[athousandwords]

It's me.

Hi.

 

 It's a new challenge and I'm ready to Begin Again. During the last challenge I focused more on weight loss: tracking macros, running, and drinking water - and long story short, it worked! I broke out of the 180s plateau and lost about 4-5lbs during the challenge.

 

So Is It Over Now? Of course not, I still have a long way to go trying to reach my End Game of weight loss. But focusing so narrowly on weight loss was starting to feel like Death by a Thousand Cuts.  It's time for a Change... so I'm going to Shake it Off.

 

 

This challenge, I'm telling cardio and macros, "You're Losing Me," and concentrating more on strength training and simple calorie counting.  Basically this is me trying to build a better relationship with strength training, to enjoy it instead of just tolerate it.  I also want to Speak Now about working on my mental health this challenge. My State of Grace is to actively work on cultivating happiness. Part of that is being more productive at work (because fighting against executive dysfunction gets me Down Bad). The other part is nurturing activities that don't feed on cheap dopamine like facebook and fan fiction. I want more phone-free time: whether it's time spent creating, with my kids, or enjoying The Outside. 

🫶🏻 GOALS 🫶🏻 

 

 

Don't be Delicate

• Exercise 4x a week (M/T/T/F)
• Strength Training first, program details here
• Followed by a 20 min run or 40 min walk
• Intention: Build muscle and increase amount I can lift while maintaining some cardio for weight loss
   

 

Mastermind my Food Intake

• Stay under calorie budget on LoseIt daily
• Aided by eating low-carb, high-protein but not required
• Intention: Keep focus on weight loss through simple CICO
   

 

Water Hits Different

• Drink 8 cups of water a day
• Continued from last challenge
• Intention: Continue to build the habit of drinking enough water

 

 

Work like a mad woman

• 6 Pomodoros every work day (work for 25 minutes with a 5 minute break)
• Light work like checking emails, slack, or Asana doesn't count toward goal
• Intention: Improve focus at work, get more actual work done, and feel rewarded by productivity flow

 

 

You Need to Calm Down

• Chose an enjoyable,  non-phone based activity for at least 30 minutes a day
• Bonus points for doing more than one activity
• Ideas:
     - Reading a book (not fan fiction)                                                             - Creating something or engaging with art or hobbies
     - Taking a walk or hike                                                                                    - Visiting with friends
     - Playing with the kids                                                                                    - Any pastime people enjoyed doing 50 years ago
• Intention: Kick the cheap dopamine  habit (aka doomscrolling) and spend phone-free time pursuing pleasurable slow-paced activities

 

🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

 

So Long Live the challenge we've made - and remember, it's a shiny new NF Challenge, so baby just say YES.

 

 

[athousandwords]

 

And if you see me changing my challenge title and tweaking it still... no you didn't.

 

[Sovalis]

You put *so much work* into that intro. HOLY WOW.  You're going to ace this!! Here to cheer!

[athousandwords]

10 hours ago, Sovalis said:

You put *so much work* into that intro. HOLY WOW.  You're going to ace this!! Here to cheer!

 

I'm a little embarrassed about how much time I spent fitting together song names. 😅 But it made me ridiculously happy and I could use the motivation for this one!

[athousandwords]

Alright, an actual update now that I've spent 10 hours playing around with my challenge theme.

 

Week Zero went okay - I was still fighting a cold and starting craving comfort foods like ramen. I stopped tracking calories as closely and just skipped logging a couple days. I did run through all the ST workouts in my new program with light weights just to get a feel for the movements, but I skipped all the cardio because the weather was shockingly cold for March and because of the aforementioned head cold.

 

All said, my weight was up a little over the weekend, but back down this morning after making an effort the last day or two to up my water and get calories back under control. I'm starting this challenge off at 175.2 - it would be nice to see that number come down over the next couple weeks, but I know ST can do weird things to weight so I'm not going to stress. I did take my measurements today for the start of the PVP challenge, and I'm excited to see how those change over the next 12 weeks.

