Sammiejune29 - Back to the Future

[sammiejune29]

Challenge #6 - Back to the Future

 

Great scott! Its been a tough couple months. Summer was incredible and I was very happy with my life. And then school started again. And I'm not unhappy, but I'm not really happy either. I just feel like I'm going through the motions. It takes all my willpower to get the things I absolutely need to get done for school and work each week accomplished leaving very little willpower for personal growth. 

 

Sometimes we like to live in the past. Think about what was and be sad that its not anymore. But I need to focus on the now in my life and stop lamenting the things that have come and passed. Live in the here and now and live for my future. Figure out what my density is. Make sure my flux capacitor is still fluxing. I'm still working on the same main goal from last time.

 

Main Goal

- Find my zen & rebuild my habits to have consistency & balance between work, school, life and working out

 

 

Goal 1 - 1.21 Gigawatts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5cYgRnfFDA

- If I'm going to get myself out of the past and into my future I'm gonna need power

- I need about 0.2 Gigawatts per week to get a total of 1.21 Gigawatts

• A full bodyweight/dumbbell strength workout is 0.08 Gigawatts
• A Hatha Flow yoga class is 0.06 Gigawatts
• A beginner yoga class is 0.04 Gigawatts
• A Yin/Restorative yoga class is 0.02 Gigawatts
• 10 min of at home yoga is 0.01 Gigawatts
• 5 min of jumping practice is 0.01 Gigawatts
• At least 3 sets of any exercise in a day gets me 0.01 Gigawatts (i.e.: three sets of pushups when I get home from a leg focused yoga workout)

Possible Points: 3 STR, 1 DEX, 1 STA

 

 

 

Goal 2 - 88 MPH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFT7hNhop7w

- Once I have the power I still need to get myself some speed

- I need to get about 15 MPH each week to get a total of 88 MPH

- In this case speed = momentum

 

Part A: Cooking

- I've been cooking more and more homemade meals and I want to keep this habit up

• Each non eggs, ham & green pepper meal is 3 MPH
• Each dessert cooked is 2 MPH
• Each eggs, ham & green pepper is 1 MPH

Part B: Cleaning

- I've also had previous challenges related to keeping my apt clean

• Loads of dishes: 1 MPH each
• Loads of laundry: 1 MPH each
• Other cleaning: 1 MPH for each 30 min spent cleaning

Part C: Working Out

- Consistency with working out

- I've been having problems with consistency

- I want to at least be doing SOMETHING most days (even if its just 10 min of yoga)

• When I earn gigawatts 3 days in a row I get 0.5 MPH
• Earn gigawatts 4 days in a row: 1 MPH
• 5 days in a row: 1.5 MPH (etc.)

Possible Points: 2 CON, 3 WIS

 

 

 

Goal 3 - "Enchantment Under the Sea Dance"

- I've really missed socializing here on the message boards

- I think the problem is that I've been trying to follow too many people

- I tend to be an all or nothing kind of a person and so when I feel overwhelmed at catching up with everyone's threads I don't catch up with anyone's

- I have picked 5 people's threads to follow (there are two specific people who haven't posted threads yet and if they do, I will follow them as well)

- I am not allowed to follow anyone but these 5 for the duration of the challenge

- I will comment on these 5 threads at least once per week

- I will also update my own thread at least once a week (even if its not a long update)

- I need to stop feeling like my updates need to be perfect, a short update is better than no update

- +1 point for each thread commented (including my own) per week

- Can only earn 1 point per thread per week

Possible Points: 4 CHA

Grading: 30+ points earns me "Johnny B. Goode" - A

25-29 points earns me "Earth Angel" - B

20-24 points earns me "Night Train" - C

15-19 points earns me a generic song by Marvin Berry and the Starlighters - D

0-14 points = I got stood up for the dance - F

 

 

 

Side Goal - Power Lacing Shoes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51rjP1B_TxQ

- I still want to buy minimalist footwear

- I failed at this last challenge, therefore it is a goal again

Possible Points: 1 WIS

Grading: A or F

 

 

 

Stats (Sept 2012/Jun 2013/Nov 2013):

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 204 lbs / 171 lbs / 156 lbs

Bust: 45" / 40" / 38.5"

Waist: 37" / 32.5" / 31"

Hip: 42" / 38.5" / 37.5"

Neck: 14" / 14" / 12.75"

Bicep: 13" / 11" / 9.5"

Forearm: 10.25" / 9.25" / 8"

Thigh: 27" / 24" / 21.75"

Calf: 16.5" / 15.5" / 13.5"

*Note - I know I'm not super accurate when measuring but even if the numbers are off slightly the trend is obvious 

[Elastigirl]

Glad you are here. Was missing you!

