The Journey of a Goddess

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

Updated: September 23^rd, resetting my challenge goals to reflect the outline of a new fitness program I am starting.

 

Updated: September 26th, changing BUTI yoga 5x a week to kettlebell workouts 5x a week. Inspired by the blog post about Staci!!!

MAIN QUEST
By the end of the year, I want to be inhabiting a healthy and happy body that is:
- 25% body fat (currently 33%)
- 140 pounds (currently 165 lbs)

My goals for this challenge that will help me along this quest are to:
1) Do yoga 20 minutes every day
2) Go to dance class twice a week Dance twice a week (class or DVD)
[one of my dance classes were cancelled due to low enrollment, and the second one may be cancelled as well]
3) Eliminate cow's milk from my diet
1) Do 25 minutes of BUTI yoga 5 times a week
1) Do 5 workouts a week

2) Walk 10,000 steps everyday
3) No more than 1800 calories per day


LIFE QUEST
I will meditate every day for at least 10 minutes.


MOTIVATION
I want to have a strong and healthy body;
I want to feel comfortable in my skin;
I want to regain my sense of purpose;
I want to show myself that I can...

[kleamy]

I want to regain my sense of purpose;

I want to show myself that I can...

 

I love this! 

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

Thanks kleamy!!

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

Updated: September 23^rd, resetting my challenge goals to reflect the outline of a new fitness program I am starting.

 

Updated: September 26th, changing BUTI yoga 5x a week to kettlebell workouts 5x a week. Inspired by the blog post about Staci!!!

The grading scale for my goals for this challenge.

 

Goal 1: Do kettlebell workouts 5 times a week (STR +3, CHA +1) (STR +1)

• A = 5 kettlebell workouts
• B = 4 kettlebell workouts
• C = 3 kettlebell workouts
• D = 2 kettlebell workouts
• F = 1 kettlebell workout

Goal 2: Walk 10,000 steps everyday (STA +2) (STA +1)

• A = 10,000 steps
• B = 9,000 steps
• C = 8,000 steps
• D = 7,000 steps
• F = 6,000 or less steps

Goal 3: No more than 1800 calories per day (CON +2) (CON +1)

• A = 1800 calories
• B = 1900 calories
• C = 2000 calories
• D = 2100 calories
• F = 2200 or more calories

Life Quest: Meditate at least 10 minutes every day (WIS +2) (WIS +1)

• A = Meditated
• F = Did not meditate

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

I have not been doing well this week....I've been feeling really down about my weight (which you would think would motivate me) and haven't been putting in the effort that I know I should. There's been a lot of "well...I'll really start tomorrow" and now Friday is here and....I've barely begun.

 

I will be posting my grades every Sunday evening. I know my grades are going to be TERRIBLE this week, but I'm not letting that stop me from continuing. 

 

I WILL do better. I want to be healthier. I want to feel better, physically and emotionally. I want to look better. I do not want to regret not trying. I do not want this to be a "shoulda, coulda, woulda" situation. Whoever reads this, and whoever doesn't, thank you for being here. Thank you for being my motivation. Thank you for standing by me.

[rrababit]

Even if you aren't doing as well as you hoped, your still here checking in and still committed to changes. That in and of it'self is a step in the right direction. We all have bad days, weeks, months, but if you keep trying you will get there. Now go dance  

 

Anything particular tripping you up? I have found a lot of great advice in this community for overcoming obstacles.

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

Thanks for the encouragement rrababit!

I have a really difficult time staying focused on the end goal, mostly because I have no idea of how I "should" look. I grew up pretty skinny, like you could feel my ribs when you hugged me. Healthy, but skinny. Around 22 or so, I started putting on weight (slowly but steadily) and went from 120 lbs to the 165 lbs I am at currently. The last time I was at a weight/shape that I liked and felt was healthy, I still had a girl's body shape. So when I try to imagine myself at a healthy weight/shape, I can only imagine my 20-22 year old body. Even if I lost all of my excess fat, I'm never going to look like that. My bones/body have developed from a girl's to a woman's. So when the fat isn't coming off quickly (which logically I know it won't) and I try to "keep my eye on the prize", I can't because there is no visible prize!!

[Phatkid]

I have not been doing well this week....I've been feeling really down about my weight (which you would think would motivate me) and haven't been putting in the effort that I know I should. There's been a lot of "well...I'll really start tomorrow" and now Friday is here and....I've barely begun.

 

I will be posting my grades every Sunday evening. I know my grades are going to be TERRIBLE this week, but I'm not letting that stop me from continuing. 

 

I WILL do better. I want to be healthier. I want to feel better, physically and emotionally. I want to look better. I do not want to regret not trying. I do not want this to be a "shoulda, coulda, woulda" situation. Whoever reads this, and whoever doesn't, thank you for being here. Thank you for being my motivation. Thank you for standing by me.

