Agent Katia Goes Rogue

[CourageousKate]

The battles keep coming, so get up and fight.

 

Growing up, I loved the animated X-Men series. In fact, those were my first comic books. I know I’m not alone, but Rogue remains my favorite of the X-Men. She’s got her own demons, and she doesn’t always get it right, but at her core she is good. And she’s kicking ass and taking names.

 

My last challenge, I fell off the face of the (NF) Earth, and then I skipped the next challenge. No excuses. It was unkind (to myself, and to those I was cheering on). In that time, I completed physical therapy for a minor shoulder injury, my first 10K, and massage therapy for a minor knee injury from the 10K. After the race in January (with the internal excuse of the knee injury) I stopped exercising. And it's a problem. 

 

So now, this challenge, when I feel like the (fitness) odds are stacked against me, I’m going to hear Rogue saying, "Reckon that's too bad, hun," and get that sh*t done.

 

My quest and motivation are ongoing... But honestly, the motivation STILL drives me.

 

 

Epic Quest:    Reduce my body fat to 24%

 

Motivation:   Increase my athleticism to improve my chances of surviving the Zombie Apocalypse or other End-of-World Scenario. (Also, more immediately, I want to look like “myself†in pictures. I currently look like a round version of myself. Which is obviously how I actually look. But it’s not how I think I look. I’ve got weddings to attend, people. Professional photos to be in.)

 

 

Rogue says:

 

1. Agent Katia—ENGAGE!!!

 

 

Ready to kick ass.

 

I almost called this mission Agent Katia Goes Back to Basic Training, because before this week it’d been almost two months since I had done anything physically challenging (other than a camping trip and the occasional hike). But at the gym during zero week I realized I didn’t fall TOO far behind in my training. Not all is lost! 

 

I’m dong the Rebel Fitness Basic Training two days per week and interval runs with Zombies, Run! 5K Trainer two days per week.

 

Goal: Hit the gym four days per week. [sTA 2 / STR 2 / DEX 1]

 

 

2. No more sugar, sugar.

 

 

Bustin' through those sugar cravings.

 

A few months ago I did the Whole30 and realized I have food sensitivities to dairy, sugar, and wheat. And a sugar addiction like whoa. I’ve been pretty great about avoiding dairy since then, but I need to cut out sugar and wheat, too. Sugar goes first. Starting NOW.

 

Goal: Cut out refined sugars, honey, and maple syrup (and obviously the artificial stuff, too, but that wasn’t in my diet to begin with). Starting on April 28^th at the beginning of Week 3, I will completely cut out alcohol as well. Ack. [CON 3 / CHA 1 / WIS 1]

 

 

3. Lights out, hun.

 

 

Goodnight, sugar.

 

I’ve tried giving myself a fixed wakeup time. I’ve tried telling myself to sleep a whole eight hours a night. I’ve tried not snoozing my alarm in the morning (and succeeded in the short term). It’s time to grow up and give myself an effing bedtime. That way I WILL wakeup on time, sleep eight hours, not snooze, AND get to the gym on time. (See how that all comes together? Rad.)

 

Goal: Go to bed at 10pm worknights. [sTA 1 / CON 2 / CHA 1 WIS 1]

 

 

I was debating setting a life goal, but I decided to stick with the basic three this time around. Maybe this way I can participate in some mini-challenges!

 

 

Grading System

 

Since I've fashioned each of these goals to be "Yup, I did it" or "Nope. Fail," I'm going to grade on rate of success. So:

 

A    90% Success Overall in Challenge

B    80% 

C    70%

D    50%

F    Under 50% 

 

 

Why I'm A Ranger

 

I’ve said it before, but it’s a great reminder to myself, so I’ll say it again. Other than my fat-loss goal listed above, but as implied by my main motivation, my ultimate goal is to be fit. Meaning I am strong, I run swiftly, I am flexible, I eat healthfully, and my body fat percentage is in a low, healthy range. And apparently I don't want to look like a round version of myself in pictures. So, I’m preparing for the long-term with immediate action.

