Elennare has a plan that's...working?!?

[Elennare]

Started a new thing part way through last challenge. I haven't got my "official" results, because I measure at the end/beginning of the month, but the quick scale check I did for the end of the challenge says I'm down 2.5 lbs. Which, isn't tons, but that's the first time in probably 6 months that I haven't gained weight!

 

So what's the plan? Exercise 6 out of 7 days, and don't eat added sugar. And, take a couple supplements (magnesium and B6). Very simple, but so far I seem able to stick to it and it's working. So I'm going to keep doing that for a while and see how it goes. I'm certain I will add some added sugars back in at some point in the future, because I do like being able to have ice cream and fancy coffee drinks sometimes, but for now I'm kind of working on a body reset, so trying to be super strict (without getting upset when I can't be perfect).

 

What's the exercise? Mostly it's been a half hour or so of pilates, but I have also been doing things like skating and bike rides and swimming. Whatever gets me moving. Tonight it's going to be a half hour or so of Just Dance, because it was a crazy stressful day at work and that sounds like fun. And, I'm going to be starting the Nerd Fitness chin-up challenge tomorrow.

[Manarelle]

8 hours ago, Elennare said:

Tonight it's going to be a half hour or so of Just Dance, because it was a crazy stressful day at work and that sounds like fun. And, I'm going to be starting the Nerd Fitness chin-up challenge tomorrow.

 

Sounds like a fun and (afterwards) relaxing evening workout. Please keep us updated on the chin-up challenge! It looks intriguing, but I know I do better when I got my slow and steady way. 

 

Following again because you're awesome. 

[WhiteGhost]

8 hours ago, Elennare said:

and don't eat added sugar

Cutting out sugary snacks was a huge one for me.  I was surprised that after doing it for a month or so, my palate changed and I have less desire for sweet foods.  I used to think 70% chocolate was too bitter but now I enjoy the heck out of 85% 

[Elennare]

Haven't been posting to much because zero week. Things have gone pretty well, for the most part. Mostly avoiding sugar. Probably got a little bit in some of the take out we've gotten, but definitely way less than I was eating. This weekend is going to be interesting, because I'm going to have limited control over the food I have access to. I shall do my best.

 

Exercising has been a little less good. We did not get as much of the bathroom finished as hoped, so I haven't managed to hang up my rings yet, so it's looking like I'm going to either be a week behind on the challenge or I'm going to have to figure out how to condence the first week or two. And, last night I took an unscheduled rest day. I lost track of time setting up my new phone (yay for having one that I'm no longer afraid is just going to quit on me) and then got hit really hard by the tired bat so I just went to sleep. Not going to let that become a regular thing, though!

[raptron]

Woot for eating along your goals. Good luck finishing up the bathroom! I feel like it's been going on a while (and I'm sure you guys feel that way more haha). 

[Elennare]

6 hours ago, raptron said:

Good luck finishing up the bathroom! I feel like it's been going on a while (and I'm sure you guys feel that way more haha). 

Yes, it definitely has been going on for a while.  The exploding mirror doubled (or more) the size of the work we had planned, as did some of the weird things left by whoever remodeled it previously, plus Husband's hurt ankle has slowed things down as well.  We're so close!  The latest road block we just hit is we can't find the piece of pipe we need to connect the sink drain.  *sigh*  It'll get there eventually.

 

End of the month progress report:

I completely forgot to weigh myself before I had breakfast, so the official measurement will have to wait until the middle of next week, though unofficially I'm down 2.5lbs for July.  I also lost an inch from my chest and waist (each measurement, not total), and half an inch off each thigh.  I am so happy about that, and excited to see things continue in that vein.

 

Otherwise, I did 30 minutes of serious stretching for my exercise yesterday, and took an ~15 minute walk today.  Nothing else to report right now.

[WhiteGhost]

10 hours ago, Elennare said:

I am so happy about that, and excited to see things continue in that vein.

[Elennare]

Just got back from a (mostly) lovely visit with Husband's parents. We drove up Friday night and came back yesterday. Technically we got home super early today. Driving all night kinda sucked, but the boys slept pretty much the whole way there so we only had to make one stop to change drivers (and for me to use the bathroom). Done that way intentionally, to avoid people and dealing with food and more chances to pick up germs. Pretty much the only way I was ok with making the trip.

