Level Up Fitness, Level Down Stress

[rebeltchr]

Current stats

Height 5'11"

Weight 148

 

For the past four years, I have struggled with an extreme stress problem. My blood pressure was always through the roof and at my doctor's appointment several months ago, she marked tachycardic on my chart because my heart just couldn't calm down. My first thought was "Oh, that's the thing they say on House before the person's heart explodes and they die." After doing tests, she suggested that it was stress related. While my weight has always been well within normal levels and I don't appear to be unhealthy, I've always known I take poor care of myself--staying up later than I should, purchasing lunch in the cafeteria because I didn't wake up early enough to make my lunch that morning, skipping the gym in favor of a nap after school because, dammit, I was just tired. I joined a gym about six months ago and went intermittently until I went on summer break--I'm a middle school teacher, and a pretty badass one at that. Therefore, my motivation for reducing the stress triggers in my life is to genuinely feel like the amazing, badass woman I know am.

 

My MAIN QUEST is to level up my fitness and self-worth so I can level down my stress. I have noticed my blood pressure dropping this summer the more I go to the gym and make my own meals. My stress goes up when I'm unprepared. Looking better in my clothes, obviously, will be the added bonus.

 

     Missions for these six weeks:

 

         1. Yoga practice 3x/week. At least two classes will be with the teacher I have grown to adore, and I will          

         continue to push myself to try new things in class. (I got into Wheel Pose this week for the first time ever--that

         was proof of my growing strength!)

              A = 18+, B = 15-17, C= 12-14, D= 9-11, F= 8 or less

 

            2. Some other type of physical activity 2x/week. My sessions are typically a mix of cardio and strength.

              A = 12+, B = 10-11, C= 8-9, D= 6-7, F= 5 or less

 

            3. Prep lunches and breakfast at least 4x/week. 

               A = 24+ (for each meal), B= 20=23, C= 16-19, D = 12-15, F = 11 or less

 

My LIFE QUEST is to get my online portfolio up and running. I am thinking about moving to another city next year, and I want to make sure that I have my resume and work samples up soon so I don't have to think about it once school starts up.

I'm hoping I'm not overly ambitious--students will come back right in the middle of this challenge, and I'm hoping that I will have set a good foundation for myself so that I won't slip into my old stressed-out habits.

[deerskin]

You've got some pretty solid motivation there. You don't want to be House's next patient! Let us know when students are coming back so we can check up on you extra often.

[rebeltchr]

Precisely! Thanks for the encouragement. I think that if I can lay the groundwork over the next two weeks and make these things a natural part of my schedule I'll be less likely to quit once the kiddos are back...

[deerskin]

Habit really is the foundation to a healthy life. I think it was so smart of them to change the format of the challenge to be more supportive of forming habits rather than letting people burn themselves out on the first try (or in my case, the first and second )

[Grank]

I've always found that exercising and particularly yoga brought my stress levels down, mostly since it got me out of the office and forced me to think about things other than work.

 

I think this is a great first challenge for you!  Keep us posted on your progress!

[opfor1015]

Teachers are awesome! I would know...I married one! Ha! Good luck on your first challenge!

[rebeltchr]

@deerskin Agreed! Here's to us both succeeding through this first challenge!

@grank For some reason my yoga practice tends to drop off throughout the school year, but I'm looking at it as non-negotiable--if I refuse to make excuses for, say, my mandatory hour of grading/planning after school, then I shouldn't make excuses to skip something that I know has become essential to my well-being.

 

@opfor1015 Smart man! Thanks for the encouragement!

[rebeltchr]

July 29, 30

 

July 29: Made breakfast and lunch. I'm trying to get rid of things in my freezer, so the potstickers I made for lunch weren't insanely healthy, but I made sure to add a butt-ton of veggies.

Didn't hit the gym, but I did go for a four-mile power-ish walk, so might alter that second goal to "some sort of physical activity 2x a week."

 

July 30: Got to benefit from hanging out with my friend and her adorable baby at her house this morning, so she made me a power smoothie for breakfast! Just finished my own lunch too.  

 

Hit some arm/ab work at the gym, and am about to go walk up the side of a mountain Yoga is planned for later tonight.

[Albertigog]

Hey, your quest is a good one, and something I can relate to a lot.