[obax]

Sometimes we like to live in the past. Think about what was and be sad that its not anymore. But I need to focus on the now in my life and stop lamenting the things that have come and passed. Live in the here and now and live for my future. Figure out what my density is. Make sure my flux capacitor is still fluxing. I'm still working on the same main goal from last time.

 

I feel ya on that one....

 

Glad to see ya back for another round. Can't wait to see what you've got in store this time!

[sammiejune29]

So here's my plan for the evening:

• Watch Back to the Future
• Catch up on what my NF friends have been up to
• Gain inspiration
• Plan my challenge
• SUCCESS!!

 

So just some background info for any new readers out there:

• Jan 2011: gallbladder removal surgery
• Jun 2012: herniated disk back surgery
• Oct 2012: fell off bike and fractured skull
• Feb 2013: found Nerd Fitness
• Sept 2012 - Now: went from 204 lbs to current of 156ish

 

From Mid-Feb till Sept 4 I was doing full body circuit workouts 2-3 times per week. Then I threw out my neck, had to take care of some goats and spent two weeks sick. That was enough time to break my habit :-/ I did start yoga when I was sick so I was still getting a decent amount of exercise but I missed my strength workouts. On Oct 27 I finally did my first full strength workout in almost 2 months!! I've done two more since then and hope to get that habit back, though it's difficult with my insane schedule. I have to sleep at some point...

 

 

This is the starting point for the different exercises that I do:

Wall Sit: 60s/60s/60s

Incline Push Up - 4th stair (5th stair): 4(6)/4(6)/5(4) - I was on 3rd stair back at the beginning of Sept

Weighted Lunges 50# R(L): 8(8)/8(8) - haven't been able to get a third set, just been too exhausted to hold good form by that point, was at 60# in Sept

DB Rows 25# R(L): 8(8)/8(8)/8(8) - was using 30# in Sept., will go back to 30# next workout

Plank: 60s/60s/60s

Back Plank: 40s/40s/40s

Side Plank R(L): 30s(30s)/30s(30s)

Lying Abductions 15# R(L): 15(15)/15(15)/15(15)

Hang On Pull up Bar - Pull Up Position: 10s/10s/10s

     - Chin up position: 10s/10s/10s

     - Neutral Hands: 10s/10s/10s

[BlackWidowEowyn]

 

 

Stats (Sept 2012/Jun 2013/Nov 2013):

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 204 lbs / 171 lbs / 156 lbs

Bust: 45" / 40" / 38.5"

Waist: 37" / 32.5" / 31"

Hip: 42" / 38.5" / 37.5"

Neck: 14" / 14" / 12.75"

Bicep: 13" / 11" / 9.5"

Forearm: 10.25" / 9.25" / 8"

Thigh: 27" / 24" / 21.75"

Calf: 16.5" / 15.5" / 13.5"

*Note - I know I'm not super accurate when measuring but even if the numbers are off slightly the trend is obvious

 

WHOA!!

holy fitness trend batman!!!

I'm so glad you're here I've been missing you and your happy presence.

 

I know you're gonna rock this challenge just like you have been

[sammiejune29]

I updated my challenge!! Yay!

 

My videos aren't embedding though I don't know why. You should watch them though

 

Glad you are here. Was missing you!

 

Thanks!! I'm so glad to be back. Hopefully I will stay back. Lol *fingers crossed*

 

I feel ya on that one....

 

Glad to see ya back for another round. Can't wait to see what you've got in store this time!

 

I can't wait to see what you have up your sleeves as well!

 

WHOA!!

holy fitness trend batman!!!

I'm so glad you're here I've been missing you and your happy presence.

 

I know you're gonna rock this challenge just like you have been

 

I'm gonna rock it to Johnny B. Goode!!

