LittleTurtle Breaks Free

[LittleTurtle]

Over the last few challenges, the most important concept I’ve learned is that my Main Quest will always be an evolving and never ending series of challenges.  It most definitely is not a destination.  Sometimes, it can feel daunting, but mostly it fills me with anticipation and excitement to see how far I’ll go.  For me, the greatest part of the journey is reviewing my previous challenge threads and seeing the progress.  Whenever I feel like I’ve failed in any way – the first thing I do is sit down and read them to gain a little perspective. 

 

Through trial and error over the course of more than a year, I’ve discovered that my major fitness passions are (in no particular order) running, yoga, swimming, hiking, and badminton.  These are the activities that are the most enjoyable to me.  They make me feel the best, smile the most, and keep me motivated to continue improving myself physically and mentally. 

 

Speaking of mental health…I have OCD.  I have it under control a little better than in the past, but I still find myself being compulsive over the most ridiculous things.  For instance…every night, I check the front door about 20 times to make sure it’s locked before I go to bed, you know…just to make sure…  It’s annoying to me.  I can’t imagine how annoying it is to my boyfriend (bless his heart for putting up with all my quirks!)

 

 

 

So.  I want to try a little experiment.  After a year or so of diligently tracking calories and weighing every morsel of food on a digital food scale, (and I mean every…single…morsel.  I’m even talking about celery here…CELERY for crying out loud…who cares how many ounces of celery I eat?!),  I’ve come to the decision it’s something I want to break free from.  Don’t get me wrong – I’ve had a tremendous amount of success by doing so…however, I sometimes feel like I can’t function until I’ve calculated, measured, and counted every bit of food I’ve eaten in a day for fear of gaining all the weight back that I’ve lost.  I’m going to attempt to get through these next 6 weeks with very minimal food measuring and calorie counting.  I think I’ve been a member of Nerd Fitness long enough to know what I should and shouldn’t be eating.  I’ve concentrated on listening to my body and how it reacts to certain foods, I know how much is too much, when it’s okay to treat myself, and when I’m just being blatantly gluttonous.  I’ve even gotten to a point where I can pretty much throw of handful of anything on the scale and estimate how many ounces it is just by eyeballing it (and my guess is usually within a few tenths of an ounce). 

 

My experiment will include the realization that even though I’m not worrying about calories and tracking every little thing, it’s not an excuse to eat whatever I want.  I will take a picture of my body before and after the challenge and do a beginning and ending weigh-in to gauge how well I can do without the obsessive compulsive need to count ALL the things. 

 

 

 

In lieu of grading, I find that I have more success in shifting my focus towards my progress rather than an actual letter grade.  I think that relates back to my OCD…the grade becomes more important than anything else, thus resulting in frustration with inevitable setbacks, proneness to injury, and impatience.  For me, it’s all a learning process, not a grade at the end because…well, hopefully…there will never be an end.

 

 

CLIFF NOTE VERSION

MAIN QUEST

Work towards being capable of running a 9 minute mile and completing a 5k in 30 min.

-         Keep running 2-3 times per week.

-         Perform any other aforementioned activity 2-3 times per week.

-         Always have plenty of water within reach regardless of my location.  (I’m great at drinking water, but not so great if it’s not near me and I’m *too comfortable* to get up and get a glass…)

 

LIFE QUEST

Stop being so damned OCD when it comes to my diet.

-         Temporarily deactivate my MyFitnessPal account. (Seriously?!)

-         Have my boyfriend hide the food scale.  (Ohmygosh…can I really do this?!)

-         Only allow a maximum of three weigh in(s) – beginning, middle, and end.  (What the hell am I getting myself into?)

-         Allow a maximum of two check-in(s) per day on my FitBit dashboard.  (I currently check it - ohhhh, about a hundred times…)

 

CURRENT RUNNING STATS (As of 7/21/14)

Comfort Pace = 10’30”

Fastest Mile = 9’56”

Fastest 5k = 32’05”

 

Here I go...

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Can't. Wait!

 

You are going to rock this challenge right in the face, Turtle.  

 

[katastrophenkatzchen]

Wonderful challenge!

I drink lots of water, but am to comfortable to get up often too.

I always have a bottle  or carafe next to me so I can drink plenty

 

[Sunmage]

I like your life quest =)

 

Don't let stupid numbers rule your life

[LittleTurtle]

You guys...I did it...I just deleted my MyFitnessPal account.  I tracked my last meal for today, checked the macros and micros, then I went to settings and deleted and confirmed.

 

Not gonna lie...kinda freaking out now!  

[katastrophenkatzchen]

It#s always hard to do something new or let go of something you are used to.

It's not the end of the world!

You can reactivate or do an new account after the six weeks if you feel the need of it.

It's just 6 weeks.

[otter905]

You can do it!  I felt the same way when I deleted mine.  But just think of all the fun things you can do with your spare time!

