Darkfoxx - 2nd Challenge FTW!

[darkfoxx]

I've been thinking a bunch about what to do for my second challenge, and I think I mostly just need to continue on what I was building the first challenge. 

 

Goal #1: Weight. 

 

On challenge 1 I wasn't focusing on weight per se, more on getting back to healthy eating and on an exercise routine. This challenge set I want to focus on losing weight. I want to fit into either my black embroidered dress (White House Black Market size 4) or jeans with the orange butt detailing (Lucky size 6) by the end of this set. I plan to achieve this goal through a combination of diet and exercise. 

 

**edit: Ok, so apparently I'm not as 'resembling a baby hippo' as I thought and I fit back into that dress. It's not comfortable enough for all day (more like I could get through dinner if I didn't eat a ton - cocktails for sure), but I can zip it up. The same goes for the jeans; they give me serious muffin top and I'd have to pee constantly if I went anywhere near the subway or the car (or planned on doing any sitting, period), but I can zip them. Ditto my size 6 trouser jeans (Banana). I shoehorned myself into my goal fit capris (size 4 Anne Taylor Loft) and, although it took some serious begging and maneuvering and I almost injured myself getting back out of them, I am happy to report that I'm only an inch or so off from actually buttoning them. If I remember correctly, it'll take another 1/4 to 1/2 inch before they're comfortable for all day wear, but if I can manage to make that I will be back at my overall goal. I'm not expecting that to happen this cycle and I'm afraid to even mention it for fear of setting myself up for huge failure, but I think I can do it within 2 cycles if I keep it up. And, if I can do that, I can get back into my absolute favorite LBD (a Banana size 2) in time for my sister's wedding rehearsal dinner in early July. 

 

My plan for success in this goal is to keep eating healthy - not paleo, necessarily, but to stick with making good food choices (severely limiting my intake of non whole grains and dairy, limiting gluten, keeping a high level of vegetables and limiting meats) and to limit my eating wild on the weekends (no ramen 3x a weekend and dumplings with every meal). I'll have a beer, but not a beer a day, and sushi, but not eat everything in sight. I also plan to keep updating my challenge thread daily with what I am eating for accountability. 

 

Goal #2: Push myself harder in working out.

 

Now, I realize some things can get in the way of my goals (like injury or illness), but this challenge, I want to push myself a little harder. I lost a little weight last challenge, but I don't feel like I pushed myself to the level I need to to get where I want to be this challenge. I still want to do 4 days a week (+ weekend walks), and in those 4 days I want to do more - 2 days of yoga still (Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown parts 1 and 2); but for the 2 other days, I want to work in some more cardio. The DH is right; I think I need more than the NF bodyweight exercises to unblock weight loss - those seem to be great for maintenance, but not so great for blasting fat (at least for me). I'm hoping for either Wii fit games (which worked the first time like a charm) or the other Jillian Michaels thing - 30 Day Shred. At the very least, even if my arms feel like shit and my legs might fall off, 15 minutes of jogging in place and/or something core related. Has to happen; no excuses. 

 

My plan for success in this goal is to keep up with the reporting and accountability and to enlist my DH's help if I'm flagging. He's not a terribly good task master, but he can maybe at least give me good ideas on days I just can't face turning on a DVD or firing up the Wii. He has tons of calisthenics ideas and is more than willing to share them. 

 

Goal #3: This is a life goal - I'd like to level up my clothing this cycle.

 

I plan to accomplish this by taking good stock of what I have, tossing what doesn't work, and finally importing everything into my stylist app - Netrobe. Once everything is imported, I hope to be able to 'style my closet' more often, rather than relying on just a handful of items. I also hope to be able to see what I have and evaluate whether what I currently have is the direction I'd still like to go in. I imagine not, but want to get a good grasp on pieces I need before hitting up summer sales for things I may like but may not be something I need (like how many 'grownup' tees and tees from Threadless does 1 girl need when she has like 2 'going out' shirts and is in need of a cute skirt that isn't 50s ish?) 

