artemiscuous keeps it honest

[artemiscuous]

When I'm not tracking things, I tend to overestimate the healthiness of my choices (or ignore the healthiness of my choices entirely, which is worse). So. Here is a good place to keep myself accountable for getting in some activity, sleeping enough, tracking my food choices, and generally taking care of myself (i.e. not watching TV and moping around in my sweatpants all day and half the night). I'm going to have to work on a system of tracking workouts - I usually do things like a yoga or climbing session. I've been thinking about starting a focused strength program as well - P90X or something that I can do at home that tells me what to do for the session.

 

Today I'm at work in the office, which means I flew down to Tampa yesterday from Baltimore. You'd think that sleeping in a hotel room and not having to get up in the middle of the night to feed a baby would make for better sleep, but surprisingly, I feel like I've been run over by a truck this morning. Plus, I woke up in the middle of the night anyway (4am, exactly the same time that my three-month-old gets up every night). God, I miss my baby.

 

I was considering going climbing yesterday after my flight but decided against it. I was so beat and miserable about leaving my son at home that I just decided to give myself a break, order room service, and read a book until bedtime. I got to do a couple of video calls with my husband and see my son, so that was good.

 

Tuesday nutrition tracking (I use MyFitnessPal):

Calories:1768, -114 (walking), net 1654 (over goal)

Fat: 87g, 43% (under goal)

Protein: 113g, 25% (perfect)

Carbs: 148g, 32% (over goal, but the bacon and brie mashed potatoes were very comforting, okay?)

 

My goal is to do somewhere around 50% fat, 25% protein, and 25% carbs, and keep intake under 1500 net calories per day (current goal is fat loss). But I try to eat as intuitively as possible - some days I feel like I need more carbs, some days more fat. Other rules, mostly derived from a Primal sensibility: avoid refined/added sugar entirely (this is a lot easier now - when I eat very sweet things these days, I actually dislike the taste and the way my mouth feels afterwards), avoid most grains (except the occasional white rice), and minimize carbs (choose sweet or white potatoes if carbs feel necessary), minimize dairy (except 1 tbs cream in coffee and the occasional bit of cheese). I was up to 200 lbs when pregnant and am now at 167.8 lbs (I like to just ignore the fact that 10-15 lbs of that weight loss was baby and baby accessories). I was around 150 before I got pregnant, with a good amount of muscle, and would like to get there again and then start thinking more along the lines of body fat percentage, how clothes fit, how my climbing is going, etc. and stop worrying about weight. I hate thinking about a number on a scale.

 

Tuesday workout tracking:

Yeah, no. Unless you count hauling my shit through the airport. I guess I did count it as negative toward my net calories, but I would not consider it a "workout." I do try to walk every day and not count it as one of my weekly workouts (I aim for 4 workouts per week), because I feel like there should be a base of moving my body around in space that isn't just all about "FITNESS!" You see, I feel rebellious at times and intentionally avoid all "FITNESS!"-related things, so at least I'll have some walking to keep my mind and body fresh and active when I feel that way. Going for walks like they are NBD also makes me feel like Elizabeth Bennett. Don't ask me to explain myself, dammit.

 

Tuesday night sleeping:

8 of 8 hours

I took a hot shower, then made myself stop reading around 11:15, setting my alarm for 7:30. I woke up around 4am (as I mentioned, my body is conditioned for this) and then went right back to sleep. So I think I probably got 8 full hours, even if they were broken up a little. I'm not sure why I'm so tired today. Must have been Queen Mab.

 

General self-care:

I was pretty bummed about leaving home this week, so I decided to take it really easy on myself yesterday, since it was a travel day. Also, when I got to my husband's car, there was a $77 ticket, as he had parked in front of a fire hydrant (!!!) and a snotty note from someone who claimed he parked less than an inch away from their car, preventing them from getting out (ugh). I did not tell him about the ticket or the note, yet, because he had his job threatened and was generally having a rough day. I probably won't tell him about the note, mostly out of spite to the person who so wanted the driver of our car to experience their displeasure that they needed to write it down (and also justify their schadenfreude about the parking ticket as "karma" for blocking them in). Listen, if it was the person that was parked in front of the car when I got there, there was a city-standard half a foot. And if not, then I guess they figured out a way to get out, didn't they?

 

So anyway, between the plane and the hotel, I read the book The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. You guys ever read that? I thought it was a bit corny and derivative ("Vast Machine"? "Off the Grid"? All Caps, All The Time? Okay, bro), and yet when I was able to stop feeling like I was reading one of John Nash's fever dreams, I enjoyed the diversion. I do like parallel universe books. I do kind of wish Twelve Hawks had spent more time on the parallel universe angle. My favorite ever in that genre (besides Chronicles of Narnia, obvs) was actually another YA series - The Chronicles of the Crestomanci, by Diane Wynne Jones. Highly recommend. She's the author of Howl's Moving Castle, for a more popular reference.

