Alanna's déjà vu challenge

[Harriet]

7 hours ago, Alanna said:

Still feeling sparked, and I realised I haven't been having as many snacks recently, so I suspect food might be the issue. I've been waking up kind of hungry too, which is unusual for me when I eat at maintenance (so I suspect I'm not hitting it).

 

Sparked? Like energised?

[Alanna]

First, I fixed this:

11 hours ago, Alanna said:

Week 0, Wednesday

 

Sleep: 11:57 pm (total early/late time: 12/0 minutes) Silly me, I hadn't gone to bed yet and tracked the previous night. Actual time was 12:24 am (9/24 minutes early/late) - I'm stressed about our pets and needed some extra time to read and wind down. In some of my old challenges I would report the night before, sleep-wise, to make it easier to track everything else that happened during the day - I might go back to that.  

 

 

 

10 hours ago, ninjakitten said:

 

I cannot put into words how impressive that is to me. 😅 I barely manage to cut back to one... dessert type of thing after dinner atm and it's a real struggle.

My trick is there are none in the house and it's not worth the COVID risk to go to the local corner shop 😆. I just have to avoid buying sweets about once a week when we do our online grocery shop. I'm also allowing myself some honey, usually in homemade hot chocolate

 

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

Sparked? Like energised?

 

I had a nagging feeling that this was UK slang when I wrote it, but went with it because the connotations were accurate. I checked with my partner about the exact definition since I think I've picked it up from context with him, and it means tired in a frazzled way, like you've had an electric shock. And there I was thinking it was some sort of metaphor about the etherealness of sparks that burn brightly but briefly...

 

Urban Dictionary has all sort of drug-related definitions - maybe I should be more careful about using it 😅. There seem to be a bunch of prepositions that you can add to it that change the meaning, too.

[Harriet]

8 minutes ago, Alanna said:

I had a nagging feeling that this was UK slang when I wrote it, but went with it because the connotations were accurate. I checked with my partner about the exact definition since I think I've picked it up from context with him, and it means tired in a frazzled way, like you've had an electric shock. And there I was thinking it was some sort of metaphor about the etherealness of sparks that burn brightly but briefly...

 

Frazzled is a great word. It suggests frayed but also the zzzzs convey a sense of electricity, do they not?

[Alanna]

2 minutes ago, Harriet said:

 

Frazzled is a great word. It suggests frayed but also the zzzzs convey a sense of electricity, do they not?

 

Indeed - and I think I envision someone with their hair standing on end from either running their hands through it or not having time to fix it in the morning, which also gives the impression that they've received some sort of electric jolt!

[Scaly Freak]

4 hours ago, Alanna said:

My trick is there are none in the house and it's not worth the COVID risk to go to the local corner shop 😆. I just have to avoid buying sweets about once a week when we do our online grocery shop. I'm also allowing myself some honey, usually in homemade hot chocolate

 

This has been my big secret to losing body fat and as a result lowering my blood pressure, during the pandemic. I simply don't have candy, cookies, and other overly sweet things in the house.

 

Obviously I make an exception for ice cream.

[TimovieMan]

1 hour ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

This has been my big secret to losing body fat and as a result lowering my blood pressure, during the pandemic. I simply don't have candy, cookies, and other overly sweet things in the house.

 

Obviously I make an exception for ice cream.

That's one of the big disadvantages of having children in the house. Just because *I* don't want to have candy or cookies or whatnot in the house, doesn't mean that I should depriving them from a little snack in the weekend.

 

The trick is to buy things that they like, and that I don't.

 

Sadly, there are no sweet items that I don't like (and if there are, they don't like them either, so those aren't an option).

That means I have to fall back on willpower...

 

[Scaly Freak]

1 minute ago, TimovieMan said:

That's one of the big disadvantages of having children in the house. Just because *I* don't want to have candy or cookies or whatnot in the house, doesn't mean that I should depriving them from a little snack in the weekend.

 

I will add this to my list of Reasons I'm Happy Without Children  

[sarakingdom]

1 hour ago, TimovieMan said:

Sadly, there are no sweet items that I don't like (and if there are, they don't like them either, so those aren't an option).

 

Single serving size, one for each child. You cannot have one, or you'd deprive one of them.

[Alanna]

3 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Obviously I make an exception for ice cream.

 

I approve of your exception. I like the idea of moderation rather than just cutting things out, but I think it's easier for me to cut out most sugar since I don't cope with it well, physiologically speaking. Moderation is difficult when your blood sugar is swinging all over the place.

 

2 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

That's one of the big disadvantages of having children in the house. Just because *I* don't want to have candy or cookies or whatnot in the house, doesn't mean that I should depriving them from a little snack in the weekend.

 

The trick is to buy things that they like, and that I don't.

