Silverrain #2 - Following Through

[Silverrain]

Eek, is it that time again already!?  I haven't caught up with the last challenge.  I finished it, I swear!  But anyway...

 

Main Quest:  Get to a healthy weight!  At 5'4", from a high of 247lb, I'm currently at 198.  I'll be satisfied somewhere in the 130-150 range, depending on my body comp.  My focus for this challenge is to STICK TO THE PLAN and give things a chance to work, instead of bouncing from diet to diet and workout to workout.

 

Goal #1:  Do the diet.  For the past couple weeks I've been spending my Sundays planning, shopping for, and preparing a week's worth of healthy meals.  At this writing, I can barely close the freezer door, but I could go until next Monday without cooking a thing.  (But, uh, I do need the microwave.)  I've just recalculated my TDEE and adjusted my calories and macros on MFP, so I'm going to leave it alone and continue eating what I plan out.  Goal: complete six weekly meal preps, follow meal plan on weekdays, and eat within diet guidelines on weekends (excepting weekly cheat meal).  +3 WIS, +2 CON

 

Goal #2:  Do the exercise.  This is a little trickier because of that stupid back injury, but I want to do what strength training I can on a more consistent basis.  Goal: Complete two full bodyweight workouts per week, probably on Wednesday and a weekend day.  Include a push, a pull, a squat or step, and a core exercise.  Workouts may be put off due to pain, but must be made up later.  +5 STR

 

Goal #3:  Do the decaf.  Okay, I'm kinda forcing that title.  Anyway, I've been having trouble sleeping lately because I enjoy caffeinated drinks a bit too much.  The trouble sleeping generally leads to trouble life-ing, so... yeah.  Goal:  By the end of the challenge, taper off to no more than one 12oz serving of caffeinated coffee/pop/whatever per day.  +1 CON, +1 WIS

 

Life Goal:  TALK.  It's not just this forum; I've been extremely withdrawn from everybody in the last several months.  Death in the family, living alone in an unfamiliar place, etc. etc.  Anyway, I guess I should start acting like I'm part of the human race again.  Normal people may find this goal ridiculous, but it would seriously improve my social situation.  Goals:  Initiate a conversation at least once a day; talk to three unfamiliar people every week.  +3 CHA

 

 

Motivation:  My mother's passing this past spring was a wake-up call in a lot of ways.  If nothing else, it drove home that there's nobody out there who can fix me, except me... and that I'd better get a move on if I want to change my so-called fate.

[Silverrain]

Remembered to take my lunch to work today.  That garlic-cheese-chicken thing I made turned out great!

 

Completed a workout yesterday.  (And my triceps are sore today, but in a good way.)

 

Chatted with a co-worker I haven't seen in awhile.  It was just complaining about the heat and talking about getting an AC unit, but it was progress.

[Silverrain]

Food:  Woke up late, had to make some substitutions for breakfast, but generally stayed on plan.

 

Talk: BS'ed with co-workers about recent work process changes and how bad the warehouse Muzak was.

[Silverrain]

Food: Miscalculated and went over a bit on carbs.  (No, I can't squeeze two large coffees into my budget this week, which is probably for the best anyway.)  Still under calorie limit.

 

Workout:  Completed 3x20 kneeling push-ups, 3x5 negative pull-ups, 3x8 hanging knee raises, and 3x10 unassisted step-ups.  I need to find a more difficult version of the latter two for next time.

 

Talk:  One of the guys at work has started conversing and/or teasing me (all in fun, and I give it right back) every time we cross paths.  Maybe I'll actually (gasp) make a friend!  Also called my sister and had a decent talk with her before she took off on retreat yesterday.

[Silverrain]

Food: Woke up late again and missed breakfast.  Filled in the gaps with snacks, met all my goals for the day.

 

Talk:  Random shop talk with several different co-workers.  Stopped to chat a bit with one of the baristas at Starbucks.  (I'm not sure if he counts as an "unfamiliar person", since I know his name and see him daily.)

 

Recorded another pound lost.

[Silverrain]

Saturday/Sunday. 

Food:  Had back-to-back cheat days, so I'm eating at home until next Sunday.  The first cheat meal was stupid; I forgot to eat all day and then found myself at McDonald's.  Hadn't been there in almost three months.  It took about three bites to realize I shouldn't have returned.  Sunday was a burger and fries from Five Guys, which was actually worth the cheat, but holy crap, the fries.  I ordered a small and they gave me enough for two or three people!  I threw half away.  Technically, I haven't broken my diet rules, but I can't have weekends like this on a regular basis.

 

In other food news, I'm getting tired of smoothies; they're not satisfying and they're too much of a mess.  I'm going to make a sausage-egg concoction of some sort for breakfasts instead.

 

Workouts:  

Saturday: A 4-mile Starbucks trek, which barely put a dent in the McDonald's calories.  It was a pleasant walk, anyway.