 

I'm not sure how I'll accomplish this goal, other than by writing it down and putting it out there in the community. I very well might need an 11th hour kick in the ass on this one.  

 

Goal #4: FIgure out what I've been eating that has been putting little daggers and/or metric tons of gas and bloating into my stomach. 

 

I wasn't going to do this goal this cycle (even though I unofficially started it last go round), but as was pointed out (thanks!), we're supposed to be doing 4 goals this cycle. And, even though I was pretty good on both fronts last week, today's lunch decided to bloat me big time. So, 4 goals it is - let's see if I can figure out what's going on here; it doesn't look to be easy. 

 

Thinking about not accomplishing this goal is making me anxious, but as long as I'm making big strides towards at least establishing a pattern, I'll be in a better place than I was before I started. I plan to record what I am eating in some format - be it a spreadsheet, or text file; whatever it takes to get it done. 

[Fonzico]

I feel like we have a really similar trajectory this challenge, so I'm sure we'll be great support for each other I didn't make weight loss a goal... but it definitely is one, and I am resolved to eat clean enough to see some loss.

 

I'm doing the Jillian Michael's total body revolution now - my sister is doing it too, so it's nice to have some support IRL. But I have to say, I'm a bit of a die-hard JM fan now - everything of hers I've tried has been really excellent. And I have you to thank for turning me on to her!

 

Anyhow, I'm really stoked to see some real progress this challenge - best of luck to you, (I don't really have much to say about your goals - they are solid and achievable... it's just a matter of getting it done, right?) and we can agree to be each others butt kickers! I need some tough love!!

[darkfoxx]

Agreed! Oooh, I hadn't heard of the total body revolution. Is that one on YouTube, too? 

 

The 30 day shred business kicked my ass royally the first time I tried it (pre-challenge 1) but I remember liking it. 

 

We can totally kick ass this challenge cycle - we both did just fine last time, but we should definitely call each other out when things are slacking off this time! With love, of course  

[Fonzico]

I don't think it's on YouTube, it's quite a bit more elaborate (Admittedly, I DL'd it... it's like $100+ to buy it ). Basically, it's two different strength workouts twice a week, and they get harder every two weeks. And then two cardio per week, which get harder each month. It goes for 90 days.

 

I've just done Strength workouts one and two so far, and apparently they get a lot harder after the first two weeks... and my ass is already being kicked :scared: But I am going to stick with it, and be awesome. It's a lot of body weight stuff, with a little dumbell work and resistance band stuff. It's been ok on my shoulder so far, aside from having to skip the lateral raises. Apparently the cardio gets pretty repetitive, so a lot of people just sub their own in - my plan is to do one a week, and then just do my epic walks on the weekends.

 

Anyways, I'm sure the 30 day shred is awesome too, if you don't want to be a pirate, or fork over the big bucks But I do like the idea of a longer term program.. that I can actually stick with *cough*P90xIhateyou*cough*

[darkfoxx]

Lol. Yeah, I totally wasn't even going there with P90x. The hubbs had wanted to get it but I knew there was absolutely no freakin way either of us would stick with it - the commercials made me want to throw things. I'm sure the TV appreciates us not getting it. 

 

$100 for an exercise 'system' sounds like utter bullshit to me. Not gonna happen for a multitude of reasons (some of them from on top of a moral high horse). While I have zero issue being a pirate, I think I'll sit back and see how you like it this challenge  

 

I'll stick with my 30 Day Shred on YouTube, maybe the Wii, and calisthenics for cardio. 

 

Definitely do take it easy on the shoulder - I'm glad to see your goals don't include trying to kill it this time around. 

[Heranje]

Your goals look fab, new teamie! Are you not doing 4, then?

 

I once had all my clothes uploaded on gochicorgohome.com - it really helped me utilize my closet much better, because it was so much easier to see everything I had and put together outfits than just rummaging around my wardrobe (or, more likely, the floor where most of my clothes end up). Haven't heard of Netrobe, but I'm sure it'll be similarly useful!