[Elastigirl]

The only way I've been able to have videos show on my thread is with youtube. Then I use the square box on the left that says special BBcode

[sammiejune29]

The only way I've been able to have videos show on my thread is with youtube. Then I use the square box on the left that says special BBcode

 

Thanks! I fixed it Last time I just posted the youtube link and it worked. I even went back and checked my old threads and that's all I'd done. But its working now so YAY!

[Elastigirl]

Thanks! I fixed it Last time I just posted the youtube link and it worked. I even went back and checked my old threads and that's all I'd done. But its working now so YAY!

Cool, I actually helped someone with a computer issue. I feel so amazingly brilliant  

[obax]

Ha, I love the theme! For some reason the idea of collecting gigawatts is most amusing to me. I think it might go back to a Transformers episode from when I was a kid where electricity somehow gained solid form, in the shape of little lightening bolt people called Kremzeeks, with sharp teeth and evil eyes. There were tonnes of them and they ran around creating havoc and blackouts wherever they went, and eventually combined into one giant Kremzeek, and of course only the Transformers could stop them. It's not even my favourite episode ever, but for some reason it's always stuck in memory, and I imagine that by the end of the challenge you'll have a whole army of Kremzeeks running around your apartment (be careful, they're sneaky).

 

 

Cool, I actually helped someone with a computer issue. I feel so amazingly brilliant  

 

This made me laugh very loud. I don't know why. Maybe it's because that's how I feel most of the time when I figure out some glitch on the computers at work...

[Elastigirl]

 Great Scott, what a great challenge! Back to the Future and Gigawatts-love it! 

[sammiejune29]

Week 1 Summary

 

Well I didn't have goals at the beginning of the week but I still went back and recorded what I earned. Not a great week for gigawatts. This week will be better

 

Goal 1 - 1.21 Gigawatts

Friday: Hatha Flow class: 0.06 Gigawatts

Saturday: 3 sets of incline pushups on 4th stair 3/3/3: 0.01 Gigawatts

 

Total: 0.07 / 1.21 Gigawatts

 

 

 

Goal 2 - 88 MPH

Part A: Cooking

- Eggs, ham & green pepper 3x's +4 MPH

- Ribs & Bussels Sprouts +3 MPH

 

Part B: Cleaning

- Loads of dishes 2x's +2 MPH

- Load of laundry +1 MPH

- Other cleaning for 1 hour +2 MPH

 

Part C: Working Out

- Nothing here

 

Total: 11/88 Gigawatts

 

 

Goal 3 - "Enchantment Under the Sea Dance"

Picked my 5 threads - subscribed and replied to all 5

- I'm sorry if I've followed you before and I'm not this time!!

Made my own challenge and replied to it

Total: +6 points

 

 

Side Goal - Power Lacing Shoes

- Nothing yet

[sammiejune29]

So Daniel and his boyfriend are in Australia (well almost, their plane got delayed and are stuck in LA for two days) for two weeks. Its weird. And kinda lonely. I don't really like living alone and coming home to an empty apartment everyday. I need to make more of an effort to find social engagements over the next two weeks (its just difficult because most of my friends are also super busy) At least there is Tuesday night trivia

 

Also, I'm a little stressed out about school. I have group projects due in 4 classes the week between Thanksgiving and final week. NOT FUN!! Especially cause I'm usually the one that ends up doing most of the work

 

The next few weeks are gonna be weird which is why I gave myself a more flexible challenge. I will be home for a little while for Thanksgiving, plus the group projects and finals. And Daniel being out of town which is just weird. I'm excited for this challenge though
 

Cool, I actually helped someone with a computer issue. I feel so amazingly brilliant  

Great Scott, what a great challenge! Back to the Future and Gigawatts-love it!

 
I always feel that way when I help someone with computer stuff. I rely on Daniel when I need computer help but to my family I'm a computer genius. Lol
 
And I'm SOO excited about this challenge
 

Ha, I love the theme! For some reason the idea of collecting gigawatts is most amusing to me. I think it might go back to a Transformers episode from when I was a kid where electricity somehow gained solid form, in the shape of little lightening bolt people called Kremzeeks, with sharp teeth and evil eyes. There were tonnes of them and they ran around creating havoc and blackouts wherever they went, and eventually combined into one giant Kremzeek, and of course only the Transformers could stop them. It's not even my favourite episode ever, but for some reason it's always stuck in memory, and I imagine that by the end of the challenge you'll have a whole army of Kremzeeks running around your apartment (be careful, they're sneaky).

