sozzielou switches focus

[sozzielou]

“Eating and lifting are the only things Warriors worry about.†~ Nerd Fitness

 

So far I have succeeded in building a solid lifting routine. But exercise is only a part of the battle. My strength and stamina is improving but my belly is not getting any less wobbly! We nerds are often told “you cannot outrun your fork.†So, in order to achieve Level 6, I plan to switch my focus on to what goes in to my body and my mind. I will continue to progress with my exercise routine, but I will concentrate on building a healthier mind and healthier food habits.

 

My main quest is to fit comfortably into size 14 trousers. To move towards achieving this, I have set the following goals for this challenge:

 

1. Protein CHA+2 CON+2 STR+1

According to my NF Academy homework, 136g of protein per day should be sufficient. This rises to 176g-264g when I am looking to build muscle. Currently I do not hit 100g of protein per day very often. So, I will track what I eat and work towards eating more protein than I currently do. I will gradually find new ways of adding protein into my diet. By the end of this challenge I will be getting at least 136g of protein per day regularly.

 

A=5 consecutive days over 150g protein

B=5 consecutive days over 130g protein

C=5 consecutive days over 110g protein

D=5 consecutive days over 100g protein

 

 

2. Food discipline CON+3 STA+1

No eating after 8pm.

 

A=36+ days with nothing to eat after 8pm

B=30-35 days with nothing to eat after 8pm

C=24-29 days with nothing to eat after 8pm

D= 20-23 days with nothing to eat after 8pm

 

 

3. Ban boredom CON+2 DEX+1

When I get a craving for an unhealthy food, it’s usually because I am bored. Mostly, I end up playing “Candy Crush†for an hour and mindlessly eat some kind of junk. I no longer buy the junk so there is no junk at home. I will introduce a little extra activity here and there in order to keep boredom away. The activity can be anything useful, and I use the term “useful†in its broadest sense.

 

A=36+ days where I was active and not bored

B=30-35 days where I was active and not bored

C=24-29 days where I was active and not bored

D= 20-23 days where I was active and not bored

 

 

4. Life Quest: Practice meditation WIS+3

I will follow some meditation instructions (a book, a CD, on the internet or whatever) and will spend at least 10 minutes per day either reading through the instructions and practicing the exercises or taking part in a guided meditation.

 

A=36+ days of meditation practice

B=30-35 days of meditation practice

C=24-29 days of meditation practice

D= 20-23 days of meditation practice

 

 

MOTIVATION:

Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down. If you start now you’ll see results earlier than if you start tomorrow. When you feel like giving up, think about why you started.

[Paisley]

subbed.

 

Your goals sound very familiar to me.  Will be very interested to see how you do getting the protein in It's something I always struggle with, I can get it up there, but without just eating oz and oz of chicken every day I usually end up with really high fat.

 

and with the boredom eating - that's one of the reasons I got back into knitting, It's something good to do with the hands that keeps the food out of them - especially in the evening when I really want to boredom eat.

 

good luck.

[PrincessHeather]

Yay protein!

[sozzielou]

subbed.

 

Your goals sound very familiar to me.  Will be very interested to see how you do getting the protein in It's something I always struggle with, I can get it up there, but without just eating oz and oz of chicken every day I usually end up with really high fat.

 

and with the boredom eating - that's one of the reasons I got back into knitting, It's something good to do with the hands that keeps the food out of them - especially in the evening when I really want to boredom eat.

 

good luck.

 

Thanks for the good luck message. Your challenge post inspired me to look at my similar issues. So if my challenge looks familiar, it's because I pinched some of your ideas! Sorry about that *blushes*. You are lucky to be able to knit. I can knit scarves for my dolls and that is it. They are literally rows and rows of 4 stitches LOL The evenings are my worst time too. There are plenty of things I could do but I watch TV or play games on my phone. I want to be planking, stretching, preparing healthy meals, meditating and so on. Even something creative like taking photos or even colouring in my colouring book! Anyway it sounds like we have several things in common so please feel free to PM me if you are interested in setting up some kind of accountability system via emails or something similar.

 

 

Yay protein!

 

Yay indeed. Let me know if you have any good ideas for sneaking more protein into my food!