 

Yesterday's challenge goals went well except for getting work done - I only got one Pomodoro in because I started late and forgot I had a Dr. appt in the afternoon. I'm going to try to be extra productive this week though to make up for it. But otherwise ticked all the boxes for exercise, staying under calorie budget, drinking enough water, and I read for 30 minutes before bed.

 

 

Lastly - I didn't write about this in the intro because, well, it's hard to write a lot of content when you're primarily using Taylor Swift songs, but there are a few potential derailers during this challenge:
 

🌷 It's currently Spring Break and my parents are in town to watch the kids. It's awesome to see them, but I was a little worried going into this week that it would throw off my workouts in the morning since our guest room is by the home gym. Turns out that hasn't been a problem! I worked out yesterday and today and it wasn't awkward at all (I did start work a little late though because I've been sleeping in without needing to take big kid to the bus stop at 7am). So the only real concern is just watching my calorie consumption - we tend to make slightly more extravagant meals and share a bottle of wine or two with my parents while they're visiting. Not a huge deal, just need to be aware.
 

🎊 We have big kid's 7th birthday in April - we're hosting at our house again, so that weekend is going to be exhausting. But I'm no longer scheduling workouts on weekends so that should help me from going off track due to weekend plans.
 

🍹 I'm going to Cancun for 4 days in April! My sister and I are spending a long weekend at an all-inclusive for her 40th birthday. I'm already planning to not track or workout for those days and I'm fine with that - I just need to get right back to it when I get back. So hold me accountable on April 22, okay?

 

But other than all that, I'm hoping for a strong and steady five weeks!

[Elastigirl]

Fun challenge theme!

I'm trying to cut donw on the screen dopamine hits too, and replacing with better activities. 

[fitnessgurl]

Here & following! You got this!

[athousandwords]

 

Pretty good day yesterday, although I fell a little short of that deep work time/pomodoros I wanted to work on. I had a lot of meetings in the morning, which I don't generally count because, while important, I'm not really getting tasks done. 

 

I was happy with my workout yesterday - it was leg day, and while I kept the same light weights as last week I didn't wake up with raging DOMS like I did last Wednesday. It was seriously so bad I could barely go up and down stairs. So just seeing that improvement, and being able to run 1.7 mi after, felt great.

 

Happy slow serotonin activity yesterday was a long conversation with my mom after the kids went to bed. She's in town visiting for the week and so it was nice just to have a deep conversation with her about childhood memories, relatives that have passed on, moments in the kids' lives. Usually we're just catching each other up on how the week went in a hurried phone call, so having her here to talk to is really special. ❤️ 

[Shello]

On 3/25/2024 at 9:13 PM, athousandwords said:

 - Any pastime people enjoyed doing a 50 years ago

Love this one!   Actually, I love your entire challenge! 

[athousandwords]

 

 

All good yesterday! I caught up slightly on my work pomodoros (7 out of 6!) which made up for lower productivity earlier in the week.

 

Yesterday was a rest day, and I actually ended up well under my calorie budget, which reflected nicely on the scale this morning. Hoping to keep that good number through the weekend.

 

Calm Down activity was half an hour (probably more) of reading before bed. I'm working on the last book in the Mistborn series, The Lost Metal, and I'm eager to finish the series. It's getting real interesting and it's my last book in the Cosmere. 🥲

[Sovalis]

I have The Well of Ascension in my TBR right now. Maybe I should dig it out…

 

Good job with the goals! Also, that dress Taylor is wearing in the gif makes fringe look so much more fun than I expected!

[athousandwords]

4 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I have The Well of Ascension in my TBR right now. Maybe I should dig it out…

 

The original Mistborn trilogy is my favorite of his series. I've found the second series much harder to get through because the tone is drastically different, but it's been a worthwhile read.

 

4 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Also, that dress Taylor is wearing in the gif makes fringe look so much more fun than I expected!

 

I know! I want one now...  

[TiogaGirl]

EEEEEEEEE!!! This is so much fun! 🤩 

following!

[athousandwords]

On 3/29/2024 at 7:25 AM, TiogaGirl said:

EEEEEEEEE!!! This is so much fun! 🤩 

following!

