Emerald Eagle refills her cup

[Emerald Eagle]

1 hour ago, Rhovaniel said:

What is hedgehog slice btw?

 

1 hour ago, Endor said:

Is it similar to Rocky road Emerald E?

 

Gooey fudgy chocolate slice with crushed up biscuits in it, topped with chocolate icing. I didn't realise it was an Aussie thing?! (particularly as we don't have hedgehogs here!)

Mine kind of looks like this:

 

13 hours ago, Endor said:

How awesome are pre-prepared meals when you're pooped from a busy day! 

 

I hope you haven't put your hand up for deck staining duties,  that's second worst only to painting!

 

Also now i want an icy pole!

 

Hubby prefers doing the jobs to baby duty so I get to Mum while he does the work  Hubby did say today we really need to stain the deck ASAP so it doesn't get too many marks in it. Sounded like he volunteered to me! On a scale of badness of desserts icy poles really aren't that bad, particularly on hot days when it's a bit of sugar and extra hydration...

 

1 hour ago, Rhovaniel said:

Sounds like an exhausting day. Glad you had meal prep to see you through the evening!

 

So glad for meal prep! Highlighted to me why it's so important - it subverts so many excuses.

 

Week 1 - Saturday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑☑☑☑□

Movement:

Rehab: ☑☑☑☑/☑

Crossfit: ☑☑☑

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑☑☑/☑

Comment: ☑☑☑/☑

 

Today was much less crazy. It was just Hubby and my FIL finishing off the last deck boards, and thankfully they were finished before the heat of the day. I also did my workout in the morning to try and get it done before I had the heat as an excuse not to. It was a brutal workout that left me a sweaty mess at the end of it! 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJzxJv7g2ic/

 

Apart from that I ate more meal prepped food and leftovers so I'm still on track there, and finally packed away my Christmas tree and decorations during Bub's afternoon nap. 

 

We're heading out for a 4WD day trip with some friends tomorrow for Hubby's last day of holidays so I may not get a chance to update my challenge thread. Already I'm calling Week 1 a win! Now to keep on truckin' 

 

[Rhovaniel]

5 minutes ago, Emerald Eagle said:

Gooey fudgy chocolate slice with crushed up biscuits in it, topped with chocolate icing. I didn't realise it was an Aussie thing?! (particularly as we don't have hedgehogs here!)

Ah. I've had similiar things, but not with icing and not called that lol. Though, tbh, I don't actually know what we DO call it. If it had marshmallows, It'd be rocky road?

[Emerald Eagle]

7 minutes ago, Rhovaniel said:

Ah. I've had similiar things, but not with icing and not called that lol. Though, tbh, I don't actually know what we DO call it. If it had marshmallows, It'd be rocky road?

I think so? To me Rocky Road would have marshmallows and some kind of jelly lolly or even glacé cherries (yum!) and nuts. Also is more often just melted chocolate coating the mix ins and not the kind of fudge mixture you make for hedgehog slice. Basically it's all delicious and probably shouldn't be in my pantry or I'll eat it all! 

[Rhovaniel]

25 minutes ago, Emerald Eagle said:

I think so? To me Rocky Road would have marshmallows and some kind of jelly lolly or even glacé cherries (yum!) and nuts. Also is more often just melted chocolate coating the mix ins and not the kind of fudge mixture you make for hedgehog slice. Basically it's all delicious and probably shouldn't be in my pantry or I'll eat it all! 

It SOUNDS amazing. You had me at fudge...

[Endor]

Nutella Donuts and Hedgehog slice... it's a good thing the borders are closed! 

[Emerald Eagle]

On 1/9/2021 at 9:42 PM, Rhovaniel said:

It SOUNDS amazing. You had me at fudge...

 

On 1/9/2021 at 10:11 PM, Endor said:

Nutella Donuts and Hedgehog slice... it's a good thing the borders are closed! 

 

I really love / think I'm pretty good at baking (cooking too, but I get more enjoyment out of baking). It's something I really enjoy and find it stress relieving. This is not helpful when it comes to making healthy choices! Particularly during lockdown when I couldn't take my stress-baking to the office or social gatherings to share with others. 