 

 

Maybe you should do more of a sliding scale for your grading. Doing a pass fail is kind of difficult...i.e with your milk maybe if you have two glasses a week that's a B...Just figure it out based on your average use and make a sliding scale that way. Absolutes are REALLY hard to stick too because(I at least) feel like a failure anytime I do not accomplish the absolute.

 

I understand the loss of motivation completely. It is not easy to do something when your body doesn't cooperate. I have been stuck at 260 +/-4lbs for like 3 weeks and it seems like FOREVER. I thought I broke the barrier yesterday(255) but I was again 258 this morning. The only thing we can do is keep plugging away. If you are doing strength training...maybe you're not going to lose weight but fat % or mass...Keep it up! You will succeed. Anyone who is will to put themselves out here the way we do wants to succeed...why else would we be there...sometimes we just need a bit of encouragement or a push...

 

Good luck!

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

Maybe you should do more of a sliding scale for your grading. Doing a pass fail is kind of difficult...i.e with your milk maybe if you have two glasses a week that's a B...Just figure it out based on your average use and make a sliding scale that way. Absolutes are REALLY hard to stick too because(I at least) feel like a failure anytime I do not accomplish the absolute.

Hey Phatkid, thanks for the sliding scale tip. I'll come up with one and post soon.

And I'm not doing any strength training right now. I know that means that I may not lose weight, but (like you said) I'll lose fat percentage. I'm totally fine with that. Though I think I'll eventually go down in weight, I would be fine being 165 lbs if I had a lower fat percentage and more muscle mass. The weight is REALLY easy to focus on, but I've been trying really hard to focus on the fat percentage instead.

[rrababit]

Focusing on body fat % is great, but have you also considered performance goals? I know it is a lot harder with yoga than something like running, but maybe pick a hard pose you want to be able to hold and work toward that? Just an option if you want to move away from the scale but still track progress.

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

As of yesterday, I updated my challenge goals to align with a fitness program that I am starting. I really believe that my new goals will do a better job of keeping me on track with my main quest. I think adding the 10,000 steps each day will be the game changer. I ordered my Fitbit One and Aria wi-fi scale yesterday. I can't wait until they get here! I downloaded a pedometer app on my phone to start tracking my steps until the Fitbit arrives, and it's already helping! I didn't quite make 10,000 yesterday, but I will today.

 

Adding the 1800 calories per day was a good move as well. It's too easy to just not eat cow's milk (not that I'd been doing great on that). Cutting out cow's milk still allows me to eat anything else and not be held accountable to the Rebellion for it. Giving myself a calorie limit will 1) force me to really look at what I'm eating, 2) force me to cut back on my snacking, and 3) help me lose weight because I KNOW that I eat more than that a day.

 

I don't remember how I found Nerd Fitness, but I am SO glad that I did!!!

[rrababit]

Great job of reevaluating your goals and changing them to more closely align with your ultimate goal. 1800 is right about where I try to be for eating and it actually allows quite a bit of room as long as I don't go overboard (like I did today with a whole bag of pistachios).

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

Great job of reevaluating your goals and changing them to more closely align with your ultimate goal. 1800 is right about where I try to be for eating and it actually allows quite a bit of room as long as I don't go overboard (like I did today with a whole bag of pistachios).

 

1800 really is a lot! I was logging my meals from yesterday and felt like I should have had more calories. I felt like I ate more than I really did!

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

I'm feeling really good about things right now, which in and of itself makes me feel good. I'm feeling motivated, for myself and for the Rebellion. I've started logging my food again, which is really holding me accountable. I refuse to cheat when I'm logging my meals (which I've done in the past) because it doesn't help me get to where I want to be. So since I really am logging everything I eat, I want to make sure I'm proud of my food choices.

 

My Fitbit One will be delivered on Friday, along with the Aria scale. I am VERY excited for this! Though my pedometer app is keeping me motivated, it will be nice to have my steps (along with stairs climbed, calories burned, distance traveled...) automatically logged to my Fitbit dashboard. And I know most people say that you shouldn't weight yourself everyday, but I'm going to. Especially since the Aria automatically uploads my weight and body fat % to the dashboard as well. A lot of people get discouraged when the numbers on the scale aren't moving as quickly as they'd like, but I'm going to let that be a motivation instead. And since I'm focusing more on body fat % than weight, I'm hoping that will make it easier. 

[rrababit]

That's great! If you can weigh frequently and not have it discourage you, that is awesome! I have heard really good things about the fitbit, I know there is also a nerd fitness group for it, maybe you can join when it arrives.

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

I think that seeing my weight and body fat % everyday AND it being automatically uploaded to my Fitbit page, will help me stay on track. I'm hoping that if the numbers aren't moving like I want them to, it will be an encouragement to me to work harder. I'll go check out the Fitbit groups, thanks for the tip!

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

After reading the blog post yesterday, I find myself inspired by Staci. Though I'm not quite ready to head to the gym to lift weights, I am ready to switch my workouts from 25 minutes of BUTI yoga 5 days a week to 20-30 minutes of kettlebell workouts 4 days a week (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays). I'm making the switch today. I've heard great things about using kettlebells for strength training and I can't wait to get started!

