Esmegaia's (almost daily) Battle log

[esmegaia]

The general aim is to get fitter so I can live life fuller. 

 

That means no looking at experiences I want to have and having to say, well I need to lose a stone/get fitter to do that.

 

So yesterday I started Challenge #2. It started in the worst possible way - a full blown migraine. 

 

That means, I was basically sofa-based and spent most of the day asleep. No exercise and my diet went out the window. Meh.

 

But these are the days that my Challenge pass days are set up for, as my migraines are usually associated to hormone activity and I can guarantee they'll occur at least once a month. I'm 40 hours into migraine now and it's finally subsiding so I am hoping to catch up later with diet and exercise in the form of some walking.

 

I'm also planning on exploring nutritional options to try and reduce hormonal fluctuations as part of this challenge and also see if I can identify additional triggers. I thought I'd got away with it this month!

[esmegaia]

So once the migraine passed and I'm back to normal and back on track.

 

Day 2: 

9,575 steps complete (1/5 week total)

1 paleo evening meal - ribeye steak and salad with fried onions and mushrooms in olive oil - I'm not flash, it was reduced at the supermarket. And quite delicious! (1/5, 1/2 week total)

 

Day 3:

8,462 steps complete (2/5 week total)

1 non- paleo but low carb meal - chicken (marinated for 24 hours in lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, chilli, and a smidge of sugar) served with salad. Could have done it without the soy but wouldn't have tasted as good! (2/5, 1/2 week total)

[esmegaia]

I'm behind in my updates so these are going to be short and sweet.

 

Wk 1 Day 4 14,728 steps (3/5 week total)

1 non-paleo low carb meal (quiche and salad) (3/5, 1/2 week total)

 

Wk 1 Day 5 6,991 steps (3/5 week total)

Went out to a gig (Pet Shop Boys - was awesome!) was naughty and grabbed pizza on the go (3/5, 1/2 week total)

 

Wk 1 Day 6 8,830 steps (4/5 week total)

1 non-paleo low carb meal (quiche and salad) (4/5, 1/2 week total)

 

Wk 1 Day 7 9,513 (5/5 week total)

1 non-paleo low carb meal (salad with asparagus, poached eggs and goats cheese) (5/5, 1/2 week total)

 

Exercise:

 

BBWW 

 

Session 1

Completed 1 rep of everything with the exception of lunges which I only got to 12 out of 20. I was exhausted and could barly walk the next day

 

Session 2

Complete 1 rep of everything, lunges included even with legs still sore

[esmegaia]

Oh, I did complete week 1 mini challenge by joining United Kingdom Nerds Unite 2. So + 1 wisdom to me!

[esmegaia]

Week 2 summary

 

Wk 2 Day 1: 4,081 steps (0/5)

Food wise, a bit of a fail. Got home late and ate the sandwich I'd forgotten to take to work (0/5, 0/2)

 

Wk 2 Day 2: 12,565 steps (1/5)

Much better. Paleo and low carb (steak and salad, and I chose salad instead of chips when eating out!) (1/5, 1/2)

 

Wk 2 Day 3:1,871 steps (1/5) (migraine again and working 10 hour day )

Low carb and almost paleo (mixed salad and smoked salmon, parma ham, and cheese) (2/5, 1/2)

 

Wk 2 Day 4:8,350 steps (2/5)

Low carb and almost paleo again - I just can't avoid the cheese! (home made roast pepper, goats cheese, asparagus frittata and salad (3/5, 1/2)

 

Wk 2 Day 5: 8,053 steps (3/5)

Low carb (home made boiled ham, cheese and mixed salad) (4/5, 1/2)

 

 

Wk 2 Day 6: 7,737 steps (3/5) This was a case of mistiming. I got up to do the last steps, but the clock had ticked over to midnight. I need to keep an eye on the time while watching tv as I was so close.

Technically I didn't eat dinner as I wasn't really hungry, but I did eat half a home made scone which is neither low carb nor paleo, but was really tasty. (4/5, 1/2)

 

Wk 2 Day 7:8,780 steps (4/5)

Yes! Paleo *and* low carb. I squeezed it in at the end. (BBQ marinated tuna with oilve oil and lime juice with salad) (5/5, 2/2) Oh, as a first, I made my first paleo breakfast - banana pancakes. Going to be doing that again!

 

Exercise:

 

BBWW session 1

Completed a full set of 1 rep, but increased my plank to 25 second from 15 seconds!

 

BBWW session 2

Completed a full set of 1 rep but increased my plank to 30 seconds!

 

Additional quest

Completed column 8 of my Afghan blanket. Only 2 columns to go.

