Theophilus Rings in the New Year with a K.I.S.S.

[theophilus]

 

Uhhh....

 

 

No, not those guys. I meant:

 

Keep it simple, Scout.

 

Sure thing.

 

[insert compulsory "2020, what a year, eh?" preambular paragraph]

 

[resolve to make 2021 better]

 

Goal 1:  Do something every day

It's January in New England, gyms are closed, there's no way I'm running "regularly." But I will do some sort of exercise every day. Thinking of either yoga or bodyweight exercises. I'll let you know what I decide. And I'll try to get out and  run once or twice a week, but no promises.  

 

Goal 2:  Be consistent with intermittent fasting

After going off the rails with food as I  coped with stress and some family trauma over the  past couple months, I started easing into an IF plan a couple weeks ago. I love the simplicity of it,  so I'm just going to keep that going through this challenge.  I'll  be in an 8-on, 16-off rhythm by the time the challenge starts and I'll stick with that schedule.

 

Goal 3: Stay off twitter dot com

That's it. That's the tweet goal.

 

Spoiler

[Background: I had a class in the fall focused on the loopholes and ambiguities in US election law (including stuff at the center of a lot of the hijinks certain antidemocratic actors tried to pull and are still looking to pull into next month) and I got sucked into the political twittersphere in a way that became obsessive and quite deleterious to my own mental health and eroded my general faith in humanity.  So I just gotta fully unplug for a bit.]

 

 

 

 

 

[KB Girl]

9 hours ago, theophilus said:

That's it. That's the tweet goal.

 

This sounds smart. I hope it helps and you can restore some faith in humanity. 

 

Also, thanks for making me laugh with the intro

[theophilus]

37 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

This sounds smart. I hope it helps and you can restore some faith in humanity. 

 

Also, thanks for making me laugh with the intro

Thanks! I find my faith in humanity increases dramatically the more time I spend with real people and the less time I spend with the caricatures political Twitter makes many of us. 

[18ck]

15 hours ago, theophilus said:

Goal 3: Stay off twitter dot com

That's it. That's the tweet goal.

I can definitely endorse this. Staying the fuck off twitter was a goal in my last 2 challenges (apart from a quick visit to say happy Christmas to some friends) and it's noticeable that my twitteroffthefuckstayage is almost exactly coterminous with my Duolingo streak. It's amazing what you can do if you shut out the distractions for a bit. 

[theophilus]

7 hours ago, 18ck said:

I can definitely endorse this. Staying the fuck off twitter was a goal in my last 2 challenges (apart from a quick visit to say happy Christmas to some friends) and it's noticeable that my twitteroffthefuckstayage is almost exactly coterminous with my Duolingo streak. It's amazing what you can do if you shut out the distractions for a bit. 

Love to hear it. I got one day of staythefuckoffism under my belt and I’m already seeing the promise of it. 

[PaulG]

On 12/28/2020 at 10:08 PM, theophilus said:

That's it. That's the tweet goal.

I can tell you it does get better. I finally got off social media, and pared down my news to a couple podcasts and the odd LegalEagle video. I’m still just as informed, and I’ve never had issues summoning the proper level of outrage. But I’m finding it a lot easier these days to be a calm, rational human being, and the news is easier to handle emotionally.

 

On 12/28/2020 at 10:08 PM, theophilus said:

But I will do some sort of exercise every day. Thinking of either yoga or bodyweight exercises.

Bodyweight... exercise?...
 

[Strickland5]

On 12/28/2020 at 10:08 PM, theophilus said:

Goal 1:  Do something every day

It's January in New England, gyms are closed, there's no way I'm running "regularly." But I will do some sort of exercise every day. Thinking of either yoga or bodyweight exercises. I'll let you know what I decide. And I'll try to get out and  run once or twice a week, but no promises.  

You and @Xena can talk about being Winter Running Warriors together!

As for Yoga/bodyweight I would suggest something like Yoga for Runners or similar here

[theophilus]

10 hours ago, PaulG said:

I can tell you it does get better. I finally got off social media, and pared down my news to a couple podcasts and the odd LegalEagle video. I’m still just as informed, and I’ve never had issues summoning the proper level of outrage. But I’m finding it a lot easier these days to be a calm, rational human being, and the news is easier to handle emotionally.

For sure. I’ll still read the news and get my NPR Up First fix in the morning. It’s amazing what small percent of my Twitter feed was actual news vs commentary and an engorging feeding of the outrage machine.  And I’ll definitely have to check out LegalEagle! I’d never heard of it before, which is kinda embarrassing as a law student. Hahaha. 

[theophilus]

6 minutes ago, Strickland5 said:

You and @Xena can talk about being Winter Running Warriors together!

As for Yoga/bodyweight I would suggest something like Yoga for Runners or similar here

I have a ways to go before I can rank as a Winter Running Warrior!  I always look to @Xena for inspiration!
 

Great resources there, thanks!

[Xena]

On 12/29/2020 at 12:25 PM, theophilus said:

Thanks! I find my faith in humanity increases dramatically the more time I spend with real people and the less time I spend with the caricatures political Twitter makes many of us. 

 

Hopefully your NF friends count as real people. At least we're nice 🙂

[juliebarkley]

I have always stayed the hell off Twitter for this exact reason. It just seems to make people sad, angry, or both without fixing anything, and who needs that?

 

20 hours ago, PaulG said:

Bodyweight... exercise?...

Yes yes - what do you have in mind?

[theophilus]

31 minutes ago, Xena said:

 

Hopefully your NF friends count as real people. At least we're nice 🙂

Hahaha, of course you all count as real people! With all the encouragement and goodwill around here, y’all have to be the most positive bunch of folks on the interwebs. 