 

Week 1 - Sunday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑☑☑☑☑

Movement:

Rehab: ☑☑☑☑/☑

Crossfit: ☑☑☑

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑☑☑/☑

Comment: ☑☑☑/☑

 

Yesterday was exhausting but also really enjoyable! Unfortunately I did not have a great night of sleep, partly because Bub is teething and wanted more feeding and cuddles before she'd sleep and partially because it was out first really warm night. We had to be out of the house by 8.30am to meet up with the others in our 4WD convoy for the day, which in reality isn't crazy early but it is when we're still getting used to having to take Bub and all her stuff with us! We made it and had a great morning driving through our local state forest, nothing crazy but it was just nice to be out of the city and in the bush. I didn't realise how much I'd missed hitting the tracks and going off-road until we hit our first bog hole and my heart felt happy.

 

We stopped at one of our favourite country pubs for lunch - they are famous for their chicken parmas (yum!) so I had one with chips and salad, though I don't think the tiny side salad really counts as a serve of veggies. Because it's Week 1 of a respawn I'm giving myself a pass because there were veggies on my plate but next week this kind of meal isn't good enough. Bub was tired and hot and took quite a while to settle after milk but eventually she crashed in her carseat (thank goodness for air conditioning!) and basically slept through our whole afternoon drive. 

 

We had been invited to my parents house for dinner which was both good (because I didn't have to plan or cook anything for dinner) and bad (because we were all pretty exhausted by the day we'd had already). My Dad cooked burgers on the BBQ which were delicious and I was able to load mine up with lots of salad to try and get some in for the day. By the time we got home everyone was wiped out. I put Bub through her nightly routine (about an hour early) and nearly fell asleep while putting her down for the night while Hubby unpacked the car and cleaned it before his first day of work tomorrow. 

 

[Emerald Eagle]

Week 1 Summary

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑☑☑☑☑

Movement:

Rehab: ☑☑☑☑/☑

Crossfit: ☑☑☑

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑☑☑/☑

Comment: ☑☑☑/☑

 

Overall I'm very happy with how Week 1 went. I know I set very reasonable goals so I'm very happy to have a basically perfect week by those standards.

Nutrition: For the first week back, I'll take it. There are definitely some things I could continue to clean up but this week was a big improvement and having this goal has made me make more conscious choices, which generally means better choices. This week definitely highlighted how important meal prep is for me, it saved my butt multiple times! 

Movement: Also very happy about this, I've prioritised me and my body/movement which has been really hard to do since Bub was born. I'd like to be a bit more consistent with my Core + Floor rehab, so that's something I'll focus on next week.

Community: Also really happy with this! Being back on the forums has been great for keeping my accountable and it's really nice to see other people working to improve their health and fitness. I've stuck to following a handful of challenge threads so that I don't feel overwhelmed. 

Bring on Week 2!

 

[Emerald Eagle]

Week 2 - Monday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑□□□□□□

Movement:

Rehab: ☑□□□

Crossfit: □□□

Community:

Thread Update: ☑□□□□

Comment: ☑□□

 

Yesterday wasn't the greatest start to Week 2, but I survived (that's a win!). Hubby went back to work so it was my first day truly solo parenting in nearly 3 weeks. On top of that, the weather has finally caught up with the season and we had our first really hot day. Poor Bub didn't know what was happening, she was born in the depths of winter and has never lived through a 37 degree day before. My body was stiff and unhappy - I think a combination of all the sitting in the car on Sunday and having done 4 workouts for the first time in months. So the focus of the day was drink ALL THE WATER, keep Bub cool, and do some gentle stretching to try and loosen up my back/legs as well as my Core + Floor Rehab. 

 

I tried out a Nom Nom Paleo recipe for dinner last night, unfortunately I didn't love it. I made the mistake of adding the coriander (cilantro for those North Americans reading), which I hate but I wanted to make the recipe exactly as written. Plus I think I overcooked them so they were super tough. Bit of a fail, but at least now I've tried it! Apart from that food was on point.

 

 

 

 

[Emerald Eagle]

Week 2 - Tuesday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑□□□□□

Movement:

Rehab: ☑□□□

Crossfit: ☑□□

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑□□□

Comment: ☑□□

 

Sitting here about to write this update I feel like I didn't achieve anything today but I have to remind myself I did, I ticked most of those boxes and I was a full-time carer to a unhappy teething 7 month old. That's not nothing. I got the 2nd week of Vault workouts done and managed to keep Bub happy for the full 13 minute workout. The compromise was we had to listen to Play School songs (not the most motivating music) but much better than a screaming baby in the middle of your workout! I also finally got the last of our Christmas decorations and Bub's presents (mainly clothes that are too big for her yet) packed up and dropped off at the storage room we currently have at Hubby's work. Food ticked the boxes - protein at all 3 meals, veggie serving at 2 and fruit at breakfast. 

