Rostov II - On the Run

[Rostov]

Contrary to popular demand, I'm back with my second challenge. The thread for my first one is here so I can find it again.

My challenges are:

Goal 1: A shadow of my former self

Lose 6lbs (average 1lb per week) over the duration of the challenge. I'll do this by a combination of calorie counting and exercise and run a safe net deficit through sustainable habits. Last time I managed to lose 5lbs over the course of the challenge, and then lose 2lbs in between challenge weeks. Great for me, not so good for challenge points! This morning I was 98.6kg (217lbs), so that's my starting point. It'll be tougher this time because I have less to lose, but let's see how close I can get. Last time I gave myself +1 constitution per 1lb after the first for a maximum of +5 available. This time I'm going to split the bonus between constitution and dexterity, partly because I want some dex points but mostly because weight lost makes me more agile.

Goal 2: Citius, Altius, Fortius

I will work out on at least 11 days out of 14. These workouts will either be (a) a gradually increased bodyweight workout or ( 30 mins rebounder interval training or playing sport (training or a match) or 50-60 mins rebounder jogging at a decent pace, or running outside. I achieved this goal in full last time, and I'd like to keep it going.

+0.5 Strength and +0.5 Stamina per successful 14 days, total of +1.5 str and +1.5 sta available. (+3 overall)

Goal 3: The awesomeness of the long distance runner

In the course of the last challenge, I plucked up the courage to start running outdoors, with the help of some excellent advice and support from the NF community. I joined the couch-to-5k programme at week four, and am now two runs into week 5. There are 9 weeks in total, so I'm going to aim to complete couch-to-5k during this challenge. Doing four more weeks in six available weeks might not sound that ambitious, but autumn will be turning into winter, and my progress may well be interrupted by the elements. If that happens I may need to build up again. I'll give myself +1 stamina per week completed (not including week 5), so a total of +4 available.

Goal 4: "What's for dinner?"

In the last few weeks of the last challenge, I found myself starting to plan my meals in advance. Previously this had been anathema to me - planning takes away spontaneity and turns the joy of food (then a disproportionate joy in my life) into a timetabled chore in an already over-routined life. So I used to eat whatever I fancied, and often this meant using my local supermarket as my fridge and not eating well. I also used to end up wasting food by not planning ahead, and buying stuff I would want/ought to eat 'later', but not tonight. For this challenge, I am going to know what I'm going to have for my evening meal the night before when I go to bed. If I'm eating out/getting takeaway, I can decide when it comes to ordering time, but I must have decided that I'm not cooking that day the night before. I have a form of routine with my week, and my calorie counting method allows me to have takeaway food or eat out occasionally if I'm careful. I'm designating this a life goal rather than a food/fitness goal, as it's more about being organised and not wasting food/money as it is about improving my diet, because that side of things is largely done, but in a disorganised way.

+0.5 wisdom per successful week, total +3 available.

[alarep]

Glad to see you back, Rostov! The goals look great - I'm impressed by c25k during the winter months! Good luck!!

[shoobie]

wb Rostov! Great goals!!! Good luck!

[Rostov]

Thanks

I'm really excited about the running. I like playing sport, I don't mind my circuit training, and I have a weird love/hate relationship with the beginner bodyweight workout (love the results, but my heart sinks when I remember it's today). But outdoor running I love. I find myself missing it, and looking forward to running days, especially my weekend run in (a) daylight and ( the beautiful local park. When I get fitter I can just.... run... for half an hour or so, through the whole park, past the country house and down to the woods.

[Jonesy]

Thanks

I'm really excited about the running. I like playing sport, I don't mind my circuit training, and I have a weird love/hate relationship with the beginner bodyweight workout (love the results, but my heart sinks when I remember it's today). But outdoor running I love. I find myself missing it, and looking forward to running days, especially my weekend run in (a) daylight and ( the beautiful local park. When I get fitter I can just.... run... for half an hour or so, through the whole park, past the country house and down to the woods.

I really like your goals and I hope to see your upcoming progress! I also feel my heart sink when I realize that today is the day for the body weight workout. I've only done it 2x now but pushing through is what it's all about. Good Luck

[allirep]

Thanks

I'm really excited about the running. I like playing sport, I don't mind my circuit training, and I have a weird love/hate relationship with the beginner bodyweight workout (love the results, but my heart sinks when I remember it's today). But outdoor running I love. I find myself missing it, and looking forward to running days, especially my weekend run in (a) daylight and ( the beautiful local park. When I get fitter I can just.... run... for half an hour or so, through the whole park, past the country house and down to the woods.

exactly. wow - you summed up my sentiments on BW v running.

