Packelly- First Mission

[Yllek]

Hi, My name is Kelly.  I'm 31 and a single mom of a 9 YO boy.  I like to stay active and have lived a life in constant yo-yo dieting.  I have a pattern of eating really good for a few months then binging for few months more. I want to finally stop doing that and I'm aware that it will take me some time. The good thing is that in the past 5 years I've been making progress with shorter binge episodes so I know I'm making slow progress.  I love working out, strenght training, functional training, and I fall in and out of love with outside running. (can't do cardio on machines, I feel like I die a little inside) I love being active overall. 

 

 

Mission

To get muscle definition and get stronger

1. Strength training at least 5x a week (will start slow as I was just forced to take a 5 week break from physical activity while I nursed a bad foot injury) I will grade this on a x/5 for the number of days a week I workout.  And average at the end. (STR 3 / STA 2)

   A: 5/5

   B: 4/5

   C: 3/5

   D: 2/5

   F: 0-1/5

2. Nutrition!!!! I need to get this under control.  Keep my calories around 1600 (TDEE – 15%) while eating mostly a paleo diet.  Limiting alcohol to once a week (yikes!) and this does not mean I can drink a week’s worth of alcohol in 1 night.  (will have to make an exception when I go the key’s for vacation 6/13-17/14)  I will grade this on a x/7 for the number of days a week I stay between 1550-1700 calories. I will deduct -1 point for alcohol consumption on more than once a week. (Except for vacation weekend) And average at the end. (CON 3)

   A: 7/7

   B: 5-6/7

   C: 3-4/7

   D: 2/7

   F: 0-1/7

3. Pull ups.  I eventually want to be able to do 20 unassisted pull ups by the end of the year.  Right now I can do a whopping 0 pull ups so kind up need to get my act together here. For this challenge I want to be able to do at least 4 unassisted in a row. I will work on my strength by doing negative pull ups, holds, and assisted pull ups every other day. I will grade this on a x/4 for the number of days a week I practice pull ups (holds, negative pull ups, assisted pull ups and actual pull ups. And average at the end. (STR 4)

   A: 4/4

   B: 3/4

   C: 2/4

   F: 0-1/4

Life Quest

Track my expenses and follow a budget.

Take 10-15 minutes a day to unclutter my house.

I will grade this on a x/7 for the number of days a week I track what I spend. I will deduct -1 point for expenses outside of budget unless they are an emergency expense (Emergency Expense are: car problems, injury or sickness) Average at the end. (WIS 1)

 

Motivation

I have found that when caught in some tipe of stressful event I let my “normal†life fall into pieces.  I tend to stop going to the gym, eat very crappy, spend money impulsively and let my place get very messy. I want to stop that pattern and get in the habit of keeping those little things that I can control in order.  I’m just recovering from a foot injury and I took that as an excuse to be very lazy and eat everything and anything in front of me. (except for anything gluten since I have celiac disease). I want to get my life back in order. I want to train to be a better version of me. I’m going to take this first 6 weeks as a fresh start.

[Teros]

I'm working on pull-ups as well. I probably have way more weight to lose than you so it's harder but I'm starting slow with bent-over rows. I can d0 a few reps of 125lbs and I hope by the end of the challenge to build up to 50 or so reps and then upgrade the weight.

 

I think everyone has the same motivation issue that you have.  As soon as stress hits, all the best laid plans fall out of whack.  Hope the bad foot gets better. 

 

Good luck and have fun

[MsFitz]

I think it's great that you can identify stressful triggers. That will be the first step in making a change! I'm also working on my pull-ups as my side quest this time. I wish you the best of luck with your goals. I went with NO alcohol for my second challenge and it was rough. I think it made a huge difference, however.

[Yllek]

Thank you guys. I know it will be hard being the beginning of summer and all, but I want to give it my best.

[Yllek]

I think it's great that you can identify stressful triggers. That will be the first step in making a change! I'm also working on my pull-ups as my side quest this time. I wish you the best of luck with your goals. I went with NO alcohol for my second challenge and it was rough. I think it made a huge difference, however.

MrsFitz any pointers on participating in social situations without alcohol?

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

Though I'm not MrsFitz....I recommend bringing beverages that you enjoy with you to BBQs, parties, etc. to ensure that you will have something besides water to drink. Though water is nice, when everyone else is having a beer/cider/cocktail and you're desperately craving one, water is just not gonna cut it.

[redpuma]

Boom-fist, Packelly! I think we have similar goals. I'm about to post. Anyway, subbing you. Good luck with your pull-ups!

[Reverberance]

Looks great. Good luck.

