Lanielouo0's 90 Days of Awesome: 1st Chronicles

[lanielouo0]

"A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body."

 

Hello nerds. I'm a nerd. I'm a research engineer with a two year old mini-me IRL. I have had so many false starts (several 6 month bursts) and it seems like every 5-10 years I gain another 5-10 lbs. A couple days ago I set out on a new quest to de-clutter my head, my house, and my body.  Perfect timing for my first challenge. I've been a member of NF for over a year. Devouring blogs and doing workouts but I've never posted before. After regaining 10 lbs of the weight I lost and lost nearly all of the strength I gained last year I think its time for support. My 6 week challenge will be in two parts, since I already embarked and set my own goals. I'll do my weigh in and measure at the end of the first 6 week challenge. These might seem like they are overly ambitious but I don't mean for this challenge to be my way of life. I need a boost to reboot my body. A 90 day boost. 90 days I can do. After that I plan to do yoga in the am and then go to the gym 4 days a week to lift free weights/ TRX or attend one of the classes below. I am happiest when I work out daily, thus the day of rest/meditation. I don't drink soda and I love vegatables but I still have a carbs addiction. I'm not diet focused right now as once my regular mood returns, diet isn't really an issue and is mostly paleo+rice by accident. 

 

Start:

BMI: 25 (targeting ~21)

height: 5'4"

pants size: uncomfortable 6/8 (for my height/body "comfortable 4/6" is toned and healthy, 2/4 is sickly on me) 

skin: blotchy and stretchy from losing 50+ lbs of pregnancy weight and having no muscle mass and high BMI

mood: stressed, depressed, anxious, but improving and starting to be positive and hopeful towards fitness, life, and general outlook

 

Main Quest: 

 

90 Days of Awesome:1st Chronicles

For six weeks+3 days I will stick to my plan to include the following specific goals:

• P90X 5 days a week (I don't like their yoga or their stretch videos) (4-5x= A, 3x =B, 2x=C, 1x=D, 0=F)
• Gym 3 days a week (to include cycling, free weights, bodyweight circuits, TRX, UXF Burn, or Hatha Yoga)  (3x =A, 2x=B, 1x=C, 0=F)
• Rest or meditate 1 day a week (1=A, 2=B, 3=C, 4=D, 5+ or 0=F)

 

Side Quest:

• attend the bodyweight class at work once (gold star)
• perform pull up without assistance (Chronicle 2 will be 10 of these since I am almost to one already) (gold star)

 

Life Quest:

• Dave Ramsey Baby Step 2: Pay off all Debt (I've been on this one for 6 months already... I've already cut my debt by over 50%!! It will probably take another 2 years to finish this step if I keep my 'gazelle' intensity)

Motivation:

To be happy & at peace with myself, to be the best me I can be for God, myself, and my family. 

 

 

[lanielouo0]

Day 0: So after downing just one of my hubby's delicious buffalo chicken wings, I dusted off my heart rate monitor and P90X dvds then set my alarm clock for slightly before 5am and laid out my gym clothes.

 

Day 1: I was able to jerk myself out of bed kind of like how you might think of the zombies waking up off of a coroner's table. Seems to worry my hubby a bit but I figure if I throw my top half out of bed, then my feet will need to get to the floor before my face does. Its motivation...no, really!! I've only really fallen over once doing it that way in nearly 20 years of waking up that way. I was pleased to discover that I hadn't lost nearly as much strength or endurance as I thought I had. I started with the chest work out and made some egg scramble thing with green veggies and scallions and sriracha. Drank all the water I should all day but then ended up eating a chicken quesadilla before bed as I was really huungry. I am hungry all the time. Mostly because I drink no water and my diet is still riddled with refined grains, sugar, and dairy, I think. They just don't make me feel good so I am going to start working on phasing them out. 

