Paisley(MyLittlePony) - Lets Start at the Very Beginning!

[Paisley]

 

A very good place to start!

It's a been a long time since I've been here - I feel like a beginner starting all over again  and really I am.

So lets get started.  I'm going to keep things pretty simple for this first challenge back.  I really just need a kick up the ass to keep me on track.

Goal 1 - Move

Goal 2 - Eat Good Food

Goal 3 -  More Music

 

To elaborate a little more

 

Goal 1 - Move -

 

It's been almost a year since I've done any real exercise.  Summer was OK since I was outside a lot doing incidental movement, but now that its cold out, there is nothing happening on the movement front - so I want to set a goal to do something...anything... at least three times a week.  That can be going out for a walk or run.  Doing some lifting (I just purchased a cheap weight set and I'm hoping that once that arrives I can get back into a least a little bit of weight training).  Even just getting up a doing a dance party for a while......anything that makes me move for 1/2 hour or so will count towards this.

 

Goal 2 - Eat Good Food -

 

 

Over the years I've done plenty of calorie counting but it's not something that I can keep up long term so I want something that keeps me on track but isn't so hard that I have to spend hours each day figuring it out.    I downloaded an app a couple of weeks ago that just allows  me to track how many serving of protein, veg, dairy etc I eat a day and I want to keep it to the following

 

Vegetables - at least 5 servings a day

fruits - 1 to 2 serving a day

protein - at least 2 servings a day

dairy - 1 serving a day

carbs, no more than 2 servings a day

treats - not more than 1 a day

water - at least 4 servings  a day

 

If I can keep my food to that sort of level I will be happy

 

Goal 3 - More Music - 

 

 

I've been sitting in on all my Sons trombone lessons this year, playing along on my little organ and it's reminded my just how much I love music and miss it  - both playing and listening.  The only real time I listen to music these days is in the car, and I'm not in the car much anymore so there has been no music in my life - and that's bad!  So I want to add more music back into my life.  That could be playing the organ (I so miss my piano but it's still at Mum and Dad's in another country) picking up the guitar again and relearning how to play that, or just turning on some music to listen to in the house.  I want at least three sessions a week. 

 

So there we go - pretty simple but hopefully it's all achievable!

 

Backstory:

I started on Nerd Fitness way back in 2013 - At that time I was a lot smaller (I just looked at my measurements from my first challenge nd wow I've got a long way to go to get back to that) , a lot fitter and not to mention a lot younger.  For about 2 years I was really on a roll with both nutrition and fitness and then life happened and it all fell apart.   I'd really like to get back to that point.  I've made a number of attempts to get back into it - my last one was back in 2017 - I got to week 4 of the challenge and then it petered out again but  I'm hoping that this time around I can make it stick.    I've tried to start with some pretty basic goals.  I figure if I can get get back into some simple habits I can build from there.  So here we go!

 

 

[sarakingdom]

[Klutch]

More music is a brilliant goal!

 

Also, a few more puns wouldn't hurt either.

[Paisley]

Week 0 Day 1

Goal 1

Snow Shovelling - I spent a good hour outside shovelling the 10 inches of snow from our driveway - that definitely counts as movement in my book!

 

Goal 2:

Lunch - Left over pizza and cucumber

Afternoon tea - Banana, peanut butter, choc chips

Dinner - pulled pork, baked beans, corn bread, salad

Veges: 5

Fruit: 1

Protein: 4

Dairy: 1

Carbs: 2

Treats:1

Water: 6

 

Goal 3:

Spent an hour or so trying to play the piano pieces I learnt for my year 12 performance.  Was an interesting experience.  I'm definitely out of practice and an organ is not the same as a piano.  I didn't realise how many of my favourite pieces are played well above and below the4 basic octaves on the organ.

 

I feel like that was a good start.  Lets see if I can keep it up

[Novaurora]

Following along!  Nice goals!

[Elastigirl]

More music is a very happy goal! 

[sylph]

 

Welcome back to the Rebellion. I'm definitely not were I was even a few years ago--there's some mental shifting with a respawn that can be difficult, but it sounds like you're setting yourself up for success.

 

 

And yes, shoveling away 10 inches of snow definitely counts as movement.

[Paisley]

Week 0 Day 2

Goal 1

No exercise - not unless you count grocery shopping (Which I don't) and another 15 mins of snow shovelling.

 

Goal 2:

Treat - apricot&coconut ball x 2

Lunch - Laksa with shrimp and cauliflower. Mandarin

Afternoon tea - caramel date slice

Dinner  - philly cheese steaks, bok choy

Veges: 5

Fruit: 2

Protein: 2

Dairy: 2

Carbs: 1

Treats:2

Water: 4

 

Today I wanted to bake, but all those baked goods are not really good for me so I made a couple of treats that are reasonably good that I can use for afternoon teas.  First dried apricots, nuts, oats and coconut blended together and rolled into balls and then this scrumptious caramel date slice.  The base is nuts, oats, coconut, maple syrup and butter  blended together, the middle is dates, peanut butter, banana, maple syrup, vanilla and salt blended till smooth and then top the whole thing in melted dark chocolate.  I know it's not actually good for me, but as far as treats go it's not bad.  Full of actual nutrition (nuts, fruit) and very little sugar and flour.