 

Which is why it was only mostly nice. Because my in-laws offered, yesterday morning, to keep the boys for a week and drive them down to us on Saturday, to give me and Husband a break. Which is a very nice offer, and one Husband seemed very excited about. Me, not so much. I kinda had a small panic attack, because I wasn't comfortable with that, but I also didn't want to say no because it would be nice to have a break and I knew the kids would love it. Except, I wouldn't be able to relax the whole time because I would have been worrying. Every answer was wrong, and the plan I was cool with was suddenly getting upended. After some talking, we did not take them up on the offer, and I mostly didn't feel like a terrible person who just ruins everyone else's fun. But I definitely had a mild panic attack hangover for the rest of the day.

 

I am certain I did not completely avoid added sugars, but I did the best I could, and I think it was fairly close. In related news, the cold brew with cinnamon oatmilk foam from Starbucks is delicious and low in sugar.

 

I also managed to get at least 15 minutes of exercise every day, even on the driving days. And Husband and I got to go for a lovely walk in a park by the water with lots of birds, without the boys, which was amazing.

[Elennare]

Two updates in one day?!? Yep!

 

Today is a rest day, because I didn't really sleep last night. We got home around 3am, and then the cat kept me from getting to sleep for at least another hour, and then also woke me up a few times. Plus, my allergies went nuts, so I feel like I got hit by a truck today.

 

Speaking of things getting hit by a truck., I saw the immediate aftermath of that today. I was driving back from the credit union, sitting at a red light, and I hear a crunch-crash kind of noise. I look up, and at the corner there's a small pick up truck on the sidewalk with a street light pole embedded about a foot into the middle of the front of the truck. And then the street light pole proceeded to slowly tip over and land on the sidewalk! So that was nuts. I think the driver was ok. It looked like he was moving around, and I saw other people calling for help, so I'm sure things and people got taken care of.

 

And why was I at the credit union? Because I forgot to mention the other sucky part of the trip. Someone somehow stole my debit card number and was trying to use it! Card security caught it before any of the fraudulent charges posted, but I need a new card now. So I was taking care of that. I have no idea how they got my number. So I'm a bit concerned about that. I can't think of anywhere shady I might have used it. Definitely going to keep an eye on things for a bit.

 

In challenge news, I did get back on track with no sugar today. So that's going well, at least. Probably undid some progress over the weekend, but I'm thinking not that much.

[Manarelle]

Glad you had a decent trip, despite the panic attack and hangover. Good call on the offer, imo. It's not a break if you're overstressing the whole time. 

 

A lot of card fraud is online these days, I feel. I use my card at maybe 2-3 actual stores per month, even before the pandemic, but my card's been "stolen" before. Lot of companies store your details for their own tracking purposes, so if someone hacks the company... I'm no security specialist, so I'm sure there are more layers of safety than that, but just saying, you don't have to have physically gone to a shady place. 

 

Welcome back, and congrats on keeping on with your goals over the trip!

[Rubble]

Simple, straight-forward, and if it's working.... YES!

[Elennare]

15 hours ago, Manarelle said:

you don't have to have physically gone to a shady place.

I was including websites in the "shady places" I mentioned. Like, as far as I know I only used it at reputable places online and irl. Which means I have no idea how it got compromised. I have no idea if it happened recently or if someone has been sitting on it for a while. Interesting that they used it to (try to) buy gas and art supplies. Gas from a relatively local store, but just far enough away that I don't go there. And, the only place I can think of that might have had that card that got compromised recently is Garmin, but supposedly no data was stolen during that snafu. It is puzzling. :shrug:

 

Today, I managed to stick to my diet, but I am taking another rest day. I am feeling better than yesterday, but I still kind of feel like crap. I'm sure the arrival of shark week didn't help matters, but either way, I don't feel good. So, I'm going to bed as soon as I finish drinking my cup of magnesium.

 

Edit: before I forget (again), I wanted to mention that Tee Turtle currently has all their Halloween shirts on sale for half off. So if you need some adorable spooky in your life, now is a good time to get it. 🎃

[Manarelle]

10 hours ago, Elennare said:

Edit: before I forget (again), I wanted to mention that Tee Turtle currently has all their Halloween shirts on sale for half off. So if you need some adorable spooky in your life, now is a good time to get it. 🎃

 

Dude, I LOVE tee turtle. I'm only retraining myself because I'm stocked up not only on active t-shirts, but also my reserve pile is full. They're so freaking cute though. 