 

Day 2 After my morning Zombie-wake, I managed the entire plyometric excercise video with hops which is an accomplishment. The very first time I did this video last year I had to stop 60% through it. Not this time. I did make a mistake when I tried the Zumba class at the gym though. I've been going to a Brazilian Dance version of Zumba which is very challenging and very fun but this Zumba was not that Zumba and the instructor kept making a sound that I got over sometime in 1997. Sort of a oooah oooah that is a cross between a siren and a monkey.  Maybe its your thing, but its not mine. I was incredibly happy when the childcare lady came to get me to tell me my daughter had a dirty diaper. I haven't been so happy to have to change a dirty diaper ever. I'll stick with the more calesthentic/lift heavy things/TRX type activities. I do like the cycling lady though. My mood has already improved tremendously. Seriously, this is my happy face.  --->  Today my diet has been great, except for the fish and chips I had for lunch, oh wait, crap, nevermind. I'll try that again tomorrow. 

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Welcome to the Rebellion!!!!

 

As one of the ambassadors for the Assassin's Guild, I'm stopping by to check on potential members for our elite crew.  Your pullups  and body weight workouts goals caught my eye.  That's just the things we work on - and I think you'd be a good fit when you get through your orientation here.

 

I'll stop by periodically to check on you, but if you're curious about our guild, pop over to our thread and see how we train!

[annieloux]

Looks like you're off to a great start. Keep the momentum going, yo!

[lanielouo0]

Today I did not get to do my p90x video but I did accomplish a 1 minute mabu, a 1 minute plank, 3 half pull ups, 3 half chin ups, and meditation. Maybe I'll call this my rest day? I also had to move some 80lb bars around at work ... not quite enough all together for a workout though. There was someone sleeping in my living room this am and I ended up working an 11 hour day and managed to take my toddler for view food and grocery shopping for her party and easter. Guess I'll call it a B rest day since I did some random training type things.

[Hazard]

Hi!  I'm Hazard, an ambassador for the Assassin Guild.  Just checking in to see how your first week went!  Do you have any questions?

[lanielouo0]

Thanks for checking in Hazard! 

 

The first week:

Videos: 4 times A

Gym:2 times B

rest: 2 days B

 

I found that I have longer to go with my pull up/chin up than I thought. I'd been using the assisted machine at work and only had about 30% of my bodyweight left to go. Got a pull up bar at home and found on chin up I only get about half way and can only do 10 with my foot on the toilet, and I can barely pull myself up from a dead hang. Not only that but I can only 'hang' on the bar for a little while in either hold. Oye. There are a ton of pull ups and chin ups in a few of the videos so at least I'll get lots of practice in the next two six weeks. . . 

 

I read the pull up articles and might try to incorporate some negatives.

 

I peeked at the mini challenge for the Assassin's guild and lo and behold: Pistol squats! I usually try to do these with the TRX once a week or so. Several of the stretches I already do as part of my weekly yoga so while its not everyday, I'll just start being mindful of that and see where I end up with. I have plenty to do on my first 6 week challenge anyway. 

[lanielouo0]

Starting to feel like 90 days of EXHAUSTED!!  I've barely been able to drag my zombie but out of bed this week. It WAS a busy weekend but I thought I should have recouperated by now. I've only made 1 video workout, 1 gym work out, and 1 class at work (side goal yay!) this week. I suppose it could be diet related. Not the best diet when the in-laws are in town and there was a birthday party this weekend. I suppose carrot zucchini cake is STILL cake. . . 

 

I am finding better stamina during my workouts though but oye. I've been dreaming of cafe con leche throughout the day and I quit caffeine awhile ago. I am going to focus a little more on my diet and see if that might help some. 

 

Maybe I'm detoxing from my recently terrible diet.

[lanielouo0]

So for the second week: 

videos:1 (F)

Gym: 2 ('B)

Bonus class at work:1 (Gold Star)

Rest Days: 2 ('B)

 

I'm starting to regain energy with a better diet already. On the other hand I think I had too much leg oriented work. I've worked out to leg "failure" three times this week. I suppose I still got 4 out of 8 workouts. . .  Eh. . .  could be worse?