[Blaidd]

Welcome to NF Packelly.

 

You have some great goals, however I would caution against double goals (like your nutrition goal).  The simpler the quest, the easier it is to achieve.  It's obviously your choice but I would recommend that you either choose sticking to your macro or drop alcohol (this will help you achieve the macros anyway). You're going to do great either way.

 

Good luck

AB xx

[MsFitz]

MrsFitz any pointers on participating in social situations without alcohol?

I told my friends and family that I was doing 6 weeks with no alcohol. They thought I was a bit crazy, but respected it. If you're not comfortable telling people, a simple no thanks works.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Excuse any short replies, please.

[Sabretooth-Kitty]

Good luck with your mission!

[TheStephil]

Good luck!

I can definitely relate to your life quests. Cleaning my house was my last challenge's life quest and it went pretty good... until the challenge stopped. It's something I have to constantly be mindful of and work on.

[Silverwind]

MrsFitz any pointers on participating in social situations without alcohol?

 

Also not MrsFitz, but when I did a "Sober January" last year, I found that people were much less likely to notice my not drinking (and therefore not call attention to it and/or get drawn into a public discussion as to whether or not I was doing it because I have a drinking problem) if I ordered a seltzer or club soda with a lime (I'm figuring people assumed it was a vodka tonic). It's a little stunning how everyone suddenly has something to say when you try something like this - almost as if they feel judged by you and have to defend themselves. So it was easier for me to just avoid that entirely. Of course, your family/friends might be totally cool and very supportive.

 

I'd also recommend avoiding particularly tempting social situations for the first week or two if you can just to make things easier at first.

 

Good luck!

[Hazard]

Hello!

 

I’m Hazard, an ambassador for the Assassin Guild. It looks like with the pullups you may have goals similar to many in our guild work on, and we’d love to help you reach your goals!

 

If you ever have any questions or need help with anything, I'll happily assist you.  An easy way to get my attention is to use the quote button at the bottom right corner of any of my posts.  I have the forum setting turned on to alert me when somebody quotes me using that button, so it's a quick easy way to let me know you're talking to me.   You can also get in touch with me by posting on my own challenge topic or by using the forum private messenger system (the envelope button at the very top of the screen).

 

Here is a link to more information about the Assassin guild.

And here is a link to the Assassin phonebook with a list of various exercises/skills that guild members are working on for this challenge, as well as links to their challenge topics.

 

There are numerous other people in the Assassin’s guild who you can also get help from.  I recommend stopping by the Assassin's Den – a general chat thread in the guild forum – and introducing yourself.  You can always ask questions there too.

 

In any case, I’ll stop by from time to time to check in with you and offer support.  Good luck!

[Yllek]

Also not MrsFitz, but when I did a "Sober January" last year, I found that people were much less likely to notice my not drinking (and therefore not call attention to it and/or get drawn into a public discussion as to whether or not I was doing it because I have a drinking problem) if I ordered a seltzer or club soda with a lime (I'm figuring people assumed it was a vodka tonic). It's a little stunning how everyone suddenly has something to say when you try something like this - almost as if they feel judged by you and have to defend themselves. So it was easier for me to just avoid that entirely. Of course, your family/friends might be totally cool and very supportive.

 

I'd also recommend avoiding particularly tempting social situations for the first week or two if you can just to make things easier at first.

 

Good luck!

That's a really good idea. None of my friends really follow a "healthy" lifestyle so when I tighten up my diet I get a lot of comments on how "I need to live a little", etc. But ordering the club soda or seltzer water won't even make it an issue. Thanks!

[Spark]

You and I are in very different situations, but I understand what you say under Motivation completely. Looking forward to seeing you destroy this challenge!

[Yllek]

Thank you everyone for the advice and encouragement. Can't wait to start. Will take measurements and progress pictures on Sunday. I'm also trying to figure out a grading system. Open to suggestions.

[Superdan042]

I've found that drinking the night before a workout day results in me not working out, so maybe try at first to just keep the booze to the nights before your off days. That has worked for me in the past.

Your goals look great. You're going to crush this challenge!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Yllek]

I'm going to start working out tomorrow since I'm leaving on a mini vacation Friday. I will get some groceries today so I can do some meal prep tomorrow too. It will be tricky working out this week because I'm still wearing a boot. I don't want my foot to prevent me from scuba diving during my vacation. I will stick with upper body tomorrow and I will get feedback from the doctor on Monday about the rest.

I'm so ready to be done with my foot and get back in shape.

