Ciara's Log

[Ciara]

Here's my game plan. I want to eventually be able to do parkour like a boss, but as of right now I can't even do an assisted pull up. I'm going to be posting my accomplishments and setbacks in here in order to keep me motivated. I've been on my own for the past several weeks but every time I slip up I get really upset and I struggle to get back on track. I'm hoping this log will help me reach my best potential!

 

Stats                                                                                 Measurements

Weight: 158lbs (~72kg)                                                     Arm: 12"

Height: 5'3" (~160cm)                                                        Waist: 31.5"

Gender: Female                                                                Chest: 35.5"

                                                                                          Belly: 37"

                                                                                          Hips: 41"

Short term goals                                                            Thigh: 24.5"

Skill:

Go to a parkour class (tomorrow!)

Be able to do a handstand against the wall for a minute

Weight:

Reach 149lbs by the end of August

Strength:

Be able to do 15 pushups, chest to the ground (I can do 16, but my chest is far from the ground still)

Do one pull up by the end of the year.

Misc:

Try paleo for at least a month

 

Long term goals

Skill:

Be able to do a proper Kong

Be able to do a gainer

Do a freestanding handstand

Strength:

Do 5 pullups in a row

Do an L-sit

Flexibility:

Do a full split and straddle

Get better at bonebreaking..or some other shoulder flexibility

Weight:

Reach 145-140lbs and STAY THERE

 

Let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions for other goals/ways to reach my current goals

[Ciara]

So today I went to the playground with a friend of mine who also happens to be a gymnast coach and bboy. I'm lucky to have such a resource I did 3 sets of 6 bodyweight rows and 1 set of 8. That last set made me ecstatic because I didn't think I could do more than 6 at a time. After a bit of rest I tried doing negatives but I am definitely not there yet.

 

I also worked on my L-sit, although my shoulders are a bit hunched and my abs aren't able to bring my legs up very far. Plus I barely got my butt off the ground. But I have to start somewhere right?

 

Later, my friend showed me how to do a Kong. I can do it kinda, but I can't get my butt up very far and to compensate I tend to lift one arm up and swing my legs through to one side. It's a cheat Kong! I need to improve my shoulder muscles I guess.

 

The last thing we did was some handstand and flip practice. I did an assisted handstand for about 10 seconds before coming down. I also worked on my J step. A problem I have is that I keep skipping as though I'm going to do a cartwheel. It's frustrating

 

Tomorrow is my first parkour class! I'm going with the same guy I was with today. I'm psyched and somehow not nervous at all. I'm sure tomorrow I'll be peeing my pants though. Wish me luck!

[Ciara]

Well today I went to the parkour class. It was wicked. It was an hour and a half long and we were moving the whole time. I was seriously tired by the end! But the person I went with decided to stay a little longer and we ended up doing some tricking with the instructor after class. I think we were there for about 4 hours total....I am so satisfied. I feel really happy and proud. Plus we decided to have Pho after class and I don't feel guilty in the least bit (I struggle with food a lot). Overall today was a spectacular day.

[Ciara]

I've decided to start counting calories. I honestly have no idea how many I eat in a day, despite mostly choosing healthy foods. I bought a kitchen scale and hopefully when it comes I can start figuring out how many calories I'm actually eating and know if I should increase, cut it back, or keep it the same.

[AquaPandaManda]

Looks to me like you're already hitting one of your goals. You're pretty awesome. Hell, just by holding yourself accountable, you're keeping yourself on track. The kitchen scale is a good idea. 

 

I would love to do parkour, but I actually find myself too damn clumsy to get very far. At this point, I call it "wanting to survive the zombie apocalypse". If I can run AT ALL without my asthma killing me, and if I can lift myself up on body strength alone, I will have accomplished what I set out to do. 

But then after accomplishing those goals, I can set new ones and keep getting better every single day. 

 

My boss always says "Always tell yourself to WIN. What's Important Now. What do I do RIGHT NOW to get toward my goal?" And he's the 33-year-old CEO and President of a multi-billion dollar company, so I think he has some good advice. 

[Ciara]

Looks to me like you're already hitting one of your goals. You're pretty awesome. Hell, just by holding yourself accountable, you're keeping yourself on track. The kitchen scale is a good idea. 

 

I would love to do parkour, but I actually find myself too damn clumsy to get very far. At this point, I call it "wanting to survive the zombie apocalypse". If I can run AT ALL without my asthma killing me, and if I can lift myself up on body strength alone, I will have accomplished what I set out to do. 

But then after accomplishing those goals, I can set new ones and keep getting better every single day. 

 

My boss always says "Always tell yourself to WIN. What's Important Now. What do I do RIGHT NOW to get toward my goal?" And he's the 33-year-old CEO and President of a multi-billion dollar company, so I think he has some good advice. 