 

I approach fitness from a survivalist perspective (though, I'm pretty moderate about it). I want to be able to manage whatever situation I find myself in. Climb that tree to escape the Wargs? No problem. Run through the tangled jungle with the stolen idol to escape angry natives? You've got it. Hand-to-hand combat on a crane suspended over a city? Done. And I will one day be able to roll out of bed, fall straight forward, and start my pushups, Dark Knight style.

 

 

I'm ready for action.

 

[GingaNinja]

Yay, your challenge looks great (Rogue is pretty much my favorite X-men, this was partially because she is a red head)!

 

Glad that you haven't fallen to far off with your training and you are able to pick up where you left off! You will kick ass xxx

[Tateman]

Great to see you back at it!  I took off midway in my last challenge.  So I feel like I need to come back and prove to myself I can do it.  

[Blaidd]

Good luck Katia.  Rooting for you.

[vortexofsleep]

Yeah yeah yeah!  

 

Our challenges are going to be rather similar, I think.  I won't have the bedtime one, though.  I have no problem going to bed. I love sleeping with a deep slumbery passion.

 

Gotta get my challenge typed up and posted. I'm going back to adventurers, I think.

 

P.S.  Loooove Rogue.  I dressed up as Rogue for Halloween in high school.  All my guy friends stared at my (sock-stuffed) boobs.  It was disturbing.

[Terra]

Sounds like some great challenge goals. Your challenge goals and life goals sound a lot like mine!  

[CourageousKate]

Yay, your challenge looks great (Rogue is pretty much my favorite X-men, this was partially because she is a red head)!

 

Glad that you haven't fallen to far off with your training and you are able to pick up where you left off! You will kick ass xxx

Yay! Glad you are a Rogue fan, too (am I surprised? Nope!). Thanks Leeroy! You will too!!!

 

Great to see you back at it!  I took off midway in my last challenge.  So I feel like I need to come back and prove to myself I can do it.  

Thanks Tateman! You can TOTALLY do it. Heck, you already HAVE been doing it. Getting back in the saddle is way more fun than falling off the horse

 

Good luck Katia.  Rooting for you.

Thanks for checking in Blaidd! I'm excited for this challenge!

 

Yeah yeah yeah!  

 

Our challenges are going to be rather similar, I think.  I won't have the bedtime one, though.  I have no problem going to bed. I love sleeping with a deep slumbery passion.

 

Gotta get my challenge typed up and posted. I'm going back to adventurers, I think.

 

P.S.  Loooove Rogue.  I dressed up as Rogue for Halloween in high school.  All my guy friends stared at my (sock-stuffed) boobs.  It was disturbing.

"Deep slumbery passion" lol The Adventurers are one very supportive group imo. I'll check back for your challenge tomorrow. And I'm glad to have a sugar-free partner in crime. We can do this!

 

YAY ROGUE! I mean, did they not KNOW they were sock-stuffed? Maybe they were just really confused how they'd never noticed before? 

 

Sounds like some great challenge goals. Your challenge goals and life goals sound a lot like mine!  

Thanks Terra! I'll swing by and check out your challenge!

[CourageousKate]

Okay, I owe this thread a BF% update, but I'll be doing that tomorrow (totally forgot this morning, and I like to do it first thing for consistency).

 

But! Day 1 started strong. Went to bed mostly on time last night (it doesn't count... today is the first day!), and I got to the gym and did Zombies, Run! on time this morning. I'm actually planning to go to the gym 5x this week. Whoa. But that's not going to be typical. 

 

I've moved up to the Recruit level (Level 2) of the Rebel Fitness Basic Training, and I am so excited to workout tomorrow morning. 

 

Good luck on Week 1 everyone!!!

[Tateman]

Excellent start so far

[AverageJoe]

Great theme!  Rogue kicks ass!!

[GingaNinja]

Glad you had such a good start!

[CourageousKate]

Got out and to the gym again this morning (weights day), and after I cooled down and stretched I had this huge endorphin rush. It was awesome! I barely got up in time though, so I'll have to measure BF% tomorrow instead. 