 

Sadly, there are no sweet items that I don't like (and if there are, they don't like them either, so those aren't an option).

That means I have to fall back on willpower...

 

 

I am fortunate that the only other person in my house had some COVID/PhD kilos to shed and wanted to give up biscuits, too.

 

2 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

I will add this to my list of Reasons I'm Happy Without Children  

 

 

1 hour ago, sarakingdom said:

 

Single serving size, one for each child. You cannot have one, or you'd deprive one of them.

 

It's when you aim for four kids so you can buy the snacks that come in packs of four, get twins for the last pregnancy, and have to up the ante to eight to prevent spare snacks.  

 

Or maybe 12 would be better so you can get packs of 6 and packs of 4...

 

 

[Mad Hatter]

9 hours ago, Alanna said:

I had a nagging feeling that this was UK slang when I wrote it

Maybe young'uns slang.  I've never heard it used when I lived there.

[Alanna]

3 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Maybe young'uns slang.  I've never heard it used when I lived there.

 

Or regional dialect - I cannot vouch at all for how they speak in southern England 😆

 

The internet says "spark out" = to fall asleep/become unconscious. My partner admits that it is possible he dropped the out and has created his own very local dialect.

[Mad Hatter]

7 minutes ago, Alanna said:

Or regional dialect - I cannot vouch at all for how they speak in southern England 😆

 

Considering you get a different dialect approximately every mile in the UK it could well be regional. 😛 

[Scaly Freak]

1 hour ago, Alanna said:

I approve of your exception. I like the idea of moderation rather than just cutting things out, but I think it's easier for me to cut out most sugar since I don't cope with it well, physiologically speaking. Moderation is difficult when your blood sugar is swinging all over the place.

 

Moderation doesn't work with everything. 

 

Says the person who once ate a jumbo bag of gummi bears in half an hour, and then was surprised to have stomach upset. Strange coincidence, I'm sure.

[ninjakitten]

12 hours ago, Alanna said:

My trick is there are none in the house and it's not worth the COVID risk to go to the local corner shop 😆. I just have to avoid buying sweets about once a week when we do our online grocery shop. I'm also allowing myself some honey, usually in homemade hot chocolate

 

Not having things you don't want to eat is always the best option. I'm not just shopping for myself, so it doesn't always work out. Single serving packages are great though.

But I'm not going to deny that the pandemic helped me a lot with my diet as well. 😆 Shopping can be such a pain and I am just... really, really lazy and sometimes those snacks are just not worth it.

 

2 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Says the person who once ate a jumbo bag of gummi bears in half an hour, and then was surprised to have stomach upset. Strange coincidence, I'm sure.

 

Did you eat some veggies before? It might have been those. 😇

[Dusk]

Hello, I am here to follow!  Like many have already said, I like your sleep goal, I think that's a good way to think about it. Good luck on thesis work!

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

2 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

Moderation doesn't work with everything. 

 

Says the person who once ate a jumbo bag of gummi bears in half an hour, and then was surprised to have stomach upset. Strange coincidence, I'm sure.

Funny.... I once had a similar experience with a bag of jelly beans. Definitely cannot be related 🙄

[Grizzy]

On 5/5/2021 at 4:21 PM, ninjakitten said:

dessert type of thing after dinner atm and it's a real struggle.

It's so hard!!! I mostly managed to not have real dessert today. Mostly, because I did have a bite of Ice Bear's cookie...

[Scaly Freak]

1 hour ago, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

Funny.... I once had a similar experience with a bag of jelly beans. Definitely cannot be related 🙄

 

Definitely not! And they're two different types of candy anyway.

[Alanna]

On 5/6/2021 at 8:18 PM, Scaly Freak said:

 

Moderation doesn't work with everything. 

 

Says the person who once ate a jumbo bag of gummi bears in half an hour, and then was surprised to have stomach upset. Strange coincidence, I'm sure.

 

On 5/6/2021 at 10:40 PM, ninjakitten said:

 

Not having things you don't want to eat is always the best option. I'm not just shopping for myself, so it doesn't always work out. Single serving packages are great though.

But I'm not going to deny that the pandemic helped me a lot with my diet as well. 😆 Shopping can be such a pain and I am just... really, really lazy and sometimes those snacks are just not worth it.

 

 

Did you eat some veggies before? It might have been those. 😇

 

On 5/7/2021 at 1:18 AM, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

Funny.... I once had a similar experience with a bag of jelly beans. Definitely cannot be related 🙄

 

On 5/7/2021 at 1:56 AM, Grizzy said:

It's so hard!!! I mostly managed to not have real dessert today. Mostly, because I did have a bite of Ice Bear's cookie...

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one 😅. Yesterday my partner and I made candied ginger with honey - I've purposely left home-made sweets off my ban since I can control what goes into them (+ the effort involved makes sure they don't happen too often). The ginger definitely can't be binged since my mouth is on fire after a a few pieces! 

