[Jarric]

Thursday - Week 1 Day 4

Yesterday was a good day. I managed to set my alarm wrong yet again, but this time only 5 minutes late. By the time I'd got up and scraped the ice off the car I was 10 minutes late for the gym, which isn't the end of the world. We did a nice little workout of muscle ups (I subbed for Russian dips), ball slams, and double unders. I spent most of the time on the skipping, but I am gradually getting able to do a couple of doubles without falling over. We followed that with some weighted dips and tricep extensions.

 

Work was ok. I had to finish bang on time to go and get my booster jab, which was a bit stressful. I'm crap with jabs, but it wasn't too bad - I got them to do it with me lying down so that I couldn't pass out, and after 10 minutes of lying there I was able to get up and get out.

 

In the evening we watched TV and chilled out. Album for the day was Ray of Light by Madonna, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Without the vocals it feels like the soundtrack to a cyberpunk computer game, which was pretty cool, and I don't think the vocals detract from that feel.

 

Standard 600kcal breakfast, cheese and chutney sandwich and a carrot for lunch at ~600kcal. Dinner was a beef chilli - it was a recipe box meal so I didn't really have control over the calories, and it came in at about 850. I also went over on snacks - not massively but definitely over.

 

Teeth and creativity weren't done - feeling better but still not quite in the mental place - and no revision either.

[deftona]

1 hour ago, Jarric said:

my booster jab, which was a bit stressful. I'm crap with jabs, but it wasn't too bad - I got them to do it with me lying down so that I couldn't pass out, and after 10 minutes of lying there I was able to get up and get out.

 

Is it a fear, or a physiological response?

[Jarric]

1 hour ago, deftona said:

 

Is it a fear, or a physiological response?

 

That's an excellent question. I don't really know. Certainly since I was a teenager I have felt lightheaded and sick, like I'm about to pass out, whenever I have an injection. The first time it happened the doctor noted I had low blood pressure that day*, but I don't generally suffer with low blood pressure and this happens with every injection.

 

There was also a time when I would feel sick just talking about injections/giving blood, although that doesn't happen as much any more. I don't get particularly worked up or anxious going in for injections (although I don't look forward to it, because I'm pretty resigned to the fact I'm going to pass out). I'm guessing it's mostly psychosomatic, but I'm really not sure.

 

*That day was around the time that I figured out the best use of my free school meals voucher was 6 chocolate chip cookies; the vouchers weren't really adequate to buy real food. By the time I had my injection after school I guess I was on a huge sugar crash.

[deftona]

2 minutes ago, Jarric said:

 

That's an excellent question. I don't really know. Certainly since I was a teenager I have felt lightheaded and sick, like I'm about to pass out, whenever I have an injection. The first time it happened the doctor noted I had low blood pressure that day*, but I don't generally suffer with low blood pressure and this happens with every injection.

 

There was also a time when I would feel sick just talking about injections/giving blood, although that doesn't happen as much any more. I don't get particularly worked up or anxious going in for injections (although I don't look forward to it, because I'm pretty resigned to the fact I'm going to pass out). I'm guessing it's mostly psychosomatic, but I'm really not sure.

 

*That day was around the time that I figured out the best use of my free school meals voucher was 6 chocolate chip cookies; the vouchers weren't really adequate to buy real food. By the time I had my injection after school I guess I was on a huge sugar crash.

 

This is really interesting because I have exactly the same response when I go for a blood test. I'm not scared beforehand, but they always struggle to get blood out and I'm really lucky if I make it out without passing out. I don't have the same issues with vaccinations, but it seems my giving blood response is exactly the same. 

 

(6 chocolate chip cookies sounds like the lunch of champions. Where was the Marcus Rashford type working class hero when we needed him. Was it too much to ask of Gazza?!)

[starpuck]

22 minutes ago, Jarric said:

I'm guessing it's mostly psychosomatic,

I cannot hear this word, without this song immediately jumping into my head.

 

 

I normally don't have any reactions to injections or bloodwork, but on my first jab, I felt a weird tingling sensation up the base of my neck and head for all of like 1.2 seconds.   It made me a *little* lightheaded, but barely.   It did not happen with my flu shot, or my booster though.    I chalked it up to nerves and anxiety leading up to my getting the jab.  (My household was mixed on their feelings, so I WANTED the jab, I trusted the jab, but I had the voices of the anti-jabbers lingering under the surface I think.)