 

Currently my day looks like this:

 

Drink: Cup of tea

*Workout*

Drink: water

Eat: Hard boiled egg

*Working at desk*

Eat: 40g cashew nuts

Drink: water

*go for a walk*

Eat: lunch which is usually 4-5 portions of salad veg with about 125g turkey and a big dollop of natural cottage cheese

*working at desk*

Drink: water

Eat: a chopped bell pepper, a stick of celery and 40g cheddar cheese

*go home*

Eat: evening meal (meat and veg)

Drink: 2 cups of tea

*laze around and play candy crush*

*pack bags for next day, shower and get ready for bed*

Drink: half pint of semi-skimmed milk

Drink: water

[Paisley]

Yep -  I like sitting down in front of the TV of en evening just to get some down time but I like doing other things as well, not just sitting and watching.  Planking and stretching and things like that are actually good for doing in front of the TV of an evening.  A couple of challenges ago I did a plank challenge, did then in front of the TV each night - I think I got up to 6 mins by the end of the challenge. 

 

For protein I find fat free greek yoghurt quite good.  I quite often have either breakfast or a snack of yoghurt with cocoa powder vanilla extract and some berries or banana - mmmm chocolaty goodness.

[sozzielou]

I few months back I was given one of those electronic body analysis scales so I thought I would use it to measure my stats at the beginning and end of the challenge. I know the figures won't be very accurate (look at the percentages, they add up to over 100% for starters so what about bones surely they are a big percentage!!!) but if I use the same scale they will be consistent at least. So here is my starting point:

 

Weight: 82.3 kg

BF: 31.7 %

Water: 49.8 %

Muscle: 32.1 %

 

FYI, I am aged 37.5 years and I am 171 cm tall.

 

Bust: 103 cm

Under bust: 88 cm

Waist (at belly button): 90 cm

Hips: 107 cm

Left thigh: 63 cm

Left bicep: 34 cm

 

Best lifts so far (5 reps):

Squat: 70 kg

Bench: 27.5 kg

Push press: 25 kg

Deadlift: 70 kg

 

On another note, I found a book at a charity shop called "teach yourself to meditate" and flicking through it, it looks readable and is set out into various practice exercises so I bought the book for the grand sum of 60 pence. (I looked the book up on Amazon and new it costs £6.99 so SCORE!!!)

[WildColonialGrrl]

Looks good! Nice start on the challenge and the book score. Well done!

[sozzielou]

Week 1 round-up

 

1. Protein

Mon 123g, Tue 158g, Wed 156g, Thu 141g, Fri 149g, Sat 87g & Sun 79g.

So, I have achieved a grade D in the first week (5 consecutive days over 100g) but I can see that weekends are going to take some working at. I have returned to MyFitnessPal and logged all my food and drink this week.

 

2. Food discipline

I have successfully not eaten anything after 8pm on all 7 days. Some days I have really wanted to snack but I have managed to distract myself. Going to bed feeling hungry is something I will have to get used to.

 

3. Ban boredom

I have accomplished some extra food prep as well as additional tidying, personal care, learning about food / macronutrients and meditation instead of mindless snacking so this has been very useful. I have still played a whole bunch of Candy Crush playing but I have not eaten whilst playing so I am calling that a win.

 

4. Meditation

I have done at least 10 mins every day but I'm not doing this at a set time. I have been reading my book, which is really easy to understand and I am enjoying it. The exercise this week has been quite easy for me and I am looking forward to moving on to the exercise in the next chapter. I have been online to youtube and found some good, guided meditations. I am finding some easier to practice than others.

 

Overall I am really happy with the progress I have made this week. I definitely need to pay attention to food at the weekends. Now I have learned more about macronutrients, I can go back through my MFP logs and create a better balance of foods. Next weekend I aim to be over 100g protein both days.

[WildColonialGrrl]

I hadn't thought of YouTube for guided meditations. I tend to think of it as audio rather than video. Got any good links to share?

Looks like some great thinking going on with your nutrition. Work in progress is awesome!

[sozzielou]

I hadn't thought of YouTube for guided meditations. I tend to think of it as audio rather than video. Got any good links to share?