[Varelse]

Hey, packelly, good goals! Have you posted somewhere which strength training are you following? With reference to pull ups, I found very useful in the past doing inverted rows on a multi-power (you can move the bar, so you can adjust the difficulty). A good system could be: chin inverted rows > pull inverted rows > chin ups > pull ups. Maybe between pull inverted rows and chin ups you need some assistance, but you can try starting with negative chin ups.

 

[Yllek]

Today I got organized for the week.

I cooked flank steaks and chicken, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and cauliflower and hardboiled eggs. I need to find recipes to make food prep a little easier and not so random.

I went to the gym today I worked Shoulders, triceps & did chest press. I'm not following a specific plan yet since I'm not supposed to put too much weight on my foot. This week I should know from my doctor when I can resume regular activity.

Dumbbell shoulder press 20-10#, 12-15# x3, 5-20#

Plate front raise 10-20# x3

Db lateral raise 10-12# x3

Rear delt cable rope pull 10-25# 10-27# x2

Tricep press 10-20# x3

Chest press 10-45# 5-55x 2

Foodwise I was low in calories by 200. I ate a big breakfats mid morning and wasn't hungry for most of the day. So tried to compensate later in the day but wasn't enough. No biggie. I'm planning my meals for the week so this doesn't happen again.

Life quest.

I will be tracking expenses on mint.com

I made a list of places in my house that need to be uncluttered.

week 1: my room and car

Week 2: kitchen and dining room (not much to be done here)

Week 3: living room and coat closet (I'm afraid of opening that closet)

Week 4: my son's bedroom ( this might take longer)

Week 5: garage and outside closet

Week 6: whatever is left.

There's not a big mess in my house but there's a lot that I haven't used in a while and it's time to sell or donate it. I reorganized part of my closet. Got some clothes and shoes in bags to be donated. I got a lot done in just 20 minutes. I also took 5 minutes to get a lot of sh*t out of my car. It's amazing how much stuff can be left behind there when you have a little person in the back seat.

[Yllek]

Yesterday was a good day. Very productive at work and my foot didn't bother me that much. After work I got home and almost bailed on working out. Being limited to what I can do takes some of the motivation away. But then I told myself that my foot wasn't hurting so I could switch things around today. After debating if I should work my legs out or not I decided it wa time. So I Took off my boot, laced up my ankle strap and my snickers and walked very carefully into the gym. I kept it really light as I haven't work on my legs for almost the 5 weeks I've been injured.

Wall sits 3 sets of 50 seconds.

Leg extensions 15-30# x3

Leg curls 15-40# x3

Walking lunges 15 x3

Stiff leg deadlift 15-50 x4

Nutrition was good but it was low by 200 calories. Need to work on adding more fat and protein to increase calories. The thing is I didn't feel hungry between meals. Something to play whit during the challenge I guess.

Pull-ups did 2 sets of 8 negatives. Need to work on stretching my shoulders more. They were doing all kinds on crackling noise and bothered me a little.

Got my car washed and vacuumed. It feels so good to have a cleaned organized car. Still need to work on emptying the trunk before my Thursday.

Overall a really good day. Knowing that I have to post here at the end of the day keeps me accountable.

[Super Destroyer]

Welcome to the rebellion.  I am Super Destroyer, the warrior ambassador.  Looks like you have been moving a good deal of weight lately.  Let me know if you have any questions about lifting programs.  Best of luck in your challenge!

[fultonator]

way to declutter!

[TheStephil]

Yesterday was a good day. Very productive at work and my foot didn't bother me that much. After work I got home and almost bailed on working out. Being limited to what I can do takes some of the motivation away. But then I told myself that my foot wasn't hurting so I could switch things around today. After debating if I should work my legs out or not I decided it wa time. So I Took off my boot, laced up my ankle strap and my snickers and walked very carefully into the gym. I kept it really light as I haven't work on my legs for almost the 5 weeks I've been injured.

Wall sits 3 sets of 50 seconds.

Leg extensions 15-30# x3

Leg curls 15-40# x3

Walking lunges 15 x3

Stiff leg deadlift 15-50 x4

Nutrition was good but it was low by 200 calories. Need to work on adding more fat and protein to increase calories. The thing is I didn't feel hungry between meals. Something to play whit during the challenge I guess.

Pull-ups did 2 sets of 8 negatives. Need to work on stretching my shoulders more. They were doing all kinds on crackling noise and bothered me a little.

Got my car washed and vacuumed. It feels so good to have a cleaned organized car. Still need to work on emptying the trunk before my Thursday.

Overall a really good day. Knowing that I have to post here at the end of the day keeps me accountable.

 

Nice workout.

 

I have hungrier days and less hungry days. If I have a low day I try to eat more the next day (cals, protein, fat) to make up for it.