything to disrupt the additional fluoride from the toothpaste after use). 

[V for Vetinari]

Thanks for the welcome and info @Sylvaa! My electric toothpaste seems to get between my teeth better than my old one, but good to know flossing first can be good! I might need to get flouride toothpaste too, actually. I moved to a state without flouridated water recently.

[WolfDreamer]

I have a similar bad habit of going to bed without brushing. I remember to brush in the morning, but my evenings are busy, and I'm often doing schoolwork until it's time to crash. By then I'm too tired to think about anything other than bed.

[Sciread77]

I also am allergic to cats. And dogs. I take Allegra twice a day. 

 

42 minutes ago, V for Vetinari said:

Thanks for the welcome and info @Sylvaa! My electric toothpaste seems to get between my teeth better than my old one, but good to know flossing first can be good! I might need to get flouride toothpaste too, actually. I moved to a state without flouridated water recently.

 

I have the super fluoride toothpaste and Sensodyne. And floss religiously. And still get cavities, these days from the deaths of old fillings. 

[V for Vetinari]

Allergic to both! Gah. That's commitment. I would collapse in a puddle of tears and hopelessness if I was allergic to dogs too.

 

I had a dentist visit and got flouride toothpaste and a recommendation for a WaterPik. As if my dental routine wasn't already time-consuming. But she said I can floss whenever, which has made it much more likely that I will floss!

 

Today (Day Whatever)

 

Did bodyweight routine, felt creaky and old, could've use a cat to keep my spirits up:

 

 

Did yoga, am annoyed that this dog is more flexible than I am:

 

 

I've been getting moderate walking and biking, and I've somehow lost more weight. This morning was 134.0, which is a 2 lb drop in 5 days. It must be natural fluctuation, since I have not been fasting or exercising like crazy. I did avoid candy and free desserts at the last free food opportunity. (Edit: at the last two events! Forgot to take credit for Thursday.)

 

Progress so far (haven't stretched yet - yoga focused on upper body, but about to stretch lower half, then I'll floss before going out for the night):

 

 

 

[V for Vetinari]

Oops.

 

 

At least the dog tried. I spent a week telling myself I would do yoga/strength training, but there was always something more fun (or lazy) to do. I got back on track this weekend with bodyweight Saturday and yoga yesterday. Have a low key day planned today, so will do both.

 

Saturday was a big victory, actually. I was tired and low-key sick, and didn't get going until late at night after a nap. As I was getting dressed, a friend asked if they could come over. I held them off for a couple hours so I could still do the exercise, stretch, and floss.

 

 

My weight is at 133.2, so continuing a slow drop. I'm feeling conflicted about the prospect of losing more weight, weirdly enough. I just gathered a bunch of new clothes from various secondhand sources. If I get smaller, they won't fit! Good problem to have. There's so much free clothing in this city that it won't cost me money, only time.