 

 

[deftona]

2 hours ago, Starpuck said:

but on my first jab, I felt a weird tingling sensation up the base of my neck and head for all of like 1.2 seconds.   It made me a *little* lightheaded, but barely.   It did not happen with my flu shot, or my booster though.  

 

This happened with me with the booster, only it was an ache going from the injection site up my neck and into my head, and it lasted about 3 days. It was more like a dull ache but it was really annoying.

[Jarric]

On 1/7/2022 at 3:40 PM, deftona said:

 

This is really interesting because I have exactly the same response when I go for a blood test. I'm not scared beforehand, but they always struggle to get blood out and I'm really lucky if I make it out without passing out. I don't have the same issues with vaccinations, but it seems my giving blood response is exactly the same. 

 

(6 chocolate chip cookies sounds like the lunch of champions. Where was the Marcus Rashford type working class hero when we needed him. Was it too much to ask of Gazza?!)

 

That is interesting! I've never got to the bottom of what causes it, and I don't have enough injections for it to be an everyday issue, but it's nice to know I'm not alone.

 

And yes, I guess it was too much to ask of Gazza

Think of how many thousands of professional footballers there have been over the years - it's good that there's finally one with some principles they're willing to stand up for, but man that's rare.

 

On 1/7/2022 at 3:59 PM, Starpuck said:

I cannot hear this word, without this song immediately jumping into my head.

 

 

I normally don't have any reactions to injections or bloodwork, but on my first jab, I felt a weird tingling sensation up the base of my neck and head for all of like 1.2 seconds.   It made me a *little* lightheaded, but barely.   It did not happen with my flu shot, or my booster though.    I chalked it up to nerves and anxiety leading up to my getting the jab.  (My household was mixed on their feelings, so I WANTED the jab, I trusted the jab, but I had the voices of the anti-jabbers lingering under the surface I think.)

 

 

 

Excellent track! Though this is the song that that word conjures up for me:

 

 

 

 

On 1/7/2022 at 6:16 PM, deftona said:

 

This happened with me with the booster, only it was an ache going from the injection site up my neck and into my head, and it lasted about 3 days. It was more like a dull ache but it was really annoying.

 

I've been really fortunate with the vaccines, ironically given my reaction in the moment. The first one made me feel absolutely amazing for a couple of days, and I didn't get any side effects off the other two, not even really a sore arm.

[Jarric]

Friday - Week 1 Day 5

Yesterday was a good day. Crossfit was 4 intervals, each for time, of 5 squats, 3 deadball loads, and 100m ski. I hit 90kg (~198#) on the squats, and did the deadballs at either 60kg (~132#) or 75kg (~165#) each time. I'm about 75kg, so it's nice to know I can load myself onto a box.

 

After that we practiced pistol squats - I feel like with a bit of practice I could really nail those.

 

Work was ok - I'm definitely more on top of things that I have been in a while.

 

In the evening we watched Critical Role, and I had a few beers. When WW went to bed I stayed up watching a Twitch stream called The Basic Lich. Basic Lich is the female alter ego of Mark 'Sherlock' Hulmes, who DMs the High Rollers D&D stream. I had an amazing night just getting leathered and chatting with people on the stream, so much so that I stayed up until half 1 in the morning.

 

Album of the day was The Stranger by Billy Joel. I'm not a bit fan; it's not the kind of music that really does anything for me, but it was ok to have on in the background.

 

Food: standard 600kcal breakfast. WW cooked  bacon and Brussels sprouts for lunch, which I had with a carrot and an orange to bring it up nearer 600kcal. For dinner WW made feta and prawn orzotto, which was lush - that came in around 460kcal so I had a pot of gelato to get up to 600. I can't remember the snacks now, but I know they were about right.

 

Beer day is at about 1,900 kcal now, so room for a couple more pints this week if I want them.

 

With the beer and late night I opted not to do creativity, studying, or teeth brushing. I need a plan to get on these a little more.

[deftona]

42 minutes ago, Jarric said:

I've been really fortunate with the vaccines, ironically given my reaction in the moment. The first one made me feel absolutely amazing for a couple of days

 

Ah. you must have got the best microchip in yours! 