D'aww, thanks 

 

I'm pretty clumsy too, and also really wimpy haha. But that's why we do this, to get stronger and better every day! I have found that I love the little changes in my body every day, like when I do downward dog I feel my heels are a little closer to the ground than the last time or I can do one more pushup than the day before. These little things are what keep me going towards my goals.

 

Your boss sounds a lot like my former boss. She would always say, "What can I do now to help my future self?" I think that's a wise mantra to live by. We make so many decisions every single day, and each of them makes or breaks tomorrow. I need to be more conscious of my choices day by day and start to really think them through so I can be successful later on, especially my food choices.

 

 

I bought a donut today after lunch, along with coffee with cream and sugar. Oops. I think for the upcoming challenge I'm going to make cutting back on sugar one of my quests, because I am seriously addicted to the point where I need to eat something sweet after almost every meal. Sometimes I make good choices, like eat a piece of fruit or something, but usually I end up caving and eating junk. I also buy a coffee every day before my second class since there's a coffeeshop in the same building, and I always get sweet coffee. But at least lunch was something to be proud of! Salmon and tofu with zucchini and tomato. It was tasty, just not sweet >.< Also, my midday snack was plain yogurt with frozen fruit, without the usual honey. Progress!

[NightWatcher13]

Your goals sound a lot like mine And like you, I have a loooong way to go, so I'll definitely be keeping up on the thread to see how progress is going. I love that you found a parkour class nearby - I want to see about getting a group together here where I live to practice together once a week and help each other, but no schools close to here that I can find.

[Ciara]

Your goals sound a lot like mine And like you, I have a loooong way to go, so I'll definitely be keeping up on the thread to see how progress is going. I love that you found a parkour class nearby - I want to see about getting a group together here where I live to practice together once a week and help each other, but no schools close to here that I can find.

 

Good luck forming a group. You could try posting in the meetups section of the forum- maybe you can find some fellow nerds to play with? Once I get a little better I think I'm going to do that since the class I went to is like an hour away by train and I don't have a car 

[Ciara]

Ugh. My apartment is a complete warzone right now. Cushions on the floor, clothes scattered everywhere, not a clean dish in sight. I need to pick up and wash the dishes and do laundry but I reeeeally don't want to. Sigh. I'm such a slob. And I don't know what to make for breakfast because all the pots, pans, and bowls are dirty...I'm a little disgusted with myself tbh.

 

Yesterday I was pretty sore from parkour so at first I thought to myself, "I don't need to work out today. I worked really hard yesterday, I deserve a break," but the thing is I rested a lot last week. One day of working hard shouldn't be enough to break me. So I figured I should at least do yoga, so I went and it was awesome. The class was a beginner's class so we didn't really do a lot of hard strength poses, for which I was grateful, but we did a LOT of stretching. Just what I needed! I felt pretty great after class although now I'm feeling the pain once again

 

I've become obsessed with the scale. I started to let it run my life and control how I feel in the mornings. If it goes down even half a pound, I'm so proud. If it stays the same or goes up, I hate myself. So, I decided to put it away. Hopefully this can help me focus on what's actually important. Lately my weight has been going up (I gained 2 pounds from my start weight WTF) but my body measurements have stayed more or less the same. (I know I started my battle log like 2 days ago but I first measured myself 3 weeks ago). I asked a friend who is also a personal trainer, and she said that probably means I'm gaining muscle. Which is freaking AWESOME, but the number is still climbing and I hate that, so goodbye for now scale! See you in a month or two.

 

I don't have a workout planned for today and I feel sad about that. Will has been staying over the past few nights so it's hard to escape to the gym while he's around. But since he went to the parkour class with me maybe I can convince him to go outside and we can practice some stuff we learned. The reason I'm so interested in parkour and things is I really don't like structured workout sessions with "5 reps of bodyweight lunges and 10 reps of bicep curls and do this circuit for 7 minutes and then do a plank for a minute and blahblahblah". It's BORING. I would rather run around, practice flipping and jumping over things, have a ton of fun, and oh I just worked out also. I think people who work out just for the sake of working out are pretty cool that that's a passion of theirs. It is not one of mine, yet.

 

But I'll do yoga all day every day forever.

[blkhole24601]

I've become obsessed with the scale. I started to let it run my life and control how I feel in the mornings. If it goes down even half a pound, I'm so proud. If it stays the same or goes up, I hate myself. So, I decided to put it away. Hopefully this can help me focus on what's actually important. Lately my weight has been going up (I gained 2 pounds from my start weight WTF) but my body measurements have stayed more or less the same. (I know I started my battle log like 2 days ago but I first measured myself 3 weeks ago). I asked a friend who is also a personal trainer, and she said that probably means I'm gaining muscle. Which is freaking AWESOME, but the number is still climbing and I hate that, so goodbye for now scale! See you in a month or two.