 

On 5/6/2021 at 11:02 PM, Dusk said:

Hello, I am here to follow!  Like many have already said, I like your sleep goal, I think that's a good way to think about it. Good luck on thesis work!

 

Thank you!

 

[Alanna]

I've been experimenting with allowances and the format for my social media ban, and I've amended my restriction to 10:15 am to 4:15 pm on work days + a 30 min limit on social media from 4:15 - 6:30 pm. That means I have a good chunk of focused time, plus room for breaks later in the day when I'm getting tired.

 

I've also decided that after zero week, I'll report my bedtime from the night before - it's easier for me to log and allows me to do my week reports on Saturdays. That means that my Week 1 will start on Saturday night.

 

We had a vet visit for our pet rats this past week and we're probably going to have to say goodbye to our last two during this challenge due to quality of life concerns, which is really difficult when they are still bright and active. Making that decision caused a lot of stress towards the end of this week, but now I'm focusing on enjoying the time I have left with them. I will probably be active less on here between focusing on them and my thesis. 

 

Now that I'm wearing my Garmin again, I'm realising how little I'm walking - I'm not even hitting 5k on walk days. Living in a small flat doesn't help, either - I won't accumulate many steps walking around our home, even if I need to go back and forth a lot. It's not going to be a challenge goal, but over the next few months I want to start incorporating longer walks into our routine. 

 

Week 0, Thursday

 

Sleep: 12:07 am (9/31 minutes early/late)

Exercise: walk + finally did a small workout (yoga + a little pistol squat work)

Sweets: None

Social media ban: Experimented with my allowance, mostly followed my restrictions. Wasn't a very productive day for other reasons.

 

Week 0, Friday

 

Sleep: 12:30 am (9/61 minutes early/late)

Exercise: walk

Sweets: None (i.e., no store-bought - I had some candied ginger)

Social media ban: Spent a little time on youtube outside of allowed videos, otherwise fine

 

[Harriet]

I'm so sorry about the rats. I hope they enjoy the rest of their time with you, and that you're able to focus on the thesis.

[ninjakitten]

I'm sorry. Sounds like a really hard time with everything else going on. 💚 I hope you'll be able to enjoy the time you have left with them. 

And I hope you don't worry too much about things other than them and your thesis being on the backburner for a while. Having to change priorities for a while is so normal and if anything, it's probably good practice considering how often it happens.

[Mad Hatter]

That's so sad about the rats, what a brutal decision to make.  

[Alanna]

18 hours ago, Harriet said:

I'm so sorry about the rats. I hope they enjoy the rest of their time with you, and that you're able to focus on the thesis.

 

12 hours ago, ninjakitten said:

I'm sorry. Sounds like a really hard time with everything else going on. 💚 I hope you'll be able to enjoy the time you have left with them. 

And I hope you don't worry too much about things other than them and your thesis being on the backburner for a while. Having to change priorities for a while is so normal and if anything, it's probably good practice considering how often it happens.

 

2 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

That's so sad about the rats, what a brutal decision to make.  

 

Thanks. "Better a week too early than a day too late" is a common saying in the UK rat community, but it sucks. Just need to make sure we make a decision that is fair for them and not selfish.

 

---------------------------

 

Week 0, Saturday

 

Sleep: no sleep to track because I'm shifting Saturday night reporting to Sunday

Exercise: went for a longer walk to a nearby leafy neighbourhood that we haven't spent much time in. It was really nice - the colours were really vibrant and the birds were singing very enthusiastically after the rain we got in the morning. I also finally got over 5k steps (just over 7k for the day). In the evening I did my second workout for the week - inverted rows, push-ups, some hollow hold supports on the dip bars, and Bulgarian split squats. 

Sweets: None outside of challenge parameters

Social media ban: I kept the Cold Turkey restrictions up even though it was only a partial work day - it helped me recharge in other (more effective) ways and get more done, too.

 

Week 0 Recap

 

Sleep: A total of 9/61 minutes early/late over the six nights, with the couple of later nights due to stress/needing to wind down more. I'm very happy that 12:30 am is now a late night for me.

Exercise:  2/2 strength-oriented workouts, although I need to focus on not leaving these until the end of the week. 5/3 walks.

Sweets: None outside of the challenge parameters

Social media ban: Used this week to optimise my ban schedule; mostly followed my fluctuating restrictions. 

 

[Scaly Freak]

7 hours ago, Alanna said:

Thanks. "Better a week too early than a day too late" is a common saying in the UK rat community, but it sucks. Just need to make sure we make a decision that is fair for them and not selfish.

 

And your rats are very lucky to live with humans who will do this and give them the best possible care and life quality for as long as it's possible.

 

I'm sorry you're in this situation with your rats.