 

Goal 3:

Nothing today.

[sylph]

10 hours ago, Paisley said:

dried apricots, nuts, oats and coconut blended together and rolled into balls

This sounds delicious

[Cheetah]

Nice goals!

 

[Paisley]

3 hours ago, sylph said:

This sounds delicious

It really is

2 hours ago, Cheetah said:

Nice goals!

 

Ohh I need some more doctors in my life....but only the time travelling kind

 

Week 0 Day 3

Goal 1

nothing - I'm waiting on my new weight set to arrive, but I really need to do something else in the meantime.

 

Goal 2:

Morning tea - apricot&coconut ball and small piece of caramel date slice

Lunch - roll with pate, pork, and vegetable, spinach and broccoli salad with blue cheese dressing, Home made LCM

Afternoon tea - caramel date slice

Dinner  - Buffalo chicken wrap with blue cheese dressing and salad, slice

Veges: 4.5

Fruit: 0

Protein: 2

Dairy: 1

Carbs: 2

Treats:3

Water: 4

 

 

Goal 3:

Spent over an hour today practicing playing piano (or organ as the case may be) felt good!

[Paisley]

Week 0 Day 4

Goal 1

My Daughter had free choice for her PE class today so we put some music on and danced for about and hour.  Probably not the most intense workout, but it was at least movement.

 

Goal 2:

Lunch - spinach salad with buffalo chicken and blue cheese dressing

Afternoon tea - caramel date slice 1.5 bananas and a handful of crackers

Dinner  -Vietnamese Bun Cha with vermicelli, kale and salad veg 

Veges: 5.5

Fruit: 2

Protein: 2

Dairy: 1

Carbs: 2

Treats:2

Water: 4

 

 

Goal 3:

I guess my dance party will fit in here too.  Daughter and I took turns choosing songs so I got some exposure to music other than my normal stuff which is always nice.

[Paisley]

Week 0 Day 5

Goal 1

nil

 

Goal 2:

Lunch - kids have been asking for Sushi for ages and I finally got around to making it so had sushi for lunch.  I make mine with more vegetables than store bought, but there's still not much - 1 serving only.

Afternoon tea -  chocolate dipped pretzel sticks

Dinner  - take out Pizza and Chicken fingers.  

Veges: 1

Fruit: 0

Protein: 2

Dairy: 2

Carbs: 3

Treats:1

Water: 2

 overall not a great day food wise.  

 

I did some thinking today as to what will constitute a pass/fail when the challenge actually starting.  I'm thinking 6 days a week with over 5 serves of vegetables and fruit and less than 2 treats

 

Goal 3:

 nothing. 

[Elastigirl]

How fun that you made sushi for lunch!

[Paisley]

Week 0 Day 6

Goal 1

nil

 

Goal 2:

Lunch - left over pizza, banana, slice

Dinner  -  son and I made pork potstickers from scratch.  Had it with a kale salad and chips. 

Lost it after dinner ate a whole bunch of choc chips plus a whole bunch if chips after dinner. 

Veges: 3

Fruit: 1

Protein: 2

Dairy: 1

Carbs: 3

Treats:3

Water: 4

 Not great. Gave to get back onto it tomorrow.

 

Goal 3:

 nothing. 

[Paisley]

Week 0 Day 7

Goal 1

I took myself out for a 3km walk today which felt good.  Except I chose the wrong shoes - wore my snow boots and now I have a nice blister.

 

Goal 2:

Lunch - Salad with buffalo cauliflower and blue cheese sauce, mandarin

Dinner  - Lasagne

Dessert - plain yoghurt with maple syrup and a few dark choc chips

Veges: 4

Fruit: 1

Protein: 1

Dairy: 3

Carbs: 1

Treats:1

Water: 4

 Happy enough with today.  Could have used some more vegetables but otherwise food was good.

 

Goal 3:

 nothing. 

 

So tomorrow the challenge starts in earnest.  I've decided the scoring will be

Goal 1 - 3 days a week is a pass

Goal 2 - This is going to be subjective  I'm going to give myself a pass or fail based on how I think I did that day.  5 days a week of passes is a total pass.

Goal 3 - 3 days of music a week is a pass.

 

And if I can get an overall pass it's going to mean a lobster/seafood dinner when this is all over.

[TrashcanCarla]

I just found your challenge and am SO following you. By the way, I love your idea of a having a nice dinner when you pass. Which you will.

I think I might make mussels in broth to pair along with some homemade sourdough baguettes. See!? You're inspiring me already.

[Paisley]

23 hours ago, TrashcanCarla said:

I just found your challenge and am SO following you. By the way, I love your idea of a having a nice dinner when you pass. Which you will.

I think I might make mussels in broth to pair along with some homemade sourdough baguettes. See!? You're inspiring me already.