[lanielouo0]

Starting to get a little discouraged about my weight. In one weekend with the in-laws in town I've gained back a bunch of the weight I had started to lose. Only about 5 pound but those were tough pounds!! It may be water weight for some reason too though. Is that even possible?? I swear Saturday I wasn't this fluffy and my gym shorts fit. I have regained a bunch of my energy so far. I think I just over did it early on last week and mixed with crappy fuel I just kind of crashed. I'm looking forward to this week as I've had my rest day and started today off with the marital arts like work out video, my favorite. It reminds me about my beginner Wushu Kung Fu classes and I miss them. I tend to focus more on my form than they do in the video so I don't get as many reps but it feels oh so good. 

[Nuala]

I don't think it's possible to pack 5 pounds of fat in one week-end. So it's probably a lot of water weight. Don't despair, the week end is over now, just go back on track and keep on working out

 

Deadhangs are a very good start for pullup training, before I could do some, I could only hang on the bar for 2 seconds! Obviously it's not enough to be able to do a pullup. With some grip training, I'm able to deadhang for almost 1 minute now, it's useful

[lanielouo0]

I tried the deadhang today and got around 45 seconds. I'm also able to lift myself from the deadhang to do two sets of at least 5 each, pull up, reverse grip chin up, wide grip pull up, and close grip pull ups, but still with my foot on the toilet (doorway bar-small half bath).  I am waay discouraged about my body today though. I am trying to focus on the fact that I am in fact ready to hit my goals this week. 9 weeks left!

[lanielouo0]

Practicing my deadhang and working on honing my monkey bar skills. My daughter (2) has decided that monkey bars are awesome too. I try to picture the muscle sparking to life again and the little fat nodules burning away leaving little trails of smoke. Scale hasn't budged but I think maybe juusst maybe my clothes are fitting better. I am adding a multi vitamin to my diet and trying to eat better. My husband doesn't think I'm eating enough but I'm around 1800-2000 calories. Not sure if my heart rate monitor is crazy or not but I supposedly burn about 1800 calories from workouts alone on my gym days (only a measly 800 on non-gym days). Still hungry all the time.

So for week 3:

Videos: 4 (A)

Gym:3 (A)

Rest: 2 (

I'm traveling for work this week and next and came prepared with my videos and resistance bands.i have to go by kmart to buy a dvd player. There is a gym I can go to here with free classes and trx bands you can check out. Unfortunately the thai food is incredible. So is the key lime pie and ice cream... without the toddler and hubby along I can go as paleo as possible with a microwave though!

ready to kick week 4!

[lanielouo0]

Practicing my deadhang and working on honing my monkey bar skills. My daughter (2) has decided that monkey bars are awesome too. I try to picture the muscle sparking to life again and the little fat nodules burning away leaving little trails of smoke. Scale hasn't budged but I think maybe juusst maybe my clothes are fitting better. I am adding a multi vitamin to my diet and trying to eat better. My husband doesn't think I'm eating enough but I'm around 1800-2000 calories. Not sure if my heart rate monitor is crazy or not but I supposedly burn about 1800 calories from workouts alone on my gym days (only a measly 800 on non-gym days). Still hungry all the time.

So for week 3:

Videos: 4 (A)

Gym:3 (A)

Rest: 2 (

I'm traveling for work this week and next and came prepared with my videos and resistance bands.i have to go by kmart to buy a dvd player. There is a gym I can go to here with free classes and trx bands you can check out. Unfortunately the thai food is incredible. So is the key lime pie and ice cream... without the toddler and hubby along I can go as paleo as possible with a microwave though!

ready to kick week 4!

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Sounds like a solid plan for the week away!!

 

When you're doing strength training, it's better to use the measuring tape than the scale to see progress.  Muscle weighs more than fat, and for a while you're going to be steady on the weight while you add muscle.

 

I'm leery of the supposed amount of calories burned with any of these devices.  The body adjusts to the extra work you're doing and becomes more efficient very quickly.  You might eat a LITTLE more.  But be careful.  Use the tape measure to see how you're really doing, although clothes are also a good feedback mechanism.

 

Have fun and rock week 4!!

[lanielouo0]

not sure how to post a video from my phone but this one gave me a ton of inspiration today. This young man is working on benching 260 lbs before his 80th birthday. Wow.