[HulmeK]

I like playing sport, I don't mind my circuit training, and I have a weird love/hate relationship with the beginner bodyweight workout (love the results, but my heart sinks when I remember it's today).

I always go UGH! when I wake up and it is strength training day. But it does not make sense that I do that because I always feel good all day long afterwards. Have to listen to my body, not the devil's advocate in my head.

I look forward to following you on your journey.

[Rostov]

Thanks everyone

And please don't let me put anyone off the bodyweight workout - I've had really spectacular results with it. I just feel I need to change something, perhaps bring in some new tougher variations of existing exercises... think I may be doing too many reps of some of them now. I also need some new music - I've been using an Olympic-themed playlist (a couple of Underworld tracks and one by David Holmes from the opening ceremony, and Bowie's 'Heroes' from GB gold medal ceremonies), and perhaps that's past it and I need something new. I'm fine once I get started, and the last circuit when I realise I'm doing each exercise for the last time is pretty good. To be honest, it's only really the plank (now up to 60 seconds) and the push ups (12 normal with good form, 8 knee) that have any kind of fear factor.

[alarep]

I'm new to BW - and don't worry, you didn't put me off! - my SORE quads might put me off though. Holy moly they are hurtingggg tonight! I am excited to see improvements since I am starting from ground zero - I can only go up from here.

[Rostov]

The DOMS can be quite nasty the first few times. A good stretch and a proper warm-down can help reduce it, but honestly it's mostly a case of getting your muscles used to it. Worth it in the end.

Things are going okay so far. I won't know about weight loss until the official weekend weigh-in. The working out has been, er, working out well. Sport on Monday, Circuits yesterday, Cto5k today and the final run of week 5. This was a 5 min walk, 20 min run, and a final 5 min walk. I felt pretty good, and didn't start to feel tired until the podcast told me that there were five minutes to go, and that I might feel tired but should keep on going. The power of suggestion, I suppose. But I finished it with enough in the tank for a bit more speed in the last minute or so. I think I can go more and go further, which I'm told is the way to finish each run. I also get the impression that I've just got over one of the bigger jumps/level ups in the programme. I'll start week 6 on Friday, and none of the week 6 runs hold much fear for me. But I don't want to get overconfident - climate and constitution have been kind to me so far, and that may not last.

Food planning is going well, too. Tomorrow's dinner (supermarket stock permitting) will be chicken and roasted mediterranean vegetables. I'm also going to get the ingredients for Friday and Sunday's evening meals tomorrow. It's not formally part of the challenge, but I'm also trying to expand my cookery repertoire, and just put a bit more effort into cooking in general.

[Rostov]

Although it doesn't fit with the 'challenge week', Saturdays have always been my official weekly weigh-in point for tracking purposes. I started the challenge at 98.6kg (217lbs), and today I'm apparently 95.5kg (210.5lbs). Which sounds very unlikely, especially as I lost 2lbs in the time between the end of the last challenge and the beginning of this one. I guess one explanation might be that my weigh-in this morning followed an unusually late lie-in and a day when I probably ate too few calories - I've got a new mealtime concoction of scrambled eggs, chopped peppers, chicken slices, and sweet chilli sauce which is delicious and very filling, but fairly low in calories. I usually make myself a sandwich later in the evening, but didn't yesterday. So maybe this is a weirdly low reading and I won't see anything nearly this low again until near the end of the challenge when I should see numbers like this. I guess I was on something of a mini-plateau/slow descent at times in the last challenge, and I've had the pattern of little movement followed by a couple of weeks of big losses before - but nothing quite this big. There's some 'non-scale' evidence too....it feels like I'm dropping belt notches quite quickly, and some of my old t-shirts feel a bit big on me.

In the last few weeks I've been walking a lot more (rather than getting the bus), and going for walks in the park. I've played some matches (rather than just training), and it's pretty hard to estimate calorie burn for those. And of course, I've started running, and perhaps I'm under-counting that. In terms of calories, I've generally been less than 100 under my daily goal on most days, but on two or three have been 200-300 under. I probably need to stop doing that and try to hit the target (which has just dropped anyway) rather than undershooting - hitting it will get me what I want. I want to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way - too much too quickly is bad news and I'm a little worried, but I won't panic just yet.