 

Yay! Welcome!!

 

[athousandwords]

 

Thursday: I was hyper-productive on Thursday, buckling down and completing 11 pomodoros! I finished out a big feature I was working on that I know would have had me stressed out if it had bled over into Monday. I'm really happy that this challenge is encouraging me to get in more heads down time at work. Also on Thursday we played Ticket to Ride with my parents after the kids went to bed, which definitely counted for my happiness goal. 😊

 

Friday: I don't work on Fridays, so I got my workout in early and then went out with my parents and the kids to Great Falls National Park. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I had a great time goofing off with kids, scrambling up rocks and running around. I could have counted all the walking we did toward my exercise goal, but I was happy I did my 20 min run that morning because we stopped for a big Mexican lunch after walking around the park - I split an entree with both kids but it was still a lot of food since we got an appetizer and then there's all those tortilla chips... 🤤 

On Friday evening, my parents generously offered to babysit our kids and our friends' kids so we could have a double date! All four kids play really well together, so we got a grown-up night out. We went to a shopping center that has a bunch of different shops and restaurants and hopped around having drinks and appetizers at each place. It was so fun, but the drinking definitely caught up with me by the end of the night. 🫨 I did track calories, but with all the eating out they were a real broad estimate. Still, I had enough exercise between the workout and the walk that I landed well under budget for the day. Bonus happiness points for the nature walk and the date night.

 

Saturday: This morning we got to sleep off our hangovers while my parents let the kids watch morning cartoons (I'm going to miss this when they leave tomorrow 😢). Then our neighbors invited us over for some Bolivian treats for the Easter weekend (and because they're better friends with my parents than us, lol). After that we cleaned out the garage - my parents have been storing some furniture at our place since they lived with us a couple years ago and they're finally taking the last of it home this weekend. I'm excited to finally get our garage space back! It was absolutely gorgeous today - up in the 70s! - so after we finished, the kids played on the back deck with the water/sand table while we relaxed with a bottle of wine and a cheese board. I'm still putting the kids to bed as I write this, but I think we're going to play another game with my parents tonight since it's their last night in town.

 

We're doing Easter with my in-laws tomorrow, so it's a packed weekend, but that should be a fun way the end the week. 

 

Hope everyone here is having a lovely weekend with beautiful spring weather - I'll check in on Monday!

 

[Sovalis]

What a great update! It madee so happy to read!

[athousandwords]

 

After a great week 1 and a really fun weekend, this week it's back to work with a super busy week!

 

I'm running interviews from 9am - 12pm all week, which is throwing off a couple of my goals. I usually workout from 7:30 - 8:30, but I'm not sure I can shower/be presentable by 9am if I go for a run at 8. (I'm sure other people could, I just don't think I can - I'll be a hot, sweaty mess still.) So this morning I tried just doing the weightlifting early and then went for a longer walk after my interviews ended at noon, at that worked pretty well. It helped clear my head too; leading an interview can be pretty intense. So that might be my plan for the week - except maybe tomorrow when I have more meetings 12 - 3. 🫠

 

It's also raining here all week, which is a bummer because I've gotten spoiled running outside in the beautiful spring weather last month. But I'll do a treadmill run/walk if I have to.

 

For my work goal, I'm counting the interviews as worth 4 pomodoros each day since I'm doing 2x 1-hr interviews and they require me to be totally focused. It's not exactly what I intended for the challenge, but it's my top priority right now so I don't need to do 6 pomodoros a day on other tasks. Getting in another hour of focused, deep work after the interviews should be fine most days (plus catching up on slack/email, attending other meetings, blah blah blah).

 

That's the plan for the week! Still need to figure out meals/groceries, but I have some stuff in the fridge to cobble together at least dinner (I think). 

[Elastigirl]

Good for you for figuring out a workout plan that worked for your schedule this week. 

[Everstorm]

23 hours ago, athousandwords said:

I usually workout from 7:30 - 8:30, but I'm not sure I can shower/be presentable by 9am if I go for a run at 8. (I'm sure other people could, I just don't think I can - I'll be a hot, sweaty mess still.