 

Did fine with no sugar yesterday... but didn't quit my toast and (no sugar, only fruit) jam in the afternoon as I intended yet. I am going to give myself a little buffer (ha, I just typed butter... that too). Otherwise, I ate really well yesterday, so I'm not going to worry too much right now.

 

My MAJOR fail was bedtime last night. I was doing so well last week prepping for the challenge! But last night I got to bed at 11 instead of 10... because we didn't eat dinner till 10. That was my fault. My husband's schedule is really variable, and we take turns prepping dinner. Last night I got started early enough, then got distracted (US residents—have you seen the GI Joe episode of Community yet? It's free on Hulu right now. SO funny), so didn't finish cooking until late. Well after he got home. Boo. Totally within my control. Tonight is a new night!

 

Excellent start so far

Thanks Tateman! Now, I just gotta get this bedtime under control!

 

Great theme!  Rogue kicks ass!!

Thanks Joe! Looking forward to it. I've been catching up on the X-Men (2013) comics and getting pumped. I'd read the first several issues last year, but then got behind. So fun!

 

Glad you had such a good start!

Thanks KL! I'm thrilled that I'm motivated to get to the gym right now!!!

[Blaidd]

i loved that episode, so understand the distraction

Sent with awesomeness from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CourageousKate]

I had an... interesting start to the day. 

 

But first! I made it to bed by 10 last night! Hooray! Also, I didn't eat sugar! Double Hooray!

 

This morning: I decided to do a modified dynamic warm-up for the Ranger's Mini-Challenge this week before my Zombies, Run! treadmill time. This was my first go, and it felt awesome! I usually have a sort-of-dynamic warm-up, but this was really good, and I'm thinking about keeping it in my routine.

 

Now for the great! I shaved 1.5 minutes off my run time from Monday. YAY!

 

Now for the... interesting. Super pumped from the run this morning, I was like, HEY! I'll WEIGH myself! Never mind that I just did that a week ago, and I usually wait four weeks before weighing myself again. But, I did. And I'm heavier. I mean OF COURSE I'm heavier. I've been building muscle this week, and since I only changed the way I'm eating two days ago, what else could I have possibly expected? It's only by 3.5 lbs. And if I were in anyone's shoes but my own, I would scoff at the fact that I'd bothered to weigh myself at all. But it was still disappointing. This is coming on top of a mini self-esteem blow last night... A co-worker posted a picture of me online that couldn't have been less flattering. Fortunately she didn't tag me, but it's bad. And I'VE seen it. I can't unsee it. So then after I weighed myself this morning I thought, well hey, maybe I'm a little more compact this week. So I measured (again, usually a once-every-four-weeks action). And again, I'm bigger. So that was fun. 

 

Okay enough self-pity party.

 

The funny part of the morning is when I went to go shower after my run and... I forgot my towel. HUNDREDS of trips to the gym, and this is literally the first time I forgot my towel. NOT BAD! FYI, three paper towels ≠ a gym towel. Despite the fact that putting clothes on while I'm dripping wet is one of my least favorite feelings, it was still really funny to me, I totally made it work, and am now back in decent spirits to defeat Hump Day.

 

Happy Hump Day everyone.  

 

 

 

i loved that episode, so understand the distraction
 

Right???? So funny  

[Terra]

The scale is an evil device, but I understand.  I stepped on mine this am too.  But I will not step on it again for a couple of weeks, maybe the whole 6-week challenge even.  It is typically a most depressing activity... 

[AverageJoe]

Don't let the scale get ya down.  I'm sure it's a statistical outlier... an anomaly... a fluke...caused by an unknown variable...IT'S A FILTHY LIAR!! 

[Tateman]

Yeah, that scale can be evil!  I usually do the once a week weigh in, but this challenge I am weighing in every day.  I want to track it.  I know my weight can fluctuate wildly sometimes.  I am not going to let it get me down though.

[CourageousKate]

The scale is an evil device, but I understand.  I stepped on mine this am too.  But I will not step on it again for a couple of weeks, maybe the whole 6-week challenge even.  It is typically a most depressing activity... 