 
I loved this story!! Made me laugh... a lot!

[Nymeria]

I love the theme for your challenge.  And while I would be a little sad if you're not following me this time around, I think it's a very wise choice to keep things smaller, less overwhelming, and less time consumptive for this challenge.   I think one of the huge dangers of this site is trying to follow everyone, and then spending entirely too much time reading other people's threads and too little working on your own goals. Or feeling so overwhelmed by the idea of catching up with everyone else, so you don't update your own stuff.  You did a great job of constructing your challenge to let you be successful, even with your huge workload.

 

Good luck with finding that balance between work, school, and the rest of your goals.  I'm sure you'll be crushing the challenge soon and generating a lot more gigawatts! 

[sammiejune29]

I love the theme for your challenge.  And while I'm sad that you're not following me this time around, I think it's a very wise choice to keep things smaller, less overwhelming, and less time consumptive this time around.   I think one of the huge dangers of this site is trying to follow everyone, and then spending entirely too much time reading other people's threads and too little working on your own goals. 

 

Good luck with finding that balance between work, school, and the rest of your goals.  I'm sure you'll be crushing the challenge soon and generating a lot more gigawatts! 

 

But I am following you!! You are one of the lucky 5 and should feel special

[Nymeria]

But I am following you!! You are one of the lucky 5 and should feel special

 

Wow!  I do feel special, especially since I'm doing a boring unchallenge this time.   

[rybo]

Love the theme Sammie!

 

Keep up the effort!

 

Also congrats on the great progress you have made over the year or so, that's fantastic and something to be very proud of!

[chris_de_maas]

Haha! You know me too well! Ofc I love your theme!!!!

And how is it we have the same "NF thread" goal?!?!

 

And holy crap your progress is unbelievable!!! I knew you had done well but lining up the numbers that way really shows how far you've come already! Colour me impressed!

[sammiejune29]

Strength Workouts

Good news: I did a full body strength workout!!

Bad news:

1) I did it Monday night at 11:30 pm and I felt tired for the rest of the week because my body was trying to recover, and I didn't have time to sleep enough (granted I was getting 7 hours a night, but my body needs/wants 9 when I'm working out a lot)

2) I only got in one strength workout last week

 

Monday's Workout (Nov 18, 2013)
Warm up: 2 min jogging
3 Circuits (54 min 17:19 / 16:27 / 15:20)

Weighted Lunges 50# R(L): 8(8)/8(8)/8(8)

Inclined Push-ups 3rd stair (4th stair): 2(4)/2(4)/0(5)

Wall Sit: 60s/60s/60s

Dumbbell Rows Right 30#(25#): 4(4)/4(4)/4(4)

Dumbbell Rows Left 30#(25#): 4(4)/4(4)/4(4)

Lying Abductions (15lb weight) R(L): 15(15)/15(15)
Plank - Front (Back): 60s(40s)/60s(30s)/60s(30s)
Jogging: 60s/60s/60s
Stretches (10 min)

 

- Finally back to 3rd stair pushups (but only if I'm warmed up)

- Ready to move back up to 60# lunges again

- Adding in back plank (and side planks, which I just didn't have time for this day)

- And I keep doing lying abductions because making sure those muscles are strong helps keep my posture better and makes my back happier because it keeps me more stabilized. Doing a lot of yoga move I've noticed how much stronger and how much more control I have over those muscles because of the lying abductions.