That sounds like a tall order to me, too.  I think you made the right call.

[athousandwords]

 

I'm struggling a little with food this week, for a few reasons:

1. I've been eating breakfast to make sure I'm not hungry going into interviews (can you imagine getting a bad score on an interview because your interviewer is hangry and trying to get you off the call in the last 20 minutes? 😳). But I'm not usually a breakfast eater, so those are extra calories I'm spending but then I'm still kind of eating the same amounts for lunch and dinner because my brain doesn't get the signal that I should be less hungry because I ate already.
2. I've been squeezing walks in for exercise, but they're not as long or intense as the runs I did last week, so I'm not burning any extra exercise calories. Or maybe I am - tbh my fitbit is acting up this week so I'm not really sure my calorie burn is accurate. But either way, I'm not getting that extra 2-300 calorie cushion. (My budget on exercise days is 1500 - not insanely low, but it's nice to have some extra wiggle room)
3. Maybe because of the above, I'm just snacky this week. And I'm not making great food choice: nachos for dinner (homemade at least) and a candy bar when I needed a pick-me-up yesterday afternoon. It would be okay if I had the calories to spare, but I don't.

Anyway, definitely not masterminding the food this week. Hopefully just acknowledging it will help me out today and tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal routine next week.

 

Good things:

• I've almost finished the final Mistborn book and it's getting wild.
• Yesterday I took my Kindle out to the screened in porch to read during the thunderstorm. I had to layer two blankets and a cat to stay warm and I only managed about 30 minutes, but it was nice listening to the rain while I read!
• We've had some great candidates for the role we're hiring for! So even though it's disrupting my week, I've had a lot of fun meeting some new people and get to know them. Interviewing is a skill I don't get to flex often, but I always enjoy it when I do.

[Elastigirl]

Glad the interviews are going well. Sounds like you are managing well even with the change in routines. Some weeks are just like that.

[athousandwords]

27 minutes ago, Elastigirl said:

Glad the interviews are going well. Sounds like you are managing well even with the change in routines. Some weeks are just like that.

 

So true. And the scale is staying steady this week, so I can't be doing too poorly!

[Chesire]

super late, but following!

[athousandwords]

On 4/4/2024 at 4:28 PM, Chesire said:

super late, but following!

 

Thanks for being here! ❤️

[athousandwords]

Updating from the small screen tonight so I don't have a spreadsheet update.

 

Today was a real fail on just about every goal. But let's back up: Last night around dinner, Miss 4 started feeling poorly and hardly ate. We ended up putting her to bed early because she was running a fever and she fell asleep next to me while I read a book. We all had a miserable night's sleep because she was tossing and turning and needed more Advil at midnight, then woke up at 4am crying for food. I got her back in her room with a bowl of Cheerios and managed to sleep another hour or so while she played quietly in her room. 

 

Both kids were off school today, but the little one getting stuck meant they couldn't go hang out at my in-laws like we'd planned. I didn't have a ton planned for today, so it wasn't a big deal to keep them home, but the crappy night's sleep was wearing on me. I decided to skip my workout because I just couldn't muster the energy, but since Miss 4 was feeling a little better, I took the kids out to the library and Costco. I didn't grab a water bottle or anything for myself, and that's about how the rest of the day went in terms of forgetting to drink water.

 

Then in the afternoon we had a contractor come by to give an estimate on some work we needed done, and found some bigger issues than we originally thought, so that ended up taking 4 hours, over dinner, and we'll be shelling out 8k this spring on home repairs that weren't on our radar for the next few years. 

🫠 By the time that all ended and both kids were in bed (baby girl went to bed early and feverish again...😞) I thought I'd get some laundry done but instead I just got sucked into scrolling on my phone.

 

So- missed my water goal, skipped my workout, and no points for avoiding doomscroll with more productive past-times. But I was under my calorie goal at least, and there were a few good things today: playing a couple board games with the big kid and lots of snuggles from the sick one. And I'm glad to have uncovered the house issues before they became a bigger problem, and happy we had money in the budget to cover them. 

 

Hoping tomorrow is more on track though.