Suave refuses to stay down

[FatboySuave]

Introduction: My name is Richard and I am the managing editor for a small town daily newspaper. I am a nerd for hip hop/soul/jazz, video games and writing. I was active in the Challenge Forums about three years ago and achieved great success. However, mental health struggles led to regression. I had previously formed good and healthy habits, but those all went out the window. I find myself in worse shape than ever before. I'm rejoining the forums and hoping to reform healthy habits and willpower. I started the last challenge halfway through and made some initial progress. I'm aiming to continue that progress gradually.

 

I am my own worst enemy and I keep knocking myself down. But I will no longer stay down. I will keep getting up and continue fighting. 

 

Main Quest: I strive for balance with the Triforce. I will build Power (physical health) via good eating and exercise habits. I will achieve Courage (mental health/self confidence) through TBD. I will cultivate Wisdom (knowledge) by reacquainting myself with the Academy and relearning how to practice willpower and discipline. 

 

Quest 1: Walk my dogs Booklet and Page and complete a cool down afterward.

 

A = Walk/cool down 6-7 days a week.

B = Walk/cool down 4-5 days a week.

C = Walk/cool down 2-3 day a week.

D = Walk/cool down 1 day a week.

F = No walking/cool downs.

Quest 2: Drink less energy drinks.

A = 1 drink or less per week.
B = 2 drinks per week. 
C = 3 drinks per week.
D = 4 drinks per week.
F = 5 or more drinks per week.

Quest 3: Cook more often and prep meals. Eat out less. If I do eat out, I will find healthy/paleo-ish options.

A = Eat out no more than 2 times a week. 
B = Eat out no more than 4 times a week.
C = Eat out no more than 6 times a week.
D = Eat out no more than 8 times a week.
F = Eat out more than 8 times a week. 

[deftona]

Hello and welcome back!

[Jupiter]

Love your goals! Following!  

[fearless 2.0]

awesome!!!!!  following!!!!

[Elastigirl]

Love your challenge set up! And the names of your dogs are so cute.

[Big_Show]

Found you!  Good luck with the challenge!

[Salinger]

Hey good to see you. Here to offer support, i also put myself down a lot xx

[FatboySuave]

Thanks for the follows, everyone! 

Week 0 is off to a pretty good start. I officially restarted by Battle Log yesterday. Before that, my last update was in December 2017. It's weird seeing my old posts frozen in time. It feels like I was an entirely different person back then. So when I read those posts, it's like reading someone else's journal. But it's been helpful to reread some inspirational and motivational things I had written back then. 

I also did some meal prep yesterday for the first time in a long time. I baked some chicken breasts and sweet potatoes. I also bought a ton of those steamable packages of broccoli. I also bought some oatmeal so I have something quick and easy that I can make for breakfast. I also bought some snacks to help get me through the day (which was a challenge back in the day). So today went pretty well, but I couldn't stop thinking about food all day. And I got so excited about my snacks that I overdid it after lunch, lol. So there's definitely room for improvement and I know it's going to take time to retrain my brain and stomach into new eating habits. Patience and consistency are going to be key. 

Another thing I did yesterday was take my measurements and take some "before" photos. Those were upsetting, lol. When I saved the photos, I found photos from a few years back after I had lost a bunch of weight. It's amazing to see the difference and the transformation. But it's reassuring to know that I've done this before. It's possible to achieve again. 

[Jupiter]

50 minutes ago, FatboySuave said:

I also did some meal prep yesterday for the first time in a long time.

 

Nice job!

[Salinger]

Great job yesterday!!!! xx

[fearless 2.0]

meal prep rules! I do it too. You have everything you need to kick the shit out of this challenge!

[Jarric]

Hey man, nice to meet you, welcome back to the forums!

 

15 hours ago, FatboySuave said:

But it's reassuring to know that I've done this before. It's possible to achieve again. 

 

Believing it can be done is really important, so I think you're in a good position here.

[SkyGirl]

Suave!!! Dude, every so often I would see you on my Followers roster and wonder how you were and what you were doing - it's so good to have you back! We're here to support while you get your feet back under you!!

[FatboySuave]

@SkyGirl!!! I was doing the same thing, going through my followers and old comments, and I found you and stalked you recently, lol. I'm glad you're still active! And it's great to see you again!
 

[Salinger]

Have a great day !!!! 

 

Two Qs..

 

Where you from? 

What is your fave hiphop?

 

xx

[FatboySuave]

10 hours ago, Salinger said:

Where you from? 

What is your fave hiphop?

 

I'm from New Mexico and I mostly listen to more mainstream lyrical type hip hop (Nas, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Tyler the Creator, Denzel Curry). I'm not as excited about hip hop these days as I used to be. Jazz and soul get my engine revving more nowadays. 