[theophilus]

On 12/30/2020 at 8:56 PM, juliebarkley said:

Yes yes - what do you have in mind?

 

Not sure yet... Any suggestions for a beginner?

[juliebarkley]

It really depends on what you're most interested in. Building strength? Endurance? Mobility? Losing weight? Building a habit?

 

@WhiteGhostgave me this video a couple of challenges ago when I was looking for parkour moves to practice indoors. I'm thinking of doing it on my off days this time around. It's mobility focused, so very beginner accessible.

 

The beginner's bodyweight workout is always popular for getting an exercise habit started, too. If it's hard, it'll help you build strength and endurance at first, but if you can fly through it you'll need something more challenging as there's no progression built into it.

 

You could also try tying an exercise to a small habit that you already do. Five squats while the kettle boils in the morning, five pushups between Netflix episodes, that sort of thing.

[18ck]

4 hours ago, theophilus said:

 

Not sure yet... Any suggestions for a beginner?

Hm, if you're still not sure, it's definitely worth taking time to plan before the challenge starts in earnest. If not an actual timetable, at last a list of options and you can throw a dart at the list to decide which one you do each day. 

Lots of decent videos on YouTube. I've got very attached to Joe Wicks's "PE With Joe" videos, through my daughter having to do them during school closures, but I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea.  Maybe find a yoga channel, a strength/bodyweight one and a couple of others that appeal to you and see how you like them....? 

Runs definitely sound like a good one to do though. You don't need a gym or an instructor for that. It'll get you out in the fresh air, which is better than doing it all at home in front of a TV and feeling like a battery chicken. 

 

[Tateman]

Intermittent fasting was pretty easy for me to get use to. I never did any multiday fasting though. I mostly stuck to 16 then 18 hours at a time. Great to help me from snacking at night too

 

[theophilus]

6 hours ago, Tateman said:

Intermittent fasting was pretty easy for me to get use to. I never did any multiday fasting though. I mostly stuck to 16 then 18 hours at a time. Great to help me from snacking at night too

 

 

Had my first full 16-hour fast last night into this morning. I got pretty hungry by the time noon rolled around, but then when I went to eat I found my appetite wasn't as strong as I thought  it would be. I think it'll  just be a matter of getting over the mental hump of those last 1-2 hours.

 

It's been a huge help with the late night snacking, too. All those mindless chips... Hahaha.

[theophilus]

Day  1

Goal 1: Just did some light stretching and a few burpees today (like literally 3  - those things are hard!). The more I think about it, the more I realize I do need something at least a little more structured than "do something," so I'm going to shoot for 2x/week of each:  running, yoga, and strength training. That should give me the flexibility  (pun intended!) to run on the nice(r) days and still do something on the days I can't run.

 

Goal 2:  Pulled off the first 8/16  split for fasting today.  Pretty happy  with how I felt all day  too.

 

Goal 3:  Managed by the skin of  my teeth to stay off twitter today. I had a good streak going, spoiled it briefly yesterday, but was back on track today. 

[KB Girl]

14 hours ago, theophilus said:

Goal 3:  Managed by the skin of  my teeth to stay off twitter today. I had a good streak going, spoiled it briefly yesterday, but was back on track today. 

it's like an addiction hm! what pulls you in? 

[theophilus]

1 hour ago, KB Girl said:

it's like an addiction hm! what pulls you in? 

Ya know, I’ll read something on the news and think, “I wonder what so-and-so has to say about that?” And then, well... I’ve entered the abyss. 

[KB Girl]

On 1/4/2021 at 9:51 PM, theophilus said:

Ya know, I’ll read something on the news and think, “I wonder what so-and-so has to say about that?” And then, well... I’ve entered the abyss. 

Ah yes.. that’s what I have with NF  healthier mostly, but sometimes not good for my bedtimes. 
how is it going now?

[18ck]

On 1/4/2021 at 8:51 PM, theophilus said:

Ya know, I’ll read something on the news and think, “I wonder what so-and-so has to say about that?” And then, well... I’ve entered the abyss. 

True. The news from the US capitol is making me itch to go on and start dishing out hot takes. Must... Stay... Strong... 

 

How's it going, anyway? 

Your challenge, I mean, not the riot. 

Building in Monday's good start? I think your plan for goal 1 is a good one too by the way. Two thumbs up from me! 

[Tateman]

Yeah, I checked twitter more yesterday then I had in a really long time. Plus other media outlets.

[theophilus]

Yeah, it's been a rough few days. In addition to all the breaking news sucking me into twitter (I mean, come on), we had a COVID scare in the family. Back in November, the family and I packed up for a bit to temporarily relocate with extended family after Mrs. Theophilus's mom passed away very unexpectedly (not COVID-related). Since then we'd  been staying with family, who fortunately all take COVID quite seriously. We've all done everything we could to protect ourselves and each other. Somehow, though, COVID made its way into the bubble. So we've all been on pretty severe lockdown for a while to make sure we didn't spread it among ourselves or in the community.  Two people ended up with it, none of them in my immediate  family (me, wife, kids), but my sister and her husband both had asymptomatic cases.  We're finally in the clear, so we're heading home and I'm going to regroup  and restart-ish this challenge tomorrow. 

 

And just to add a sliver of good news to an otherwise quite stressful season, my sister and her husband--after testing positive for COVID and enduring  what must have felt like an eternity locked down with their three-year-old son--just welcomed their second kid into the world tonight. Everyone's healthy and happy. And it's given this road-worn cynic a well-needed reminder that there is still such beauty and goodness and reason for hope in this world.  

[18ck]

Well that was a real epic, twisty-turny update, but I'm glad it had a happy ending!