 

I *will* do my rehab once I've posted this update and then go to bed to get some sleep, because I'll probably have another rough day/night with Bub and her teeth. I look forward to being able to tick that box tomorrow! 

 

[Endor]

On 1/12/2021 at 11:07 AM, Emerald Eagle said:

I wanted to make the recipe exactly as writte

This is so me, if I'm missing one ingredient..nope can't make it! Nope can't substitute!

 

What did you actually make i don't think you mentioned!

[Endor]

On 1/12/2021 at 9:54 PM, Emerald Eagle said:

a full-time carer to a unhappy teething 7 month old. That's not nothing

Certainly isn't, walking over hot coals would be easier for me! Based on your write up's you're doing a great job.  

[Emerald Eagle]

58 minutes ago, Endor said:

This is so me, if I'm missing one ingredient..nope can't make it! Nope can't substitute!

 

What did you actually make i don't think you mentioned!

https://nomnompaleo.com/2017032020170320wonton-meatballs

I wanted to like them a lot more than I did.

 

59 minutes ago, Endor said:

Certainly isn't, walking over hot coals would be easier for me! Based on your write up's you're doing a great job.  

Most days I wouldn't want to be be anywhere else. Occasionally I dream of the days when I get to go back to work and she's someone else's problem for 8 hours. Thank you for the reassurance, it's something I need to keep reminding myself.

[Emerald Eagle]

Week 2 - Wednesday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑□□□□

Movement:

Rehab: ☑□□□

Crossfit: ☑□□

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑□□

Comment: ☑□□

 

Despite technically ticking the nutrition box yesterday I ate like an ASS and am not happy with myself. Hedgehog slice and a can of Pepsi Max does not a breakfast make. EUGH. Thankfully I managed to pull myself back on track for lunch and dinner so the day wasn't a total loss. I felt really good after yesterdays workout, have some slight DOMS, and was super excited to keep up the momentum until one "meal" knocked me off course. No workout and no rehab  

 

[Endor]

41 minutes ago, Emerald Eagle said:

https://nomnompaleo.com/2017032020170320wonton-meatballs

I wanted to like them a lot more than I did

Ooh they look good,  if i go back to keto i might try them. 

[Emerald Eagle]

Week 2 - Thursday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑☑□□□

Movement:

Rehab: ☑☑□□

Crossfit: ☑☑□

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑☑□

Comment: ☑☑□

 

Thankfully today was a much better day. Food was back on track - ham on toast with blueberries and water for breakfast, chicken and salad on rice for lunch, and roast lamb is currently in the oven for dinner. The weather was so lovely today, not too hot but sunny and bright, that I took Bub outside for my workout. I also needed a place to do step ups while I wait for Hubby to build me a box and stepping up onto our brand new deck was a pretty good height for my dodgy knee to manage. 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKAjzS8AM0F/

 

I am determined to get to bed early tonight and roll this momentum into Friday. 

 

[Fonzico]

I'm glad today was better! Good job shifting your momentum. 

 

Mmm lamb! It's so expensive here, mostly seems to be imported from New Zealand, so it's a rare treat in my house. 

[Emerald Eagle]

On 1/15/2021 at 7:37 AM, Fonzico said:

I'm glad today was better! Good job shifting your momentum. 

 

Mmm lamb! It's so expensive here, mostly seems to be imported from New Zealand, so it's a rare treat in my house. 

Thank you, momentum seems to be pendulum-ing at the moment but I'm trying to ride it out as best I can.

Lamb is definitely not the cheapest meat option in the supermarket but buying it now when it's in season isn't too bad. It is definitely delicious! 

