[Ike Eldrazi]

2019 seems so far away... that's when, even if I never posted, I created this account. It was also a great year:

- Got to my lowest weight.

- Ran a Spartan Race trifecta.

- Ran my first half marathon.

- Lived alone after a (smooth) breakup from a 10+ years relationship that had gone sour.

- Started a new relationship.

- Developed a lifestyle and habits that allowed me to work and train at pleasure.

- Diched the car and biked everywhere.

 

In short... I used to be an adventurer (like you). Then I took an arrow in the knee. Or more specifically, COVID hit and everything came to a full stop. Two years later I've gained 10kgs (22lbs) of weight, lost all exercise and training habits, changed jobs to a "desk bounding" position, go everywhere by car... You get the idea: Game Over, try again.

 

Luckily, I still have some tokens in my pocket (and already signed for a Spartan race in Houston next March 2023).

 

Using the last weeks of 2022 to restart, setup and test some strategies for 2023.

 

1. Healthy Body

Started at Orange Theory Fitness a couple of weeks ago. I really like the structure of it as long as I go to the afternoon sessions (not an early bird). Looking to attend 8 out of the first 12 days of December and 3-4x/week after that. Also planning on hiking 1 or 2 weekends every month (already found/tested a trail in my area) and gym-bouldering once a week just for fun.

 

- OTF 12 days of fitness, 3-4x/week after that.

-  1 hike at local trail.

- 1/week bouldering session.

 

2. Healthy Eating

Definitely need to add more veggies to my diet while reducing sugar. Will be experimenting with pre-built salad jars for lunch and freezing some pre-chopped veggies to quickly use in a breakfast omelet. Biggest challenge would be taking ownership of planning and cooking my food instead of just relaying on whatever is available or my girlfriend cooks that day.

 

- Salad jar lunches.

- Veggie omelet breakfast.

 

3. Healthy Mind

The fuzzier one for me... meditating, language learning, programming, reading, photography and some others come to mind. Maybe it's a signal about needing to define some priorities and a clear focus. Will give some time and circle back. Decided on coding (web/python) and reading. Coding as a way to learn something new and, maybe, create a new semi-passive income in the future. It will need to have a clear schedule for "studying". Reading as in "just for fun", sticking to only one fiction and one non-fiction book at a time with no rush.

 

- Non-fiction reading: "Level Up your Life" (re-reading).

- Fiction reading: "The Silmarillion".

- Stablish a viable schedule to study web coding.

 

[Ike Eldrazi]

Reserved for Challenge Stats / Log

[juliebarkley]

On 12/8/2022 at 2:27 PM, Ike Eldrazi said:

just for fun

Depending on how you feel about exercise, this part can be extra important. I like how you have a variety of things that you are interested in doing.

 

On 12/8/2022 at 2:27 PM, Ike Eldrazi said:

The fuzzier one for me... meditating, language learning, programming, reading, photography and some others come to mind. Maybe it's a signal about needing to define some priorities and a clear focus. Will give some time and circle back.

Finding focus and clarity in terms of what you want out of life right now can certainly be part of it.

[Elastigirl]

Solid goals! It's not exactly like starting over. You were in shape, your body remembers that. And you remember how you got there, and you learned some things that work, and some things that didn't. and now you build on that.

[Ike Eldrazi]

15 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

Depending on how you feel about exercise, this part can be extra important.

It sure is extra important for me... I'm currently working on "should do" Vs "want to do"... so making both align is becoming critical. Realizing that I "want to" run an Spartan again but that I "should" train for it still kind of breaks my mind. And exercise is an easy example... "Want to travel the world" Vs "Should work to do it" just drives me crazy.

 

15 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

Finding focus and clarity in terms of what you want out of life right now can certainly be part of it.

That "want" word again  But I get you. Maybe working on accepting the "Shoulds" for that wants could also be part of it.

 

14 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

you remember how you got there, and you learned some things that work, and some things that didn't. and now you build on that.

Like the idea but seems complicated. I remember about simplifying everything and moving a lot... almost same food every day, same gym at (almost) the same time, getting everywhere by bike or walking... Not sure how much of that can be replicated since living conditions have changed a lot. I now live in a not-bike-friendly area and my schedule is all around the place and also having to coordinate with my girlfriend (in 2019 I lived alone which is no longer the case). Will try to take some learnings anyway.  

[Ike Eldrazi]

Week start report...

