Teddie.Bare's Fiery Road to Awesome

[teddie.bare]

I was recently diagnosed with PCOS, and am having a HELL of a time losing weight. While my main main quest is getting to 20% body fat, right now I need to focus on things that are making me better/healthier/more awesome without killing myself with the MUST LOSE WEIGHT crap that's been going on in my head.

So, my new and improved Main Quest is: Become a performance hula hooper (LED and Fire, ooooh aaaaah)
Goals:
Hoop for 20 minutes, at least 2x a week
Work out 4 days a week. Barbell Battallion level 2 and Running
Track all of my calories, every day, in MFP.

Side Quest:
Record daily miles walked into "Walking to Mordor" spreadsheet.

Life Quest:
Work on decluttering my tiny house. Throw away or donate at least one thing a day.

Motivation:
"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience."

Grading:
I will give myself a total each week, based on how well I do. I will then assign my total grade at the end based on how many points I earned.
There are 20 points available each week: 4 workout days (1 pt each), 7 days of food tracking (1 pt each), 7 days of decluttering (1 pt each), and 2 points for hooping.

Week 1: 20/20
Week 2: 19/20
Week 3: 20/20
Week 4: 19/20
Week 5: 20/20
Week 6: 18/20
TOTAL: 96.7% or an A

 

I walked roughly 151 miles during this challenge.

[Super Destroyer]

Love your goals. Hula hooping sounds fun. I know a little about clutter myself. Hate it and my "if I haven't used it in a year I probably won't" rule would work if my wife weren't a pack rat. Good luck on your goals!

[GreyLady823]

Hooping always looks like so much fun (doubly so if LED and fire are involved)! I had some friends that made their own weighted hoops - definitely something I'd like to try this year. Excited to hear how it works out for you!

[Prairie]

I've got a family member with PCOS and she's definitely struggled with her weight as well. That said, with a reasonable diet and lots of exercise she can keep her weight down to a healthy level. Best of luck with your challenge; the hooping sounds pretty fun!

[teddie.bare]

I've got a family member with PCOS and she's definitely struggled with her weight as well. That said, with a reasonable diet and lots of exercise she can keep her weight down to a healthy level. Best of luck with your challenge; the hooping sounds pretty fun!

Unfortunately the "reasonable diet and lots of exercise" is only barely maintaining my weight right now. I've been doing both for 2.5 years and I lost 50 lbs after the birth of my daughter (I only gained 30). But for some reason I haven't been able to lose scale weight in 15 months (sigh). I am losing some fat and getting more muscular, but I definitely need some medical guidance now that I know what the problem is. It just gets maddening working out 5 hours a week AND walking 4-miles a day AND tracking all of your food and not seeing any results. So I'm changing my focus until we can get my hormones under control.

I made a new, smaller hoop yesterday and played with my hoop collection for a while. I have a workout planned for today with it. I'm hoping to move down to a much smaller hoop eventually. I'll be treating myself to two new professionally made hoops in a week or two to help my motivation. When I decide what size works the best for me, I'll get a nice LED hoop in that size. I'm excited to see some progress with my flow arts

[Teri]

I'm a hopeless hula-hooper. Can't do it if my life depended on it. I wonder if it is because I can't dance either. I have no rhythm or musical talent. But I bet I can make people laugh if they watched me when I try!

 

You have some great goals. Good luck with every thing and I hope you can figure out something with the PCOS and your weight loss.

 

I have a suggestion on the decluttering. If you haven't heard of the site Flylady take a look at it. She has a system for decluttering your entire house using just 15 minutes a day. She has a lot of common sense stuff and a saying that goes, "You can do anything for 15 minutes." She saved my sanity as a mom when I had kids at home.

[teddie.bare]

I'm a hopeless hula-hooper. Can't do it if my life depended on it. I wonder if it is because I can't dance either. I have no rhythm or musical talent. But I bet I can make people laugh if they watched me when I try!

