[TaloraDion] Taking back my life!

[TaloraDion]

Thanks for the encouragement, ChristArtist! Still going strong. Slept better last night (inside), as I didn't get my tent set up last night before it was dark. 

 

Saw this on my FB feed today. THIS is why I'm doing the challenge--I want to be able to be in this video:

 

[ShadowLion]

Well, the last few days have sucked. I've kept up with the Whole30 and my workouts, but my sleep quality and quantity is rapidly decreasing--and therefore, so is my energy, cognitive skills (bye bye memory), and ability to handle stress and not freak out.

 

Enough wallowing about, time to get a plan together to deal with this.

 

Introducing... Operation Sunrise!

 

I realized recently that I've spent over half my life living in basements, most dark and almost devoid of natural light. I have to wonder if this is negatively impacting my attempts to retrain my sleep schedule--or even to experience "getting sleepy" at a normal time of night. In fact, after my recent two-week camping trip, I found myself getting sleepy at 9 to 10pm for the first time in as long as I could remember! 

 

Since my sleep was fixed while I was on vacation, camping and sleeping outside, and in my dark little basement apartment I get NO daylight in the morning, I'm going to take the radical step of sleeping outside. I have a tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag, and I will set up in my yard and hope the streetlights aren't too bright. 

 

Hope your sleep experiment is working! I find that I have a similar experience. My sleep is awful unless I  camping/outdoors, or spend some time outside every day. Plays havoc with my mood. I live in the desert, so you'd  think I'd get plenty of sun, but this time of year we keep the shades drawn to help cool the house. I have to make it a point to get up early while it is still relatively cool and get my daily dose of sunlight!

 

That video is amazing and inspirational! Wow. Go, Ranger!

[TaloraDion]

I may have overexerted myself on the weekend. Saturday I had a ton of energy, and got lots done, but then couldn't sleep (still inside, having trouble getting the outdoor sleeping thing set up... my yard is problematic). Sunday I felt a bit wiped, but had arranged to meet a friend at the lake in the afternoon, and then had dinner plans. So much socializing for this introvert!

 

Anyway, I wanted to take my sit-on-top kayak to the lake, but there was no one around to help me get it on top of my truck... so I did it myself. I've been telling myself that I couldn't possibly lift it, it's 50lbs and 10' long, but I did! Which was a huge accomplishment, and NOT easy. It's right at the outer limits of my physical abilities. So, then I went to the lake, kayaked up and down the lake, found my friend, floated around in the hot sun for a couple hours... and then kayaked full speed back to the boat launch at the other end. Then I had to power walk for a kilometer to get my truck, bring to to the boat launch, and muscle the kayak back up on top of it, all very quickly because I was running late for dinner at another friend's place. 

 

Dinner was great and low-key but I think I a) totally overdid it on lifting and kayaking and got dehydrated and possibly ended up with an electrolyte imbalance. I chose to not use my electrolyte tablets last night, since they are not Whole30-approved, and I wasn't positive that they'd help. Well.. today I wish I'd taken one. Slept really poorly, woke up feeling rather like I'd been hit by a truck, and have been having "intestinal discomfort" all morning. I may actually be sick--I really can't tell. 

 

Oh, also, I managed to slice completely through a good part of my thumb nail on Friday plus took a small chunk out of another finger while cutting onions. Yeah, that kinda hurts. 

 

Poor sleep screws everything up. I was feverish, sore, and restless last night; no idea why. I was utterly exhausted when I got home after dinner and a game of Settlers of Catan.

[ShadowLion]

Congrats on lifting your kayak! I've hauled a sit-on-top around before and it took tow of us - great job. Sounds like you had some fun on the lake and socializing with friends.

 

Sorry you are feeling poorly. And slicing our fingers along with your vegetables sucks.

 

Hope you feel better soon!

[ChristArtist]

Slicing fingers while slicing onions HURTS!  ONION JUICE! OW!!!

Did it when working at a restaurant - the protective gloves were too big for me!

 

So - How are you doing?

 

Haven't seen you around - since Monday!

Come give us an update on this week!  Week three is almost over!

 

[TaloraDion]

Ugh, last week was a disaster. Didn't sleep enough, overdid it (physically) on the 16th/17th (GRRRRRRRR SO FRUSTRATING), and then didn't get a chance to cook for the week, so I ended up eating off-plan... and then got sick Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Work is going poorly (let's just say I've been assigned to clean up someone else's mess).

