Nymeria tackles 4 of the deadly sins

[Nymeria]

Last challenge, I found a climbing gym, rediscovered my love for climbing, and got into a great rhythm of climbing every other day.  I'm keeping things much simpler this time and keeping the momentum rolling.  

 

1. Battling pride

 

Climbing has been great..... but, I'm still struggling with feeling self conscious about sucking or getting overly upset when I can't solve a route that is marked with a low enough grade that I ought to be able to solve it.   Yesterday, Pride defeated me.  Some new routes were set, and I could not for the life of me solve a vertical wall 5.8. (I can usually get the vertical 5.10s and the 5.8s kind of seem like ladders)  I got really frustrated and worried that everyone would see how much I sucked, whined a lot, and was almost ready to walk out of the gym..... so....

To defeat Pride, I must:  Attempt every single route marked 5.9 or lower.  If I can't get it, keep trying and ask for help from one of the other climbers.  One of my problems is that I tend to climb the things that play to my strengths, and I need to stop doing that.  I will learn the most if I work on some of those weaknesses, even if they make me feel like I suck.

 

2.  Battling Envy

This one is simple.  I've always been jealous of people who can do the splits.  Rather than being envious, I'm going to take real steps to become more flexible.  I started a program called Hyperbolic Stretching, and I'm going to stick with the stretching workouts there.  The goal for this is 3 stretching sessions per week.

 

3.  Battling Gluttony

This one is another simple goal, stolen from I think @Elastigirl.  I still need to lose weight.  I'm still struggling a bit with mindless munching.  If I want a snack, I will make myself wait at least 15 minutes before indulging.  I'll also make sure to drink some water or tea in the meantime, since that can often stave off hunger.  

 

4. Battling Sloth

I need to be more productive and less lazy.  For this goal, I'm going to focus on crochet and complete at least 3 small projects during the challenge.  Some of the things in my queue are that I need to make a crochet cactus arrangement for my mom, a Shy Guy (from Mario games) for my son, and some vampires (based on the Voldemort from my HP crochet book) for Halloween.  

 

Let's do this!

[Terra]

This theme is amazing! 

1. I particularly love your sloth goal.  I plan on bringing yarn and a crochet hook to doctor appointments if I end up taking the family to lots of them...  I'm making simple things for now while I get consistent stitches figured out.  
2. Who doesn't love @Elastigirl's suggestion of waiting 15 minutes for a snack.   Its a great tool that I use sometimes too!  

[Elastigirl]

Love the challenge set up! Yes, it was my idea to delay snacks. I got the idea from Josh Hillis's book," Lean and Strong, Eating Skills......

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

As an ordained minister I heartily endorse a defeat of sin 😜

[KB Girl]

Love the theme  the first two are very relatable.. 

[Nymeria]

The challenge doesn't start until tomorrow, but I had some good progress on goal #1 today.  I (again) successfully climbed the 5.8 from last time, and I managed to get the 5.9 also.  I worked on another overhung 5.9 and failed miserably, but that's okay.    

 

Today, I will also swim for a bit, do a family D&D session, and pick out my first crochet project.  

[obax]

I've been thinking a lot about getting back to climbing, maybe climbing vicariously through you will inspire me to get back to it. And I could always use a bit of extra inspiration to beat Sloth and Gluttony...

[Nymeria]

On 9/10/2021 at 10:43 AM, Terra said:

This theme is amazing! 

1. I particularly love your sloth goal.  I plan on bringing yarn and a crochet hook to doctor appointments if I end up taking the family to lots of them...  I'm making simple things for now while I get consistent stitches figured out. 

 

Crocheting is so satisfying, but I weirdly struggle with the momentum to get started.  I think my first project will be this guy, but I'll replace the shell design with some bubble stitches to give a bit more texture.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/168fUEl5MIdB4DIHnOWviylY3w4YwhCRK/view

 

On 9/10/2021 at 12:14 PM, Elastigirl said:

Love the challenge set up! Yes, it was my idea to delay snacks. I got the idea from Josh Hillis's book," Lean and Strong, Eating Skills......

It's such a smart and simple idea!  

 

On 9/10/2021 at 12:55 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

As an ordained minister I heartily endorse a defeat of sin 😜

Of course you do.  