 

I have done 2 of the ones by "the honest guys" which I quite enjoyed. Here is a link to their videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHonestGuys/videos

The background "music" the used in the meditations I followed was just the waves at the beach and I found it quite pleasant. The screen shows the beach at sunset but I mostly choose to close my eyes. I couldn't find much in the way of free mp3s for guided meditations but free youtube videos were quite easy to find.

[SpecialSundae]

Great work on the first week. Weekends tend to be my bad time for nutrition. Once you recognise it, you can start to rectify it. :-)

[sozzielou]

Week 2 round-up

 

1. Protein

Mon 148g, Tue 169g, Wed 134g, Thu 149g, Fri 156g, Sat 124g & Sun 182g.

I have achieved a grade B this week (5 consecutive days over 130g) and I have logged all my food and drink this week at MyFitnessPal. I had to work hard at the weekend but it paid off and Sunday I was actually over 180g protein for the first time ever. Whey ice-cream - who knew?!?

 

2. Food discipline

I have successfully not eaten anything after 8pm on all 7 days. I kind of like the gurgling noise my belly makes in the evenings when it is digesting and I definitely wake up feeling better than if I had snacked the evening before.

 

3. Ban boredom

OK so I played a lot of Candy Crush-type games this week however I have also accomplished some more useful things with my time such as some personal care, some cleaning and meditation and I have not done any mindless snacking this week.

 

4. Meditation

I have done at least 10 mins on 6 days out of 7. I found the book exercise really difficult this week. It's all to do with examining something using imagination and it's not my kind of thing. I want to examine the object by touching it, not by imagining how it feels! I have tried meditating with saying affirmations out loud and, although it feels a bit silly at first, I felt good afterwards.

 

Overall I have made good progress this week. I have achieved my mini-goal of being over 100g protein both days at the weekend so I hope to make that consistent in future weekends. The weather is getting lighter and is much less wet so in week 3 I am aiming to to get some good walking in, in addition to my morning workouts.

[sozzielou]

Forgot to say that I completed the Warriors' mini challenge: 50/50 in my second week. That's 50 squats at 50% bodyweight target. I made an attempt on Friday of week 1 but I had to wait ages for the power rack to free up and my heart wasn't really in it when I did get around to doing it (I achieved 25 before I re-racked the bar.) So I had another go the following Monday and I achieved 30 and stopped. I would not say I lifted to failure, I just stopped when I felt like stopping and re-racking the bar. I think I could have gone on and if I had a group of Nerds shouting at me I probably would have continued. But I didn't. Anyway according to the challenge I get STR+0.5, STA+0.5 and WIS+1 for achieving the 30 and maybe in a few months' time I will give it another go.

 

On Sunday 9 March I also took some body measurements so I wanted to share and update my stats:

Weight: 82.1 kg -0.2kg

BF: 31.6 % -0.1%

Water: 49.8 % no change

Muscle: 32.1 % no change

 

Bust: 101 cm -2cm

Under bust: 85 cm -3cm

Waist (at belly button): 89 cm -1cm

Hips: 106 cm -1cm

Left thigh: 61.5 cm -1.5cm

Left bicep: 33.5 cm -0.5cm

 

Best lifts so far (5 reps):

Squat: 70 kg

Bench: 30 kg +2.5kg

Push press: 25 kg

Deadlift: 72.5 kg +2.5kg

 

So overall in 2 weeks I am a little bit smaller all over, I have gained a little bit of muscle and I have lifted heavier things.

I call that a win so far

[sozzielou]

Week 3 round-up

 

1. Protein

Mon 168g, Tue 141g, Wed 164g, Thu 120g, Fri 141g, Sat 107g & Sun 126g.

Grade C this week (5 consecutive days over 110g) and I have logged all my food and drink at MyFitnessPal. Happy that my protein was over 100g on both days at the weekend although Saturday I struggled a bit, I only just made it. But I made it. 

 

2. Food discipline

Really good, I have not eaten after 8pm at all this week. I'm finding the protein shake with milk before the 8pm curfew is really working well and not just curbing my mindless snacking and food cravings but also I am sleeping better.

 

3. Ban boredom

No mindless snacking, I have been getting through the pile of things to read, playing some games, and with the nice weather I have done lots of walking. On two days this week I walked at lunchtime and it felt great to get out and do something in the middle of the day. It really does make a difference. I have also been online (hooray, my home internet is fixed!) and have been checking out the blogs from Nia Shanks and Molly Galbraith. I have really been enjoying them. Instead of music, when I walk at lunchtimes I listen to the mp3 Academy downloads of the Q&A interviews with people like Molly and Nia. I have found them really inspirational.