[darkfoxx]

I liked the easy-to-remember 3 goal format from last time, but suppose I could expand to include something I had planned on doing unofficially anyways - finally figure out wtf I've been eating lately that has been giving me little stomach daggers and bloating. I've actually been not to bad on either front this past week, and had thought maybe it was just eating paleo in general that was doing it - but maybe not. It doesn't seem to be the same crap that used to kill my stomach ages ago. 

 

I hadn't heard of Go Chic or Go Home before, but that might be a great resource and maybe I'll like it better than Netrobe... Netrobe is good, but I'm a designer by trade and the background deletion feature is great to have (and one of the reasons I decided to go with the app), but I'm so anal retentive that if it doesn't work 100% perfectly I kind of tend to freak out a little. Ok, a lot - that's why I've been avoiding the app for a year. 

[darkfoxx]

Goals updated (again) - a 4th added and a little codification. 

[Jo2926]

Hello  new teamie!! 

 

Your goals look great - especially the workouts. And you have given yourself flexibility to try a few bits and pieces here in case you get bored of 30 day shred  - walking or jogging outside with a few body weight exercises thrown in, or even walking up and down stairs are nice easy things when you aren't feeling inspired!

 

With Goal 4 do you have any suspicions about your culprits for gas and bloating. I know mine are bread and sugary snacks. Took me ages to work it out though, so I recommend patience.

 

Good luck! You can do this, I know you can. 

[darkfoxx]

More edits to the goals (but good edits!) - turns out I'm not as large and in charge as I think I am and I can technically fit into both articles of clothing I was aiming for. I'm switching my goal cautiously to smaller sizes - and if I can't hit that, at least to fitting in the intermediate size items comfortably. 

 

Hello, Jo2926! I should go back and edit my goals again to include walking on weekdays - I hope to be able to do that as well when it warms up (and it had better hurry up! I'm tired of winter) - I like to do 3 miles (or an hour) on weeknights. Weekends, I'd like to get in some more death marches (the hubbs and I have a habit of occasionally accidentally walking 30 or 40 blocks) this spring before the heat gets too crazy. Hell, after the heat gets crazy, too. Those are ridiculously tiring and they completely wipe us both out, but we both strangely kind of like them. We get to see a lot of the city that way  

 

And I should really think about stairs more often, too. Fonzico did such a killer job with stairs last challenge and I could totally commandeer the fire stairs to do so in my building. I do worry about killing my knees, but if I never do it, I'll never get stronger, right? 

 

I know what used to cause stomach issues ages ago (crazy high stress and onions, garlic, shellfish at my stomach's worst). I don't have pain on that level (I was also working on creating my very own ulcer back then), so I've kind of just gotten used to mild pain and bloating over the years. I can eat onions again without thinking I'm going to die, garlic may or may not be giving me issues, and I don't think shellfish is it. I kind of think maybe brassicas and eating strict paleo was what was behind it last month - after the challenge ended, I had some quinoa and felt better for days. I think it warrants further investigation. 

[Ordimoi]

*waves* I like your goals and how you've set them up! Your walking sounds awesome and inspiring! *quickly sets lucky cat down and runs off* Welcome to the team!

[Pookie]

Well thought out goals! Have to admit to laughing at your description of clothes trying!

 

Interesting about your tummy aches.. could it be too much fibre from the vegetables at once perhaps?

[darkfoxx]

I figured I might as well be as accurate as possible on the rule defining - fitting in pants is not a grey area; either I will or I won't at the end of the challenge. And i've learned that sizes mean jack between stores - what I feel excited about fitting in in one store (more likely 1 fit from 1 store), I've been reduced to blubbering in another... which is most likely why I shop at a scant handful of stores without completely going off the reservation in the dressing room. The hubby is happy when there are no hysterics when out shopping. 

 

It could be the fiber; not sure. I will definitely keep an eye on that, too. 