[Elennare]

I got a call this morning, just before my alarm was going to go off, from a number I didn't recognize, from Florida.  It was at like 7:40 in the morning, which is way too early for professional calls...unless you didn't realize the person you were calling was in a time zone 3 hours behind you, in which case it would be a perfectly reasonable time to be calling.  I got slightly excited, because I applied for a job in Florida that I would really like to get.  So I got out of bed, made myself fake awake, and answered the phone, hoping for someone calling about the job.

 

It was a recording.  From "Daniel" from Amazon, who rattled off an "employee ID," calling to tell me my Prime account has been compromised and someone has bought a new iPhone with it.  And that my card connected to the account has been charged some $400, but they has put a hold on the order.  Press 1 to talk to Amazon.

 

🤬

 

Fucking scammers, man!  I am so extra pissed at them, because they made me wake up early and think someone was going to talk to me about a new job.  But no.  It was scammers.  With a pretty good attempt, all things considered.  And yes, there is a small grammar error in my description of what they said, because it had something like that.  Only one, and it was small.  But, I was awake, so I caught it, even if I can't remember exactly what they said.  And I'm pretty sure that's not how Amazon works, either.  I'm sure they get lots of people with that one, though.

[Elennare]

Stayed on diet today. Did better drinking water than I did the last couple of days, but still got a bunch more water to drink today. Did the NF Chin-up Challenge benchmark today, because we finally got enough patio cleared that I can hang my rings up.

 

Which also means we have a functional bathroom! Still needs the finishing touches, but the new sink is installed and working! Huzzah!

 

The boys and I are level 4 for the chin-up challenge, and Husband is level 1. Tomorrow we will start the workouts (even if the boys don't know they're doing it yet), and see if we can't get caught up with everyone. If not, we'll just be a little behind. I was thinking about doing some other exercise tonight, since the benchmark test wasn't a whole lot of movement, but I think I'm going to call it good for tonight and make sure I get to bed on time today, so I can be back to 100% tomorrow.

 

I've also realized that at this point I'll be just as far away from the preferred date for weighing myself if I did it now than I was when I did it early, so I'm just going to call that one it for July/August and do it as scheduled for August/September.

 

Bonus picture of my rings, carefully framed to not show most of the patio mess.

 

For some reason I had thought the straps were thicker and I'd have to use my silks straps around the beam, but no, I can just put the rings up on their own. Which means when we manage to reclaim the whole patio, I can have both of them up at the same time if I want to!

[WhiteGhost]

Those look almost exactly like my rings.  

 

1 hour ago, Elennare said:

The boys and I are level 4 for the chin-up challenge, and Husband is level 1.

What are the different levels?

[Manarelle]

9 hours ago, Elennare said:

Which also means we have a functional bathroom! Still needs the finishing touches, but the new sink is installed and working! Huzzah!

 

WOOT! Bet that's a nice feeling!

 

9 hours ago, Elennare said:

For some reason I had thought the straps were thicker and I'd have to use my silks straps around the beam, but no, I can just put the rings up on their own. Which means when we manage to reclaim the whole patio, I can have both of them up at the same time if I want to!

 

Awww yissssss. Now you have options! 

 

Sorry to hear about the scammer. It's so much harder to be sanguine about that stuff when you're anticipating job offers. 

[Elennare]

10 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Those look almost exactly like my rings.  

 

What are the different levels?

How long you hang for and with what level of assistance. 1-3 were assisted hanging, 4-6 were dead hang, and then it went up from there to top hang, and I think level 10 was already being able to do a chin-up. The point was to quantify where you're starting from so you can track improvement, and also to set which exercises to do. The first weeks, at least, are split 1-5 and 6-10. Don't know if that'll change later.

 

2 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Sorry to hear about the scammer. It's so much harder to be sanguine about that stuff when you're anticipating job offers. 

That, and it coming right on the heels of finding out I've been the victim of actual fraud, made it way worse. But even on a good day, I really hate scammers.

[raptron]

Ooo, patio rings!! Awesome. Boo about the scammers AND actual fraud messing with your week! 