 

You have some great goals. Good luck with every thing and I hope you can figure out something with the PCOS and your weight loss.

 

I have a suggestion on the decluttering. If you haven't heard of the site Flylady take a look at it. She has a system for decluttering your entire house using just 15 minutes a day. She has a lot of common sense stuff and a saying that goes, "You can do anything for 15 minutes." She saved my sanity as a mom when I had kids at home.

 

I've found there are two issues with adults who "can't" hula hoop - either they are trying to use a hoop that is WAY too small (it should come up to your chest when sitting on the ground) or they are trying to move their hips in a circular motion. You really have to rock back and forth or side to side, it's not an 'around and round' motion. Deanna Love of Hooplovers has a great YouTube channel with tons of great tricks and tips. If it's something you'd really like, I say keep trying!

 

I have an appt with a specialist on the 17th, so I'm hoping she has some good answers for me. Until then, I'm going to just rock my diet and keep killing it in the gym.

 

I go through phases of following flylady. I use a lot of her tools and teachings in my daily life - it's really a great site. I always tell myself I can do anything for 15 minutes After I get my health stuff better under control I'll have to revisit her site. I'm just doing my baby steps right now!

[teddie.bare]

Ok, so far so good. I made myself a new smaller practice hula hoop over the weekend and played with all my different sized ones on Saturday. Yesteray I did 25 minutes of practice and had a lot of luck with the next smaller size hoop. I generally only have time on the weekends to practice due to a small toddler whose head is at hoop height who is super curious - but if she's ever napping when I get home from work, I'll practice then as well. I just learned a new basic move that I'm practicing the heck out of, along with a little routine I made up last summer.

 

I did all my food prep yesterday and I'm thoroughly enjoying my snacks today. I always have a spinach protein smoothie in the morning, because screw mornings. I made a fabulous mexican chicken in the crock pot for lunch, and portioned/measured all of my snacks. I have deli chicken and turkey pepperoni, Parmesan Italian chicken sausage, hummus with tomatos and cucumbers, and hard boiled eggs. I only eat birds or fish, and I have a hard time with protein so I'm really focusing on it.

 

I had a great workout at lunch. I am in the Women's Academy and did one of Stacie's awesome dumbbell workouts. It was day 2 of level 2, and it was amazeballs. I burned 285 calories and feel really good. I DID manage to smash BOTH of my feet with a 30-lb dumbbell, but that's just because I'm epically dexterious. Day 1 is going great

[NapalmBurn]

This sounds like so much fun. If I had any coordination I may try to hula-hoop, but at this time, it would just be a great YouTube fail video. 

Good luck and have fun.

[Fortuositea]

Wow, your goal is awesome. I'm also a terrible hula-hooper, and it's exactly for the reason you mentioned, I try to move my hips in a circle. Just from reading your posts, I can tell you're going to kill it.

 

We also have a problem with clutter at the SpiderMonkey residence. Lots of our stuff winds up at Mr. Monkey's parent's house until we get a bigger place =/. We're trying to determine what's important to us, and donating is a great way to feel like we're not just dumping good stuff - the stuff is still useful to someone, if not to us.

[teddie.bare]

Last night I packed away all the 'extra' books on the bookshelf in my bedroom. It causes me a lot of anxeity, and I know I am NEVER going to read those books again. I give them to my best friend to trade for things she likes to read on some online deal. I kept the books that were important to me, and it feels SO GOOD to have gotten the rest packed up! I also purchased 3 new work shirts that came in the mail yesterday, so I put a half dozen old items into my donate bag that I keep in the closet. I am trying to get my wardrobe down to a more manageable level. If I ever put something on and then 'meh' in the bag it goes.

 

My food is going amazing. My crockpot chicken that I'm having for lunch is so delicious I have to fight the guys off of it when I warm it up every day. Yesterday was the best carb and sugar day I've had in a LONG time. Which is helpful for the insulin resistance caused by PCOS. I felt great this morning!

