AThousandWords Minimizes

[athousandwords]

I was struggling to think of a theme for this challenge - in NF of yesteryear, I loved doing fun, fannish challenges, usually with complex spreadsheets and real-life roleplaying. Last challenge, I picked a theme that felt somewhat interesting, but it didn't really reflect my goals and I didn't feel like I engaged with it aside from the goal post. As I put my goals together this week, hemmed and hawed over theme options, thought about roadblocks from last challenge, I realized... maybe I don't need a "theme." Maybe this month is just about simplifying and streamlining. So that's where we are.

 

This challenge I'm using Habitica to track my info, and a spreadsheet to collect all that data and analyze it. Each goal has the Habitica tracker under the spoiler cut. And yeah, this feels like a lot of set up, but it actually should make it easier to track in the long run!

 

 👟 Exercise

The plan is to build on the awesome C25k success I had last challenge and add in even more exercise fun. I'm on Week 5 of C25k currently, and planning to stretch that week out a little since it's a steep change from previous weeks. Ideally I'll be finishing up the program right as this challenge ends. On the strength building side, I'm going to restart the ol' NF Bodyweight Workout, twice a week (thanks for the idea, @MezzotheLefty!)

• C25k 3x a week = 15 total
• NF Bodyweight Workout 2x a week = 10 total
   

Spoiler

  

 

 

🥦 Eat Paleo 4 Days a Week

Okay, paleo-ish. I'll probably keep putting half and half in my coffee and using ketchup. So maybe this is more "low-carb" than paleo. But the idea is to eat more or less grain- and sugar- free, to fill my plate with vegetables, and to break out of the carbo-loaded diet I've been eating for the last 3 years. Hopefully some weight loss will come along for the ride. Notice it's only 4 days a week though, because, baby steps here. Even 4 days a week is better than I'm doing now.

• Paleo 4x a Week = 20 total

 

Spoiler

Habitica doesn't have an ideal way to do something "four times a week on any day" so I'm just going to make this a daily with easy difficulty and take the minor damage hit for the days it doesn't get done.

 

🍴 Healthy Food Habits

• IF 16/8
• 8 glasses of water a day
• No binge snacking
• No sugar before 4pm

There's a lot going on here, but this is all stuff I've done before and been successful at, so the idea here is just to keep building these habits and keep up a streak of healthy days. There's nothing too challenge or restrictive, just reminders to not go nuts on the snacking or the sugar and to prioritize drinking water. 

• Everyday = 35 total

 

Spoiler

This is a daily task supported by some positive/negative habits. I'm trying out some positive reinforcement for the negative habits (like binging and sugar). If I strongly consider breaking those goals, but manage to resist, I get to smash that ➕ button for a little psychological boost.

 

 

🏠  Minimize | Organize | Optimize

This is part of my on-going effort to declutter and beautify our house. I have a checklist in my Bullet Journal that's pretty granular - each space should take less than 2 hours. This includes: thoughtful decluttering, donating/selling anything we don't use, making sure this is the right "home" for everything that does stay, clearing space so that new things can come in or be relocated here, zhuzh-ing up the look to make it more beautiful or functional.  The plan is to do 2 spaces a week.

• 2 spaces a week = 10 total
   

Spoiler

Again, Habitica doesn't have an ideal way to do something "twice a week on any day" so I'm just going to make this a daily with trivial difficulty and take the minor damage hit for the days it doesn't get done.

 

 

And here's the declutter checklist in my Bullet Journal I'm working from:

 

 

Spreadsheet Of Tracking

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following again  

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

Following for C25K inspiration!  (plus all the other great things you are doing)

 

I'm just respawning starting out on my C25K journey. I am really good at starting but not as good at sticking with the program.

[MezzotheLefty]

Here for it, whatever you decide 'it' is! 😁

[athousandwords]

15 hours ago, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

Following for C25K inspiration!  (plus all the other great things you are doing)

 

I'm just respawning starting out on my C25K journey. I am really good at starting but not as good at sticking with the program.