[LittleTurtle]

It#s always hard to do something new or let go of something you are used to.

It's not the end of the world!

You can reactivate or do an new account after the six weeks if you feel the need of it.

It's just 6 weeks.

Yes!  Thank you - I needed that!  

 

You can do it!  I felt the same way when I deleted mine.  But just think of all the fun things you can do with your spare time!

Ah!  I never even thought of the extra free time!!  YES!!!!

[I am Eve]

Wow LT, this is so ....well just wow.

 

You are courageous and strong and definitely ready to take the leap into the "unknown"

I did it too, to the extent that my partner (in a nice way) pointed out that it was getting over the top with all the registering of foods, activities and so forth. There is life on the other side.

 

Granted, it IS a big help, to learn. 

For a while. And then we have learned, YOU have learned, what you need.

 

We got your back!

 

Oh, and let's keep each other accountable about the running, I need help 

[LittleTurtle]

Wow LT, this is so ....well just wow.

 

You are courageous and strong and definitely ready to take the leap into the "unknown"

I did it too, to the extent that my partner (in a nice way) pointed out that it was getting over the top with all the registering of foods, activities and so forth. There is life on the other side.

 

Granted, it IS a big help, to learn. 

For a while. And then we have learned, YOU have learned, what you need.

 

We got your back!

 

Oh, and let's keep each other accountable about the running, I need help 

Thank you!

 

And yes - will absolutely help keep you accountable with the running!  We will have so much fun!

[Wayward Walker]

Hi Little Turtle! It looks like you have some strong goals for this challenge and they definitely look attainable!  One thing I would like to give you, because I have a very good friend who suffers the same, and I am currently working towards being a Marriage/Family/Life Therapist... You are not OCD. You suffer from OCD, but it is not you.   I once had someone use that same line of thinking on me. I said, "I'm fat." he said, "you're not fat, you have fat. Now lose it."

 

That which we daily dwell on, becomes our reality.

 

Wish you all the best, and hope I can be here to support you!

[Heidi]

Hey Turtle ! Good inspiration and goals. Subbed, of course, and looking forward to being on this path with you (anyone who calls OCD a *dis*order clearly doesn't understand the situation).

There are so many smiles waiting for you - so proud that you deleted the account! Hugs.

[LittleTurtle]

Hi Little Turtle! It looks like you have some strong goals for this challenge and they definitely look attainable!  One thing I would like to give you, because I have a very good friend who suffers the same, and I am currently working towards being a Marriage/Family/Life Therapist... You are not OCD. You suffer from OCD, but it is not you.   I once had someone use that same line of thinking on me. I said, "I'm fat." he said, "you're not fat, you have fat. Now lose it."

 

That which we daily dwell on, becomes our reality.

 

Wish you all the best, and hope I can be here to support you!

Thank you so much for that!  

 

Hey Turtle ! Good inspiration and goals. Subbed, of course, and looking forward to being on this path with you (anyone who calls OCD a *dis*order clearly doesn't understand the situation).

There are so many smiles waiting for you - so proud that you deleted the account! Hugs.

Hugs to you to!  Even if I don't get my green smileys on FitBit, I know I can always count on you to bring a smile to my own face!  

[LittleTurtle]

LIFE QUEST

Stop being so damned OCD when it comes to my diet.

-         Temporarily deactivate my MyFitnessPal account. (Seriously?!)

-         Have my boyfriend hide the food scale.  (Ohmygosh…can I really do this?!)

-         Only allow a maximum of three weigh in(s) – beginning, middle, and end.  (What the hell am I getting myself into?)

 

I did some thinking today about my weighing in goal.  I was talking to my Mom last night and she was telling me that she pretty much weighs herself everyday.  I kept telling her that she shouldn't weigh herself more than once a week MAXIMUM.  Then I realized I only really weigh myself about once a week or every other week.  I got to thinking that maybe this particular goal isn't really that much of a challenge for me.  I want to make a goal for myself that is a bit more difficult.

 

It dawned on me that I'm incessantly checking my FitBit dashboard.  Almost as much (if not more) than MyFitnessPal.  I was talking with our fellow Druid friend, Heidi, and she gave me a great thought - "interact with the dashboard, but don't freak out".  

 

I love it.  Thanks, Heidi!  

 

I've edited my original post to reflect that change.  I think checking it once in the morning and once in the evening is more than sufficient.  One way that will help limit my obsessive checking and syncing is to leave my FitBit dongle at home rather than taking it with me to work.  (I don't have a smart phone, so I have to use the dongle thingy to sync my FitBit Flex bracelet.  If I don't have the dongle - I can't really check my stats.)  I'll just wear my Flex bracelet and forget about it.

 

In other news, I didn't count my calories today.  It felt a bit foreign but good.  Freeing.

 

And with that…I'm off to bed.  Goodnight.