 

On 9/11/2021 at 12:59 PM, KB Girl said:

Love the theme  the first two are very relatable.. 

Yeah.  I wish I weren't so insecure.  I mean, I admire and respect the people who love climbing, continue doing so, but aren't particularly good at it.  But then I don't give myself the same acceptance, and I tend to think that other people are judging me.  It's a tough habit to break out of..  

 

4 hours ago, obax said:

I've been thinking a lot about getting back to climbing, maybe climbing vicariously through you will inspire me to get back to it. And I could always use a bit of extra inspiration to beat Sloth and Gluttony...

Hi!  Yes, get back into climbing!  When I was stuck at home with my own workouts, I just couldn't muster up the motivation to do what I was supposed to do.  With climbing, it's so incredibly easy.  I just have to go there and climb.   I'm really fortunate that the climbing gym has 12 auto belays that they set frequently and will set up to 5.12s.   It makes my life so much easier when I can just climb without having to worry about falls or injuries.   

[Elastigirl]

That turtle is so adorable!

[Terra]

Love that turtle! and I like your idea to give him more texture.  I really want to start making amigurumi too!

[Nymeria]

I'm off to a good start.  I went climbing this morning, and I tried a few very difficult routes as well as a bunch of the easier ones.  The Badass Elderly Couple was climbing, too, so it was inspirational watching them climb better than I do.  After climbing, I did one of my front splits stretching workouts.

 

My crochet turtle has been started!  

@Terra  Amigurumi is a bit weird in that it seems complicated, but you generally are just doing a lot of single crochets.  As soon as you're comfortable with a single crochet and can do a magic circle, you should be fine.  The hardest part, by far, is assembling everything via sewing with a tapestry needle.  

[Mad Hatter]

On 9/10/2021 at 7:06 PM, Nymeria said:

Climbing has been great..... but, I'm still struggling with feeling self conscious about sucking or getting overly upset when I can't solve a route that is marked with a low enough grade that I ought to be able to solve it.   Yesterday, Pride defeated me.  Some new routes were set, and I could not for the life of me solve a vertical wall 5.8. (I can usually get the vertical 5.10s and the 5.8s kind of seem like ladders)  I got really frustrated and worried that everyone would see how much I sucked, whined a lot, and was almost ready to walk out of the gym..... so....

To defeat Pride, I must:  Attempt every single route marked 5.9 or lower.  If I can't get it, keep trying and ask for help from one of the other climbers.  One of my problems is that I tend to climb the things that play to my strengths, and I need to stop doing that.  I will learn the most if I work on some of those weaknesses, even if they make me feel like I suck.

I love this goal so much. Quite relatable. These days my mental game is way, way better than before but it's still very easy to, well, not exactly avoid, but procrastinate getting on the weird looking warm up grades climbs I might punt on, or the coordination dynos. Sometimes procrastinate forever.  

 

On 9/13/2021 at 3:10 AM, Nymeria said:

Yeah.  I wish I weren't so insecure.  I mean, I admire and respect the people who love climbing, continue doing so, but aren't particularly good at it.  But then I don't give myself the same acceptance, and I tend to think that other people are judging me.  It's a tough habit to break out of..  

This might sound discouraging but for me it's a comfort to know that I suck.   I mean let's be real. I can't even fathom climbing double digit boulders, and these days there's loads of 8 year olds who crush them. Even if I'd dedicate my everything to climbing, I could perhaps get strong relative to the average local gym climber, but I'd still suck on a global scale. But it really doesn't matter, it doesn't make me a worse person. 

 

Maybe a more encouraging perspective is that the one thing climbers of all levels really respect is try hard. Perhaps even more so than climbing hard grades (though those two often go hand in hand.) A beginner can try just as hard as any pro, and that's really cool! But if you're self conscious you just can't tap into that.

 

[Nymeria]

5 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

This might sound discouraging but for me it's a comfort to know that I suck.   I mean let's be real. I can't even fathom climbing double digit boulders, and these days there's loads of 8 year olds who crush them. Even if I'd dedicate my everything to climbing, I could perhaps get strong relative to the average local gym climber, but I'd still suck on a global scale. But it really doesn't matter, it doesn't make me a worse person. 