 

Looks like you've made a good start, good luck with it!

[deerskin]

Sounds like a great start! "Get some kind of physical activity 2X a week" sounds fine to me. I find that if I set too rigid a workout schedule I get bored and stop doing it, so it's good that you're leaving yourself a lot of room.

[Grank]

 

Hit some arm/ab work at the gym, and am about to go walk up the side of a mountain Yoga is planned for later tonight.

 

Trying to climb mountains so early into the challenge!  Keep up the good work, my friend

[rebeltchr]

July 31, Aug 1

 

July 31: Made breakfast and lunch--had rice with lunch, but I didn't promise to go full paleo so I'm okay.

 

Didn't work out, because the day before I did walk my two miles up a mountain and two miles down, so my legs were a little like, NOPE. 

(Hey! 2x/week other physical activity ACHIEVED! Did 8 miles of walking in two days!)

 

Aug 1: Made breakfast, but am totally copping out on lunch--in fact I still haven't eaten lunch yet because I woke up waaaaaay late.

 

Today I went to a multi-level yoga class where I was more than appropriately challenged, and then did two circuits of beginner bodyweight afterward.

 

Moving forward...

[deerskin]

Sounds good so far! Great job walking 8 miles in two days! No wonder your legs were sore after that. And yoga plus a bodyweight circuit in one day? That's some dedication there.

[deerskin]

Hey, how is everything going?

[rebeltchr]

So I went out of town for the weekend--made breakfast and lunch Friday, so I hit my goal of making breakfast/lunch for the first week! Didn't eat my best this weekend, but I'm back on track for this week!

 

Got in a yoga workout at the hotel Saturday, but not Sunday, so I made 2/3 of my yoga classes for the week. So coming up short on one goal for the first week isn't terrible, but I'm making extra effort this week.

 

Planning an after-work gym sesh tonight--beginner's bodyweight circuit, and then likely some quick cardio. I'm determined to look better in some of my school clothes!

[MsLouise]

Wowsa, wheel pose?!  Look at you go!  That one will go onto my someday, but definitely not now list.  

 

Congrats on getting the breakfast/lunch goal, and for getting right back on track this week.

[rebeltchr]

Thanks, MsLouise! I'd done wheel pose at home a few times, but had never had the guts to do it in class--it's one of those "heart-opening" poses, and as silly as it may seem to some who don't like the more spiritual side of yoga, I needed to sort out some of my own stuff before I was able to really start practicing it in class. 

 

Bridge and camel pose practice will definitely get you to the someday (when you're ready--because you will be!) of wheel.

[rapunzel]

I absolutely love everything you've written. Reducing stress is something I try (and fail) to do and is part of my challenge too. I look forward to reading your progress!

[deerskin]

This is awesome! Great job the first week!

[rebeltchr]

This week thus far:

 

2/8 Breakfast/lunches made (failed on one each day, but seriously, this is progress. Usually I'll just power through the day with additional caffeine rather than take the time to eat something)

 

1/3 yoga practice (before bed, on my own, but again, better than nothing)

 

1/2 additional physical activities (tonight--went as hard as I could on the stationary bike for 10 minutes as a warmup, then went through the beginner bodyweight workout)

 

I'm not sure why, but I've felt really scattered the past few days. Like I've been harder on myself for not integrating these things into more of a routine. I'm starting back up with a work schedule next week when I return for pre-school week, and I'm slightly worried I'm going to somehow falter. I know I shouldn't put pressure on myself, and the whole POINT of this challenge is for me to be less of a stressball. I may just need to actually schedule out my time for the first few weeks back at work--like, if i know I have to be at work for certain times, why on earth can't I also make myself work out at certain times too?

 

In the first example (work), I have other people counting on me, but in the second, I count on me for that workout. That workout ultimately is going to make me feel less stressed and more powerful in the long run. So why can't I just suck it up and schedule it out?

 

(What a ramble tonight. I'm sure I'll feel better once I get my full 8 hours of sleep.   )

[deerskin]

It sounds like you've got a good start to the week. Great job!

