[Cherry_Bomb]

Looks like the December 2021 challenge didn’t go so badly thanks to these checkmarks I realized I can add to keep myself accountable…mostly…when I remember to actually post on here. So, let’s keep that up, shall we? (We shall). For this challenge, I’m going to:

 

1) Go back on vitamins – I bought some with biotin to see if they’ll help my spontaneous hair loss (because spoiler alert: my doctor doesn’t care that I’ve lost about 40% of my hair and outright refused to do a blood test to see if I have any deficiencies or an autoimmune disease…so I’m just going to pray it’s not the latter and tend to my hair in the meantime – don’t really know what else I can do at this point). I want to aim for every day, but I tend to be quite the lazy sod so let’s say 5 times a week for the next two weeks. On second thought, make that 4. I don’t trust myself.

 

 

2) I might not renew my Nerd Fitness app subscription because I’m really bad at keeping up with it. So just in case, I’m going to try and finish as many unfinished (or mildly enticing) quests as I can. If I can finish ONE by the end of this challenge, I’ll call that a win.

 

 

 

3) I’m 90% certain my wellness program coach is going to have me start this meal plan she asked me to get used to looking at very soon, so I’ll try it out and see if I can still do at least 3 days a week.

 

 

4) I lost a little bit of weight last year, so I think this is the year I’ll experiment with…before and after photos. I’m dreading every moment of this, but worst-case scenario I can always delete them. I’ll also take some to record my flexibility, particularly my bunion-ish feet. (Not that I plan on posting them ANYWHERE because update, the weight and hair pics are really horrible to look at.)

 

    (for body measurements, hair, flexibility benchmark chart, and feet)

 

Bonus…nah I’ll just call this 5) I want to finish For Health and Home with at LEAST three lives, so I’m going to try not to lose more than…two?

 

 

 

Total score = ___ / 20

 

Five things seem like a lot in writing, but this challenge is more like three because 2) and 4) are more like to-do items than ongoing tasks. Only time will tell.

 

 

(I’m full of shrugs these days, so this felt appropriate)

 

Good luck with your challenges, everyone.

[Alanna]

Good luck with your goals!

 

I wanted to chime in because I can empathise with the hair loss. Low iron (even on the lower end of the "normal" range) can be another culprit, but it's not something you really want to supplement for without a blood test first. I'm really sorry your doctor has been dismissive. Is there any chance you have access to affordable private blood tests? There are some in the UK that you can do at home with a finger prick test, as they just need a small vial of blood. I use them to monitor some chronic health conditions. 

[Cherry_Bomb]

Yooo I didn't even THINK it could be iron-related!  (I've been battling anemia on and off for years) Good suggestion though - I just Googled it and it looks like I can do a private blood test, it's just going to cost an arm and a leg. I'm in Canada so our healthcare covers a lot, but it doesn't look like these would fall under any coverage category. Oh well, good to know it's an option in the worst-case scenario. Thanks! 

[Elastigirl]

Nice goals! How's it going so far?

[Alanna]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:36 PM, Cherry_Bomb said:

Yooo I didn't even THINK it could be iron-related!  (I've been battling anemia on and off for years) Good suggestion though - I just Googled it and it looks like I can do a private blood test, it's just going to cost an arm and a leg. I'm in Canada so our healthcare covers a lot, but it doesn't look like these would fall under any coverage category. Oh well, good to know it's an option in the worst-case scenario. Thanks! 

If you have known issues with anemia, I hope your doctor will be willing to work with you! That's unfortunate that the private tests are expensive - I'm in the UK and private blood tests through a doctor would probably be expensive as well, but luckily there are some companies that can mail you kits (that you then mail to their lab) for a low cost. 

 

How are your goals going so far?

[Cherry_Bomb]

On 1/27/2022 at 9:18 AM, Alanna said:

How are your goals going so far?

 

That's a great question  As usual I fell off the wagon at some point and completely forgot to update ANY of this, so I'm going to go back later tonight and see how I did. To be honest, the days between January 30 and February...10th?...were such a clusterf--- that I don't even remember what I set out to do.  Guess it's a good thing we're already ten days into the next challenge, eh? *laughs until she cries*

[Cherry_Bomb]

Never mind, I sat down to figure it out now. I'm going to be late for this stressful job anyway so...

 

1) Go back on vitamins – wow I’ve actually been really good with this one: 

2) Nerd Fitness app challenge – nope:  

3) Meal plan – yeah this definitely didn’t happen:   

4) “Before” photos and measurements – crap I forgot about that chart: 

 Bonus/5) Finish For Health and Home with at LEAST three lives – wow I actually did this one: 

 

Total score = 12 / 20

 

Hmm. I guess I passed.

 

[Alanna]

6 hours ago, Cherry_Bomb said:

Hmm. I guess I passed

 

You still made great progress despite the crazy few weeks! A new habit like taking vitamins can be really tricky to remember during periods of stress, so kudos for keeping that up. Do you have any thoughts on what you'd like to work on next?

[Cherry_Bomb]

On 2/23/2022 at 5:43 PM, Alanna said:

 

You still made great progress despite the crazy few weeks! A new habit like taking vitamins can be really tricky to remember during periods of stress, so kudos for keeping that up. Do you have any thoughts on what you'd like to work on next?

 

Thanks, Alanna.  Yeah, surprisingly the vitamins was the easiest one.

 

I definitely need to increase my exercise and figure out a work-around for what I'm 95% sure is exercise-induced asthma. I think I'm also going to keep NF Prime for another three months and then I'll probably quit. I know strength training is super-important but I'm just not using the app at all - I'm getting a ton of nutrition and wellness info from a diabetes prevention program (and that goes until August) so I don't feel like I'm getting much out of it. I have like 50+ unopened crates.  ಠ_ಠ And Lent will hopefully help me cut down on stress-eating my favourite snacks for a few weeks. We shall see.

[Alanna]

9 hours ago, Cherry_Bomb said:

I definitely need to increase my exercise and figure out a work-around for what I'm 95% sure is exercise-induced asthma.

 

Having health issues get in the way of exercising can be really frustrating, especially when everything else is in place. Fingers crossed you find a good solution soon! 

 

9 hours ago, Cherry_Bomb said:

I think I'm also going to keep NF Prime for another three months and then I'll probably quit. I know strength training is super-important but I'm just not using the app at all - I'm getting a ton of nutrition and wellness info from a diabetes prevention program (and that goes until August) so I don't feel like I'm getting much out of it.

 

There are lots of free strength training resources available too, as well as different approaches to training (bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells...). Depending on what triggers your asthma, something like yoga might also be gentler and more sustainable. The Warrior and Assassin guild chats are good places to ask for advice if you have questions or would like training suggestions