- I still have flexibility problems, but Yoga is helping

 

 

Yoga & Thai Massage

- Went to Monday's Yin & Restorative class which was wonderful as always

- Went to Wednesday's beginner class and enjoyed it (though at the moment I can't remember what we were working on)

- Skipped Friday's Hatha flow class (for a good reason which I will explain shortly)

- Today was a Thai Massage workshop. For those of you unfamiliar with Thai massage (you should familiarize yourself with it because its wonderful) its basically massage meets yoga. It was a workshop that you do with a partner and our instructor demonstrated the different techniques as we gave each other massages. So I received for about 1.5 hours and then gave a massage to my partner for the same amount of time. The whole experience was amazing. Its really about connecting and relaxing (or as my instructor says "finding your inner spaghetti noodle" lol) 

 

 

Friday Night

I've gotten to the point where I like cooking at least one more elaborate meal per week but I still haven't gotten to the point where I can convince myself to do that if I'm just cooking for me. And with Daniel in Australia, I decided to have a little get together Friday night. My entrepreneurially minded (I've called her this before, lol) friend came over with her boyfriend and my nerdy-engineer-entrepreneur friend came over with his wife. I cooked 2 pots of beef stew I think I finally got the recipe right. The first two times I cooked it for Daniel and his boyfriend it was good but not wonderful. This time it was amazing And since I had quite a bit extra I've been eating it all weekend. Its nice having delicious leftovers! So after dinner we played some Cards Against Humanity which was hilarious as usual. And as an added bonus I got the 4th expansion pack in the mail Friday afternoon so we got to play with it Friday night

[sammiejune29]

Love the theme Sammie!

 

Keep up the effort!

 

Also congrats on the great progress you have made over the year or so, that's fantastic and something to be very proud of!

 

Thanks!! The theme has me quite excited. I've been on a back to the future kick, putting on the commentaries in the background while I'm doing other things. I have learned quite a bit about the movies. Its so fascinating to me. Lol

 

Haha! You know me too well! Ofc I love your theme!!!!

And how is it we have the same "NF thread" goal?!?!

 

And holy crap your progress is unbelievable!!! I knew you had done well but lining up the numbers that way really shows how far you've come already! Colour me impressed!

 

One of the first things we ever chatted about was Back to the Future

 

And its cause we are sisters of course

 

I can't wait to take some new progress photos when Daniel gets back. Whenever I take them myself the end up looking distorted and the lighting and the angle and everything else makes them useless for comparing at any rate. Lol

[obax]

Looks like things are going pretty well for you, all things considered. I definitely feel ya on the not being motivated to cook fancy stuff when you're just cooking for one. That was a big reason for my lack of good eating when I lived on my own, and resulted in me having a cheese sandwich for dinner most nights... Also, I may be a little jealous of your Thai massage session. I've heard of thing thing but have yet to experience it, it sounds amazing.

 

What's your recipe for beef stew? I have memories of you posting something about it in a previous thread, but if that was the 'just good' version, then I'd love to see the 'wonderful' version. Or is it just a case of you throwing stuff into a pot and you happened to throw just the right ratios in this time 'round?

[BlackWidowEowyn]

Looking good my dear

It's definitely harder to cook for just one, but sometimes leftovers taste better than the first time around

[Nymeria]

I'm so glad the yoga is working out so well for you.    And I know you're disappointed that you only got one strength workout in, but don't forget that a lot of yoga moves are also strength building ones.  I bet you've been tiring out your legs, core, and pushing muscles from doing so much yoga.

 

I can see why it's a bit depressing to cook just for yourself, and why that might not be very motivating.  But on the flip side, that's more leftovers for you, which is great if you want a lot of quick, healthy meals.  If you don't want so many leftovers, but you also want the convenience factor, do you have a small-ish crock pot?  Or, maybe cooking for yourself is a great time to experiment a bit with some new recipes.  That way, if they end up being inedible, you can just trash the evidence, and if they end up being yummy but not quite perfect, you'll already have the first step for tweaking the recipe a bit. 

[sammiejune29]

Looks like things are going pretty well for you, all things considered. I definitely feel ya on the not being motivated to cook fancy stuff when you're just cooking for one. That was a big reason for my lack of good eating when I lived on my own, and resulted in me having a cheese sandwich for dinner most nights... Also, I may be a little jealous of your Thai massage session. I've heard of thing thing but have yet to experience it, it sounds amazing.

 

What's your recipe for beef stew? I have memories of you posting something about it in a previous thread, but if that was the 'just good' version, then I'd love to see the 'wonderful' version. Or is it just a case of you throwing stuff into a pot and you happened to throw just the right ratios in this time 'round?