 

It's a respawn restart for me too, since technically it's been like 15 years since I did C25k the first time! I'm really liking the Chubby Jones podcast to keep me motivated and powering through it. But I also think that if it doesn't stick... find something new! There have definitely been times in my life where running just didn't make sense, so I was active in other ways. Right now C25k is exciting and shiny, but if it stops being motivating, I'll switch it up!

 

14 hours ago, MezzotheLefty said:

Here for it, whatever you decide 'it' is! 😁

 

Hello again friend!

 

On 7/26/2021 at 12:02 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following again  

 

Thanks Tank! 🤗

[athousandwords]

One thing that's been on my mind this week is the level of difficulty remembering/tracking my goals. I always track my NF Challenges in a spreadsheet, but last go around I had a hard time remembering to update every day and a tendency to forget things like "how many vegetables did I eat two days ago?" While on my 3 year break from NF, I got into Habitica - which I love from a simplicity of tracking aspect, but it has basically no UI for seeing progress over time and doesn't easily lend itself to the 5-week challenge format of NF. So I've been brainstorming ways to make NF & Habitica work together. Last night I coded up a simple data import macro to get my Habitica dailies into a Challenge Log spreadsheet format:

 

         

I've got some more work to do - I'm still tweaking the exact goals and I need to speed up the data rendering (it takes forrrrever right now) - but I think this could be a fun way to do all my tracking in Habitica while still getting the NF Challenge data that I like to see. 🤓

[MezzotheLefty]

I did Habitica for a while before I found the NF boards. I liked the UI but yeah, it didn't have any historic data beyond your current streak.

 

 This is such a cool way to merge the two! I'm a lowly English major so I live in awe of coding. It's magic! ✨

[fleaball]

dude that spreadsheet is awesome. I love that you had two things that didn't quite work for you and fixed it all. 

 

11 hours ago, MezzotheLefty said:

This is such a cool way to merge the two! I'm a lowly English major so I live in awe of coding. It's magic! ✨

right? I'm over here pleased with myself for making a spreadsheet add up my points every day, and she's just casually hacking things like it's nothing. 

 

 

 

*I know it's probably not actually hacking. but I am bad at computering.

[athousandwords]

12 hours ago, MezzotheLefty said:

This is such a cool way to merge the two! I'm a lowly English major so I live in awe of coding. It's magic! ✨

 

32 minutes ago, fleaball said:

dude that spreadsheet is awesome. I love that you had two things that didn't quite work for you and fixed it all. 

 

right? I'm over here pleased with myself for making a spreadsheet add up my points every day, and she's just casually hacking things like it's nothing. 

 

 

 

*I know it's probably not actually hacking. but I am bad at computering.

 

Awww, you guys.

 

 

I mean, I'm super pleased that I got it working, but coding is my day job so it does come a lot easier! I actually rarely build things for fun, so this was a nice excuse to stretch my skills a little and play with the Habitica API. Maybe one day I'll build a real calendar-streak app for it or a real NF challenge logger... 🤔

Anyway, I spent a couple more hours on it tonight and got my spreadsheet working the way I want it to for this challenge at least! So now I guess I actually have to, like, narrow down my goals and such... Boo. In the meanwhile, I've still been doing IF 16/8 this week and keeping up with my C25k. Plus staying busy busy at work! Still thinking about what I might want to take on, considering we're going on a 2-week beach trip the day this challenge ends. Pretty sure 'lose 20 lbs immediately' is unrealistic, so I'll just be over here doing the work as usual I guess...

 

 

Which reminds me - my CEO was quoting from Scott Belsky, The Messy Middle, and I realized a lot of the quotes (though they were really about growing companies/teams) really resonated with my philosophy lately. It's some good inspiration for when nothing seems to be moving...

 

"Be wary of the path of least resistance. It may look compelling in the short term but often proves less differentiating and defensible in the long term. Shortcuts tend to be less gratifying over time. The long game is the most difficult one to play and the most bountiful one to win."

