Shark Attack

[SammyShark]

Main Quest

Be comfortable in my own skin.

 

Motivation

I'm turning 28 this year. Crazy! I've always been pretty uncomfortable in my own skin, but it's gotten worse in the last year or so. I've put on a fair bit of weight, and need to lose about 50lbs (I've lost 10, but I probably need to lose about 50 more to be in a good place).

 

I've lived in this cycle of "I'm going to get thin/fit, but oops I binged, I better give up. Let's start again, starve a few days, binge, whoops" for about 12 years now. Seriously. 12 years of this bull shit. I waver back and forth between being motivated and totally not caring. I want to get healthy because I want to feel good, and live a longer life, and attract a mate, and have my clothes fit well, and all those things. But then I'm like - I'm never going to find a mate, so what is the point? If I get healthy, that just means I will live longer being miserable and alone. But having what is, essentially, a suicidal outlook on life is just so not healthy. I have this whole list of things I want to do with my life if I never end up meeting Mr. Shark, and those things need to be my focus. I have an aunt who is single and totally awesome, and while that's not the life I would choose for myself, if that's the life I'm destined to live, then I should make it fun and interesting, so I can at least tell my nieces and nephews cool stories. And I don't want to be a burden on any of my family members when I get old, so I need to be healthy enough to take care of myself when I do get old.

 

Therefore, no more of this defeatist bullshit crap of "who wants to be miserable and alone for even longer." I need an attitude change and that's going to start with making some healthy choices for these six weeks preceding my birthday (2/18). I'm going to eat healthy which means eating paleo approximately 90% of the time. The biggest thing for me will just be planning. Plan, plan, plan. Losing weight is a bigger focus for me than strength training at this point. I am more overweight than anything. So cardio is a bigger focus (4x/week versus 2x/week of strength), but strength still needs to be worked on, especially if I'm thinking about mobility/agility in my old age (which I know is not right now, but we've got to build the foundation, right?). So that's it - that's my motivation. Don't be miserable!

 

Goals

Goal 1: Don't binge

Goal 2: Cardio 4x/week, Strength training 2x/week

Goal 3: Stretch 15 min each day

 

Life Quest

Learn to play guitar - 4x/week

[EDIT: Changed life quest to quit smoking!]

 

Grading System

Goal 1 - Pretty straight forward, if I don't binge I get a point. If do binge, but manage to stop myself before hitting that point of "fuck it all, I'm eating everything in sight" then I can still get 0.5pts. If I totally fail, no points. Aiming for 42 points.

Goal 2 - Also straight forward. One point for each workout. A cardio workout must be at least 30 min. A strength training workout may be three rounds of BBWW, or the swimmer's circuit. Aiming for 36 points (24/12)

Goal 3 - Same deal, if I stretch for 15 minutes, I get a point. If not, no points. Aiming for 42 points.

Life quest - There is a free online course available that looks like it will be quite good. There are about 90 videos in total for the beginner course. I don't think I'll be able to get through the whole thing during this challenge, but I want to commit to watching about 10-15min of lessons per day plus a little practice time. I may take Thursdays off because I usually have choir practice that night and it's just a very busy day. But we'll see. I need to get my guitar re-stringed. Or do it myself. Luckily the first few lessons seem to be more about theory and stuff, so I have a couple of days to work on that. I might even try to do it myself! Aiming for 24 points.

 

I'm going to weight each category equally to determine if I've passed the challenge. That means that I need to aim for 24 points total each week. I think 85% will be passing for this challenge. I think that's reasonable and doable.

 

Oh, and, in the interest of full disclosure - yes, I've done a challenge before. I did not do as well as I'd hoped and so I'm staying in level 1 for the time being.

[dayzee84]

Hi there! One of my goals is also to stretch every day, it really does make a difference, doesn't it? Good luck and happy day 1!

[thoughtsothu]

Good luck! I totally understand the whole yo-yoing thing. It sucks. I hope you find what you need in life

[EmCee]

I like your goals, Sammy  

 

As for being single - think about how goddamn frustrating it would be to see someone's socks on the floor, next to the hamper, day after day after day after day after day. 

[raptron]

 

 

I like your goals, Sammy 

 

As for being single - think about how goddamn frustrating it would be to see someone's socks on the floor, next to the hamper, day after day after day after day after day. 

 

Seriously, though. Put your goddamn socks in the hamper.