 

 

 

I'm the exact same way, which is why I put a sign on my scale saying: "Is it **FUTURE DATE HERE** yet? No? Then go away and come back later." But sometimes I cave anyway, so putting it away sounds like a brilliant idea. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

 

Congrats on your progress so far!

[NightWatcher13]

You tell that scale who's boss

And like your friend said, with everything you're doing, more than anything else you'll build muscle which adds weight, but eats fat like that's it's job. So see the added weight as growing awesome about to pacman the fluff 

Muscle^                                   Fat^    

Hopefully you can get motivation to get everything cleaned and usable (it's tough, but feels so great once everything's done - talk about feeling accomplished, from one slob to another) and you can drag Will to play outside and do parkour for a bit

[Ciara]

I'm the exact same way, which is why I put a sign on my scale saying: "Is it **FUTURE DATE HERE** yet? No? Then go away and come back later." But sometimes I cave anyway, so putting it away sounds like a brilliant idea. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

 

Congrats on your progress so far!

Thanks! I hope my plan works. 

 

 

You tell that scale who's boss

And like your friend said, with everything you're doing, more than anything else you'll build muscle which adds weight, but eats fat like that's it's job. So see the added weight as growing awesome about to pacman the fluff 

Muscle^                                   Fat^    

Hopefully you can get motivation to get everything cleaned and usable (it's tough, but feels so great once everything's done - talk about feeling accomplished, from one slob to another) and you can drag Will to play outside and do parkour for a bit

Omnomnom! Okay, my body is awesome I love the image as well, haha. Good visual.

 

I did the dishes this morning. Otherwise, I would not have been able to eat breakfast. But even that step makes the space feel a little better.

[Ciara]

No workout for me tonight- I don't have the heart. My mom told me she's going to take my cat to the vet to have him euthanized. I just want to curl up in a ball and die.

[NightWatcher13]

That's never an easy thing to deal with, I'm sorry to hear that. I know an internet hug isn't much help, but it's all I have to send. We're here if you need to rant / talk / get your mind off of things

[Ciara]

Thanks. I feel a little better now. I went home to see him once more tonight. He's really sick, I didn't realize how emaciated he had become. I know it's for the best that this is happening but it's still sad...He's been with me for 75% of my entire life...I'll miss him.

[blkhole24601]

I'm so sorry to hear that. *hugs* It's never easy to say goodbye, but I'm glad you got the chance to. Sending much love.

[starsapart]

I'm so sorry, honey.

[Ciara]

I am still sad about Tom but he is suffering and I love him too much to selfishly keep him in this world. He lived a good long life and I'm incredibly thankful for that. I'll always love him.

 

This morning I decided I'm going to try integrating paleo into my life in August. I was browsing recipes last night and I got really excited. The rest of July will be full of research and finishing all the non-paleo food items I can, and starting August 1st I'm going to make a conscious effort with every meal to at least think about what I'm eating and get used to watching what goes in my mouth. Hopefully I can maintain a balance of at least 60/40 of eating paleo in August. If I like it perhaps I'll go full paleo in September. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

I am going to think of my goals for the upcoming challenge today. There are so many things I want to do but I'm not focused yet. I think the challenge will really help me find a routine and stick to it. When I write it up, I'll post it here.

 

This week is groceries week. I'm tired of buying frozen fish, chicken, and vegetables and then just throwing everything into a pot and eating that. Does anyone have some yummy recipes they want to share? I have a mega sweet tooth that gets the better of me a lot so smoothies are my jam right now. I actually bought a new blender (technically it's for my roommate since I shattered her old one, oops). It's nothing fancy but new things always excite me. OH also my kitchen scale came today. It's a little fiddly but I'll make it work.

[starsapart]

It's hard to mourn a pet.  Kudos to you for getting back on track. 

 

Looking forward to seeing your challenge plans!

[NightWatcher13]

Hmm... how do you feel about stirfry, Ciara? 'Cause that's what I do a lot with the same type of ingredients you just listed 

[Ciara]

Stirfry is good.

 

Today was good. I ate well. But I cooked and ate too much chicken for dinner. At least I'm not hungry now. Usually I get hungry late at night.

 

I just got back from yoga. Wednesday is Vinyasa flow. I had some cramping in the back of my left thigh and a certain pose really tugged at the back of my left heel. But it was a really good class. I got pretty sweaty and I feel much longer and stronger now. I was trying not to cry the whole time though because as soon as I calmed down my mind all the sadness from losing my cat rushed forward and overwhelmed me. I'm going to keep moving forward but right now I'm feeling pretty down in the dumps.