[HulmeK]

It sounds like you are doing pretty good. I think a caloric deficit of ~3500 is equivalent to losing 1 pound. And your body runs in marathon mode(weekly not daily) so it is ok to go a little over/under on a day or two. Just keep in mind the weekly target

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[Aqweei]

Hope youre doing well this week Rostov! Your last entries look good so Im sure youre doing great

[Jonesy]

Sounds like you are doing pretty well! Keep up the good work.

Personally, I like eating a little over and under, to keep my body guessing and not let it get into a routine. I think the most important thing is to listen to your body and what it needs. If you are having a hard time getting in more calories, try smoothies. I like to have a smoothie with spinach, blueberries and a banana + 1 cup of water and you are good to go (about 200cals).

[Rostov]

Thanks all. Things are going fairly well, overall. My exercise routine is now pretty much habit - I found myself walking through the pouring rain yesterday to go to circuit training, without the thought of not going and staying indoors in the warm and dry ever seriously occurring to me. I don't think I've missed a day's exercise yet, though it's pouring with rain again today and my planned Cto5k final run of week 6 (25 mins running, no walking) may have to wait. I might do some rebounder running indoors, but I'm going out this evening to see one of my comedy heroes, so I'm a little short on time. If I can get away from work on time, I might be okay, and if it's not raining I can always walk there.

I've got some time off coming up, so I think I'll take a trip into town and get hold of some better wet weather/winter running gear. A breathable jacket and a non-cotton base layer would be a start. I'm not going to put myself through running in the pouring rain, but I need to be able to run in the cold and the drizzle.

I was a bit concerned about the low figure from last week's weigh-in, and subsequent unofficial morning figures have been higher, but still showing progress and have been closer to what I'd expect. This morning I was only a little over last week's record, so I think the progress is real even if one reading is a bit of an outlier. I'm not worrying about it any more.

Planning meals is going well, and I've decided what evening meal I'm going to have the day before. My general routine allows me to divide the week up into two not-quite-halves and go shopping for evening meal ingredients for each half of the week. This keeps me out of the supermarket more, which reduces the snacks I sometimes end up buying (but including in calorie counts). I've not had to throw any food away since the start of the challenge, so that's good. I was getting there with this before the challenge started, but the challenge has allowed the idea to properly crystallize. I think I was already mostly past the temptation of getting takeway food when I didn't feel like cooking/had a hard day/to celebrate/to commiserate, but knowing that I've already decided makes it easier. Planned takeway is different, of course, and my calorie counting/exercising allows this.

Apologies if I've been around/posting/supporting less.... it's been a hectic few days....

[HulmeK]

Sounds like you are doing great Rostov. I have lucked out and only had it raining once over the last 8 weeks when it was a walk day.

[Aqweei]

Thanks all. Things are going fairly well, overall. My exercise routine is now pretty much habit - I found myself walking through the pouring rain yesterday to go to circuit training, without the thought of not going and staying indoors in the warm and dry ever seriously occurring to me. I don't think I've missed a day's exercise yet, though it's pouring with rain again today and my planned Cto5k final run of week 6 (25 mins running, no walking) may have to wait. I might do some rebounder running indoors, but I'm going out this evening to see one of my comedy heroes, so I'm a little short on time. If I can get away from work on time, I might be okay, and if it's not raining I can always walk there.

I've got some time off coming up, so I think I'll take a trip into town and get hold of some better wet weather/winter running gear. A breathable jacket and a non-cotton base layer would be a start. I'm not going to put myself through running in the pouring rain, but I need to be able to run in the cold and the drizzle.

I was a bit concerned about the low figure from last week's weigh-in, and subsequent unofficial morning figures have been higher, but still showing progress and have been closer to what I'd expect. This morning I was only a little over last week's record, so I think the progress is real even if one reading is a bit of an outlier. I'm not worrying about it any more.

Planning meals is going well, and I've decided what evening meal I'm going to have the day before. My general routine allows me to divide the week up into two not-quite-halves and go shopping for evening meal ingredients for each half of the week. This keeps me out of the supermarket more, which reduces the snacks I sometimes end up buying (but including in calorie counts). I've not had to throw any food away since the start of the challenge, so that's good. I was getting there with this before the challenge started, but the challenge has allowed the idea to properly crystallize. I think I was already mostly past the temptation of getting takeway food when I didn't feel like cooking/had a hard day/to celebrate/to commiserate, but knowing that I've already decided makes it easier. Planned takeway is different, of course, and my calorie counting/exercising allows this.