 

Week 2 - Friday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑☑☑□□

Movement:

Rehab: ☑☑□□

Crossfit: ☑☑□

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑☑☑

Comment: ☑☑☑

 

I really really wanted to get a workout done yesterday but alas it did not happen. Twice I got myself all geared up and ready and then Bub was very unhappy and needed a nap; once she had woken up it was lunch time and then by the time I'd sorted that and cleaned up our kitchen she was cranky again. Food was on point, I finished off the last of the ham for breakfast (so now I'm going to have to find a source of easy protein for breakfast) and had some leftover dinner for lunch. We went to a friends house for dinner (our COVID rules currently allow small group gatherings in houses with social distancing because the case numbers are so low) and had a BBQ. This was the first time that they met Bub which is always fun; she was the star of the show as usual. I had a small bowl of homemade ice-cream for dessert but stuck to water as I didn't feel like the extra calories from soft drink or alcohol. I haven't been making amazing choices about bed time recently, several nights I got sucked into my book and stayed up way to late reading, so I made an effort to go to bed and Bub was asleep and not pick up my book.

 

 

 

[Fonzico]

Haha books are bed-time kryptonite! Easy trap to fall into. 

 

Great job sticking to water at the BBQ! No liquid calories makes a huge difference. 

 

Hopefully you'll be able to get a workout in today? Sometimes the universe (and Bubs) just conspire against one.

[Emerald Eagle]

6 hours ago, Fonzico said:

Haha books are bed-time kryptonite! Easy trap to fall into. 

 

Great job sticking to water at the BBQ! No liquid calories makes a huge difference. 

 

Hopefully you'll be able to get a workout in today? Sometimes the universe (and Bubs) just conspire against one.

 

Thanks Fonz! I have never understood how anyone things "reading for 10 minutes before bed" is a good way to wind down. Only read for 10 minutes?! Put a good book down once you're sucked in?! Makes no sense to me! 

 

Week 2 - Saturday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑☑☑☑□

Movement:

Rehab: ☑☑☑□

Crossfit: ☑☑☑

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑☑☑/☑

Comment: ☑☑☑/☑

 

Yesterday was really hard and I'm very proud of how on track I was able to stay. Hubby was out at a Bucks Party basically all day so I had a full day and night of solo parenting. I made myself bacon, mushrooms and onion over toast for breakfast - so delicious! Ate it with a side of cherry tomatoes to increase the veggie content. During Bub's morning nap I finally got yesterday's workout done - it was a 20 minute EMOM and it felt so good to just move. After lunch for me and Bub we headed over to my parent's place as they had offered to feed me dinner and help with Bub's bath time. That all went really well but once we got home Bub would not settle. I was up with her every hour from 9pm to 1am. Hubby finally got home at 1.30am when I was feeding her for the 4th time that night, having had too many beers to be any help co-parenting. Bub woke again at 4am and finally slept through after that. Safe to say Sunday morning I am not feeling well rested and dealing with a hungover Hubby. Hoping to get some time to do some stretching and rehab today but otherwise keeping expectations low and gearing up to do it all again next week.

 

[Emerald Eagle]

Week 2 - Sunday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑☑☑☑☑

Movement:

Rehab: ☑☑☑☑

Crossfit: ☑☑☑/☑

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑☑☑/☑

Comment: ☑☑☑/☑

 

Today went OK, I got the things done that I needed to but it felt a lot harder than it needed to be. Hubby wanted a sleep in this morning (that's what happens when you get home drunk at 1.30am 🙄) so I was on parent duty again. Managed to get some laundry done (mainly Hubby's work clothes so that he has something clean to wear to work tomorrow, because I knew if I didn't do it, it wouldn't get done) and some stretching while entertaining the 7 month old. I ate a very weird but technically 'balanced' breakfast of deli meat, some veggie sticks and fruit. I then did some meal prep and cleaned up the kitchen before a visit from my Mother in Law. There's a lot to unpack here, I'll just say she is very passive aggressive about a number of topics including our level of house-keeping, the snacks we (read I) eat, the developmental stages Bub is at v where she "should be". I felt on edge the whole time and finally sent her and Hubby to take Bub and the pup for a walk while I finished off my meal prep and honestly just had a break. After she left Hubby took Bub upstairs for an afternoon nap and I finally got a workout in. After bath time I put Bub to bed while Hubby (reluctantly) cooks spag bol for dinner. 

I'm feeling pretty under-appreciated and taken advantage of at the moment, like it's just expected that I'll parent all the time while Hubby gets to do basically whatever he wants. I need to find a way to talk to him about it, but I know if I go in emotional like I'm currently feeling he'll feel attacked and shut down. *sigh* Hopefully a better nights rest will help things tomorrow.