 

At least I'm staying away from the cheese sandwiches I don't actually eat much bread or cheese at all any more. I eat out far more than I should (though I always get fairly healthy stuff, one advantage of living in a town with lots of restaurants that only use local ingredients.) I also tend to have a dinners that mostly consist of snacking which isn't really preferable either. But I find that the better I know a recipe, the more likely I am to cook it for myself. So I'm cooking things for other people till I get comfortable enough with a recipe to be okay with cooking it for myself. For me its more worth the time commitment. Recipes always take longer to cook the first few times and its hard for me to convince myself I have the time when I'm the only one benefitting. But I like doing nice things for other people, gives me warm fuzzies and so its worth the time to cook the meal if I get to share it because I get greater rewards for the time I'm putting in. 

 

Recipe (makes enough for 8 people, I had to cook it in 2 pots):

26 oz (weight) of beef stock

3ish lbs of beef (I bought a roast and cut it into 1in X 1in cubes)

3 large red onions

8-10 large mushrooms

6 cloves of garlic (pressed)

2 lb bag of carrots

15-20 red potatoes

1 head of celery

2 cans of tomatoes (14.5 oz cans)

Liberal amounts of black pepper and basil

Conservative amount of thyme

1/8-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (some people like more, some like less)

 

Two ways to cook: In a pot on the stovetop. Med-low heat. In a cast iron pot in the stove at 425 degrees F. I did one pot each way since it wouldn't all fit in one pot. Both should have lids.

 

The beef goes in first with the stock, tomatoes, vinegar and spices. I let this start cooking while I prepared the garlic. Add garlic. Cut up onions. Add onions. Cut up celery. Add celery. Cut up mushrooms. Add mushrooms. Stir. Cut up carrots and potatoes. Do not put carrots and potatoes in until it has been cooking for at least an hour from when you first put the meat on the stove. Add carrots and potatoes on top but do not stir. They will mostly be on top of the liquid and will essentially be getting steamed. This prevents them from getting super mushy. It will take at least another hour to be done. Taste and adjust spices as necessary.

 

My cooking/recipes aren't really an exact science. Lol

 

 

Looking good my dear

It's definitely harder to cook for just one, but sometimes leftovers taste better than the first time around

 

Thanks!

 

I very much enjoyed my leftovers all weekend. I finished the last of them this morning and it was sad

 

I'm so glad the yoga is working out so well for you.    And I know you're disappointed that you only got one strength workout in, but don't forget that a lot of yoga moves are also strength building ones.  I bet you've been tiring out your legs, core, and pushing muscles from doing so much yoga.

 

I can see why it's a bit depressing to cook just for yourself, and why that might not be very motivating.  But on the flip side, that's more leftovers for you, which is great if you want a lot of quick, healthy meals.  If you don't want so many leftovers, but you also want the convenience factor, do you have a small-ish crock pot?  Or, maybe cooking for yourself is a great time to experiment a bit with some new recipes.  That way, if they end up being inedible, you can just trash the evidence, and if they end up being yummy but not quite perfect, you'll already have the first step for tweaking the recipe a bit. 

 

Mostly is lack of upper body strength training that I worry about. I know I get quite a bit of lower body with yoga but we don't do a lot of upper body stuff in the beginner class. I mostly just miss my strength workouts. Lol

 

I love all the suggestions. See my reply to Obax above on some of my thought processes that go along with cooking for others vs. cooking for myself. I think what it mostly comes down to is that I can't convince myself that I have the time to cook for myself and its a lot easier to convince myself that I have the time to cook for other people. Lol

[obax]

For me, it was always about family. Growing up, having all 6 of us home and at the table for dinner was a big deal, and my parents always made a point of making something 'fancy' for such occasions. So I grew up associating cooking real food with being together with family, and while actually eating only took a short amount of time (we're all fairly fast eaters...), the lingering around the table could go on for hours. Food is very much an experience for me, and I find that thinking of it just as fuel to be a bit depressing (I have yet to decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing or a neutral thing).

 

When I lived on my own, I just didn't seem worth the effort of making proper food when there was no one to share it with. I would do it every now and then and make a big pot of soup, since soup was relatively easy and stored well in the fridge for the rest of the week, but even then it felt not right to have no one to share the soup with.

 

And thanks for the recipe. It seem fairly straightforward, I like recipes that involved chopping a bunch of stuff, then throwing it into a pot, then waiting a while, then enjoying