Kestrel Grey Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 I may not have goals or know what I am hunting, but predators don't need to know. They can be patient. It is the process that matters, not the destination, so this challenge I will focus only on the process. Intently. Patiently. Not worrying about the after. Or at least I will try! Patience when I am not seeing immediate progress has not historically been my strong point. The Process 1. Run three days a week. Starting with 30-45 minutes easy with optional strides for the first two weeks. 2. Stay consistent with my morning and nighttime routines. 3. Strength train three days a week. I have one quick and easy home workout for most sessions, and one gym routine for days when I want to throw around some iron. Other stuff going on this challenge: It may snow tonight. The rest of the week will warm back up, but summer is definitely over here in the Rocky foothills and we are headed into fall. My mother is coming to stay with me during Week One. I have the week off so I can play host and drive her around. I am continuing with the GMB Eating Skills program. It will get most of my focus this challenge. 4 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Xena Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 Your challenge reminds me of one of my favorite recent memes 1 1 1 Quote Xena, Level 14+ Valkyrie Ranger January 2017 December 2016 Oct/Nov 2016 Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 Snow, already! That's crazy. It was 90 degrees here today, which is hot for anytime, much less September here Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 3 hours ago, Elastigirl said: Snow, already! That's crazy. It was 90 degrees here today, which is hot for anytime, much less September here That much heat isn't necessary better than snow! I'm still in denial over growing season being done and trying to save my pumpkins. There were two mostly ripe ones that I cut and took inside, but there are four green ones still on the vine so currently I have everything covered in a layer of mulch then a layer of blankets. Tomorrow we can unearth everything and see what survived. 2 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 So far so good. Monday I fit in 30 minutes easy running. Tuesday was my sole day off this week so I went for a midday hike. There was a little patchy snow in the shadows but it was warming up nicely and I had the trails all to myself. Which means it's the time to start bringing bear spray again; I need a new belt to carry it but I've been putting it off because I don't want to actually deal with the fact I'm too fat for my old one. I rounded out the day with an easy at-home strength workout. Yesterday was my second easy run, 40 minutes with a few strides. My sleep has improved now that I'm exercising regularly again (yay!). Struggling with the Eating Skills tasks this week. That's okay. It's week 2 of 20 and I am patiently letting it take time to click. Mostly keeping up with the morning and evening routine, missing last night because I ended up working late and was feeling too tired. 1 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Xena Posted September 11, 2020 Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 9 hours ago, Kestrel Grey said: My sleep has improved now that I'm exercising regularly again (yay!). This is really good. Quote Xena, Level 14+ Valkyrie Ranger January 2017 December 2016 Oct/Nov 2016 Link to comment
Maigs Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 Following along. I may have to check out the Eating Skills thing you're doing since food is the primary thing I want to fix 1 Quote Maigs Resurrects From the Dead Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 Zero Week 2/3 runs completed. Evening routine mostly followed. Morning routine mostly missed because I'm waiting on my shipment of matcha tea and can't get going without it. 2/3 at home short strength sessions. It's been a bit shaky emotionally this week but I've been doing okay with following through anyway. Eating Skills is still a work in progress. I'm having trouble treating the guidelines like rules which is not what I'm supposed to do. My mother arrives tonight. I plan on sticking with the challenge while she's here. 4 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Kestrel Grey said: I'm having trouble treating the guidelines like rules which is not what I'm supposed to do. Yep, same here. It helps to be flexible and not follow them sometimes, to remind myself they are not rules. Changing to a different mind set takes time. Enjoy the visit with your mom! 1 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
Xena Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 Hope you have a good visit with your mom! Sounds like the guidelines/rules thing takes practice (as EG says). Maybe just be gentle with yourself and remember that it's a journey. 