[esmegaia]

Week 3 update so far

 

Wk 3 day 1: 8,180 steps (1/5)

paleo and low carb! (Boiled ham, chicken drumstick and salad) (1/5, 1/2)

 

Wk 3 day 2: 8,276 steps (2/5)

Had a breakout day but still calorie counted it and managed to stay in target (pizza and garlic bread and salad (1/5, 1/2)

 

I need to get on and finish my steps for today now!

[esmegaia]

Gah, this turned out not to be such a good week. I got carried away when socialising with friends and then ended up having to do a load of work that took way longer than anticipated. New plan of action: Get targets out of the way early as possible in the week!

 

Wk 3 day 3: 8051 steps (3/5)

Low carb but not paleo (Salmon and salad, microwaved sweet potato, but with light cream cheese sauce for the salmon) (2/5, 1/2)

 

Wk 3 day 4: 5,976 steps (3/5)

Low carb and paleo. (Lamb chump chops and salad, with broad beans) (3/5, 2/2)

 

Wk 3 day 5:4,552 steps (3/5)

Went out with friends and had a great chinese meal. Neither low carb, paleo or even low calories! (3/5, 2/2)

 

Wk 3 day 6:4,606 steps (3/5) but my Fitbit ran out of juice, so I guess I got to around 7k

Had a BBQ so in the evening neither low carb or paleo, but I did keep teh carbs down (3/5, 2/2)

 

Wk 3 day 7: 3,416 steps (3/5)

BBQ left overs but stayed away from carbs so meat and BBQ cheese and veg. (4/5, 2/2)

 

Exercise:

 

BBWW session 1

Completed a full set of 2 reps! My fist time through 2 reps, so saved some face.

 

BBWW session 2

Failed to get this done yesterday

 

Additional quest

Still working through column 9 on the blanket

 

No mini adventures for me last week

[esmegaia]

In line with week 4 Adventurers Mini adventure, I'm going to add the following to my BBWW:

 

10 Reverse Crunches 

 

Oh boy.

[esmegaia]

So another very much not daily update. I need to get better at this.

 

Week 4 was again a bit of a challenge but I more or less got there on 2 quests. In fairness I started job #3 so I have been a bit busy

 

Week 4 day 1: 8,172 steps (1/5)

Low carb and almost paleo (was giving myself a cheer until I realised that Bone-Licking sauce wasn't paleo! Left over BBQ and salad (1/5, 0/2)

 

Week 4 day 2: 12,587 steps (2/5)

Low carb (breaded cod and salad (2/5, 0/2)

 

Week 4 day 3: 9,269 steps (3/5)

Break day low cal pizza and salad (2/5,0/2)

 

Week 4 day 4: 9,365 steps (4/5)

Break day scampi and chips and broke the no-takeaway rule (2/5, 0/2)

 

Week 4 day 5: 1,892 steps (4/5)

Low carb and paleo (chicken with peppers onions and mushrooms and salad (3/5, 1/2)

 

Week 4 day 6: 8,071 steps (5/5)

Not sure what to do with this one as I wasn't hungry and didn't have tea, calling it a low carb as I'd been pretty good on carbs the rest of the day (4/5, 1/2)

 

Week 4 day 7: 2,741 steps (5/5)

low carb and paleo (roast beef with roasted sweet potatoes , onions and carrots) (5/5, 2/2)

 

Exercise

 

BBWW Session 1: 2 reps completed with 2 reps of reverse crunches. So I get my mini challenge bonus here too

 

BBWW Session 2: failed to do as a result of a migraine and then an upset stomach on Sunday.

 

Additional quest

Made reasonable progress through column 9 of the blanket

[esmegaia]

And on to week 5. 

 

This has also been a challenge. I've had an on-off bad stomach since the 6th which has been a pain quite literally. It's meant I've not feeling like exercising. I still don't. on the up-side I have at least thought about substituting yoga in. Not quite made it to actually doing it, although i did discover the batteries had leaked in the Wii (i used to use the Wii for yoga).

 

Week 5 day 1: 2,861 steps (0/5) A long day working at home meant not much walking.

Low carb and paleo (leftover roast beef with soft boiled eggs and salad (1/5, 1/2)

 

Week 5 day 2: 9,260 steps (1/5)

Break day - other half has been ill all week too so we have chicken and bacon pie, his favourite, with salad and then I decided to blow it and have a leftover scone (1/5, 1/2)

 

Week 5 day 3: 10,186 steps (2/5)

Break day - had a work meal out and decided to make it count, which wasn't the healthiest way to address this. The pork and chorizo burger with pulled pork and fries was awesome though! (1/5, 1/2)

 

Week 5 day 4: 8,323 steps (3/5)

Low carb and almost paleo (I made a chilli and had a bowl with no carbs, don't think tinned tomatoes or tomato puree are paleo ) (2/5, 1/2)

 

Week 5 day 5: unknown steps as I went out without my Fitbit on. i did do a 30 min fast walk to pick my car up, but I doubt I made 8,000 (3/5)

Low carb (I had leftover chilli and through some cheese on top) (3/5, 1/2)

 

No pressure for today and tomorrow then We have a shoulder of lamb slow cooking on the BBQ...yum!