[lanielouo0]

I thought that I was kicking ass this week but then I weighed myself and I am heavier now! 10 pounds heavier than in February. Ugh. so far I have made it for two gym doubles and done my videos in the morning except this morning because my butt was way kicked after three hour long workouts yesterday. I believe that I have no only been eating regularly but eating better foods. I even spent more this week so I could splurge on the kale sprouts and lettuce wraps. I have gone out to eat a bit but I don't think I've eaten anything bad (organic veggie burger, curry fish and steamed veggies, tostada, and I just won't mention the chicken pad thai .... I wish Pad Thai didn't count...) or in crazy amounts. I wish I could just follow a skinny person around and eat what they eat all week. Maybe I am overeating??

 

I am totally confused and getting crazy discouraged. My body is NOT cooperating. I am hoping that I'm just gaining muscle and for some reason not losing the fat. I might actually call the doctor and ask about thyroid problems. 

[lanielouo0]

So for the week:

Videos:3

gym: 3

rest:3

There should be some sort of easter egg for matching stats but alas I didn't put that in my metric, B, A, B. Oooo symmetry. Could be worse but it feels all bad at 10 TEN pounds heavier. Hoping it's mostly muscle as I've knocked another 10 pounds off my pull up assist which is like 20 since I gained right?? Here's to week 5!!

[Cardinal_22]

Could be worse but it feels all bad at 10 TEN pounds heavier. Hoping it's mostly muscle as I've knocked another 10 pounds off my pull up assist which is like 20 since I gained right?? Here's to week 5!!

 

This is correct; you have done the equivalent of removing 20 lbs from your pullup assist... which is a HUGE achievement that you should be incredibly proud of.  I'm not an expert at weight loss (I have the opposite problem), but if I had to guess I would say that you are probably experiencing a combination of some muscle gains and some water retention.  If you want a somewhat more accurate picture of what is going on, you can pick up a bathroom scale that will also measure body fat composition for not too much money.  They aren't extremely accurate, but they are useful for making differential measurements which can help you track your progress.   What I mean is, the absolute body fat percentage number is probably way off but the change in your own composition from week to week is probably accurate to about +/- 0.5%.   

 

The journey to fitness is a very long path, and it may take some time before you see a lot of changes.  But if you stick with it and keep your head up, you WILL get there.  

Best of luck!

--Card

[lanielouo0]

Thanks Card! I'll focus on that gain in chin ups this week for motivation!

In other thoughts I am going to try to add food porn to help my accountability too. Now that I finally figured out how to add pictures, here are my current pics. Sort of a before/during...

First the food. Today I had choo chi curry grouper and steamed veggies from my favorite floating Thai restaurant. I even managed to leave most of the rice behind! I imagine the fish and veggies are pretty healthy but I have my doubts about the curry....

Then the pics. I did my best for a neutral shot. I should have taken a morning picture. I swear I look trimmer in the morning, is it my imagination? Am I the only crazy person who wakes up fit and goes to bed 'fluffy'?

I also got kale this week to try to hone my microwave kale skills. Kale chips weren't bad but they need some olive oil. Tomorrow is yogalates at the gym here (on travel again). Hopefully work isn't too crazy this week!

 

[Hazard]

Then the pics. I did my best for a neutral shot. I should have taken a morning picture. I swear I look trimmer in the morning, is it my imagination? Am I the only crazy person who wakes up fit and goes to bed 'fluffy'?

 

Good that you took pics!  I've been finding it very helpful myself.  Morning before eating anything really is the best time for them.  I know I can look a lot "fluffier" after a good sized meal, or even just after a couple of glasses of water.

 

Anyway, I've enjoyed following your challenge.  Just two more weeks in this one! 

[lanielouo0]

http://standing1.home.mindspring.com/thyroid/badfood.html

 

 

I might have just been handed an answer for my painfully slow results!! Most of the things on this list that interfere with the thyroid are things that I eat with regularity. Soy milk, seaweed, raw kale, raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, strawberries, cabbage... hmmmm.  

 

I also buy into the water starvation too. I've been drinking more water over the weekend and yesterday and already dropped SIX of the pounds. What a ride. hmmmm...

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Great that you are figuring out some things about your metabolism.  I would never have guessed that those foods were bad for thyroid functioning.