1 Quote Xena, Level 14+ Valkyrie Ranger January 2017 December 2016 Oct/Nov 2016 Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 3 hours ago, Elastigirl said: Yep, same here. It helps to be flexible and not follow them sometimes, to remind myself they are not rules. Changing to a different mind set takes time. Enjoy the visit with your mom! Thanks, that helps with some of them but it is a real sticking point on fasting 4-6 hours between meals! Thoughts copied from my Eating Skills log below. Spoiler Week Two - Reflect Tracking fell off towards the end of the week so I don’t have a total, but “Is it hunger?” and pausing between bites both went well as expected. I am usually very clear when it is or isn’t hunger, but my ability to find something to replace snacking when it isn’t hunger needs work. Fast 4-6 hours between meals continues to be a terrible guideline for me. The phrasing translates to “You cannot eat (deprivation and panic thoughts ensue). If you get hungry, then you must decide whether to eat and fail or to suffer through hunger.” Not a fun thought. I am aware this is not the intent of this guideline but I cannot help treating it as such. This guideline shows up for the rest of phase one so I need a better way to deal with it. My plan is to change the phrase to Try to get hungry just before your next meal, without snacking where possible. No longer a toss up between hunger and failing since the focus shifts to eating well during the previous meal instead of surviving between them. Snacking observations - I snack mostly when I am under-stimulated but unable/too tired to do anything active. Mostly in the first hour of work, and then later in the evening when I am still at work. I found that stretching or doing some balance exercises helps here. Also when I do not eat a proper meal when I get home around midnight I end up “grazing” for hours until I fall asleep. Also when I feel like I need/deserve a treat - I do not know of anything suitable to swap snacking for here. 56 minutes ago, Xena said: Maybe just be gentle with yourself and remember that it's a journey. Scout's honour, I am! 1 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted September 14, 2020 Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 Nodding head vigorously. Yep, that's where I've struggled too. I think it does get better as you go along, because you get better at judging how much you need to eat at meals. I've had that same thought and panic, I can either eat and "fail" or not eat and starve. That's part of the reason I didn't even try and log it for the first month, because I knew that really help set me up with that mindset. I guess we just need to remind ourselves we are learning.Maybe when we have that though, use the defusion "it's normal to have thoughts like that with the diet culture we live in" and not try and reason with that voice, but just keep doing what we do to get to the goal. I'm also trying to do the "Am I hungry for a balanced meal?" And then sitting down and having some protein with fruit or veggies. And that seems to be helping. Snacking, the idea I just had today was some tea with honey in it. It's sort of sweet, so it's a treat, but not so full of calories that it will derail me. Will see how that works 2 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 Decided to add a disclaimer; most days I have a snack. The meal times work out to about 6 hours between lunch and dinner, and I get really hungry, and don't feel like I can eat enough to last that long.And,like we talked about , I was stressing.So I just decided to plan for a snack. I'm trying to make it a mix of protein and veggie or fruit. And one day it's gonna be a habit to not eat while staring at screens.I'd most likely lose weight faster if I skipped it. But I am trying to do this without that huge deprivation feeling.And having one snack helps me to not just graze snack 1 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 Mulligan. Thinking I would do anything on my target routine while my mom was here was pure silliness. It was a very productive week for her and we got to do lots of visiting with my sister, so a good week non-challenge wise. I probably won't be going over to visit my sister's family for a while now. We just got word they are putting a symptomatic covid testing site at my work. So that the infectious people don't mingle with regular patients, they will be using the lab staff entrance and the testing room will be beside our locker room, and they'll be using our bathroom. Thanks whomever thought this one through. So I am expecting to be exposed and am not willing to bring that to others and am going on an indefinite self-imposed semi quarantine. Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Sloth the Enduring Posted September 20, 2020 Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 Dang. Quote “We might as well start where we are, use what we have and do what we can." – Caitlin Rivers Sloth: The Man with the Hammer battle log Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted September 20, 2020 Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Kestrel Grey said: Mulligan. Thinking I would do anything on my target routine while my mom was here was pure silliness. It was a very productive week for her and we got to do lots of visiting with my sister, so a good week non-challenge wise. I probably won't be going over to visit my sister's family for a while now. We just got word they are putting a symptomatic covid testing site at my work. So that the infectious people don't mingle with regular patients, they will be using the lab staff entrance and the testing room will be beside our locker room, and they'll be using our bathroom. Thanks whomever thought this one through. So I am expecting to be exposed and am not willing to bring that to others and am going on an indefinite self-imposed semi quarantine. Glad you had a good visit with your mom and sister. And yeah, that sucks on your work. Don't they have a bathroom they could use just for the infectious people? 1 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 10 hours ago, Elastigirl said: Glad you had a good visit with your mom and sister. And yeah, that sucks on your work. Don't they have a bathroom they could use just for the infectious people? Yes. Our bathroom. We can use the general patient/public one. 1 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Xena Posted September 20, 2020 Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 That's sucky. 