 

Maybe a more encouraging perspective is that the one thing climbers of all levels really respect is try hard. Perhaps even more so than climbing hard grades (though those two often go hand in hand.) A beginner can try just as hard as any pro, and that's really cool! But if you're self conscious you just can't tap into that.

 

Totally.  I'm not there to win anything or awe anyone with my skills.  I have to remind myself that I'm a middle aged mom who has gone through some medical shit, and it's perfectly fine if I'm not particularly great.  My kids, with minimal training, can almost out climb me, and that's fine, too Their strength to weight ratio is absurd, and mine is not so much.  

 

I tend to climb around 10:00 in the morning, meaning kids are in school and it's mostly adults with flexible jobs.  The climbers at the gym have been super nice and supportive.   For the most part, they seem happy to see other adult climbers.  

 

I also have been reminding myself that I mostly need the exercise, and this is one of the things I'll happily do.  

 

And on that note.....

I had a pretty crappy climbing day today.  I couldn't do one of the 5.9s that I normally get, and I struggled on another before getting it.  I only made one move of progress on a 5.10, and I'm pretty sure I'm stuck there.  The great part, though, is that I recognized that my energy levels were a bit low and my mental game was off.   So, I mostly climbed easier routes, but doing them back-to-back so I got a super endurance workout.  At the end, my muscles were sore, I was covered in sweat, and I got my heart rate up.  That's the important thing.  

 

I'm finished with most of the pieces for my crochet turtle.  Tomorrow, I should be able to focus on assembly.

[Mad Hatter]

19 hours ago, Nymeria said:

I had a pretty crappy climbing day today.  I couldn't do one of the 5.9s that I normally get, and I struggled on another before getting it.  I only made one move of progress on a 5.10, and I'm pretty sure I'm stuck there.  The great part, though, is that I recognized that my energy levels were a bit low and my mental game was off.   So, I mostly climbed easier routes, but doing them back-to-back so I got a super endurance workout.  At the end, my muscles were sore, I was covered in sweat, and I got my heart rate up.  That's the important thing.  

Nice! I mean it sounds absolutely awful, but great work!   

[Nymeria]

I have finished the turtle.  It looks cuter in person than it does in the pics, but yay...  All done.  The shell was one of my first major improvisations on a pattern, and it worked out pretty well.  

[Nymeria]

So far this week:  I've climbed twice and have handled any pride issues just fine.  I've worked on my flexibility program twice.  I cycled 10 miles this morning (not part of the challenge, but still good exercise), and I completed one crochet project.  Yay!

 

Tomorrow is another climbing day, but with the kids this time.  There will most likely be some newly set routes to explore.  

[obax]

That turtle is pretty cute in the pics, might melt even my heart in person. It look's just like Crush's son from Finding Nemo (not sure if that's on purpose or not, if you said I must have missed it). I love it though.

[Nymeria]

Yesterday was a climbing day.  I climbed all of the new 5.7s and 5.8s without worrying about failing.  I made progress on the 10s and 11s.  Today was also a climbing day, but one where I climbed less and spent more time helping my kids (who didn't want to go on Saturday).  I again did a lot of easy routes to demonstrate them for the kids, so they could follow my beta.  I'm still sore and tired.  

 

After climbing, I did my flexibility program

 

Week 1 update

1. Pride - So far, so good.  I've been much better at just chilling out and worrying a whole lot less about being judged.  I've made a huge point of climbing all of the easier routes.

2. Envy - I've completed my flexibility program 3 times, so I'm on track.

3. Gluttony - I still need to improve here.  I'm catching myself mid-snack and realizing that I was supposed to drink some water and wait a bit, first....

4. Sloth - One crochet project done!

 

[Elastigirl]

Great week 1! On delaying snacks- it takes practice, and like all things we practice it improves as we practice, and sometimes we are better at it then others. So great job at catching yourself mid snack and being aware!

[Mad Hatter]

On 9/19/2021 at 9:21 PM, Nymeria said:

1. Pride - So far, so good.  I've been much better at just chilling out and worrying a whole lot less about being judged.  I've made a huge point of climbing all of the easier routes.

Fantastic!

 

The turtle is super cute.