 

Health is going on nicely. Managed to reach 7 out of the 8 "required" OTF sessions. Last one is happening today's afternoon. Also did a 1km walk with girlfriend during a local "Santa Run" event this weekend, just for fun. Since I've been focused on OTF, bouldering didn't happen. I'm ok with that for the time being and hope to go climbing at least once this week.

 

Food isn't going that well but some preparation steps have been made. My Salad Jars have been ordered and arrive on Friday. I've been also reducing sugar, changing the recuring Caramel Macchiato for a plain Latte is doing the trick. Also cleared the pantry a couple of weeks ago and that generated that I now eat less out of boredom. Still need to work on cooking my breakfast.

 

Mind related goals are still blurry but a theme is coming up... Need to find/explore things I want to do and then add some kind of structure to actually get them done. E.i. define my wants and then accept the shoulds that make them happen.  I want to begin coding again (has been years since the last time), so I joined an online platform with several courses to do so.  Final goal, aside from having fun, would be to create some kind of semi-passive income stream that provides me with additional finantial security and recourses to travel more. Decided that reading is also enjoyable for me and worth incorporating but without any "books per year" goal in mind.

 

 

[TrashcanCarla]

Way to go with hitting up all of those Orange Theory classes! And the walk to the Santa thing sounds fun.

[juliebarkley]

7 hours ago, Ike Eldrazi said:

Food isn't going that well but some preparation steps have been made. My Salad Jars have been ordered and arrive on Friday. I've been also reducing sugar, changing the recuring Caramel Macchiato for a plain Latte is doing the trick. Also cleared the pantry a couple of weeks ago and that generated that I now eat less out of boredom.

Laying groundwork by getting tools and making your environment better sounds like progress to me!

 

7 hours ago, Ike Eldrazi said:

Still need to work on cooking my breakfast.

What kind of breakfast are you hoping for, and what's holding you back? There could be a tool that would make that easier too (eg. my toaster makes awesome, easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs).

 

7 hours ago, Ike Eldrazi said:

Decided that reading is also enjoyable for me and worth incorporating but without any "books per year" goal in mind.

There's an annual reading chitchat thread here, if that is your kind of thing.

[Ike Eldrazi]

On 12/12/2022 at 10:19 PM, juliebarkley said:

Laying groundwork by getting tools and making your environment better sounds like progress to me!

It sure is! but doesn't immediately get any result so... bit of impatience there. Need to remind myself that health improvement is a long-term game and there are no magic solutions. Anyhow, got confirmation that jars are arriving Saturday... doing my best in the meantime, although some sweet bread was brought home yesterday and I couldn't resist to eat it.

 

On 12/12/2022 at 10:19 PM, juliebarkley said:

my toaster makes awesome, easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs

What?! I need that toaster!!!

 

In reality I can live with a pretty simple breakfast (did in 2019)... scrambled eggs with spinach and onion, side of tomatoes, nice cup of coffee. Biggest challenge now is that, in order to do my own breakfast and still eat it with my girlfriend, I need to wake up early. That's quite a change compared to the easiest path of just "waking up to eat" when she is cooking. Maybe the issue is more related to sleep habits than to the actual breakfast...

 

On the high note: Finished the 8/12 days of fitness this Monday. Got a cool virtual badge for it. Today I'm training again in the afternoon and apparently there's some swag being handled to those of us who managed to complete the 8 days. Exited to get mine.

 

I haven't read that much but started coding (online) course. Fun to see how a language I knew already has changed in the last 8+ years. Clear schedule for both of these activities still needs to be defined.

[juliebarkley]

8 hours ago, Ike Eldrazi said:

What?! I need that toaster!!!

It's this little guy. Sadly, it's been discontinued. But I'm sure there are similar products out there. The key is that it steams the "hard-boiled" eggs; that's what makes the shells easy to remove.

[Everstorm]

10 hours ago, Ike Eldrazi said:

scrambled eggs with spinach and onion, side of tomatoes, nice cup of coffee. Biggest challenge now is that, in order to do my own breakfast and still eat it with my girlfriend, I need to wake up early. That's quite a change compared to the easiest path of just "waking up to eat" when she is cooking

 

Maybe do some advance prep on the weekend so you can heat and eat breakfast with her?  Like a spinach and tomato fritatta?

[Darth Yoga]

On 12/14/2022 at 11:21 PM, juliebarkley said:

It's this little guy. Sadly, it's been discontinued. But I'm sure there are similar products out there. The key is that it steams the "hard-boiled" eggs; that's what makes the shells easy to remove.