[darkfoxx]

Week 1 Day 1 Update 

 

Food was pretty good - I had a Naked Juice green smoothie for breakfast; a mescalun greens, turkey, cranberry, walnut & sunflower seed salad with raspberry vinaigrette for lunch; grapefruit sesame crusted shrimp with a beet, grapefruit, snap pea and radish salad for dinner; and was still starving to death after, so I had wasabi nori seaweed strips for a snack. 

 

Workout kicked my ass royally - I did the 30 Day Shred part 1 and I think my arms might fall off. This is not boding well for my big yoga DVD tonight; I might scale back to the Wii fit yoga + cardio games to give my arms a chance to rest before jumping back into the 30 Day Shred again on Wednesday. 

 

I didn't really do much toward my wardrobe goal, but I did try on some clothes and unearthed a pair of comfort jeans I've had since high school and thought I got rid of ages ago, so I'm counting it. 

 

I filled out my food vs. pain spreadsheet and have uploaded it to Google Drive so I can access it from my phone for ease-of-use. 

[Ordimoi]

*widens eyes* I did not even notice that you have Jillian's 30 day shred in your challenge *grins* That workout kills me every time I do it and I am planning on doing it today as my first full body circuit *crosses eyes* I know how your arms feel. 

*waves pom poms* Great first day! 

[RoseMadder]

Ooh, I think your closet would like my closet!  White House Black Market seems to have lovely things, and I'm actually trying to fit back into a bunch of 4's and 2's that are either uncomfortably tight or... just don't fit.  (Hello all the Worthington pencil skirts I bought on ebay!). 

 

Your goals sound great, and augmenting the workouts as you go to stay challenged but not dead sounds like a great idea

 

Good luck!

[darkfoxx]

@ Rose Madder: I hate it when that happens! I 'grew out of' a crap ton of working in an office-appropriate clothing wardrobe I had worked really hard to build (not to mention dropped a chunk of cash on). Luckily I no longer have to deal with dressing that way unless I really want to, but still... sucks, and I kind of wish I could still fit in most of the shirts (for some reason when I started gaining weight back I gained it in my back and non-boobs chest first - no idea what that was all about). 

 

I had forgotten about liking Worthington... I had a bunch of Worthington stuff in an intermediate size back when I was transitioning rapidly (I lost 10 pants sizes about 3-4 years ago). I'm more of a Banana Republic/Gap and Loft dresser at the moment - and mostly because I know how the sizing works both places and all things in the store are from the same brand + decent quality seems to work better on my body. 

 

Black House White Market has become my go-to emergency 'I need a nice dress' store. 9.5 times out of 10 I can find something I like (black is always a safe bet), and something that fits me before panic sets in. I've gotten funeral dresses there, wedding reception dresses, and reunion dresses. Love that place (for dresses at least - I've never actually tried on anything else there and some of it is a little too '40 and trying to hang on to sexy' for my taste). 

[darkfoxx]

Week 1 Day 2 Update

 

Not bad on the food and exercise fronts.

 

I had one of my DH's green smoothies for breakfast; a chickpea, carrot, cranberry, pepita and spinach greens salad with orange miso dressing; and Thai pork laab for dinner (ground pork with lots of spices, Thai chiles and garlic) with added carrots and yellow peppers on a bed of a scant 1/4 cup leftover white rice from Chinese takeout. I also had some turkey jerky after lunch because I was still starving to death. 

 

Exercise was nearly a disaster, but I pulled it out at the last minute. My arms were still fairly dying from Monday's 30 Day Shred excursion, so I intended on doing some nice easy Wii Fit yoga with cardio games mixed in. And all the batteries were dead. So, rethink that plan; I ended up jogging in place for 15 minutes, doing mountainclimbers (I think 20 full reps total?), flutter kicks (double amount), and the sitting V ab craziness from the Yoga Meltdown Part 2 (20 reps). I had intended on jogging another 10 minutes, but work called and I had to jump on a project. 

 

All in all, a good day. No progress on the clothing goal, but I kept up with the spreadsheet. 

[Ordimoi]

*grins* Your workout sounds great even though it wasn't what you had planned. Your food sounds delicious! 