Apologies if I've been around/posting/supporting less.... it's been a hectic few days....

Great job! Sounds like youre where I want to be. Im ready for everything to come full circle. Sometimes it feels as though Im just muddling through it but Im hoping that wont last long and I will start feeling like I am making strides in the ride direction. Keep up the great work

[Jonesy]

I know it's hard to get those walks in when it's raining, I'm having the same issues right now. But it sounds like you have everything under control and are doing pretty good!

[Rostov]

Great job! Sounds like youre where I want to be. Im ready for everything to come full circle. Sometimes it feels as though Im just muddling through it but Im hoping that wont last long and I will start feeling like I am making strides in the ride direction. Keep up the great work

I honestly think the hardest part is the post-sacrifice, pre-results phase. It's like that point on the learning curve for pretty much everything when the novelty is wearing thin and the learner is confronted for the first time by how much they don't know and how far they have to go, without yet getting the sustaining morale boost of tangible results. For me, it was a combination of watching numbers on the scale coming down, my clothes feeling looser, and noticing that my arms appeared to have grown actual muscles. Once the rewards start manifesting, it's much easier because there's clear evidence that it's actually working, and because you want more and better results. Increasing reps and doing more and progress against narrow exercise goals are valuable, but being about to do x number more push-ups than y weeks ago has much less meaning than seeing more muscle bulk in your limbs than you've ever seen before....

The rain stopped and I managed to get my run in - 25 mins non-stop, end of week 6. I had enough left in the tank to start running faster for the last five minutes and then pushing it further for the last minute. Then a quick shower and 45 mins walk into town, and later a 45 min walk back home. Still managed to overshoot on calories, though, through a careless miscalculation on eating back exercise calories. No lasting harm done, though.

[Rostov]

Time for the weekly report....

Goal 1: A shadow of my former self

Lose 6lbs (average 1lb per week) over the duration of the challenge.

Starting weight = 98.6kg (217lbs). Today: 95.0 (209.4lbs).

I was a bit surprised at last week's big drop in weight, and it's dropped (a little) further this week. As with last week, it's probably a slightly misleading figure as I've had a heavy cold for the last couple of days and didn't eat a proper dinner last night.

Goal 2: Citius, Altius, Fortius

I will work out on at least 11 days out of 14.

I'm 12 days in, and 11 out of 12 so far. I may end up missing today and possibly tomorrow too, as I'm not feeling great, but I'll try to do something.

Goal 3: The awesomeness of the long distance runner

I'm one run into week 7, which is 3 runs of 25 minutes without stopping. I bought some proper running clothes yesterday and felt much better with a proper base layer (rather than a cotton thermal t-shirt) and a running top on over that. I also bought a running fleece and a breathable waterproof, which I think I'll be glad of as we move into winter. I tried a new route as advised by the podcast, so rather than three times round a one mile lap, I went for once round a much longer route. This was a bit of a risk because it meant I was much further away from home if anything went wrong. As mentioned above, I did have a cold but dosed myself up on paracetamol, felt okay, and then went for it. I felt quite a bit worse that evening, though. So maybe it wasn't the best idea, but I'm feeling a little better today. 25 minutes felt quite comfortable, and I'm hoping that I'll be feeling well enough for a run tomorrow in daylight, though the park. It's two more runs of 25 mins, then week 8 (3 x 28) and then week 9 (3 x 30mins), and none of that holds any particular fear. I think once I get past 30 minutes I'll stop using the podcasts and come up with my own playlists, though I'm also wondering whether I shouldn't aim at completing a 10k rather than a 5k run in the spring.

Goal 4: "What's for dinner?"

A few hiccups with planning meals in advance. A colleague bought me a large chocolate thing to say thanks for something I'd done at work - I appreciated the thought, though. I was feeling a bit low on energy and a bit peckish at work, and I thought maybe I'd have a little bit and then save the rest. What followed was a rather embarrassing willpower fail, and unfortunately one that was entirely predictable. I still have to avoid having certain foods in the house, and actually go to the effort of putting 'free' prawn crackers that come unrequested with my Chinese takeway into the bin, or I will eat them. Oddly, though, I felt pretty terrible afterwards - not just a bit ashamed and disappointed with myself, but also physically bloated and a little queasy. Perhaps this is a sign that my body is adapting away from this kind of thing - go back to the first few months of last year and I'd have thought nothing of eating all the chocolate at work and then having a full evening meal. Partly to try and rescue what I could from the day, and partly because I wasn't hungry, I only had a snack evening meal. And as I mentioned above, I wasn't feeling very well/hungry yesterday. But other than those two days, meal planning in advance has gone pretty well overall.