[Nymeria]

bleh.  I've been avoiding posting since I've been feeling pretty disgruntled lately.  I had another "bad" climbing day.  I think I've reached that point where the noob-ish gains have run out, and I'm going to be stuck on a lot more problems.   That's not the main issue, though.

 

I've been exercising a ton more and eating much healthier over the last 6 weeks.  I've lost a grand total of......   0 lbs.    Nothing.  🥵  It's kind of hard not to feel like there's no point in trying to be healthier, if I'm just going to be fat no matter what I do.   I'm mostly over the bad headspace.  My body has always been very slow to adjust to nutrition and exercise changes, so it's possible that things will kick into gear.  It's also quite possible that I'm in the period where my thyroid is shot, but my labs are still coming up at the edge of the normal end, so I can't get treatment.   This means that I probably won't be able to lose weight no matter what I do, until I qualify for thyroid meds.     under a spoiler for people who want medical details.....

Spoiler

I've had fatigue for the last 3 years, as well as pretty significant weight gain (like 30 lbs).  My TSH has ranged from 3.85 - 4.52 on my blood draws.  My T3 and T4 are still moreso in the normal range.  People on forums who have hypothyroidism say that if their TSH is above about a 2.0, they feel terrible and can't lose weight.  The medical community still thinks that these levels are normal and require careful monitoring, but no treatment.  So, I'm stuck with a wait-and-see approach.  It's also a bit difficult to separate any ill effects from a potentially bad thyroid from the ill effects of the tamoxifen/perimenopause.  

 

My plan right now is to ramp up the exercise a bit by adding more walking on my non-climbing days.  It's finally cool enough in the mornings and evenings for a decent walk.  I'm also going to stick with the healthier eating.  If by xmas, I still haven't lost much weight, I'm going to ask for a referral to an endocrinologist and go from there.  

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

That sounds very frustrating. I hope you get some decent help soon.

[Elastigirl]

Frustrating on the weight /health issues. I hope it gets sorted soon. It's super hard when you don't get to see the physical results, but eating healthier and moving more is helping your body.With perimenopause and my body, it took a while for my body  to just heal before I started to lose weight

[Mad Hatter]

Aww man, that sucks. Even your levels are supposedly normal 3 years of fatigue is not and whatever the reason you should be able to get help. Fingers crossed for you.

[Nymeria]

5 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

That sounds very frustrating. I hope you get some decent help soon.

I'm really hoping that my body just kicks into gear on its own, and that I just need to be patient for a bit longer.   

 

4 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Frustrating on the weight /health issues. I hope it gets sorted soon. It's super hard when you don't get to see the physical results, but eating healthier and moving more is helping your body.With perimenopause and my body, it took a while for my body  to just heal before I started to lose weight

My body has always been a very slow adjuster, so I'm at least a little hopeful.  At the very least, eating healthier and moving more will give me some extra info as to whether I need to push more on the medical stuff.   I'll admit that my habits have not been great for the last 2 years, so the weight gain isn't super surprising.  The surprising part is that it's not coming off now that I'm moving more and eating less + healthier.  

 

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

Aww man, that sucks. Even your levels are supposedly normal 3 years of fatigue is not and whatever the reason you should be able to get help. Fingers crossed for you.

The problem is that fatigue is a known side effect of the Tamoxifen, which I can't stop taking for another 6.75 years.  Likewise, while weight gain is not specifically a side effect of tamoxifen, the tamoxifen messes with estrogen levels, which is why I'm having perimenopause symptoms.  It's very tricky to untangle what is regular perimenopause, what is a side effect of the tamoxifen, and what is a side effect of an under functioning thyroid.   It's all so frustrating.  

 

I pick up the kids in 30 minutes, and then we'll head out to the climbing gym.  I bet one or both of them will claim to be too tired, whine a bit, and try to get out of climbing (which I won't let them do, but I hate having to be the bad guy).   My 13 year old stole my climbing shoes, so I'll be very annoyed if she doesn't want to climb.  Also, yay, I got new shoes, but ugh, I have to break them in.   Also, uggh..  In the last year, she has "stolen" from me 2 hoodies, another 2 tee shirts, a pair of boots, and now my climbing shoes.