 

[Emerald Eagle]

Week 2 Summary

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies x 2: ☑☑☑☑☑☑☑

Movement:

Rehab: ☑☑☑☑

Crossfit: ☑☑☑/☑

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑☑☑☑/☑

Comment: ☑☑☑/☑

 

Another week where I ticked all the boxes, but it felt a lot harder than it should have some days (maybe I'm tainted by this weekend? It's felt hard). Still happy to have so many ticked boxes and I continue to appreciate having the accountability of tracking things here. 

 

 

Goal Adjustments

For Week 3-5 of this challenge I'm going to modify my goals slightly to align with another challenge that I'm doing with others in the online program I'm following. 

• Adjusting nutrition goal to be 3 meals with protein, at least 2 with veggies, at least 1 with fruit
• Adding a goal of 2L of water per day
• Upping workouts from 3 per week to 4 per week

New tracking template looks like this:

 

TEMPLATE

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: □ 

Protein & Veggies/Fruit x 3: □□□□□□□

2L Water: □□□□□□□

Movement:

Rehab: □□□□

Crossfit: □□□□

Community:

Thread Update: □□□□□

Comment: □□□

[Emerald Eagle]

Week 3 - Monday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies/Fruit x 3: ☑□□□□□□

2L Water: □□□□□□□

Movement:

Rehab: □□□□

Crossfit: ☑□□□

Community:

Thread Update: ☑□□□□

Comment: □□□

 

Biggest focus of today was getting the grocery shopping done - the cupboard was getting very bare yesterday but now that I'm on mat leave I loathe going to the shops on the weekend, particularly with the plague going around and people's general lack of adherence to both the face covering and personal space guidelines. I love how bubbly and friendly Bub is, though it means everyone we walk past at the shops stops to talk to her (and some of them pull their mask down to smile at her *sigh*). The cupboards are now full again, and dinner as well as some protein options are in the oven as we speak. 

 

Hubby is off at training with his volunteer firefighting brigade so with Bub in bed and food in the oven I was bored and endlessly scrolling the internet and decided, "Stuff It, I'm going to work out!" One ascending ladder of dumbbell movements later my body was tired and my spirit was high. It felt really good to move and not just sit on my butt.

 

Now to eat dinner, do some rehab and stretching, and head to bed at a reasonable hour!

 

 

 

[Endor]

Men are hopeless, me included! I'm trying to improve on this sort of stuff,  it is hard to accept criticism sometimes but he does need to be told.  You might get a ffs just give me one weekend off or he might take it on the chin and pull his socks up. Either way i expect you'll feel better talking it over rather than holding resentment.  Well done on the nutrition and exercise,  seems like you're building some momentum,  keep at it! 

[Emerald Eagle]

On 1/18/2021 at 10:26 PM, Endor said:

Men are hopeless, me included! I'm trying to improve on this sort of stuff,  it is hard to accept criticism sometimes but he does need to be told.  You might get a ffs just give me one weekend off or he might take it on the chin and pull his socks up. Either way i expect you'll feel better talking it over rather than holding resentment.  Well done on the nutrition and exercise,  seems like you're building some momentum,  keep at it! 

Thank you for this! We had a quick conversation and it went fairly well. I got a thank you for what I did and that made feel a lot better. Makes me feel like I should keep communicating!

 

Week 3 - Tuesday

Nutrition: 
Grocery Shop and Meal Prep: ☑ 

Protein & Veggies/Fruit x 3: ☑☑□□□□□

2L Water: □☑□□□□□

Movement:

Rehab: □□□□

Crossfit: ☑□□□

Community:

Thread Update: ☑☑□□□

Comment: ☑□□

 

Yesterday started with a bang (literally). Our garbage truck hit the phone line that runs from our power pole to our house, ripping it down and leaving us without a home phone line and therefore no home internet either. Unfortunately we have patchy phone reception at our property because of it's location in a valley. I'm currently typing this update sitting in the car park of our local supermarket while tethered to my phone. OK, good points from yesterday - absolutely smashed my water goal, got my grocery shopping done, at well. Updates may be spotty until the technician comes out to reconnect us to the network on Friday. Until then I'm hoping to use this disconnected time to really enjoy the time with Bub, get out in the beautiful summer weather, and do my workouts. I'm meant to be doing a burpee workout today that I'm slightly terrified of, but I have to get it done. I'll let you know how I go!

[Endor]

Phone line down and burpees in the same day, gee you must have stepped in something!