I guess the good news is that my chocolate lapse hasn't thrown me off course, and it's got me thinking about what I should do next time this kind of temptation comes my way. I did (unsuccessfully) try to share the chocolate, but I think I just need to be prepared to have a little bit and then throw the rest away. There's an odd cultural quasi-taboo in the UK about throwing away food that I suspect goes back to rationing.....

[Jonesy]

I think you had a pretty decent week. Grats!

Isn't it weird how our attitude towards foods change? It feels good doesn't it. Congrats on the change!

I hope you feel better.

[alarep]

I honestly think the hardest part is the post-sacrifice, pre-results phase. It's like that point on the learning curve for pretty much everything when the novelty is wearing thin and the learner is confronted for the first time by how much they don't know and how far they have to go, without yet getting the sustaining morale boost of tangible results. For me, it was a combination of watching numbers on the scale coming down, my clothes feeling looser, and noticing that my arms appeared to have grown actual muscles. Once the rewards start manifesting, it's much easier because there's clear evidence that it's actually working, and because you want more and better results. Increasing reps and doing more and progress against narrow exercise goals are valuable, but being about to do x number more push-ups than y weeks ago has much less meaning than seeing more muscle bulk in your limbs than you've ever seen before....

Oh my gosh I needed to hear that today! I see results on the scale but don't trust those numbers. I can put my pants through the dryer now and button them, so that is progress, but I haven't been able to look in the mirror and see anything different. Glad to hear it might happen one of these days! Great work with c25k - 25 min nonstop is VERY impressive - keep it up!

[Isabelle]

You're doing great Rostov! I just read through all the entries on this thread, and it sounds like you really have it together. Planning your meals in advance is an awesome goal, that can help on so many levels.

Even with your chocolate setback (and let's face it, who can resist chocolate?), I can see you're maintaining a positive attitude and handling it right away instead of allowing it to turn into a 3-day setback. Major props to you!

I leave you with this, I find this funny for some reason :

[Rostov]

Oh my gosh I needed to hear that today! I see results on the scale but don't trust those numbers. I can put my pants through the dryer now and button them, so that is progress, but I haven't been able to look in the mirror and see anything different. Glad to hear it might happen one of these days! Great work with c25k - 25 min nonstop is VERY impressive - keep it up!

I think the mirror is - in some ways - even less trustworthy than the scales because you can't see what's no longer there, and because what we see has as much to do with our own psychology as physiology.

I remember reading an account by someone somewhere (probably the My Fitness Pal forums) who said that she'd lost a lot of weight - the scales said so, friends and co-workers had said so - but that the couldn't see it herself. All she could see was how far she had to go, and how dissatisfied she was with how she looked at the moment. Attempts (and successes) with weight loss weren't making her happy because rather than avoiding mirrors, she was now spending more time in front of one looking for evidence of success. I think when gauging success using a mirror, it's important to make ourselves remember as best we can how we used to look, and to make ourselves focus on features that look better (neck, moobs) rather than features that still look objectively pretty bad (stomach) even if they're better than they were before. The mirror is not neutral - we see what we want to see, and it's easy to see the worst if we expect the worst and miss the good news.

We know that scales can lie - natural variations, water weight, not registering body re-composition from fat to muscle. I think the most accurate marker is probably clothes and the way they fit. Granted maybe they'll stretch with time and perhaps shrink a little in the wash, but overall they're fairly constant. If clothes fit now and didn't before, or fit better, that's probably one of the surest signs of progress.

[Rostov]

You're doing great Rostov! I just read through all the entries on this thread, and it sounds like you really have it together. Planning your meals in advance is an awesome goal, that can help on so many levels.

Even with your chocolate setback (and let's face it, who can resist chocolate?), I can see you're maintaining a positive attitude and handling it right away instead of allowing it to turn into a 3-day setback. Major props to you!

I leave you with this, I find this funny for some reason :

Thanks, that's excellent! I was doing pretty well with chocolate up till then. Very occasionally I'd treat myself to a small kids' sized chocolate bar (bought from a shop, rather than taken from a child) and that was lovely and.... enough. It was seldom more than 200 calories or so and often less, and that scratched that particular itch or gave me enough of an energy boost. I'd never have bought myself a large chocolate Christmas thing for myself, but nevertheless, it found me......