 

I know exactly what you mean about feeling scattered. Like, it's only a few goals, why is it so hard? But if you think about it, it's four major changes to your routine every day. Four. That's quite a bit when you have an entire life going on around those changes. Things just take a while to "click" with the rest of your schedule and become habit I think. This workout routine that I'm doing is finally starting to click this week, mostly because I have my sister doing it with me. Everything else is a struggle still. It's not automatic yet.

 

Keep pushing! If you can only make yourself do five minutes of yoga or a workout routine, it still starts to set in the habit. You may think it's not worth it to even try for that little amount of time, but the habits are what we're focusing on building with these challenges, not necessarily our bodies. Those come in time as long as the habits are established.

[MsLouise]

This week thus far:

 

2/8 Breakfast/lunches made (failed on one each day, but seriously, this is progress. Usually I'll just power through the day with additional caffeine rather than take the time to eat something)

 

1/3 yoga practice (before bed, on my own, but again, better than nothing)

 

1/2 additional physical activities (tonight--went as hard as I could on the stationary bike for 10 minutes as a warmup, then went through the beginner bodyweight workout)

 

I'm not sure why, but I've felt really scattered the past few days. Like I've been harder on myself for not integrating these things into more of a routine. I'm starting back up with a work schedule next week when I return for pre-school week, and I'm slightly worried I'm going to somehow falter. I know I shouldn't put pressure on myself, and the whole POINT of this challenge is for me to be less of a stressball. I may just need to actually schedule out my time for the first few weeks back at work--like, if i know I have to be at work for certain times, why on earth can't I also make myself work out at certain times too?

 

In the first example (work), I have other people counting on me, but in the second, I count on me for that workout. That workout ultimately is going to make me feel less stressed and more powerful in the long run. So why can't I just suck it up and schedule it out?

 

(What a ramble tonight. I'm sure I'll feel better once I get my full 8 hours of sleep.   )

 

Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, making new habits is HARD, and slaying that procrastination demon is like trying to beat whack-a-mole one-handed.

 

If you're finding it hard to keep appointments that are important to you, like for working out, you could try either (a) actually calendaring it with a phone reminder and everything and keep it as you would any appointment, or ( make an actual appointment with another person to workout so you have to show up, whether it's a friend, or relative or trainer.  That person doesn't have to workout, they just have to show up so that you will keep the appointment.

[rebeltchr]

At 4/8 for breakfast/lunch, 2/2 for physical activity (beginner bodyweight 3x, 10 minutes cardio, 10 minutes ab exercises...would have done more but crunched for time today), still 1/3 yoga.

 

deerskin and MsLouise, thank you for the votes of confidence! Changing habits is hard, especially when the slothy habits are SO ingrained in me. But I've been doing a LOT of visualization the past few days...I can see myself as a stronger, more on-top-of-things individual, and really, my laziness is the only thing that stands in the way. I'm going to download a new calendar app that will hopefully help me schedule out my world a bit better in general. We'll see how it helps over the next week or so...

 

And, I'm not going to lie, it doesn't hurt that I might have decided to promise myself a new pair of specs if I continue to push through the challenge...

[AshPS]

Hey there!

 

Good, solid set of goals. It is always awesome to come upon people who want to actively make positive changes in their lives. You're making a wonderful start!

 

Consider me a lurker!

[deerskin]

At 4/8 for breakfast/lunch, 2/2 for physical activity (beginner bodyweight 3x, 10 minutes cardio, 10 minutes ab exercises...would have done more but crunched for time today), still 1/3 yoga.

 

deerskin and MsLouise, thank you for the votes of confidence! Changing habits is hard, especially when the slothy habits are SO ingrained in me. But I've been doing a LOT of visualization the past few days...I can see myself as a stronger, more on-top-of-things individual, and really, my laziness is the only thing that stands in the way. I'm going to download a new calendar app that will hopefully help me schedule out my world a bit better in general. We'll see how it helps over the next week or so...

 

And, I'm not going to lie, it doesn't hurt that I might have decided to promise myself a new pair of specs if I continue to push through the challenge...

 

Everybody struggles with building habits and their own form of laziness. That's why we're all here doing this challenge!

 

If the calendar app doesn't work for you, try something different. I used to think that my schedules weren't working because I was lazy (which was partially true), but usually it was because I just gave up instead of tweaking things to work better for me.

 

Good idea buying yourself something as a reward for the challenge!