 

At this point, I've failed all the challenges I set up for myself: I had basically a week off the W30, several 6 hour sleep nights, and I haven't been doing the bodyweight workouts--although I have been very physically active over the last 2 weeks.

 

Arrgh. Also, my dog was diagnosed with ringworm late last week, which means a ton of extra work; I have to sanitize my house as best I can, and I'm a confirmed mysophobe (germophobe). Blech. I am NOT in a good headspace.

[ChristArtist]

[emoji175][emoji175][emoji190][emoji252][emoji15][emoji93][emoji99][emoji97][emoji106][emoji106][emoji108]don't quit

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[TaloraDion]

Not quitting. I just hit a speedbump

 

I've got the food situation straightened out for the most part. What happened was, two weekends ago, I had an event that I was helping to host, Friday night through Sunday night. I didn't pack enough food, I'd previously signed up for the barbecue Saturday night (which is an amazing, gourmet catered meal every year), I was exhausted from running around in the heat all day, and I decided to indulge in some "dietary off-roading" because it was TOTALLY WORTH IT (the chef is a friend, as well). But then I had no food for Sunday, and was completely exhausted when I got home that night. Then, I had appointments every single evening that week, after a full day's work. No time or energy to cook. I kinda got my shit together over this past weekend, but got the news that my dog had ringworm and instead of cooking, had to use all my energy to clean my house. Blarg!

 

But over the past couple days, I have grilled a bunch of chicken thighs and a HUGE sockeye salmon fillet, plus I fried up a bunch of veggies from the garden. So, food! Yay.

 

Tonight I went for a bike ride with my dog. Not a long one--2.8 kms total--but I channelled Beast/Berserk Mode on a hill for fun and powered up it. Basically died at the top Also, my size 8 work slacks are waaaayyyy loose today! 

 

So I'm celebrating those successes, and continuing on with my challenge goals. 

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

YEA!!!  Great results especially in the face of some difficult challenges!!

[ChristArtist]

Hi TaloraDion!

 

We are here on week 5 - and you have been finding ways to succeed even when life throws you a curve ball!

Keep it coming!

drop in, give us another update...so we can cheer you on!

 

the next challenge starts on Sept 15 - you have a week between to think about it.

Which guild will you join?  You were tagged for the Rangers, but you may enjoy the scouts as well.  

 

It's been great getting to know you this challenge - come join us for another 6 weeks of leveling up our lives!

[d3li9ht]

Hello fellow Awesome squad! Congrats for getting back on your challenge goals -- will you join the second 6-week challenge?

[TaloraDion]

Hi TaloraDion!

 

We are here on week 5 - and you have been finding ways to succeed even when life throws you a curve ball!

Keep it coming!

drop in, give us another update...so we can cheer you on!

 

the next challenge starts on Sept 15 - you have a week between to think about it.

Which guild will you join?  You were tagged for the Rangers, but you may enjoy the scouts as well.  

 

It's been great getting to know you this challenge - come join us for another 6 weeks of leveling up our lives!

 

I'm definitely in for the next Challenge. This has been a really good experience and I am so grateful for the support and encouragement I've received in this forum  

 

I've learned a lot about myself, and will be going into it somewhat wiser with regards to goal setting and how much time I need to devote to staying on track.

 

I'm going to continue into the Rangers, since I'm all about the jack-of-all-trades approach to life

[ChristArtist]

The Rangers will be happy to have you. Stop by there and say hi!

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[TaloraDion]

The Rangers will be happy to have you. Stop by there and say hi!

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Thanks, I'll do that!

 

Question about stats though... the first three weeks I did pretty well. Then everything fell apart for the following two weeks. I didn't get a chance to assign myself stat points at the half way mark; should I go back and do that? 

[ShadowLion]

 

Aaar, ye be doin' a fine job o' it, matey - hanging tough when things got dicey! Ye didn't give up n' ye kept a-goin'! Ye deserves a little treasure from the CutLasses, via the thread o' RisenPhoenix:

 

 

 

[TaloraDion]

A little late on this, but here's my mid-CHallenge stat point allocation:

 

First, the available points:

Q1: Whole30 - CON+2, WIS+3

Q2: Sleep - STA+2, DEX+1

Q3: Strength training - STR+1, CHA+1

 

(I'll go back and update the first post in this thread; I didn't understand stat points allocation when I wrote it.)

 

Second, my success levels for the first 3 weeks:

Q1: A!