 

28 minutes ago, Jarric said:

Work was ok - I'm definitely more on top of things that I have been in a while.

 

This is good news! Am I right in thinking you work in finance? Will the approach of end of year mean this will be shortlived?

[Kestrel Grey]

Just throwing in about the vaccine dizziness - a reasonable percentage of people respond to minor stress with a drop in blood pressure, instead of a rise in it.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

17 hours ago, Jarric said:

3 deadball loads

 

I had to look up the workout - those are pretty awesome numbers!

[Jarric]

On 1/8/2022 at 10:56 PM, deftona said:

 

Ah. you must have got the best microchip in yours! 

 

 

This is good news! Am I right in thinking you work in finance? Will the approach of end of year mean this will be shortlived?

 

Yeah, my 5G signal is strong AF.

 

Weirdly my own workload isn't too bad for the end of the financial year. I'm sure I'll end up picking up stuff for other people though; it is generally a busy time.

 

On 1/9/2022 at 3:04 AM, Kestrel Grey said:

Just throwing in about the vaccine dizziness - a reasonable percentage of people respond to minor stress with a drop in blood pressure, instead of a rise in it.

 

Oh, that's interesting, I didn't know that. That would go some way towards explaining it then.

 

20 hours ago, Chris-Tien Jinn said:

 

I had to look up the workout - those are pretty awesome numbers!

 

Thank you! 😊

[Jarric]

Saturday - Week 1 Day 6

Saturday was a good day. I went climbing first thing, which was pretty bloody hard having gone to bed at 1.30am and got up at 7am. Still, it's all a bit of fun.

 

Most of the rest of the day was spent playing Northgard whilst WW watched Jonathan Creek. I did have to go out to Tesco, sans WW as she's still isolating, and that's about all of the productivity I managed for the day.

 

Food worked out well. Small breakfast, but WW made a big old fry up for lunch which balanced it out. Dinner was Thai-style hat yai garlic fried chicken with rice and Thai-style salad (from a recipe box, because I would have no idea what this was otherwise). It was lovely, and spot on for calories. Snacks were two glasses of milk, a cupcake, and a handful of smarties.

 

Not a productive day goals-wise, but I had a really lovely day so there's that.

[Jarric]

Sunday - Week 1 Day 7

Yesterday was a good day. I got up and procrastinated for far too long, which meant two things. Firstly, my 90 minute run was reduced to 40 minutes. Second, my hitting the road at 10am became 10:45.

 

I went up to London to see the opening match of the Snooker Masters. It was a brilliant match, so despite the 2 hour drive each way I had a lovely time.

 

Got back fairly late in the evening. I did attempt to do some D&D prep but I had a splitting headache when I looked at my laptop screen, so I ended up just watching TV until bedtime.

 

Food was weird owing to how the day was split. Big bowl of Weetabix first thing for 600kcal. A banana before I hit the road, then a ham, cheese and pickle sandwich at the snooker which was only about 450kcal. On my way back I stopped at a service station for a chai latte. I do love a chai latte (whilst simultaneously objecting to paying £3 for a 4p teabag in some boiling water, which tends to lead me to getting something more extravagant), but it's a ton of calories. When I got home WW had cooked a massive roast pork dinner, though a fair bit was veg. All on all I'm calling this a pass, based on a lot of things cancelling each other out.

[Rhovaniel]

Your weekend sounds lovely!

 

The drop in blood pressure thing is new to me too, but explains alot. I'm fine with needles, getting vaccines and blood and all. But if I ever have an 'Oh shit!' moment of moderate stress and panic, the first thing that happens is what I can only describe as an 'energy dump' as my body goes "Sit down. On the floor. Right now. Or else." Accompanied by some very interesting blood rush sensations. It only lasts a few moments but embarrassing nonetheless. I thought I'd lost my passport in Bali, at the airport to fly to New Zealand. Ended up sitting on the ground pretty sharpish. Thankfully, once it passed I found it! Glad the vaccine jab went well for you too. I've been half convinced I've been getting water shots, because I've not had any side effects people mention, aside from a  sore arm!

 

1 hour ago, Jarric said:

I do love a chai latte (whilst simultaneously objecting to paying £3 for a 4p teabag in some boiling water, which tends to lead me to getting something more extravagant), but it's a ton of calories.