[darkfoxx]

I'm still thinking about last night's dinner, so I think I'll have leftovers instead of the salad I had planned. 

 

I'm glad yesterday's workout turned out well - and was proud of the hubbs for giving me some ideas of things to do instead of freaking out about my schedule being interrupted so early in the game. 

[Fonzico]

Yes! Not letting changes of plans derail you is KEY! Very well done. And leftovers rock. I`m on my 3rd day of Eggplant leftovers, and they just keep getting better

[Ordimoi]

Leftovers are awesome, and make preparation easier. *nods head* It is always great not to freak out too much and roll with what happens during the challenge *grins* Great job and I hope today is going well! 

[RoseMadder]

Glad you managed to pull a workout together!  Sounds like a pretty decent day overall to me, even if not all as planned.  And really, adaptability is how we are all going to get through this!

 

I'm a little worried that even getting my weight down will not make me 'small' enough for some of my clothes, as I've got bigger muscles than before from working out. But really, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it! 

 

How weight comes on and off and where is so random sometimes.  I lost a lot from my torso last time I really got down in the scale, and my boobs nearly dissapeared!  The (only) thing I like about this weight right now is that they are back again... but really, I think I'd rather fit in my pencil skirts and feel allover tiny and get a boob job than feel pudgy but happy with my boobs 

[darkfoxx]

@RoseMadder: I know exactly how you feel!

 

I've gone from zero muscles at all to some muscles (all over muscles - I used to be like veal, and now I have a tiny bit of tone). 

 

It took me quite a bit of soul searching and a truck load of anxiety to realize that I will never, ever get to the 'goal' weight I had in high school (which was admittedly crazy unhealthy), and that I will never get back to wearing a petite xtra small shirt.

 

It took awhile, but I've had to give up looking at/obsessing over a number on a scale, and have had to get used to, and even friendly with, adjusting my expectations to encompass fit instead. And even changing conceptions of fit - my horrendous (to me) saddle bags won't disappear no matter what I do or how skinny I get, and if I work my arms at all they get larger than waif thin (I think they're huge, but I am fairly certain that in reality they are not as german and slabular as I think). The shirts I bought when I lost a ton of weight are impossible to fit into now - my arms have some tone. Not guns or anything, but if you squeeze, you can tell there is something in there other than bone. And I'm kind of becoming ok with that (the shirt part). 

 

I think something that has helped with that particular transition is the discovery that I can, in fact, spend more than $30 on a pair of pants and the world won't end. I've discovered through the weight loss journey that while getting a great bargain can be satisfying, I just don't look great in bottom-of-the-barrel cheaply made clothing. I'm not saying where I shop is the top of the line or anything, but the stores I choose to frequent are a big step up from my favorite college go-tos, both in material selection and construction quality. Not to mention, more conductive to being an adult with a paycheck. Having clothes that aren't throwaways has helped me not only want to do everything I can to remain fitting in them (I've never completely 'given up' since gaining a size - usually I would), I want to be more choosy about what I do purchase to go along with them. 

 

As for boobs, there is nothing on earth I can do to get some, barring buy them or a great bra. I wish I could gain some weight there! Back fat I can get in spades, but beg as I might, nothing ever migrates to the front. When I'm feeling good overall about weight (minus hips), I'm cool with that - when I feel like a space slug, not so much. 

[darkfoxx]

Week 1, Day 3 Update

 

Another successful day. I had one of my DH's smoothies for breakfast, leftover pork laab for lunch with no rice and extra cucumbers & tomatoes, and a paleo creamy cauliflower and leek soup for dinner. 

 

Workout was Yoga Meltdown Part 1 and I did well - I got (mostly) into Warrior 3 on both sides during the hold pose portion and for once didn't end up having to put my foot down every few seconds. I still couldn't do the full reps for the kick downward dog split thing and dolphin, but things were marginally better on both moves. I'm still continuing with amping myself up to doing chatarangas correctly - I think I have form right now, but I'm still on my knees (mostly). It's coming along. 

 

Spreadsheet is updated and no progress made on the clothing front.