Q2: B

Q3: C

 

Therefore, stats are as follows:

CON + 2

WIS + 3

STA + 1.6

DEX + 0.8

STR + 0.6

CHA + 0.6

... using A = 100%, B = 80%, and C = 60%.

[ChristArtist]

My answer is yes. .. but then, you figured that out!

The point of this challenge is to get your feet wet! And you are doing well! Good job!

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[TaloraDion]

Thanks, ChristArtist!

 

I'm finishing strong, at least... Rocked the food aspect this week. Not so much on the sleep. And as for strength training, I've been doing yard work and some heavy duty housecleaning and sorting. I'm VERY pleased to report that energy levels are maintaining, if not increasing  

 

Thinking ahead to the next Challenge, I have a lot of ideas for goals:

-Gym 2 days per week, focus on pure strength

-Quit caffeine completely

-Biking: get back on the bike! 3km 2x per week, work up to 8 km 2x per week? Or something.

-Cut out nightshades for 4 weeks, try reintroducing

-Eat breakfast!

-Keep eating real food/Paleo

-Meal planning! I desperately need to learn how to do this.

-Just better planning, in general. I suck at it right now.

 

I'll probably come up with more over the next few days. 

[ChristArtist]

Night shades. .. I'm afraid to reintroduce them, as I don't want to find out i have to eliminate them! But 1 week down...2 to go. ..possibly a third. ..but, meal planning. .. I'm still learning!

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[TaloraDion]

Challenge wrap-up:

 

Overall, I'm happy with the last 6 weeks. I had a bobble in the middle, after week 3, but managed to get mostly back on track for end of week 5. 

 

Here's a goal-by-goal summary (and scoring):

 

Quest #1

Goal: Eat Whole30 for the 6 weeks of the Challenge.

Measurement: A = 100% success, B = 1 mistake, C = 2+ mistakes

Result: I did 3 weeks out of the Whole30, then went off plan for about a week and a half. The last week and a half was good again. I have figured out that food is DEFINITELY connected with my anxiety: mustard seems to lead to panic attacks Weird, weird, weird. I've never seen mention of foods leading to anxiety attacks, but eating mustard == rising anxiety about 1 - 2 hours later. 

 

Also, it looks like I need to cut out dairy semi-permanently; my eczema cleared up a lot in the first 3 weeks, and then flared up at the end of week 4, during which I ate a fair bit of cheese, cream, and butter. I'm avoiding all dairy for the time being, even ghee, because my eczema is REALLY bad, and I would love to see it gone. 

 

In summary, I didn't achieve this goal, but I learned a lot, and I do feel better! So I'm giving myself +1 CON for this.

 

Quest #2

Goal: Sleep 8+ hours every night (11pm - 7am)

Measurement: A = 5+ nights per week, B = 4 nights per week, C = 3 nights per week

 

I'm doing MUCH better on the sleep front, i.e. I'm getting at least 7 hours per night consistently, and I'm falling asleep quickly, and sleeping through the night. Immediate improvement after I cut out mustard, and absolutely terrible sleep on the nights I ate out and didn't specify "no mustard" when ordering. 

 

I still need to get more sleep, especially weekday nights. Any night where I socialize, I end up getting into bed at midnight or later, which means <7 hours. And sometimes I just sabotage myself and stay up for no reason. 

 

Summary: definite progress, but not to where I want to be. Giving myself +1 STA and +1 DEX for this.

 

Quest #3

Goal: Strength training 3x/week; starting with the NF Basic Bodyweight workout, until that gets too easy, then I'll figure out what to do next.

Measurement: A = 18x during the Challenge; B = 14x during the Challenge; C = 10x during the Challenge.

 

Blah. This one was a bust. I think I managed 6 bodyweight workouts during the challenge, so no stat increases for this. I found it hard to remember to do the workouts at home, for multiple reasons. I did, however, do a lot of yard work (moving and stacking firewood, loading the truck for a dump run, etc.), helped a friend move, and various other things that required strength. I surprised myself at how strong I really am several times. 

 

Summary: I'll give myself +0.25 STR for this. 

 

Mini quests:

+1 WIS

 

Stat point totals:

0.85 STR, 1.8 DEX, 2.6 STA, 3 CON, 4 WIS, 0.6 CHA and LEVEL 1!

[Tateman]

Overall not a bad first challenge.  In the past, I have noticed how some foods make me feel different eating them because of Whole 30.