I've already done 4 days of BUTI, but I'm still going to do a kettlebell workout today.

[rrababit]

Staci totally inspired me to try weights. i did starting strength for a couple of months and then stupidly quit now I am doing stronglifts 5x5 and loving it. She is just all kinds of inspiring. Be really careful with your form on kettlebells, I love them but my back really hurts when my form is not correct. 

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

I haven't been on lately, so here are my grades for the first two weeks.

 

Week 1

F's across the board

 

Week 2

• BUTI/kettlebell: A (5 workouts)
• 10,000 steps: B average (C/B/A/A/A/A/B)
• 1800 calories: B average (F/A/A/B/A/C/C)
• Meditation: B average (A/A/A/A/A/A/F)

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

* sigh * 

 

I'm dealing with mixed emotions right now... I've been keeping up with my goals and am feeling pretty good, but I got a new scale (the Fitbit Aria) on Monday due to mine being crappy and unreliable. The last time I weighed myself on the old scale, it showed my weight and body fat at lower numbers than my new one does after working out last week. The pounds weren't so bad, but I went from thinking I was at about 32% body fat to the new scale showing me to be at about 38% body fat. Now, when I compare my body to examples of body fat percentages, it doesn't surprise me to find that I'm fatter (by percentage) than I thought, but it still sucks....a lot.

 

I'm choosing to let the new and larger number be a challenge versus a set back, but I'm having a hard time not feeling fat right now.......

[rrababit]

Great improvement on your goals from week 1 to week 2. And totally do not get discouraged by your new scale.

• 1. Those body fat measures are bunk, pretty much meaningless to your actual body-fat. Really you can only use them to compare to each other (as in different days on SAME scale).
• 2. Scales suck, you are so much more than 1 number that no one else knows unless you tell them. Are you feeling stronger, calmer, happier (other than the whole scale business), do your clothes feel any looser? These answers are soooooooooo much more important than the stupid digits that your scale displays. 

I'm glad to hear that you are looking at it as a challenge, but I would recommend that you quit looking at it as you being fat. You did not actually change because you stepped on a new scale, your still exactly who you were before you did that. Everyone has to start somewhere and you can really only start where you are. That's not a bad thing, and it is certainly nothing to beat yourself up over. Love yourself enough to make changes that make you feel better, don't punish yourself for the mistakes that brought you here. 

Almost half way though the challenge- keep it up!!!

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

I'm glad to hear that you are looking at it as a challenge, but I would recommend that you quit looking at it as you being fat. You did not actually change because you stepped on a new scale, your still exactly who you were before you did that. Everyone has to start somewhere and you can really only start where you are. That's not a bad thing, and it is certainly nothing to beat yourself up over. Love yourself enough to make changes that make you feel better, don't punish yourself for the mistakes that brought you here. 

Almost half way though the challenge- keep it up!!!

 

Thanks for the encouragement! It really does help. As odd as it seems, I do forget that I'm starting now. That where I was ten years ago is not my starting place. Today (or three weeks ago) is my starting place. Everyday is an opportunity to improve myself.

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

I made it to Level 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'll start with Week 3 and First Half grades.

 

Week 3

• Kettlebell: A (5 workouts)
  
• 10,000 steps: B average (A/A/A/A/A/A/F)
  
• 1800 calories: A average (A/A/A/A/A/A/A)
  
• Meditation: A average (A/A/A/A/A/A/A)
  

 

First Half

• BUTI/kettlebell: B (STR +2.3, CHA +.8)
  
• 10,000 steps: C (STA +1)
  
• 1800 calories: C (CON +1)
  
• Meditation: C (WIS +1)
  

 

I made it to Level 1! I'm very excited about this. It's the longest I've stayed with a workout/fitness/weight-loss anything in a long time. However, I still need to up my game. I want results!!!!

 

Though I have been doing my kettlebell workouts and staying at 1800 calories, I haven't been working out very hard or making sure that my 1800 calories are the healthiest. So I found a kettlebell cardio circuit this weekend that I'm starting tonight. It's a tough one, but it will be worth it. Also, I'm thinking about joining a gym next Monday so that I'll have more than just my kettlebell for weight training. We shall see....

 

AND I'm easing myself into a Paleo eating style starting today. I know I won't be great with it this weekend (as I'm going on camping/party trip) but next Monday, I'm going to start the Whole30. I know it's going to be hard....REALLY hard, but I want to be healthy more than I want ice cream or cookies or chocolate.

[Phatkid]

 

Congrats! That's awesome to make it to level 1 in the first 3 weeks! Congrats! 

 

Can you post the kettleball cardio circuit that you found? i would be interested to take a look at it!

 

Keep it up! You'll be at level 2 before long!

[rrababit]

Great job, the only thing I can recommend with the Whole 30 is plan, plan, plan. Have some emergency snacks and meals laid out in advance and figure out some quick food you can do when you are starving and can't think of "is this Whole 30?" I did one last year and it was great, but it was HARD. Good luck!