 

"To foster patience for yourself and those you lead, pick a speed that will get you there, and then pace yourself. Celebrate persistence over time as much as the occasional short-term wins you have along the way. [...] And remember just how rare it is to stick to a strategy over the long term."

 

[KB Girl]

Here also! 

 

[athousandwords]

Alright, final challenge goals are posted (edited the first post in the thread if anyone is curious). I went for a beautiful C25k Week 5 run this morning and so far I'm feeling confident about this challenge! It's probably a lot to take on, but I'm aiming for progress not perfection.

[KB Girl]

2 hours ago, athousandwords said:

I went for a beautiful C25k Week 5 run this morning and so far I'm feeling confident about this challenge!

excellent

 

[athousandwords]

Well, week 1 is off to a banging start. My toddler has a viral rash (HFM, for parents in the know) so not only do we have to keep her out of daycare, but we have to keep her separated from the 4 year old, because he's never had it - he can at least go to daycare still, which helps. So this mainly means that hubs and I are balancing work and toddler-care during the day. Oh, and cleaning up lots of pee, because we're trying to keep her diaper off as much as possible. 😩 

 

Yesterday went well though! I got my run in (we're having some beautiful cool, dry weather which mades my morning exercise absolutely delightful), I ate paleo, and got all my healthy food habits done. It was an adjustment going back to paleo. I was so hungry most of the day. At dinner I made saag paneer , added some leftover chicken, with curried cauliflower on the side and it was so filling and delicious. I can't say I didn't miss the naan and rice that the rest of the family ate, but I didn't feel deprived at least. I need to find some time today (??in between work and childcare??) to put together a proper meal plan for the week, otherwise we'll just be winging it.

 

Today I woke up at 5:30am to get some work done before the kids woke up and didn't totally hate it? 😅 One of the ideas I considered for this challenge was waking up early to get in some thoughtful work, but I decided against it - now it seems as though I'm trying it out after all.  I also did my first NF Bodyweight Workout after daycare drop-off. Aaaaand now my legs are complete jelly because damn that's pretty hard when you haven't done any strength workouts in god knows how long.

 

Hope everyone else is having a good Week 1!

 

[MezzotheLefty]

HFM is rough.  😢 I hope she feels better soon!! 

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

Hope your little one feels better soon!

 

Going to need to try that saag paneer recipe. It’s my favorite Indian dish to order 🥰 

 

Good job so far with week 1!

[KB Girl]

Ouch, HFM sucks.. hope it resolves quickly! 

 

22 hours ago, athousandwords said:

I also did my first NF Bodyweight Workout after daycare drop-off.

Yesss awesome!

 

[athousandwords]

22 hours ago, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

Going to need to try that saag paneer recipe. It’s my favorite Indian dish to order 🥰 

 

Definitely! It's so good and comes together quick. We've used kale or brussels sprouts (chopped) instead of mustard greens, and if you have a Costco membership, we can usually find paneer there - or at an asian market. Enjoy!

 

6 hours ago, KB Girl said:

Ouch, HFM sucks.. hope it resolves quickly! 

 

On 8/3/2021 at 2:50 PM, MezzotheLefty said:

HFM is rough.  😢 I hope she feels better soon!! 

 

Silver lining - her daycare class just had a teacher test positive for Covid, but most of them were out with HFM anyway. Yay? 😬

But yeah, she's been a trooper and is doing a lot better already!

[athousandwords]

Okay, Day 2. 

 

NF Bodyweight Workout ✅

Eat Paleo ❌

Healthy Food Habits ✅

Organize ❌ 

 

After eating paleo leftovers for lunch I definitely suffered from some poor planning for dinner. We didn't really have anything in the house so we made some nachos with leftovers. Totally not paleo but really delicious at least? 🤷‍♀️ I put together a meal plan today and got a grocery order in at least, so I should be set for the rest of the week to succeed with this goal.