[Salinger]

27 minutes ago, FatboySuave said:

 

I'm from New Mexico and I mostly listen to more mainstream lyrical type hip hop (Nas, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Tyler the Creator, Denzel Curry). I'm not as excited about hip hop these days as I used to be. Jazz and soul get my engine revving more nowadays. 

 

Hi from Manchester, UK

 

Saw Kendrick last year, so fucking good!! Do you know Aesop Rock....adore him lately. 

 

 

 

[FatboySuave]

Yesterday was my news editor's last day on the job. This pandemic has been taxing on her, so she decided to move back home to be close to her family. I think part of her decision was also based on the paper's situation. As local businesses struggle, advertising has gone down, so we've had to cut hours and minimize the paper. We sent off the editor with dinner and drinks last night. We had a good time and parted on good terms. I don't think it's really hit me yet though. I've been trying to focus on hiring a replacement, so I haven't had the time to stress and freak out, lol. But we've got a temporary pandemic fill-in. She started training last week and Friday will be her first day flying solo. I think she's going to pick it up pretty quick, but I think she's feeling a bit overwhelmed. Searching for long-term hires is going to be a challenge though. It's difficult to attract people here when we're currently hiring only for a part-time position. We're hopeful that the position will transition to full-time in the future, but I have no real timeline of when that would happen. I got my first rejection yesterday as well for that exact reason. So I know it's going to be challenging, but I'm not freaking out — yet.

 

It feels like we've been fighting adversity for nearly the entire year. Our previous managing editor retired in November and the woman who was supposed to replace him ended up ghosting us. At that time, one of our reporters, who is a good friend of mine, got into a very serious accident and nearly died — actually, technically she did die for a moment but they brought her back. So while I was trying to help my friend (starting a fundraiser and visiting her in the hospital and recovering her personal belongings from the junk yard), I was also trying to fill in as managing editor. Then the publisher reluctantly gave me the job. He didn't think I was resilient enough to take over. I lied to him and told him I was totally ready, lol. So ever since then we've been short-staffed. I made some hires and things felt like they were starting to normalize, but then the pandemic hit. And everything went to shit again. A sports editor I hired ended up leaving, which wasn't a huge deal because sports were all canceled. But eventually we're going to have to rebuild the sports section when activity picks up again. So I'm also trying to find a new sports editor, but again it's tough when we can't hire full-time. However, we had a new reporter come to us in the middle of the pandemic, and he has adapted really well, which helps a lot.

 

Last night during dinner we all reminisced about the year and how hard things have been. At times I lack confidence in myself as the managing editor and I feel like I'm an impostor. With the news editor leaving, it's hard not to feel like I let her down or didn't do enough to keep her on. There are many times when I wish I could just go back to reporting. Life was much simpler then, lol. But everyone seems to think that I'm doing the best I can with the circumstances we were given. So that's reassuring. I don't think I've lost their trust — yet, lol. 

 

 

[FatboySuave]

13 minutes ago, Salinger said:

Saw Kendrick last year, so fucking good!! Do you know Aesop Rock....adore him lately. 

 

Ahhhh! I'm jealous! I know OF Aesop Rock, but I've never actually listened to his music. This is a tasty jam! I was listening to stuff like this back in my college years. But I find that I have less time these days to really digest new music. Lyrics just go in one ear and out the other nowadays, lol. I usually only listen to music when I'm working, so I try to find more ambient, relaxing type stuff to play in the background. 
 

 

[fearless 2.0]

fellow old school hip hop lover here! 2pac, Eminem, the 90s stuff... ❤️

 

[FatboySuave]

1 hour ago, fearless 2.0 said:

fellow old school hip hop lover here! 2pac, Eminem, the 90s stuff... ❤️

 

 

Awesome! I was around 10-12 years old in the late 90s when I came into hip hop consciousness. I was really into Puff Daddy and Busta Rhymes. And DMX will always be one of my favorites. Some times I like to go down the hip hop nostalgia rabbit hole on YouTube. 
 

 

 

[fearless 2.0]

Those were the times!  

[Dusk]

Hi Suave! I don’t think we’ve met before (or if we have then I forgot 😅 in which case, my apologies!). But, your story sounds a lot like mine - I’ve been a member here for years, I was doing decently well and making healthy choices etc, but then my mental health went down the toilet and I’m in worse shape than ever. But, the only way to fail is to stop trying! I’m glad we both came back here to keep trying.  

[Salinger]

Seen Eminem 3 times, incredible. I hate his new work, but the first three albums - wow wow wow . ... genius imo. 

 

Hope you have a GREAT day Suave xx

[Kvedulf]

Finally found you! You’re a hard man to track down. Good to see you again. That challenge looks good and filled me with nostalgia. You got this and I’m following. 
 

oh, do you still have the doggos? Give them a pat for me!