 

4. Meditation

I have achieved my meditations every day this week. Am finding the process is getting easier to get into and to practice.

 

Overall, I am really happy with my week. Half way through the 6 weeks now and I am still making progress and enjoying the challenge. I achieved my mini-quests of (1) getting more walking in, and (2) making a meal plan for the whole week. In week 4 I plan to do something active on all 5 lunchtimes.

[sozzielou]

Week 4 round-up

 

1. Protein

Mon 180g, Tue 185g, Wed 178g, Thu 196g, Fri 122g, Sat 138g & Sun 222g.

Grade C again this week (5 consecutive days over 110g) and I have logged all my food and drink at MyFitnessPal. A good week for protein, but going out for pizza on Friday night let my scores down a bit.

 

2. Food discipline

Great; no eating after 8pm at all.

 

3. Ban boredom

Great, I have exercised (walked) every lunchtime for 20 minutes or so. At home I have been tidying up, getting ready for my trip to London and making sure all my laundry is done and put away before I go.

 

4. Meditation

I have meditated on 5 out of 7 days this week. The two missing days were the weekend.

 

Feeling really pleased with my week. I achieved personal best weights on three of my lifts this week which makes me very happy. I managed to do something active every weekday lunchtime as well as my gym session in the morning. Week 5 will be an interesting challenge because it is my week off work and I am going away to London for a few days.

 

[sozzielou]

Stats update as at 23 March 2014

 

Weight: 81.3kg    -1kg

BF: 31.3%    -0.4%

Water: 50%   +0.2%

Muscle: 32.2%    +0.1%

 

Bust: 99cm    -4cm

Under bust: 82.5cm    -5.5cm

Waist (belly button): 88cm    -2cm

Hips: 104cm    -3cm

Left thigh: 61cm    -2cm

Left bicep: 32cm    -2cm

 

Best lifts so far (5 reps):

Squat: 70kg    no change

Bench: 30kg    +2.5kg

Push press: 27.5kg    +2.5kg

Deadlift: 75kg    +5kg

Thrusters: 25kg    +5kg

[sozzielou]

Week 5 round-up

 

1. Protein

I logged my food whilst I was away however as I was eating out for everything, the figures from MFP are unreliable and not worth writing down. Let's just say I ate all the meaty things available in London! I took protein shakes with me and I am sure I was over 100g protein each day.

 

2. Food discipline

I was pretty full from eating during the day however I did eat snacks after 8pm once when I was away. I ate far too much that evening, some of it quite mindlessly, and it made me feel uncomfortably full and a bit sick. I had a stinking headache the next day. Lesson learned.

 

3. Ban boredom

I was busy in London the whole time, plenty of things to do and no boredom. I did a bit of snacking but I always was aware I was snacking. Always mindful.

 

4. Meditation

I have not meditated at all this week.

 

Week 5 has really been a challenge. Eating out is difficult to track but I did my best to log everything. I was eating all the things and was probably double my calorie intake goal on 4 days out of the 7. I am calling it a re-feed! I was active every day and although I didn't do any weight training or go to a gym, I walked a lot and carried a bag when travelling so have most certainly not been idle. It's been a really relaxing and carefree week.

[sozzielou]

Week 6 round-up

 

1. Protein

Mon: 127g, Tue: 153g, Wed: 169g, Thu: 144g, Fri: 151g, Sat 140g, Sun: 156g

Grade B this week (6 consecutive days over 130g protein.) Food has been logged every day. Back to my "usual" routine after my week away.

 

2. Food discipline

Have eaten once after 8pm and that was Sunday. I was running late and made my meal whilst doing food prep for the Mon-Wed lunches. The result was eating at about 8:10pm.

 

3. Ban boredom

Did a little bit of mindless snacking on M&Ms this Sunday, in bed watching the TV. When I recognised what I was doing, I got up and sorted laundry instead. That was all, the rest of the time I have been active and not bored or snacking.