 

I went for my frist ever outside run in the snow today (only my 5th time running outside as an adult). It was 50-degrees but overcast. I didn't love love it, but it was alright. I ran with a coworker and we got work done. My toes were a little cold and wet, but overall I didn't suck too bad. My hamstrings are sore from killing it in the gym yesterday, and my muscles were confused by the cold, but we got 2.14 miles in. I'd like to say it's getting easier, but it really isn't yet. I know it WILL though. And I got my bonus Vitamin D in.

[Fortuositea]

Last night I packed away all the 'extra' books on the bookshelf in my bedroom. It causes me a lot of anxeity, and I know I am NEVER going to read those books again. I give them to my best friend to trade for things she likes to read on some online deal. I kept the books that were important to me, and it feels SO GOOD to have gotten the rest packed up! I also purchased 3 new work shirts that came in the mail yesterday, so I put a half dozen old items into my donate bag that I keep in the closet. I am trying to get my wardrobe down to a more manageable level. If I ever put something on and then 'meh' in the bag it goes.

 

 

Good for you! I have the HARDEST time getting rid of old books. That's a great attitude toward decluttering - if you don't love it immediately, get rid of it. Out of sight, out of mind.  Also, what kind of crockpot chicken did you make? I have a crockpot but I never use it. 

[teddie.bare]

My crockpot chicken was super easy. It was 5-5oz frozen chicken breasts, 1-15oz can of black beans, 1-15oz can of corn, 1-15oz can of salsa and 1-8oz block of cream cheese. You could skip the cream cheese if you aren't doing dairy, but it really makes it a wonderful creamy consistancy. I need the extra protein, and I eat lunch right after working out. It's super yummy.

 

I have a hard time getting rid of ANYTHING. My parents made me into such a hoarder. Last night I cleaned out all of the now-too-small pants from my daughters closet. I can't believe how fast this kid is growing out of her clothes. I now have three full boxes of old clothes that I am giving to a pregnant friend.

 

I just finished in the gym. I love the workouts from the Women's Academy. My hamstrings just hate me this week.

[teddie.bare]

Another productive night last night. I cleaned out almost another whole box of baby clothes.

 

Today I went out to lunch with a friend. I take him to a mexican place down the street once a year for his birthday. I enjoyed it immenesely and still have plenty of calories for dinner. My carbs are a little high, I have insulin resistance issues with my PCOS, and I'm definitely feeling the sugar buzz this afternoon. Instead of having today be a massive free for all, I counted and tracked everything I ate, and will do the same with dinner.

 

I might exercise some tonight, I might call it a rest day. I'll definitely get a workout in tomorrow, bringing me up to my goal of 4 days for this week

[Prairie]

Unfortunately the "reasonable diet and lots of exercise" is only barely maintaining my weight right now. I've been doing both for 2.5 years and I lost 50 lbs after the birth of my daughter (I only gained 30). But for some reason I haven't been able to lose scale weight in 15 months (sigh). I am losing some fat and getting more muscular, but I definitely need some medical guidance now that I know what the problem is. It just gets maddening working out 5 hours a week AND walking 4-miles a day AND tracking all of your food and not seeing any results. So I'm changing my focus until we can get my hormones under control.

 

I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. Hope the specialist can help you out. 

[teddie.bare]

I didn't get rid of as much 'stuff' as I wanted last night, but I got something done. I cleaned out another of the baby's drawers, but we needed half the stuff, just relocated. I did get rid of the other half of the drawer, so that's something.

 

I have a bulding disc in my back that slips in and out of place, so I have to be careful with pretty much everything. The other night I stepped off the curb wrong and tweaked it a little bit. I really didn't want to go to the gym today. I didn't sleep well, my back is iffy, and BLAH. I went anyway. I knew lifting might aggrovate my back from 'irritated' to 'angry', so I ran on the dreadmill instead. I didn't get as much mileage as I do when I'm outside, but I got a good sweat in.