Mmmm mussels is my other option for a celebratory dinner - if the lobsters cost too much I'll substitute Mussels instead....especially if I can find some Belgian beer to go with it!

 

Well day 1 of the actual challenge was a strange one.  I didn't document it as  I fell asleep on the couch at 9:30pm, dragged myself to bed at just after 10pm and slept through till after 7:30am and still woke up tired.  Not sure what that's all about - two simple walks should not be enough to require that much sleep.  I shall see what happens tonight

 

 

Week 1 Day 1

Goal 1

I went out for a 3km walk again which felt good - just ended up with frozen soggy feet this time rather than blisters -I really don't have the right sort of shoes to be walking in this weather.

 

 

Goal 2:

Food was OK but not great (J (11 year old son) and I baked Lemon Meringue Pies which were sooo yummy, but not great for eating well.  There is a lot of licking of beaters etc that gets done when we bake that's hard to account for.

Lunch - left over lasagne, mandarin, 

afternoon tea - Apple with Peanut Butter and Nutella

Dinner  - Chicken schnitzel with broccoli, scalloped potatoes and Cauliflower tikka marsala.

Dessert - Lemon Meringue Pie

Veges: 4

Fruit: 2

Protein: 1

Dairy: 2

Carbs: 3

Treats:2

Water: 4

 

 

Goal 3:

 nothing. 

 

 

 

The exciting news for today was that my weight set arrived.  It's actually quite a nice set -  especially for what we need.  So I spent some time setting up a workout station in our spare bedroom, then J and I had a go at a simple  work out - kept it light 5kg bar plus 1.25kg each side just to test it all out (Plus I want to make sure J has some form practice before we up the weights)

 

 

 

[Cheetah]

1 hour ago, Paisley said:

weight set

 

What kind of weights did you buy?

[Jarric]

Oh, that's exciting that your weight set has arrived, and so nice that you get to share it with your son.

[Novaurora]

7 hours ago, Paisley said:

There is a lot of licking of beaters etc that gets done when we bake that's hard to account for.

I am so guilty of this with brownies.  So very guilty.

[Paisley]

7 hours ago, Jarric said:

Oh, that's exciting that your weight set has arrived, and so nice that you get to share it with your son.

 

7 hours ago, Cheetah said:

 

What kind of weights did you buy?

Definitely loving having the weights.  It's this set

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RDFMJXL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  

I'm happy enough - not an olympic barbell or anything but it will certainly be enough for us for a good while

 

 

1 hour ago, Novaurora said:

I am so guilty of this with brownies.  So very guilty.

Everyone keeps saying that you shouldn't eat raw dough, but most of the time it tastes better before it's cooked so I can't help myself.
 

Week 1 Day 2

Goal 1

J and I did a basic strength workout.  Started with just 7.5kg of weight just to get form right - We will probably stick with this and just work our way up very very slowly.

 

Goal 2:

Food was OK need to get the carb levels back down and the water consumption up

Lunch - salad with crackers

afternoon tea - strawberry yoghurt

Dinner  - baked haddock with chips and salad

Dessert - Lemon Meringue Pie

Veges: 5+

Fruit: grapes

Protein: 1

Dairy: 1

Carbs: 3

Treats:1

Water: 2

 

 

Goal 3:

Spent a good couple of hours playing the organ tonight so that's a win.

 

[Paisley]

Week 1 Day 3

Goal 1

J and I did our basic strength workout again.   7.5kg of weight  - The form looked much better today.

 

Goal 2:

Food was OK again.

Lunch - salad with ham and cheese and crackers

afternoon tea - strawberry yoghurt

Dinner  - ham and cheese crepes 

Dessert - Lemon Meringue Pie

Veges: 5+

Fruit: 0

Protein: 2

Dairy: 3

Carbs: 2

Treats:1

Water: 4

 

Goal 3:

I spent some time helping J with his trombone but didn't do much playing of my own.   Maybe a half point.

[Cheetah]

On 2/16/2021 at 10:42 PM, Paisley said:

happy enough

 

The best gear is the gear you use.  It's great that it's working for you!

 

Keep up the good work!

[Paisley]

Week 1 Day 4

Fell asleep before I could update again so here is yesterdays rundown.  

 

Goal 1

J and I did our basic strength workout again squats, push press and rows.   upped the weight just slightly to 8.5kg - These numbers seem so laughable - I remember the good old days when I could deadlift 200lb......oh well I will get back there and I figure slowly is the way to go.

 

Goal 2:

Food was barely OK again.

Lunch - nachos with lots of veges on top

afternoon tea - strawberry yoghurt, banana

Dinner  - Burgers and chips

Dessert - Lemon Meringue Pie

afters - choc chips

I was still really hungry after dinner and ended up snacking on choc chips.  The good news is that after a hand full or two I actually felt like I'd had enough and put the rest back - that's an improvement over my normal just keep eating and eating.  SO whilst it's not great I do feel like there was a slight win there.

 

Veges: 3

Fruit: 1

Protein: 1

Dairy: 3

Carbs: 3

Treats:2

Water: 6

 

Goal 3:

nothing today