[esmegaia]

Week 5 day 6: 8,894 steps (4/5)

low carb but not paleo as I couldn't resis the thought of BBQ Chorizo (BBQ lamb shoulder, BBQ Chorizo, salad)(4/5, 1/2)

 

Week 5 day 7: 8,360 steps (5/5)

Low carb and paleo as I was being strict to make targets (pork chop and salad) (5/5, 2/2)

Exercise 

 

BBWW Session 1 Complete 2 reps including 10 reverse crunches 

I felt like lead but I got through it and then promptly fell asleep on the sofa

 

BBWW Session 2 Complete 2 reps including 10 reverse crunches.

Much better and felt really good.

 

In both cases, I moved to inclined push ups. How do you avoid elbow band on the bannisters!?

 

Additional quest

Getting closer to finishing column 9...

 

 

[esmegaia]

Week 6 Day 1: 9,166 steps (1/5)

low carb but not paleo (breaded fish fillet and salad) (1/5, 0/2)

 

Had a sprightly 2 mile walk at lunchtime, complete in 35 mins despite the sun being out.

 

Today however, I'm feeling leaden again, knees get stiff very quickly when sitting. And the stomachache and migraine are back.only a few more steps and then I can take myself to bed.

[Alanna]

I've missed your updates here--gah!  You've done a nice job of keeping track of your challenge goals.

 

Canned tomatoes and tomato puree are definitely paleo, unless something non-paleo is added.  If sugar is added, they'd still be paleo, but not Whole30 compliant.  I take a look at the ingredients and buy ones that are basically tomatoes and water (and sometimes salt/spices).

 

Kudos for moving up to incline push-ups!  What do you mean by "elbow band on the bannisters" with the incline push-ups?  You can do them against a counter-top, too, if that's more comfortable. 

 

Hope you feel better soon!  Maybe adding in some stretching would help with the stiffness/soreness? 

[esmegaia]

Well, a very late update. Week 6 went completely to pot as a result of the cold I'd been fighting off actually breaking. No excuse for not updating last week, but I finally got round to it.

 

Week 6 Day 2: 8,249 steps (2/5)

low carb but not paleo (chicken and broccoli salad) (2/5, 0/2)

 

Week 6 Day 3: 3,488 steps (2/5)

no food logging - I was sick (2/5, 0/2)

 

Week 6 Day 4: 7,996 steps but as I forgot to put my fitbit on first thing this would have exceeded 8,000 (3/5)

​no food logging - I was sick (2/5, 0/2)

 

Week 6 Day 5: 2,839 steps (3/5)

​no food logging - I was sick (2/5, 0/2)

 

Week 6 Day 6: 10,621 steps (4/5)

​no food logging - I was sick (2/5, 0/2)

 

Week 6 Day 7: 8,6,21 steps (5/5)

​no food logging - I was sick (2/5, 0/2)

 

No exercise this week due to being ill.

[esmegaia]

So challenge number 3. I somehow managed to get out of sink so week 1 is going to be a wash out, but it doesn't mean the rest need to be Still I wasn't completely slack this week, so let's look at how I did without actively challenging.

 

Week 1 Day 1:5,243 steps (0/5)

Didn't log food (0/5, 0/3)

 

Week 1 Day 2: 10,177 steps (1/5)

Didn't log food (0/5, 0/3)

 

Week 1 Day 3: 6,034 steps (1/5)

Tuna and salad, paleo and low carb (1/5, 1/3)

 

Week 1 Day 4: 6,741 steps (1/5)

Quiche and salad, low carb but not paelo (2/5, 1/3)

 

Week 1 Day 5: 3,158 steps (1/5)

Fish and Chips, rest meal but -1 point for takeaway (1/5, 1/3)

 

Week 1 Day 6: 7,439 steps (1/5)

no real evening meal, low carb snacking (2/5, 1/3)

 

Exercise: 

1 visit to gym - this went surprisingly well. I had a bash at running for the first time in ages and managed a 2 min + 3 min run. It was very hot so didn't push myself too hard but was a good indicator that if I want to take up the couch to 5k, I can do so at week 3.

[esmegaia]

Week 1 Day 7: 8,223 steps

Quiche and salad, low carb but not paleo (3/5, 1/3)

 

No exercise as such, but some pretty active digging in the garden.

[esmegaia]

Week 2 Day 1: 8,233 steps (0/5) Not bad considering it was a day of fighting a migraine. 

chicken pie and salad, neither low carb or paleo but hit the spot (0/5, 0/3)

 

No additional exercise due to feeling totally bleah.