 

How are you doing overall?  One week left of the challenge!!

[lanielouo0]

 

 These might seem like they are overly ambitious but I don't mean for this challenge to be my way of life. I need a boost to reboot my body. A 90 day boost. 90 days I can do. 

 

 

So a re-cap of my first 6 week challenge. 

 

First, things I've learned:

1. I do need to focus on my diet. Its not great. 

2. Minimize goitrogens. Its even fun to say.

3. Working out 2-3 hours a day 6 days a week makes me too hungry to eat properly and too tired to actually complete all my workouts.

4. I do not trust the HRM/calorie counter I purchased, a bodyware with a chest strap. 

5. Need moar data!!! I do need to mark my progress with pictures and measurements.

 

During the first, third, fourth, and most of the fifth week I kicked butt. During week 2 the in-laws came and we ate a ton of crappy food. I'll get to week 6 in a minute. I came back with a vengance for week 3 after that and decided to weigh myself since thats usually when I started to see results. Ten, yes ten pounds heavier than the last time I weighed myself in december. Now that honestly could mean that I had gained 15 pounds since then, taking into account the clothing I was wearing at the beginning of the challenge were actually 8s. And in december I was tight 4s. I was expecting less. Measuring myself I was much larger than I was hoping for again, with no beginning metric, nothing to compare really. Without thinking about it though, those tight 6s were more comfortable. At the end of week 4 I weighed myself again and was 5 pounds lighter. 

 

I got depressed again during week 5 though. Those days of being endlessly tired, and endlessly hungry with each work out being more of a mental struggle to just keep going, I crashed. Now, week 6. For week 6 I got sick and my daughter was sick. I performed a cleanse and tried to stay to my calorie limit without working out. Even skipping my breakfast each day and snacks, I honestly don't think its possible without exercise. I have been going to bed just so that I do not eat something. 

 

So for my next 6 week challenge since my title was 90 days of awesome, TWO six weeks I am going to take a restock. Now I am starting out where I thought I was last time. AND I am starting with the metrics I should have last time. 

 

Motivation:

To love myself and all that that entails.

 

Start:

BMI: ? Purchasing a scale for this today! ANY RECS??

height: 5'4"

Arm: 12"

Natural Waist: 31"

Belly: 38.5" 

Hips: 39.5"

Thigh: 23"

mood: stressed, depressed, 

 

Main Quest: 

 

90 Days of Awesome: 2nd Chronicles

For the next six weeks I will stick to my plan to include the following specific goals:

• attend the HIIT class at work on Thursdays
• P90X abs 2 days a week, Tuesdays, and Fridays 
• Gym OR videos 3 days a week (Mondays: TRX, Cycling, Wednesdays: UXF Burn and Cycling, Saturdays: Cycling and Yoga)
• Rest or meditate 1 day a week 
• Continue to track food and improve diet

 

Side Quest:

• perform pull up without assistance (Chronicle 2 will be 10 of these since I am almost to one already) 

 

Life Quest:

• Dave Ramsey Baby Step 2: Pay off all Debt (I've been on this one for 7 months already... I've already cut my debt by over 60%!! It will probably take another 1 year 10.5 months years to finish this step if I keep my 'gazelle' intensity)

 

 

 

So it looks like its time to move on Level 1 Rebels. Thanks for your support. 

[lanielouo0]

In reading the FAQ, it does mention a 2nd level 1 rebels challenge is appropriate if you don't think you 'passed'.

According to my goals, I did not pass. So I will work on some of this in the weeks before the next challenge round and repost in Level 1. Look for 2nd Chronicles in Summer 2014. With better goals. With better metrics. With better food. 

 

Also realized I forgot to mention my progress on my side quest and life quests:

I did get to go to some HIIT classes and LOVED them! They really kick my butt! 

 

Baby step 2 in Dave Ramsey is to pay off all debt. My student loans are shrinking and my car debt is shrinking. I made some more principal payments this six week and the loans are shrinking!!! 

 

I can now do the monkey bars again! My dead hang has improved and I can do the negatives and knocked 20 pounds off my pull up assist. Un-assisted pull up, here I come!