 

Also I think I'm just going to need to pass on the Organization goal for this week. With baby girl being home, waking up early and trying to work whenever I'm not watching her, and spending my evenings finishing a book for the book club I'm hosting this weekend, I just don't have the time. Maybe on Sunday I can play catchup, or maybe I'll just make up for it next week. I've got enough going on that I don't need to borrow stress.

[WolfDreamer]

That's a damn good looking challenge! I also eat Paleo-ish because I'm a fan of condiments that aren't considered Paleo. And because sometimes I'm just lazy. It's also not an easy diet to follow when you have kids.

 

Cheering you on! Let me know if I can help in any way.

[athousandwords]

22 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

It's also not an easy diet to follow when you have kids.

 

Word. The number of times I have to stop myself from eating a lonely uneaten chicken nugget or snacking on some crackers with the kids...

 

Anyway, I'm doing part-time paleo because I know from experience full paleo just isn't sustainable for me! This at least helps me diversify my diet.

[athousandwords]

Wednesday:

 

C25k ✅

Eat Paleo ❌

Healthy Food Habits ✅

Organize ❌ 

 

Yesterday was another non-paleo day, because I finished up the rest of the nachos for lunch and had a couple of the chocolate chip cookies I foolishly made on Sunday. But I made sure to go to the grocery store and stock up on paleo dinner options for the rest of the week. Last night I made these amazing medium-rare tuna steaks with crispy green beans. And because I work from home, I left one in the marinade overnight and seared it fresh for lunch. unnnghhh so good.

 

Spoiler

 

This morning, I honestly thought I wasn't going to be able to do the Bodyweight Workout. I've been so sore since Tuesday - like, audibly groaning as I walk down stairs or sit on the toilet. 😩  But apparently in this case, the best cure for what ails you is to have some more of it. I loosened up after the first set and was able to finish all three. 🦾 One more run tomorrow, and then I'm looking forward to taking the weekend off! I honestly can't remember the last time I worked out 5 days in a row.

[MezzotheLefty]

🎉 Go @athousandwords!!! 🎉

 

the bodyweight workout is a great intro after not working out for a while. It was for me anyway. Way to go, pushing through the soreness and getting it done!

[athousandwords]

Thursday & Friday both went well, checked all the usual boxes (exercised, Paleo, healthy habits - yay). Yesterday was a "cheat" day because I was hosting my Book Club and prepared an elaborate and delicious Cuban feast to match our book of the month, Loosing My Espanish by HG Carillo. The food was amazing, the mojitos were delicious, the company was much needed after a long week.  Just look at this delectable Cubano con tostones! 🤤🤤🤤

Spoiler

 

Anyway, the plan was to get back on track today, but we had lunch at my in-laws and there was no Paleo option. But I'm keeping up with my other healthy foods habits at least. 💪 Still feeling good about this challenge so far.

[athousandwords]

Week 1 Wrap Up:

 

 

👟 Bodyweight Workout 2x a Week / 👟 C25K 3x a Week

On track! Had gorgeous weather for the start of the challenge, which made this goal a breeze. Ok, the Bodyweight workout was hard, and I was really feeling it all week, but at least the weather wasn't working against me.

 

🥦 Eat Paleo 4 Days a Week

I only managed 3days, due to some poor planning. Felt pretty good about putting together a paleo meal plan though, so I think this will just get better over the course of the challenge.

 

🍴 Healthy Food Habits

Generally good here - I missed Saturday, but I was pretty much prepared for that since I was hosting a big dinner and was planning to go off track a little. Nothing here is really challenging or restricting so far, although some days it's hard to remember to drink 8 glasses of water. I'm getting better though!

 

🏠 Minimize | Organize | Optimize

No progress here - I just had too much going on last week. Hoping I can do some extra work this week to make up for it. I really just need to start...

[KB Girl]

OMG I'm so hungry now.... those two photos look absolutely delicious! 

 

1 hour ago, athousandwords said:

No progress here - I just had too much going on last week. Hoping I can do some extra work this week to make up for it. I really just need to start...

it's good to be flexible with your goals, not adding this on top of the existing stress seemed smart to me.