It is evil. And I totally know better. Just a terrible lapse in judgment on my part. Even when I SAY I won't let it affect me, it totally does, even if it's just a little. Fortunately, after I wrote about it here and peeked in at your and AverageJoe's responses yesterday afternoon, I felt a lot better!

 

Don't let the scale get ya down.  I'm sure it's a statistical outlier... an anomaly... a fluke...caused by an unknown variable...IT'S A FILTHY LIAR!! 

Ha! THANKS! I am POSITIVE you are correct!

 

Yeah, that scale can be evil!  I usually do the once a week weigh in, but this challenge I am weighing in every day.  I want to track it.  I know my weight can fluctuate wildly sometimes.  I am not going to let it get me down though.

Oh, that's an interesting approach! Are you charting it (like on MFP or in Excel or something)? It would be so interesting to do that for a month and see where the line goes. I think I'm not emotionally ready for that experiment, though.

 

 

 

Yesterday I succeeded in no sugar (yay!), but went to bed closer to 11 than 10 (boo!). Heck I still got to bed before 11, so that's a mini-win. 

 

THEN! This morning, I woke up at 5:37, a full twenty-three minutes before my alarm went off, and I was awake! I usually fall back asleep in the mornings, no problem, but I had a special gym date today, and I think I was just ready to go. 

 

For my gym date this morning, I got a guest pass to my friend's (much nicer) gym because she really wants to start building to heavy lifting using SL5x5, but she was super intimidated to go do stuff in the free weights section with all of the beefy guys over there. It was so much fun! I haven't used a barbell since I was in middle school, but I did bench presses and barbell rows today. We also did squats, but we used dumbbells because we couldn't find bars that were not the olympic size (and we weren't quite there). We found them later, though, so when we go back on Saturday (the last day of my pass), we're going to do squats with the lighter bars. Can't wait! Also, we saw this super petite girl KILLING it with heavy deadlifts and squats. It was awesome. And we saw some beefy guys using the Smith Machines and felt a tiny bit superior for working ALL the muscles.    

 

So that means I got in my scheduled strength workout today. It wasn't per my spreadsheet, but I am a-okay with that. It really was fun. 

 

Also, I did my dynamic warm-up, so I'm on track for the mini-challenge!

 

In other news, Terra shared this terrific and fascinating article on the importance of sleep and how to get better sleep. I highly recommend it!

 

Happy Friday Eve!

[AverageJoe]

That's awesome that you helped your friend with the free weight work.  It sounds like you had an awesome workout!  

 

Now I want to go lift something heavy!

[CourageousKate]

That's awesome that you helped your friend with the free weight work.  It sounds like you had an awesome workout!  

 

Now I want to go lift something heavy!

Man, I was feeling it by the end of the day I think DOMS will really kick in tomorrow. I'm definitely not sore enough today, but I'm still pretty stiff, even after my run. 

 

 

 

That workout yesterday kicked my butt so hard that I crashed out at 8:30 last night... so Definitely got to bed on time! No sugar yesterday, and escaped the Zombies again this morning, so I got all 5 workouts in for Week 1! I'm even going in for a 6th tomorrow to do the B day of SL5x5 with my friend. I'm thinking I'll probably want to take Sunday and Monday for recovery, but we'll see how I'm feeling Sunday night. It might be okay if I just do my run Monday. I feel like it helped this morning, especially after my dynamic warmup.

 

Have a great weekend everyone! Happy Easter, if that's your thing

[Terra]

So how are you liking the SL 5x5?  Sometimes that is what I do for my quicky-lifty but without the resting between sets.   I just alternate upper and lower body exercises to give one body part a rest instead of sitting around the weight room.  Squat/bench press then deadlift/overhead press <boom> and I'm done in 20 minutes!  Maybe that is what I will do tonight if there is room in the weight room at the YMCA... 

 

Great job on avoiding sugar and getting more sleep!  Have a wonderful weekend

[Tateman]

Oh, that's an interesting approach! Are you charting it (like on MFP or in Excel or something)? It would be so interesting to do that for a month and see where the line goes. I think I'm not emotionally ready for that experiment, though.