[esmegaia]

Week 2 went rapidly down hill. A couple of days of fighting migraine was followed by an epic one on Wednesday that meant I was knocked out until Friday. Then, still woozy I managed to fall over the fencing we have for our rabbit run. Skinned my toe, bruised my achilles, and face planted in the middle of the lawn, which meant sore limbs for the next 2 days.

 

 A week to forget.

 

Week 2 Day 2: 9,108 steps (1/5) Managed despite fighting migraine all day

Scrambled eggs and salad, low carb and paleo (1/5, 1/3)

 

Week 2 Day 3: 9,281 steps - managed to get them in before the migraine (2/5)

Can't remember what I ate, unlikely to be anything much as I went straight to bed (1/5, 1/3)

 

dWeek 2 Day 4: 753 steps (2/5) spent the day in bed asleep

pan-fried Cod and salad (2/5, 2/3)

 

Week 2 Day 5:3,408 steps (2/5) better but took my tumble and spent most of the day recovering from migraine and resting my achilles.

Steak and salad (3/5,3/3)

 

Week 2 day 6: 13,897 steps recovered and out with friends, although I was sore. (3/5)

BBQ and salad - no bread and only new potatoes (4/5,4/3) and naughty cheesecake!

 

Week 2 day 7: 5,069 steps (3/5) spent most of the day driving around and visiting new nephew!

Chinese as celebration for parents of new born. There are times when you have to! (3/5,4/3) I have deducted a point though for the takeaway

 

No planned exercise. But I did do a nice chunk of walking out on the beach, just in time to see a Lancaster bomber bank right in front of us which was a little surreal.

[esmegaia]

Week 3 getting off to a better start.

 

Week 3 day 1:9,235 steps (1/5)

Soy stir fry with left over steak and bacon - low carb ans only 1/3 noodle portion but not paleo (1/5, 0/3)

 

Week 3 day 2:9,989 steps (2/5)

Low carb fish cakes and salad, not paleo (2/5, 0/3)

 

Week 3 day 3: 9,210 steps (3/5)

turkey breast in homemade sweet and sour sauce with udon noodles and veg. Low carb as only half portion of noodles and not quite paleo because of cornflour in suace but not bad! Even had home-grown spinach in it! (3/5, 0/3)

[Alanna]

Nice job getting back on track after the migraine! I have quite a few friends that struggle with them, so I know the episodes can be very painful and exhausting. The food you've been cooking sounds delicious, too .  Are you planning on starting C25K soon?

[esmegaia]

Nice job getting back on track after the migraine! I have quite a few friends that struggle with them, so I know the episodes can be very painful and exhausting. The food you've been cooking sounds delicious, too .  Are you planning on starting C25K soon?

 

I ran for the first time properly a week a go, which shows I'm ready to start again. I had some sharp pains in my ankle after, but nothing major. I think my main need now is some decent running shoes as I over pronate and I've spent the last year or so using orthopaedic inserts in my daily shoes. It felt like the support was missing in my gym shoes, so time to get that fixed.

 

Time to admit that I've not been able commit to this challenge and I will start preparing for the next one.

[Alanna]

I ran for the first time properly a week a go, which shows I'm ready to start again. I had some sharp pains in my ankle after, but nothing major. I think my main need now is some decent running shoes as I over pronate and I've spent the last year or so using orthopaedic inserts in my daily shoes. It felt like the support was missing in my gym shoes, so time to get that fixed.

 

Time to admit that I've not been able commit to this challenge and I will start preparing for the next one.

 

That's exciting that you started running again! I also overpronate and have to have good shoes--I love my Brooks. Maybe getting a shoe fitting would be a good pre-challenge preparation?

 

This was a tough challenge for me, too, but I know we'll both bounce back!

[Alanna]

Hey, what do you have planned for this challenge? Have you found good running shoes?

[Alanna]

Hope things are going well! Are you joining us for this next challenge?

[esmegaia]

Hello again

 

I've been off exercise due to recurring knee problems, but have decided to rejoin for the 5th Jan challenge. Up, up, and away!

 

Week 1 Day 1:

 

Steps: 9,518, so not quite at 10,000 but close. If I wasn't grabbing Phat L00t in Eve, I would have made this. But it was the biggest loot drop I've had in 7 years!

Exercise: BBWW - almost 1 repetition. Managed everything except the jumping jacks which my knee won't take. Got to 8/30. I'll see how I do but I may need to drop anything bouncy and substitute a different exercise. Giving myself the 1 point as it's an injury that forced me to stop, not laziness.

Diet: low carb meal but not paleo. Salmon with cream cheese and pesto, and boiled carrots. 

 

total: 2 points