[Elennare]

Oof, my arms/lats are going to be so sore tomorrow. But, the boys and I have completed week one day A of the chin-up challenge workouts (there's 3 a week, A, B, and C). Theoretically, Husband is going to do it a bit later. Looking for an easy way to add some push to your pull workout? Have 2 kids you're helping get on the rings and assisting them with the pull-ups. Because, since we're using rings, they're more pull-ups than chin-ups. I am pleased to report that both boys were using the correct muscles and I'm certain they will be doing them all on their own shortly. Me, it's going to take a while, but I'm hoping I can get a lot closer.

 

Did good on my food today, and am actually on track to drink enough water. Woot!

[Manarelle]

On 8/7/2020 at 9:55 PM, Elennare said:

Oof, my arms/lats are going to be so sore tomorrow. But, the boys and I have completed week one day A of the chin-up challenge workouts (there's 3 a week, A, B, and C). Theoretically, Husband is going to do it a bit later. Looking for an easy way to add some push to your pull workout? Have 2 kids you're helping get on the rings and assisting them with the pull-ups. Because, since we're using rings, they're more pull-ups than chin-ups. I am pleased to report that both boys were using the correct muscles and I'm certain they will be doing them all on their own shortly. Me, it's going to take a while, but I'm hoping I can get a lot closer.

 

Did good on my food today, and am actually on track to drink enough water. Woot!

 

Nice! Sounds like a decetn day overall, and slight chaos on the pull-ups stuff.

[Elennare]

Success with eating this weekend.

 

I was going to do things on Saturday, but then my belly got upset. Not sure if it was still sorting itself out from the trip or the jalapeños from the garden Husband and I ate for lunch didn't agree with us.

 

Today, I took the boys to the pool for an hour. We probably would have stayed longer, but it got too crowded for my comfort, so we went home. And then tried to do the scheduled pull-up workout. Except, we didn't get very far into it before I realized that my arms were too shot from the hour of swimming, so we called it good. On to day C on Tuesday!

 

And now I'm sitting in my living room, with all the doors and windows in the house open, because it's very pleasant that way, and listening to at least one neighbor across the courtyard coughing. A deep, dry, barking cough. And trying not to freak out about it and close up the house. Because that probably won't help. Our ancient furnace / A/C unit has such a crapy filter that all it would do is circulate any germs that got in through the whole house over and over, whereas if we leave things open, the germs should just blow through. But it is incredibly disconcerting and not conducive to relaxing. I will also note that at least one of the families over there had a giant party with lots of people over out in the courtyard a week or two ago.

 

[Manarelle]

7 hours ago, Elennare said:

And now I'm sitting in my living room, with all the doors and windows in the house open, because it's very pleasant that way, and listening to at least one neighbor across the courtyard coughing. A deep, dry, barking cough. And trying not to freak out about it and close up the house. Because that probably won't help. Our ancient furnace / A/C unit has such a crapy filter that all it would do is circulate any germs that got in through the whole house over and over, whereas if we leave things open, the germs should just blow through. But it is incredibly disconcerting and not conducive to relaxing. I will also note that at least one of the families over there had a giant party with lots of people over out in the courtyard a week or two ago.

 

That's scary. Nice to have the doors and windows open, but yikes for the possibility of The Thing coming through. 

[WhiteGhost]

Hope that guy keeps to himself

[Elennare]

On 8/10/2020 at 5:47 AM, Manarelle said:

 

That's scary. Nice to have the doors and windows open, but yikes for the possibility of The Thing coming through. 

 

21 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Hope that guy keeps to himself

 

Haven't heard any more coughing. And, after the coughing started, there was some kind of perfume smell that came drifting through the house. So maybe it was someone vaping? Either way, yes, the 'rona needs to stay far away.

 

Did fairly well eating on Monday and Tuesday. Not perfect, but I'm calling it close enough.

 

Did 20 minutes of Just Dance (active minutes - it was longer if you count the time picking songs) last night, and I'll be starting week 2 of the chin-up challenge today. It's probably not going to be a great workout, but I'll do the thing.

 

In a bit of a funk because my mom is back on her narcissistic "give me attention" bullshit today, and I'm trying very hard to ignore it. I'm trying very hard to not be in a funk as well, but it's only sort of working.

 

In good news, I think the plan is helping me sleep better, even if I'm still not getting enough sleep. Small steps, I guess? Improvement is important!

 

Edit: the thing is done. Also, I was wrong. Today was the last day of week 1. Week 2 starts on Thursday.