 

Tomorrow is a double yoga day. Do I do too much yoga? I really like it. Should I balance it with other things? I don't like cardio classes at my gym because all the teachers seem really angry and rude. I used to take those classes but honestly I don't like the atmosphere. Next Monday I'm taking a new class called "on the ball". I don't know what it will be like but we shall see.

 

I forgot to take my measurements this morning. I'll do it tomorrow.

 

I have a math quiz tomorrow that I'm worried about. Our midterm is next week. Time to do practice problems.

[starsapart]

No such thing as too much yoga, I'd say.  Some of the healthiest/happiest people I know do yoga every day.  And it's nice to do something you enjoy!  It's not a super intense workout comparatively (though hot yoga gets close, man), but you're still moving and taking care of your body - power to you!

 

Your gym's cardio teachers sound like jerks. 

[Ciara]

I thought about it and decided on my goals for the upcoming challenge. I want to focus on nutrition this time around since that is something I struggle with. I have a poor relationship with food, meaning that I often feel guilty for being hungry or for eating. The thing is, I make bad food choices more often than not which tends to increase my guilt. So my main quest is to stop being afraid of food. That means I need to start buying the right foods and building more self control in stores. I'm not going to go full paleo but starting the next time I go grocery shopping I'm definitely going to be more mindful of what goes in my cart. I'm also going to make a list and stick to it. If it isn't on the list, it's not going home with me.

 

I needed to put one exercise goal in or else I'll waste away, so I made it my goal to go to my classes at least 4 times a week. I'm doing that already so I don't see a problem there. I really just want to focus on getting a good attitude towards food before I move further.

 

The last part of my challenge is to use MyFitnessPal. I've already started using it so it's just a matter of continuing. I'll track my daily calories and get an idea of how much I'm eating and by finding that out I think I'll be able to control the guilty feelings a little better.

 

So, that's my battle plan! I'll go ahead and make a proper challenge thread soon. Not sure if I should keep posting in my battle log during the challenge or not. I'm leaning towards yes, though.

[Ciara]

I decided to try using My Fitness Pal, as per the recommendation of some people here. I think it's the easiest app that I've ever used to track calories. It even reminds me when I forget to input something (which is where I always fail). Yesterday I was under my calories because of yoga, but I ate way too much sugar. At least I know now just how often I eat sweets!

 

This morning I am eating an overnight oatmeal parfait. It's freaking delicious. I also love that I can make it the night before and not worry about clean up. Just rinse out the jar when you're done and good to go!

 

I ended up skipping morning yoga. I stayed up way too late last night and was too tired to go this morning. But I am still going tonight with my friend.

 

I am tired today! I guess staying up until 1:30 and waking up at 8 don't mix. oops.

[Ciara]

I had a frustrating evening. My friend picked me up to go to yoga at 7:30. The class started at 8. It took us 40 minutes to get there because there were huge lumbering buses, construction, red lights at every corner, and she missed two turns. It was the first time we'd been to the studio and at first we couldn't find it because it was in a really sketchy neighborhood, and when we did find it there was no parking. All in all, getting there 10 minutes late was not bad. However, when we found the studio, the front door was locked. Thankfully there were some people leaving, so we managed to get in. After maneuvering countless creepy hallways lit by naked bulbs, and running into two dead ends with only utility closets, we finally found the actual studio, only to be greeted by the instructor and her assistant leaving. Why, you may ask? According to them, no one showed up so they were going home, and since the manager was also leaving we couldn't stay. 

 

You can probably tell that I was beyond pissed at this point. Here I am, sitting in the car with a chronically anxious person who is swearing at every car and stop light in sight, my blood pressure rising to the point where I want to scream at her to shut up, and when I finally reach my destination they basically shut the door in my face. Listen, lady, I paid for this class in advance. And you have the frigging keys in your hand. So what if the manager is leaving? There are still 50 minutes left in the class. YOUR JOB is to teach me. I came here, out of my way, to be taught by you. Don't effing disrespect my time like that!! It was so unprofessional. The absolute icing on the cake was that my friend had to use the toilet, but when she asked if she could use it they said, sorry we already locked it, and jangled the keys. My friend has IBS. It's lucky it wasn't acting up at that time but if it had, what was she supposed to do? Go in her pants? 

 

These women were so disrespectful and unprofessional and I am raging so hard. I am going to call my credit card company and tell them I didn't get service for my money. Hopefully I get a refund. I will never go back there. Ugh so freaking pissed right now.

 

So yeah, no yoga for me tonight. I'm eating a snack and then I'll do some bodyweight work before bed to compensate. At least it's something. Sigh.