[SnowWhite]

Yay SammyShark! You're awesome and you've got this, girlie! <3

[Raxie]

Yes down with the yo-yo crap! You can do it

[deftona]

I am the same as you with the yo-yoing. I try to be too 100% and when I inevitably fall short of my own crazy pressures I eat even worse than I usually would because I have to eat all the crap I can because I can't have anything for the next x amount of weeks because I am trying to 100%! It's a stupid cycle that is not only unhealthy physically but it is really bad mentally too. You only just fell short on your last challenge so the groundwork is there and I'll be cheering for team Shark. Woo! 

[fultonator]

Hello fellow binge eater! We can do it!

Great goals. Good luck!

[dparter]

Hi Sammy!  I can relate to your story.  I was once at 250 lbs and managed to lose 50 of those lbs.  My new goal is to lose about 6% of my body fat.  You can totally do it!

[SammyShark]

Hi there! One of my goals is also to stretch every day, it really does make a difference, doesn't it? Good luck and happy day 1!

 

It's amazing how much more flexible I can get just from the beginning of a 15 min stretch to the end of the 15 min! I'm loving it!

 

Good luck! I totally understand the whole yo-yoing thing. It sucks. I hope you find what you need in life

 

Thanks! I'm hoping to find what I need to, and to be happy about whatever that is!

 

I like your goals, Sammy

 

As for being single - think about how goddamn frustrating it would be to see someone's socks on the floor, next to the hamper, day after day after day after day after day. 

 

 

HAHAHAHA. I hear this from SO MANY women!

 

 

 

 

Seriously, though. Put your goddamn socks in the hamper.

 

This is the BEST. GIF. EVAR.

 

Yay SammyShark! You're awesome and you've got this, girlie! <3

 

Thanks, Snow! <3

 

Yes down with the yo-yo crap! You can do it

 

Thanks, Rax. Trying to be more level-headed these days. It's hard. Definitely a big shift in my thinking. But I'm slowly coming around to the "slow and steady" mentality.

 

I am the same as you with the yo-yoing. I try to be too 100% and when I inevitably fall short of my own crazy pressures I eat even worse than I usually would because I have to eat all the crap I can because I can't have anything for the next x amount of weeks because I am trying to 100%! It's a stupid cycle that is not only unhealthy physically but it is really bad mentally too. You only just fell short on your last challenge so the groundwork is there and I'll be cheering for team Shark. Woo! 

 

Thanks! I do really feel like I laid the groundwork in my first challenge. And like I told Rax, I feel like I'm finally starting to come around to a more slow and stead mentality when it comes to weight loss. I still have days where I'm like - WHY! Why am I not losing more quickly?! What is wrong?! But you know, I didn't get to this weight in just a few weeks, it's going to take at least as long to shed the weight as it did to put it on, and probably longer. And what's important is that I'm establishing healthy habits.

 

Hello fellow binge eater! We can do it!

Great goals. Good luck!

 

Hello! Thanks for stopping by! I saw that one of your goals is to meal plan and that is a HUGE factor for me in terms of not bingeing - plan ahead! Good luck to you too!

 

Hi Sammy!  I can relate to your story.  I was once at 250 lbs and managed to lose 50 of those lbs.  My new goal is to lose about 6% of my body fat.  You can totally do it!

 

Hi dparter! Thanks for stopping by! That's awesome that you managed to lose 50lbs already! Good luck!

[SammyShark]

Check-In

 

Things are going pretty well so far. Here's a brief look at the first few days:

 

Monday:

(1) Didn't binge! Yay.

(1) 60 min on the elliptical

(1) Watched some guitar lessons

(1) Stretched

 

Tuesday:

(1) Didn't binge again! Woo!

(0) Didn't work out (sick)

(1) Stretched

 

Wednesday:

(1) Didn't binge!

(1) 30 min elliptical, real light

(0) Forgot to stretch (yikes)

 

Thursday:

(1) Didn't binge!

(1) 60 min elliptical

(1) stretched

(1) more guitar lessons

 

12 points earned thus far.

 

One hiccup - I got sick! I am feeling MUCH better now but I was pretty down for a couple days there. I sort of powered through and was working out lightly, but I also slept for about 15 hours and stayed home from work one day. That's the first time since I started this job that I've taken a sick day, and man was it stressful. Suck.

 

Something I've learned so far - Remembering to stretch is kinda hard. It is really going to be about building a habit here, which is kinda new for me.

 

Moving forward - I haven't gotten the string on my guitar fixed yet. The lessons so far have not required any actual playing though. There is a lot of introductory material. I need to swing by the music shop and buy a string and a couple of other things, too. And then things can really get rolling. This is going to be a big hurdle for me, because I don't know that much about guitars and so I know I'm going to be really scared and feel really stupid going to the music store, but they wouldn't call it a challenge if it was easy.