 

I got one of those at a thrift store years ago! I never tries steaming eggs in it but I make batches of "hardboiled" eggs in my vegetable steamer all the time and I can confirm they are way easier to peel than conventional. Plus the steamer is a "set it and forget it" cooking method, which I love.

[Chesire]

On 12/14/2022 at 11:21 PM, juliebarkley said:

It's this little guy. Sadly, it's been discontinued. But I'm sure there are similar products out there. The key is that it steams the "hard-boiled" eggs; that's what makes the shells easy to remove.

 

23 hours ago, Darth Yoga said:

 

I got one of those at a thrift store years ago! I never tries steaming eggs in it but I make batches of "hardboiled" eggs in my vegetable steamer all the time and I can confirm they are way easier to peel than conventional. Plus the steamer is a "set it and forget it" cooking method, which I love.

 

Wait!  What?  Apparently I need to explore what my steamer can do.  Or pressure cooker could do it to, I think. 

 

I second the idea of batch cooked fritatta or scrambles.

 

How was the swag bag?

[Ike Eldrazi]

On 12/15/2022 at 12:29 AM, Everstorm said:

Maybe do some advance prep on the weekend so you can heat and eat breakfast with her?  Like a spinach and tomato fritatta?

 

On 12/17/2022 at 6:42 AM, Chesire said:

I second the idea of batch cooked fritatta or scrambles.

 

Really don't like refrigerated/re-heated eggs... something about the texture and smell just doesn't click to me. Anyway, I pre-chopped some onion and spinach mix and put it on a freezer bag. Now I just need to take some out every morning, scramble a pair of eggs, dump everything in a pan and... Magic! Breakfast ready in less than 10 minutes... Or I hope so, will share how it goes  

 

On 12/16/2022 at 6:41 AM, Darth Yoga said:

Plus the steamer is a "set it and forget it" cooking method, which I love.

 

Used a steamer a while ago and it was really practical to cook, but not so much to wash. And it takes up a ton of storage space that I don't have available right now. Maybe will try it again in the future.

 

On 12/17/2022 at 6:42 AM, Chesire said:

How was the swag bag?

 

We got a pair of Xmas themed socks! not sure if I'll ever use them but... happy that I completed the challenge  

 

On 12/12/2022 at 2:56 PM, Ike Eldrazi said:

My Salad Jars have been ordered and arrive on Friday.

 

Salad jars arrived and I already love them. Today I filled up 4 of them with some veggies for this week's lunches. The idea is to "quickly" cook some kind of protein every day, dump the jar on a plate with some dressing and eat. At least at the moment, pretty excited to see how this little experiment goes.

 

Other than that, I cleaned the fridge (lots of old stuff went out) and made some jelly for the week. Feeling pretty motivated now that I have some prep-work done.

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Everstorm]

Ooh, I like the salad jar idea.  And prepping the scramble veggies is a good compromise if you don't like reheated eggs.

[The Most Loathed]

11 hours ago, Ike Eldrazi said:

Salad jars arrived and I already love them. Today I filled up 4 of them with some veggies for this week's lunches. The idea is to "quickly" cook some kind of protein every day, dump the jar on a plate with some dressing and eat. At least at the moment, pretty excited to see how this little experiment goes.

Other than that, I cleaned the fridge (lots of old stuff went out) and made some jelly for the week. Feeling pretty motivated now that I have some prep-work done.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is clever and I will likely steal it. I love cabbage salads but if I leave the ingredients separate it's too easy to decide I don't have time to assemble them. 3-5 prebuilt salads would be game changing.

[Ike Eldrazi]

Posting after a couple of crazy weeks to close on the challenge. I thought that dominating the first half of December got me over the line, but was way off and the week between Christmas and New Year (together with getting sick) threw me off the wagon.

 

 Anyhow... I consider the challenge a success for testing the systems to use in 2023.

 

- OTF is doable 3-4x per week. Will consider hiking and bouldering as "fun" activities to do when possible and not necessarily "training" or "exercise"

- Salad jars worked nicely, sticking with them. Learned that storing them for more than 3 days make some chopped veggies go bad.

- Scramble veggies worked nicely. Just chop and freeze.

- Struggled with reading. Decided to consider it as a "fun" activity without super specific goals.

- Struggled with studying/programming. Need to schedule specific times and place to do so.

 

BTW... Happy new year to everyone!!!