1 Quote Xena, Level 14+ Valkyrie Ranger January 2017 December 2016 Oct/Nov 2016 Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 Mulligan Week - Monday My mother was delivered to my sister's over the weekend and I don't go back to work until Wednesday, so I went hiking today. Fall is in the air and it was a nice crisp day for a jaunt up a mountain to see the larches. Our wind has shifted and the smoke from the US fires mostly dissipated, and the views were lovely. I climbed up Sulphur mountain and I'm pleased to say that I can still get to the top without needing a rest break. Tomorrow will have to be a chore catch up day. Random disjointed thoughts on gamifying fitness: Spoiler I like grinding on games. Doing small steps ad nauseum for predictable, linear progress. You can't do that with fitness. It's not like I can be a beginner runner, so cram 16 hours of running in over two days and level up to an intermediate runner. You can't cram fitness and shouldn't cram weight loss. I try to cram reading about health and fitness as a stand in for actually training more. It doesn't work. So what do I grind to make actual progress when I'm frustrated with where I am? Probably nothing, just develop patience. That's not how video games work though. So problem: needing an action that is infinitely repeatable and has a predictable proof of progress. For getting stronger, faster, fitter, or leaner. I guess that's what step counter apps are, for one. 2 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2020 Mulligan Week - Tuesday Another good day. I fitnessed and ate vegetables and did most of the things on my chore list. That last one is a win because I consistently over-estimate what I can accomplish in a day and usually hit 30-50%. There is now food and clean laundry and a slightly reduced recycling pile. I picked the last two pumpkins in my pumpkin patch, along with some fresh parsley for shrimp scampi. There was an opened bottle of white in the fridge and making scampi is a good excuse to drink while cooking. My morning and night routines have picked up like they never left. For some reason the Eating Skills program isn't stressing me out this week. I think talking it over with @Elastigirl helped. Breakfast was larger than usual and kept me feeling okay for 4 hours. I didn't like some of my lunch and the rest of the day dissolved into (healthy!) snacking. This week has a veggie focus so I am keeping cut cucumber/carrots and individual hummus containers in the fridge to add on to any meal short on veggies. I also caved and bought salad dressing - I prefer my own, but there are many times I skip the salad because I don't feel like making the dressing. Thanks to NF I still have access to Prime, and decided to work through the chin-up challenge as part of my at-home program. It's fun! Kettlebells are a bit of a problem. I am currently adding KB swings at the end of my workout, and the 20 lb is too heavy. That doesn't seem right; my deadlift is around bodyweight so I must have okay hinging strength. It'll come with practice. 2 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Sloth the Enduring Posted September 23, 2020 Report Share Posted September 23, 2020 Since you have a strong deadlift, I wonder if you’re unconsciously doing a front raise instead of hinge. 2 Quote “We might as well start where we are, use what we have and do what we can." – Caitlin Rivers Sloth: The Man with the Hammer battle log Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2020 5 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said: Since you have a strong deadlift, I wonder if you’re unconsciously doing a front raise instead of hinge. It seems likely. I think my form is okay... Maybe I'm not snapping upright with enough speed. Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted September 23, 2020 Report Share Posted September 23, 2020 Wow, you are doing great. Great job getting right back into your routines! Also, yay for not stressing as much about the eating skills this week. I think that mindset just takes practice.We are very used to the diet mindset, so it's a bit of retraining our brains. 1 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2020 Popping in to say it's still going well, though not perfectly. This week I'm getting good at Doing The Thing even if I don't feel like it and aren't seeing immediate results. I'm having to remind myself daily that instant gratification is not what I'm about. The news is stressful recently and it's affecting me, so my apologies that my participation here is dropping off. Thinking of everyone though and hoping your challenge is going well! 2 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
Kestrel Grey Posted September 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 Well I apparently have not been doing enough sprint practice. My husband called while I was at work that our condo building has a fire, the room was filling with smoke, and our delboy freaked out when he was trying to get him into his travel cage and flew away. My work is a 10 minute walk away - I let the doctors know I was leaving and sprinted home to help find the boy. Yes we found him (down the train tracks and luckily there wasn't a train) and he recognized me and let me catch him. And the firefighters put out the fire before there was any major damage to the building. But that was 3 hours ago and my heart still hurts from that one short sprint. So I got my run workout in I guess. 1 1 Quote Current Challenge: The Cliffs of Insanity Previous Challenges: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35 Battle Log: Operation Fly-By-Night “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman Link to comment
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