 

4. Meditation

Suceeded in meditating every day. Learned some new meditation practices from my book. Found that it's not a good idea for me to meditate straight before I go to bed because I tend to relax too much and fall asleep.

 

Week 6 has seen me getting back to my normal routine after my week away. I have been back in the gym for 5 mornings but haven't done much in the way of lunchtime activity. The weather has been really miserable; in the past I would have been miserable too but this week I have been feeling pretty good with myself. Varying my workouts and doing things like Bear complexes has been fun and has made a great change from the routine of Academy / Stonglifts type sessions.

[sozzielou]

Challenge round-up

 

My main quest is to fit comfortably into size 14 trousers. During this 6-week challenge, I have bought myself some size 14 trousers. They are stretchy (Lululemon Astropants) but they fit great and comfortably. I feel good in them, especially about my bum  

 

Overall, I have awarded myself a grade B for this challenge; I have learned a lot and I feel better about myself. I am a little more awesome than I was so I feel I deserve to level up to Level 6.

 

Here is a break down of what I did:

 

1. Protein CHA+2 CON+2 STR+1

According to my NF Academy homework, 136g of protein per day should be sufficient. This rises to 176g-264g when I am looking to build muscle. Currently I do not hit 100g of protein per day very often. So, I will track what I eat and work towards eating more protein than I currently do. I will gradually find new ways of adding protein into my diet. By the end of this challenge I will be getting at least 136g of protein per day regularly.

 

A=5 consecutive days over 150g protein

B=5 consecutive days over 130g protein

C=5 consecutive days over 110g protein

D=5 consecutive days over 100g protein

 

I have achieved a B grade in this area. I managed 4 consecutive days over 150g protein but not quite 5 days. Logging my foods and maying attention to the macros has been enlightening and I have really learned useful stuff here. There is still more to learn, for example how to get more healthy fats and proteins without a lot of carbs and without drinking endless protein shakes. But I am really pleased with the progress I have made in this challenge. My body is feeling healthier and firmer. My shoulder is about 85% of what it was pre-injury. I have gained some muscle and strength and I have lost some fat.

 

2. Food discipline CON+3 STA+1

No eating after 8pm.

 

A=36+ days with nothing to eat after 8pm

B=30-35 days with nothing to eat after 8pm

C=24-29 days with nothing to eat after 8pm

D= 20-23 days with nothing to eat after 8pm

 

40 days with nothing to eat after 8pm means I have achieved a grade A in this goal. This has been a bit easier than I initially imagined. I learned fairly early on that a protein shake with milk in the early evening set me up well and I didn't have much of a craving for anything after that.

 

3. Ban boredom CON+2 DEX+1

When I get a craving for an unhealthy food, it’s usually because I am bored. Mostly, I end up playing “Candy Crush†for an hour and mindlessly eat some kind of junk. I no longer buy the junk so there is no junk at home. I will introduce a little extra activity here and there in order to keep boredom away. The activity can be anything useful, and I use the term “useful†in its broadest sense.

 

A=36+ days where I was active and not bored

B=30-35 days where I was active and not bored

C=24-29 days where I was active and not bored

D= 20-23 days where I was active and not bored

 

I have been really keeping my mind active throughout this challenge. 41 days without boredom and mindless snacking means I have achieved a grade A in this goal. Removing the bad snacks from the house has been a valuable exercise. As I mentioned above, I have been drinking a protein mikshake in the evenings and, as a result, I haven't really had much of the "munchies" at all.

 

4. Life Quest: Practice meditation WIS+3

I will follow some meditation instructions (a book, a CD, on the internet or whatever) and will spend at least 10 minutes per day either reading through the instructions and practicing the exercises or taking part in a guided meditation.

 

A=36+ days of meditation practice

B=30-35 days of meditation practice

C=24-29 days of meditation practice

D= 20-23 days of meditation practice

 

I have achieved a grade B in this goal with an overall total of 32 days. I'm still learning to meditate, but I feel like I am really learning a valuable new skill. Finding time to fit in meditation practice has not been easy and I have found some times are better than others. I am about half-way through my instructional book but I have also been practising meditations from You Tube. The Honest Guys' ones in particular are my favourites.

[Paisley]

Sounds like a successful challenge - You've done a great job!  Can't wait to see what you achieve in your next challenge.