 

I'm in an unusually body-positive mood today, which is nice. My hair looks great, my tush looks fantastic in these jeans, and I even liked what I saw in my workout clothes. I'm going to just enjoy the feeling and hold on to it as long as I can today

[Fortuositea]

I'm in an unusually body-positive mood today, which is nice. My hair looks great, my tush looks fantastic in these jeans, and I even liked what I saw in my workout clothes. I'm going to just enjoy the feeling and hold on to it as long as I can today

 

That's the best feeling ever! (& I hope your back gets better!)

[teddie.bare]

Today has been a good day. I'm working in getting rid of some stuff with more emotional meaning. I went through my perfume last night and got rid of some that I never wear, don't like, but keep because I got it on a special trip to France with my grandma before she died.

Today I took down my movie theater poster of lord of the rings. It took up an entire wall, and I need the space for shelves. I also worked on the study some. I took out all the trash in the house, hung up some art, and tossed a bunch of stuff we don't need. I also did a bunch of dishes, scrubbed the stove, and cleaned the fish tank before my husband did a water change.

I had a great breakfast, and I'm going to hoop when I put my daughter down for a nap. Hopefully she'll nap for me, I'd really like to get my practice in!

[teddie.bare]

Great first week! I hooped again today, and journaled my food all weekend. I cleaned a box out of the garage, worked on the study some more, and got rid of a few things in my daughters closet.

I received all 20 points this week:

4 workout days

7 days of food tracking

7 days of decluttering

2 points for each day of hooping

[Teri]

Woo Hoo for a 100% for week 1. Keep up the good work!

[Fortuositea]

You're doing a great job! You accomplished so much in only one week.

[teddie.bare]

So far, week 2 is going great I got a good weight session in yesterday, and today I did some cardio on the dreadmill. I was stress eating some yesterday because I have an appointment with the cardiologist today, but I managed to keep it in my calorie budget. I'm hoping that I can find out whether or not I have a genetic heart valve disease, and get some recommendations on how it might affect my workouts.

 

So. Anxious, hopeful, nervous...I'm really trying to make this the year that I get all of my health issues figured out and under control. I'm tired of doctors not taking me seriously or trivializing my issues. I have two specialist appointments this week, and I'm determined to get some answers.

[teddie.bare]

My appointment went ok, they couldn't see any problems with the lower level tests. I have to have a stress echo at the end of the month, which should answer a bunch of questions. I forgot my fitbit today, which always disappoints me. Especially on run days! I ran outside today, which felt amazing. It was almost 50 degrees and it was just perfect. I did have my heart rate monitor, so I got to at least track my calories burned.He was impressed with my nutrition and exercise, and even fist bumped me for my proactive and motivated attitude.

 

My snacks this week are great. I got like 254 g of protein yesterday! it was a nutritionally amazing day. I cleaned off some mail last night, and got rid of some stuff on my bookshelf and dresser. Today I have a pounding headache and some family drama, so we'll see what I can get done tonight. I'm always happy even if I can only manage to get rid of one thing. I'm just glad I got my workout in at lunch, because I'm losing motivation fast.

[bryne1999]

Wow, you inspired me to find a hula hoop and try again! That sounds like so much fun.

Congrats on a successful first week! Let's do this!

[teddie.bare]

Yesterday I had my first appointment for my PCOS. it was ... Interesting. I got a referral to a doctor who sounds really promising, and they are testing the rest of my hormone levels. Which was the best outcome possible considering she recommended weight loss surgery (to lose 30 lbs? Are you kidding me??) and hormones (which caused my mother to have a stroke). So. More waiting and more appointments are in my future.

I was too sore and upset to hit the gym, so we went to the playground with my daughter. It was really fun being able to climb up and around on the equipment there. I even went on the see-saw. I can't remember the last time I did that. I couldn't quite do the monkey bars, but I did manage a small zip line.

My daughter overslept today, so I'm not sure she's going to nap. I might try to pull my hoops out, but it's really hard when she is awake. If I don't get it in today, I'll hoop twice as long tomorrow.