 

I'm glad I haven't binged. I think lately the longest I've gone without doing that is about 2 weeks, so once we get to that point, we can really celebrate. But until then, every day is a success. I have noticed a slight plateau in my weight, so I'm not going to weigh myself for a few days. This is really hard for me, but... I just need to do it. I get so discouraged if that number doesn't move or goes up, despite all my efforts, so I just don't want to look at it for a while.

 

Gotta get some strength training in - haven't done ANY yet, but part of that was that I was feeling super weak when I was sick. Glad to be healthy again!

[dayzee84]

Could you pick a particular time of day and make it your stretching time? That might help it become a habit. I've been trying to do mine in the evening before I go brush my teeth for bed (no reason, it's just a place in my routine that made sense) to try and help it stick. I am glad you are feeling better!

[Raxie]

Great job staying strong and not binging all week, even when you were sick  Glad you're feeling better.

[jeremyrf]

I really like the goal of not to binge!  I used to love grabbing a pint of ben and jerry's from the market next to my house and eat IT ALL!  No more!  New beginnings!  GO GET 'EM!

[fultonator]

Sounds like things are going well! Too bad you got sick but glad to see that you're feeling better

[deftona]

Great work in your first week, and good call not weighing yourself. I know the "drop-to-your-knees-in-front-of-the-scale-and-scream-WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!" feeling and it's not conducive to continuing the healthy habits. I'm glad you're over your bug and best wishes for challenge week 2. 

[thoughtsothu]

Yay! Sounds like you're doing great!

 

Hmm... with the weight thing... I know how you feel. I weigh myself once a week at the same time. So maybe you could try doing that. Your weight changes constantly depending on when you weigh yourself... so try to make it at the same time under the same conditions. You could also take pictures of yourself before and after the challenge. 

[SammyShark]

Could you pick a particular time of day and make it your stretching time? That might help it become a habit. I've been trying to do mine in the evening before I go brush my teeth for bed (no reason, it's just a place in my routine that made sense) to try and help it stick. I am glad you are feeling better!

 

Right now I am trying to do it after I workout, which is usually in the evening. Sometimes it's not until right before bed. What's been working is being distracted by something (reading on the computer or watching a show) and setting a timer for 15 minutes. I actually have been finding that I want to keep stretching even longer! Crazy.

 

Great job staying strong and not binging all week, even when you were sick  Glad you're feeling better.

 

Thanks! It's always a big accomplishment for me to NOT binge for any extended period of time, so I'm feeling really good about myself!

 

I really like the goal of not to binge!  I used to love grabbing a pint of ben and jerry's from the market next to my house and eat IT ALL!  No more!  New beginnings!  GO GET 'EM!

 

Yup - when I was in college, I swam competitively and I would buy a pint of ben & jerry's from the 7-Eleven and eat it during class to "stay awake." I could do that when I was burning 3000 calories a day. Not so much anymore!

 

Sounds like things are going well! Too bad you got sick but glad to see that you're feeling better

 

Getting sick blows! Especially when you are just starting to try to change habits, but I think I'm over it all completely and came out better on the other end!

 

Great work in your first week, and good call not weighing yourself. I know the "drop-to-your-knees-in-front-of-the-scale-and-scream-WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!" feeling and it's not conducive to continuing the healthy habits. I'm glad you're over your bug and best wishes for challenge week 2. 

 

Thanks! It is totally a mind fuck that I don't need to be dealing with! My plan right now is to weigh in on Sundays. I think I can stick to that...

 

Yay! Sounds like you're doing great!

 

Hmm... with the weight thing... I know how you feel. I weigh myself once a week at the same time. So maybe you could try doing that. Your weight changes constantly depending on when you weigh yourself... so try to make it at the same time under the same conditions. You could also take pictures of yourself before and after the challenge. 

 

Yeah, my plan for now is to weigh myself on Sundays, in the morning, after I use the restroom. I just need to be strong and stick to that schedule!

[SammyShark]

Week 1 in Review

 

Pretty good week overall. Some things could definitely use improvement though.

 

Goal 1: Don't binge

I did not binge all week. Earned all 7 points.

Grade: A

 

Goal 2: Workout

I worked out 6 times this week, but they were ALL cardio workouts... :/ Whoops. I definitely need to get my body strength training going. I was good about it last challenge. I just have not been wanting to do it this time around. But it's a part of my goal, so no leniency here. Earned 6 points, which was the goal....

Grade: B (do more strength training)

 

Goal 3: Stretch daily

I stretched 6 of 7 days. That's good. The one day I didn't, I had had a long day and was super tired, got into bed, realized I hadn't stretched and just couldn't muster the strength to get up and do it. I'm trying to do it right after workouts now. That seems to be a good unwinding thing and good timing. It's getting easier to remember. Earned 6 points of the possible 7.