OOh, this reminds me. Any good tea recommendations with decent flavour, herbal green or black? I'm trying to get used to drinking tea without milk because a couple in a day is fine, but 5 or 6 over the course of a dull shifts gets a little high on the calories...

 

Hope the latte was worth the calories. it sounds delicious!

 

[Jarric]

Week 1 scores

So first point, I'm stealing an idea from @deftona and putting some money on myself this challenge. I'll put £40 on each week, and for the percentage of my goals I complete I get to keep that cash. For the percentage I miss I'll pay that money off my mortgage, so it'll benefit me long-term but I won't get it now.

 

I've done this a few times in the past, but the fatal flaw is often that I drop of the last week or two of the challenge and then don't total everything up at the end. So this time I'm going to make payments on a weekly basis, so if I drop of the challenge I'll still have paid my dues for the first few weeks.

 

Run: 2/3 - I should have run on Saturday, but it was chucking it down with rain and I was tired (blah blah, excuses, blah blah). The runs I did do were also shorter than I wanted. Room for improvement

 

Calories: 7/8 days - this went well, and I was well under on beer day which can only be a good thing. I need to weigh in, but I feel pretty good about this.

 

Creative: 2/7 days - this dropped off far too quickly; I need to find a better way to incorporate it in my days.

 

Revise: 0/4 days - total failure; I need to get cracking on this 

 

Teeth: 4/7 days - it's better than nothing. I started the week well, dropped off in the middle, and came back at the end.

 

Average goal completion was 47.97%, meaning I get to keep £19.19 this week, and will transfer £20.81 to my mortgage now.

[starpuck]

lovely days are lovely

Sounds like you had a nice pair of Binders!

Dig the idea on the weekly pay out.   If you struggle finishing the last few weeks, you could make them worth double!!

 

 

[Jarric]

1 hour ago, Rhovaniel said:

Your weekend sounds lovely!

 

The drop in blood pressure thing is new to me too, but explains alot. I'm fine with needles, getting vaccines and blood and all. But if I ever have an 'Oh shit!' moment of moderate stress and panic, the first thing that happens is what I can only describe as an 'energy dump' as my body goes "Sit down. On the floor. Right now. Or else." Accompanied by some very interesting blood rush sensations. It only lasts a few moments but embarrassing nonetheless. I thought I'd lost my passport in Bali, at the airport to fly to New Zealand. Ended up sitting on the ground pretty sharpish. Thankfully, once it passed I found it! Glad the vaccine jab went well for you too. I've been half convinced I've been getting water shots, because I've not had any side effects people mention, aside from a  sore arm!

 

OOh, this reminds me. Any good tea recommendations with decent flavour, herbal green or black? I'm trying to get used to drinking tea without milk because a couple in a day is fine, but 5 or 6 over the course of a dull shifts gets a little high on the calories...

 

Hope the latte was worth the calories. it sounds delicious!

 

 

Oh, that's interesting. Thinking about it, I've had the lightheadedness woth a few other things (very rarely), so maybe it's a stress response for me too.

 

So for tea, depends what you want to spend and what you're after really! The best tea I've ever had is probably from Arte & Zayne - they're a shop in Amsterdam but they deliver internationally. It's not cheap but it's great stuff (it's cheaper if you buy the refill packs rather than the nice metal tins). They will also do a selection box if you want to try some things.

 

Similarly on the unnecessarily decadent front, D&Tea do dungeons and dragons themed teas. They're US based, so shipping is a thing. Currently I've got packs of Elven Bazaar, Underdark and Chill, and Tavern Brawl.

 

A more sensible choice for nice tea, Whittard do some good stuff, and they've got shops all over the place. It's a bit hit and miss; I'd avoid stuff described as 'flavoured tea' in favour of tea with actual herbs/fruits/whatever to flavour it.

 

All of the above do black, green, and white teas. For non-tea infusions Pukka do some good stuff. Twinings do a nice one called Focus that I quite like.

 

Oh, and finally, there is a company called Tea Bloom that do fruity green teas that start as little balls you put into a teapot and after a few minutes grow into little flowers. It's 1000% a gimmick, but they're pretty fun.

[Jarric]

48 minutes ago, Starpuck said:

lovely days are lovely

Sounds like you had a nice pair of Binders!