[Kiazi]

 

 

I said, "I'm fat." he said, "you're not fat, you have fat. Now lose it."

 

I love that. It can be applied to almost everything. 

 

I have the water problem too.  Sometimes at work when I'm in the flow I just can't manage to get up... Or in a WoW raid it can happen that I don't get up to get a new bottle of water. And at the end of the raid I realise there was one standing near me all along oO Even to lazy to look down...

[jedi_mind]

Hey again little turtle, good luck on the challenge.

[The Swedish Ninja]

Yay, great challenge!

I think your spot on with the quitting counting calories. This might seem weird, since I say in my challenge that I will begin with this now, but that´s the beauty of NF, everybody has different goals for different reasons, and what i right for you might be opposite what´s right for me, but we´re all in the same boat .

 

And your counting thing immediately makes me think of what Einstein said:

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."

 

​Sub´d (You seem to be a fast turtle, so I better get some notifications )

[Heidi]

Good for you LT! I had no idea you took the dongle with you - great choice to leave it home.

Yes, measure what you do. *After* you go do awesome stuff.

[I am Eve]

Thank you so much for that!  

 

Hugs to you to!  Even if I don't get my green smileys on FitBit, I know I can always count on you to bring a smile to my own face!  

 

And me!

[I am Eve]

My thoughts

 

Recording stuff (fitbit, counting calories, mapmyrun....whatever) is just a tool. We can use it, and when we do not need it we don't use it anymore. If we allow it to take up too much time, energy, thoughts - then we need to rethink. Just like you are doing.

It is not the registering stuff that is important. It is what we actually do.

 

You are awesome! 

[LittleTurtle]

I love that. It can be applied to almost everything. 

 

I have the water problem too.  Sometimes at work when I'm in the flow I just can't manage to get up... Or in a WoW raid it can happen that I don't get up to get a new bottle of water. And at the end of the raid I realise there was one standing near me all along oO Even to lazy to look down...

Yes - especially at work for me.  It gets super crazy most days and if I don't have water close, it can be hours before I realize that I'm thirsty.  I've also found that I need to have it in my car when I'm driving.  

 

Hey again little turtle, good luck on the challenge.

Hello to you!  Thanks.  

 

Yay, great challenge!

I think your spot on with the quitting counting calories. This might seem weird, since I say in my challenge that I will begin with this now, but that´s the beauty of NF, everybody has different goals for different reasons, and what i right for you might be opposite what´s right for me, but we´re all in the same boat .

 

And your counting thing immediately makes me think of what Einstein said:

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."

 

​Sub´d (You seem to be a fast turtle, so I better get some notifications )

Thank you!  And it's so true about having very different goals, but being in the same boat.  That's one of the many things I love about this community.

 

Good for you LT! I had no idea you took the dongle with you - great choice to leave it home.

Yes, measure what you do. *After* you go do awesome stuff.

Oh yes…that dongle travels with me everywhere.  But not starting tomorrow.  For fact - I haven't even checked my dashboard at all today.  

 

My thoughts

 

Recording stuff (fitbit, counting calories, mapmyrun....whatever) is just a tool. We can use it, and when we do not need it we don't use it anymore. If we allow it to take up too much time, energy, thoughts - then we need to rethink. Just like you are doing.

It is not the registering stuff that is important. It is what we actually do.

 

You are awesome! 

Aw, thanks!  I think you're pretty awesome too!  

[LittleTurtle]

Halfway through the first day and so far, so good.  I plan on running a 5k on the treadmill as soon as I get home from work.  I'll post the stats from that run tonight or tomorrow morning.

[I am Eve]

Yay, great start!!

[LittleTurtle]

I just finished my run.

 

I was able to do a mile in 10"11", but shortly after a mile, I got a bad side-stitch so I had to slow my remaining pace WAY, WAY down.  It ended up taking me 40'49" to finish the 5k and I didn't even run the whole time because I couldn't work the stitch out.  I did, however, manage to get 100 vt ft accomplished though, which normally I don't ever set the treadmill on an incline when I'm running - so I guess that helps even out the score.  Man, I really wanted to do the 5k in less than 32 minutes tonight.  My time was 32'05" this day last week.  How come some runs just don't want to cooperate?  

 

In other news, I didn't count calories, didn't use the food scale, have only checked my FitBit dashboard twice today, and have a bottle of water within reach all day.

 

I feel good, even though the run felt like I was trudging through quicksand!  I finished what I set out to do today, not matter how long it took.

 

 

[The Swedish Ninja]

Great job, pushing through the side stitch (they can be so painful ). For me, when I ran, I seldom got them unless I ran shortly after I have eaten. Did you eat before or after your run? On the other hand, some people are able to run after a heavy meal and have no problems with it, so I guess it differs.

Don´t worry about your time, like you say, some runs are just much slower than other which can be a result of not enough rest, to little food, to much food and lots of other reasons.

 

Great not measuring!