 

Anyway. I'm happy with yesterday, overall. I think it was a good refuel day. I hate to think how I'd feel today if I really pushed myself.

[artemiscuous]

Well, today was similar to yesterday - took it easy after work, got room service, rested and refueled. I messed around on the internet when I wasn't video chatting with the hubs and the babe. I think after a good night's sleep tonight I will be ready to start ramping back up with exercise and cutting back to < 100g carbs per day (my weight-loss level). Not that I'm off the wagon or anything now - < 150 g per day. Mashed potatoes with dinner, lovely. I'm going to do some light stretching, yoga, think about my next challenge, my Epic Quest, and possible Life Quests, and hit the sack. Hoping to rack up 9 hours tonight.

[Rookie]

Is this your first time leaving the baby  at home for a long duration? It must be hard either way! I thought it was hard to leave Rook at home (Well at a boarders) when I went on my trip to Europe So I could only imagine it would be heavily increased if it were my baby. 

 

Its cool that you like rock climbing. In all honesty, I am a bit self-conscious about doing it. I feel I am too big and its embarrassing when the regular harnesses don't fit. I tried it once in leisure gym (I weighed probably 40lbs lighter)... It was kind of scary and everyone was watching; I'm not a big fan of heights it would seem. That being said I have done a 60ft tree trek and a 3000ft zipline or something. That was terrifying! Again a lot of it was to do with me being on the higher end of the allowed weight. I think rock climbing might be something I should have to do to boost confidence. 

 

Ohhh Epic Quest and Life Quest; those are 2 things I should be thinking about too! Do you have any ideas for what yours might be? I think I should maybe make a list of small things I can accomplish and then have an ultimate goal. That might be good. It sounds like you are doing awesome so far despite being a bit homesick and missing your baby and husband. Good thing we have such great technology now so that you can just video call them. I know its not the same ,but its better than nothing.

[wildross]

Do you come to Tampa often?  There are about a half dozen NFer's in the area.    Check out/post to this link http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/10353-west-coast-of-floridatampa-sarasota-ft-myers-naples/

if you want to make contact

[artemiscuous]

@wildross - about twice per month, usually during the week. My office is based in Brandon. I'll definitely check out the thread!

 

@Rookie - Yeah it was the second time I left him, and it was worse than the first! I'm happy that I've been able to stay home with him since then. Climbing is a great way to overcome fear - everyone is a little nervous about heights and people watching! I still have that struggle sometimes, but it's a great feeling to beat it every time I go climbing.

I've started putting together my Epic Quests - I looked at Steve's and thought, you know, I should think big. So I'm putting goals like starting a business, climbing the Matterhorn, learning a bunch of languages (French, Italian, Urdu, Russian), and surfing in Rincon that seem really outlandish, but I'd rather just set my sights high and try to make that stuff happen. And even if I only accomplish a fraction, it will still be awesome! I think I'll do a life quest next challenge, probably focused around getting a new job. I'd like to make that happen around the new year.

 

So I've been kind of taking it easy for the past week or so, having some more treats that I usually would and kind of sticking with walking as an exercise, but now I'm ready to get back on the bandwagon. Yesterday I went for a quick run to kind of see where I am in terms of endurance/sprinting capability. Not great, is the answer. Not surprising, since I've avoided running like it's a chemical weapon. However, I would like to play Ultimate Frisbee this summer, which I won't be able to do if I can't run more than five minutes without getting winded. So I'll be adding some interval and endurance work to my next challenge, along with the flexibility, skill (climbing), and nutrition goals. I think it will help with my body comp goals, too. Running is also way easy to incorporate in my baby-crazy schedule as opposed to climbing, so it's a really good workout to include. 

 

Nutritionally, I've been kind of falling into an IF pattern. I don't really eat until 12 each day, and I usually finish eating by 7. This is pretty easy, so far. I haven't been tracking my calories, but I can tell my body shape is changing. I appreciate this. 

 

I've been working on a sleep project with my son, which has been going well, also - he is falling asleep all by himself in his swing, no crying necessary! I never knew what a big deal that was, or how challenging it would be, before becoming a parent. I'm sleep-research crazy right now. So we'll probably start weaning off the swing next month (around four months), then the swaddle (around five months), then move to the crib, then night-weaning around 6 months. That probably means nothing to anyone who is not a parent, lol. I envy you.