Dig the idea on the weekly pay out.   If you struggle finishing the last few weeks, you could make them worth double!!

 

 

 

Binders? I'm not sure what you mean by that?

 

That's a thought on the payout. I'm not sure if that makes me more likely to stick around because of the added risk, or more likely to drop off the challenge so I don't transfer any money at all.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I don't know if it's a thing over there but Bigelow has a tea called "Constant Comment" that is really good.

[starpuck]

1 hour ago, Jarric said:

Binders? I'm not sure what you mean by that?

Remember when we had the discussion on weekends being called weekends, and I came up with they are more like binders, they bind the work days together.   And also the benefit of being able to say you went on a Binder Bender 

 

[Rhovaniel]

3 hours ago, Jarric said:

 

Oh, that's interesting. Thinking about it, I've had the lightheadedness woth a few other things (very rarely), so maybe it's a stress response for me too.

 

So for tea, depends what you want to spend and what you're after really! The best tea I've ever had is probably from Arte & Zayne - they're a shop in Amsterdam but they deliver internationally. It's not cheap but it's great stuff (it's cheaper if you buy the refill packs rather than the nice metal tins). They will also do a selection box if you want to try some things.

 

Similarly on the unnecessarily decadent front, D&Tea do dungeons and dragons themed teas. They're US based, so shipping is a thing. Currently I've got packs of Elven Bazaar, Underdark and Chill, and Tavern Brawl.

 

A more sensible choice for nice tea, Whittard do some good stuff, and they've got shops all over the place. It's a bit hit and miss; I'd avoid stuff described as 'flavoured tea' in favour of tea with actual herbs/fruits/whatever to flavour it.

 

All of the above do black, green, and white teas. For non-tea infusions Pukka do some good stuff. Twinings do a nice one called Focus that I quite like.

 

Oh, and finally, there is a company called Tea Bloom that do fruity green teas that start as little balls you put into a teapot and after a few minutes grow into little flowers. It's 1000% a gimmick, but they're pretty fun.

I just looked at Arte & Zayne and they do look awesome. Do you have any of their little metal tins? They look nice, but I got some loose leaf from Etsy once and the tin wasn't that sturdy, so it didn't get much use as a tea caddy. I love an earl grey, so I'm eyeing up that Seven Sisters one. Post Xmas treat  

 

Pukka I do have, they're lovely, but of a morning I think I'll need a black tea to get me going. I've tried black coffee but... blurgh. Hard pass. 

[Jarric]

1 hour ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I don't know if it's a thing over there but Bigelow has a tea called "Constant Comment" that is really good.

 

I've never come across it, but I'll give it a try. Doesn't look like it's particularly cheap over here, but I'm intrigued. Will let you know what I think.

 

43 minutes ago, Starpuck said:

Remember when we had the discussion on weekends being called weekends, and I came up with they are more like binders, they bind the work days together.   And also the benefit of being able to say you went on a Binder Bender 

 

 

Yes! I do remember! I must have been on one too many binder benders between that conversation and now, but I'm with you now.

 

38 minutes ago, Rhovaniel said:

I just looked at Arte & Zayne and they do look awesome. Do you have any of their little metal tins? They look nice, but I got some loose leaf from Etsy once and the tin wasn't that sturdy, so it didn't get much use as a tea caddy. I love an earl grey, so I'm eyeing up that Seven Sisters one. Post Xmas treat  

 

Pukka I do have, they're lovely, but of a morning I think I'll need a black tea to get me going. I've tried black coffee but... blurgh. Hard pass. 

 

Yeah, the Arte & Zayne tins are really good - really solid. I seem to remember the Seven Sisters being good. My favourite so far is the Maria's Choice - that's lovely.

 

Yeah, Pukka is nice, it's not the same as a real tea, is it? Especially as I don't drink any coffee, I really do need a decent tea in the morning.

[deftona]

8 hours ago, Jarric said:

Yeah, Pukka is nice, it's not the same as a real tea, is it?

 

The undisputed best actual tea is Clipper. 

[Jarric]

4 hours ago, deftona said:

 

The undisputed best actual tea is Clipper. 

 

I don't think I've actually had Clipper, for some reason. I'll have to add that to the 'to try' list.