I have been tracking my weight here http://subtractthefat.com/  I am also Tateman on Arstechnica forums.  Over there there is a weightloss thread.  I think it was a guy named Godfather that ended up making the site.  Very similar to physicsdiet site.  I just use the basics.  Track weight, then you can make a graph.

 

so this is my chart for the last week

Here is mine from all the numbers I put in

[vortexofsleep]

Lookin good!  Your gym excursion sounds like so much fun~

 

I completely understand your aggravation with the scale.  haven't been on the scale for a while, but I think i'm going to try to wait until at least halfway through this challenge before I see where I'm at.  I know from pants-tightness that I put on some pudge this winter, so I'll give myself a chance to take some of that off before I weigh myself.

 

Let's kill week 2!

[CourageousKate]

So how are you liking the SL 5x5?  Sometimes that is what I do for my quicky-lifty but without the resting between sets.   I just alternate upper and lower body exercises to give one body part a rest instead of sitting around the weight room.  Squat/bench press then deadlift/overhead press <boom> and I'm done in 20 minutes!  Maybe that is what I will do tonight if there is room in the weight room at the YMCA... 

 

Great job on avoiding sugar and getting more sleep!  Have a wonderful weekend

Thanks, Terra! I really had fun with the SL 5x5! More than I thought, even. But for now I'm going to stick with the Rebel Fitness workouts until I finish the program. I'll seriously consider doing the SL 5x5 at that point, though! I was afraid of lifting REALLY heavy before this experience... I mean, I guess I'm still a little afraid, but less so! SL 5x5 makes it seem manageable.

 

I have been tracking my weight here http://subtractthefat.com/  I am also Tateman on Arstechnica forums.  Over there there is a weightloss thread.  I think it was a guy named Godfather that ended up making the site.  Very similar to physicsdiet site.  I just use the basics.  Track weight, then you can make a graph.

Oh wow! Thanks for that resource! I wasn't familiar with that or physicsdiet. Very pro looking

 

Lookin good!  Your gym excursion sounds like so much fun~

 

I completely understand your aggravation with the scale.  haven't been on the scale for a while, but I think i'm going to try to wait until at least halfway through this challenge before I see where I'm at.  I know from pants-tightness that I put on some pudge this winter, so I'll give myself a chance to take some of that off before I weigh myself.

 

Let's kill week 2!

Vortex, I was feeling the same way... When I weighed myself 2 weeks ago, it was the first time in like 6 months... it wasn't pretty. Yeah, I totally recommend just putting it off until you are in the flow of things again. Weighing myself didn't discourage me, fortunately, but it certainly didn't motivate me. 

 

Week 2!!!!

 

 

 

Okay, so this weekend was a mixed bag, but I'm proud of myself for keeping it together on Easter and not having any sugar. SATURDAY, however, was a sugar massacre. I did get to the gym with my friend for Day B of SL 5x5, but then went to a co-worker's barbecue, where I ate very well, and fairly healthfully, until dessert. And then I tried every dessert available, and there were a LOT. It was delicious, and I'm not actually regretting it (though I did Sunday morning...), but I'm really steeling myself against future sugar for the rest of this challenge. Including this fantastic looking pastry my boss brought in this morning. Damn him.  

 

Week One Summary 

 

ENGAGE:                              6 / 4 days of planned fitness.

NO MORE SUGAR:           6 / 7 sugarless days. (So close!) 

10pm BEDTIME:                3 / 5 days in bed by 10. (One of those was at 8:30... so there's that.)

MINI-CHALLENGE #1:   Completed!

 

Not the best, but it could've been worse. I'm stoked that I killed the gym days! But I really want a perfect score on bedtime and sugar the rest of the challenge. Tonight's going to be tough for getting to bed on time. I've got to do laundry (down the street at the laundromat) and it's my turn to make dinner. Here's hoping!

[AverageJoe]

That's not too shabby for a week 1 report!! Especially 6/4 days of fitness.  I think that balances the 1 missed Sugarless day.