Grade: B+ (no reason not to get all 7 days in!)

 

Life Quest: Guitar lessons

My goal was to do lessons 4x per week. I only did 3 this week. :/ I was being lazy and also procrastinating. I had to go buy a new string for my guitar, and I was nervous about doing that, so I put it off until the last possible minute. Now I need to figure out how to restring my guitar so I can get started again. That will be a lesson in and of itself. I think I will try to get in 5 lessons this week, to catch back up. But we'll see. Choir starts back up again this week too, so... It's gonna be busy! Only earner 3 of 4 points.

Grade: C (once I restring, no reason not to get more lessons in)

 

Overall this past week was probably a B+. I am learning to add in the stretching as a new habit. I am making time for workouts. Very importantly, I am not bingeing. It's actually going quite well. I'm very pleased.

[SnowWhite]

Sammy, you are awesome! Congrats on a really solid first week! You put in a great effort and you sound like you're very motivated and prepared to get As in everything this week! Great job, girlie I'm proud of you!

[Raxie]

You've done an awesome job staying on track this first week!

[SammyShark]

Sammy, you are awesome! Congrats on a really solid first week! You put in a great effort and you sound like you're very motivated and prepared to get As in everything this week! Great job, girlie I'm proud of you!

 

Thanks, Snow! I'm feeling really good about this challenge. Like I don't have the same crazy motivation I had at the beginning of the first challenge I did, but I think I've got a more steady determination, which is a really good thing!

 

You've done an awesome job staying on track this first week!

 

Thanks, Raxie! Week 2 got off to a rough start, but I'm doing good again!

[SammyShark]

Update!

 

Day 8 - Monday

Oy. I binged on Monday. It was ... not as bad as it could have been, but also not as good as it could have been. I was having some MAJOR carb cravings. Unfortunately, that kind of put me back at square one in terms of getting over the carb withdrawal, so I'll probably have to deal with some very similar feelings... oh this weekend? I need to stay motivated and focused, and I probably neat to eat more calories. That's easier to do on the weekends, actually. Just gotta stay on track.

I also didn't work out! Whoops.

I did stretch though, and I did a guitar lesson. So those were both goods things.

2 pts.

 

Day 9 - Tuesday

This was a great day. Didn't binge (it's easy the day after because you aren't really hungry), worked out for an hour, did my guitar lesson, and stretched. Perfect.

4 pts.

 

Day 10 - Wednesday

Wednesday was okay... I didn't binge, I did a quick workout in the morning, but I had dinner with friends out of town so I didn't have time for a guitar lesson, and I just totally spaced stretching. Didn't even remember until the next morning. I'm thinking I should set an alarm on my phone to remind myself to do that. I don't know why it's so easy to forget!

2 pts.

 

Day 11 - Thursday

Busy day - worked in Omaha, so had to commute. Also had choir practice at night. I knew I wouldn't have time to do a guitar lesson. I was tempted to stay up late and workout for a quick 30 min, but I was so exhausted when I got home, it just didn't happen. I did remember to stretch though, so that was good.

2 pts.

 

I only have 10 points so far this week. I need to be getting around 21-24 each week to pass my challenge, so need to pick up the pace a bit. I'm kind of going to be making up for it over the weekend...

 

Plan for the rest of the week:

Friday (today) - I already stretched today (woo!) and I'm going to do the bbww over my lunch break, then 30-45 min on the elliptical after work. Probably only 30 min, because I need to squeeze in a guitar lesson before going out with my friends tonight.

Saturday - bbww and elliptical (if I want), guitar lesson, stretch. Nothing going on that should throw a wrench in any of my plans.

Sunday - bbww and elliptical (again, only if I want, I do quite enough of this during the week), guitar lesson, stretch. I'm going to lunch with my girl friends - to a Brazilian steakhouse. I don't think it'll be difficult to eat paleo/hflc there!

 

[Edit: I'm also having a bit of anxiety about not weighing myself... I have successfully NOT weighed myself since Sunday. I have been sorely tempted though. Sometimes I have to chug water in the morning so that I won't want to get on anymore. I was feeling a little down this morning, because I feel like I really set myself back on Monday. I am trying to get into ketosis and stay there. I've been feeling all bloaty and gross and like I'm not making any progress. I just need to be patient. But, you know, I am wearing a sweater that I can't normally wear today, so - that's got to be a good sign, right?!]

[dayzee84]

All we can do after a binge or other set back is pick ourselves back up, learn from it, and try again. Looks like you have a good plan for the weekend!