Sunday: 1x20 kneeling pushups, 2x8 incline pushups (much more productive), 3x8 hanging bent-knee raises, 3x10 step-ups (gotta add some weight next time), and 3x5 negative pull-ups.

 

Talk:  I've gotten into the habit of daily chatter with my co-workers, which is awesome.  I didn't think the goal through very well in terms of weekends, though, since I usually run errands and spend most of my days at the computer.  I compensated by making an extra effort to chat up all the baristas and clerks I encountered throughout the weekend (5?).  I also made an effort to contact one of my mother's friends, but either she turned her phone off for the weekend, or the number I have is out of date.

[vengefulpear]

Looks like you're making some good progress already, it's great that you can scratch down that you've lost a whole pound already  

 

And I want to say a special awesome for the getting out there and chatting.reconnecting! I know it can be tough, especially for us nerds  

Keep it up I'll be keeping an eye out for you  

[Silverrain]

A slightly belated review of Week 1:

 

Food:  A  During the week, it was pretty easy to stick to the plan, but I realized I didn't have a good plan for weekends.  Maybe I could make recipes with six servings instead of five.  I'm enjoying my own cooking, though I'm getting a little tired of Sunday night Freezer Tetris.  

 

Exercise:  A  Not only did I do the strength workouts, but I tried some intervals on the treadmill... and didn't end up curled up in a ball crying.  Yay!  Depending on how well I recover, I might start doing intervals regularly on the days after strength workouts.

 

Decaf:  ?  Not sure how to grade this, since I didn't really address it yet.  I finished up my caffeinated (diet) sodas, but Starbucks is still a daily thing.

 

Talking:  A  I'm just waiting for somebody at work to ask why I'm suddenly so chatty.

[Silverrain]

Oh, crap, someone's watching me now!  (blushes)  But seriously, thanks for the encouragement!

 

So... Tuesday.

 

Food:  Forgot to check my macros in the morning.  Ordered an unaccounted-for sugary drink at Starbucks.  Still came in 8 calories under budget.

successkid.jpg

 

Exercise:  Did strength on Sunday, cardio on Monday.

 

Talking:  People have been quieter at work this week since we're so busy.  Still, I was invited to a get-together after work on Friday.  Yay, I can spend the rest of the week stressing about it!

[Silverrain]

Aaand I'm 0 for 4 on goals today because I had to work overtime and I'm tired and sore and WHY THE HELL CAN'T I SLEEP?  Only about 100 calories over budget, and I'll do my workout tomorrow.

[Silverrain]

Food:  Doing better today.  100 calories under budget, didn't go over on carbs.

 

Workout: 3x10 squats, 3x5 negative pull-ups, 3x8 incline push-ups, 3x8 hanging bent leg raises.

 

Coffee: Back to 2 small sugar-free iced coffees.  I've been trying other sugar-free flavors, but damn I hate the taste.

 

Talking:  Not much today, other than Seahawks fan-chatter at work.

[Elastigirl]

You are doing awesome on the challenge. I love the talking to people goal, as a fellow introvert I get how hard that is. Keep it up though, it is something that gets easier with practice. Five Guys fries... they are so wonderful, but yeah they give you enough to feed an army. I think good fries are worth the treat, but it's hard even when hubby and I split them there are still too much and it is WAY too easy to keep eating those things.

 

With your name and the Seahawk chatter are you a Seattleite? 

[Silverrain]

Yes, I live in a suburb of Seattle, and I have the coffee obsession to prove it!  I'm starting to think about my next cheat meal; currently it's a toss-up between more Five Guys and anyplace that makes good nachos.  Hmm...  Anyway, thanks for the encouragement!

 

Social:

So I went to the coworker gathering party thing at the local bowling alley.  Among the lowlights: I was introduced to someone's young daughter and got confused over whether she was waving or trying to shake hands.  I deliberately tried to make conversation with a friend's sister, whom I had never met; after a couple questions, she hunched over her iPhone and pointedly ignored me.  In the course of the night, I gave three different excuses for why I wasn't drinking (some medical, some personal, all true) and got snapped at for saying I don't drink if I'm driving.  (Miss snippy was on her third at the time.)  It took me three tries to get that male handshake/hug combo right, and I don't even know how many poorly-targeted fist bumps and high-fives I gave.  At the end, it took me half an hour to get the nerve to announce that I was leaving.  Then again, I had gained enough experience by then to successfully run the final gauntlet of goodbyes, thank-yous, and slightly inebriated hand gestures.  I did have some nice conversations and I did get to know some of my coworkers better, which was... mostly a good thing.

 

I'm trying to chalk this up as a victory and not as "Oh my god I'm a social failure they think I'm an idiot I should quit my job RUN AWAY!". 

 

 

Food:  Hey, at least that went well.  Stuck to the plan for the day, drank Diet Coke (ick) instead of alcohol at the gathering.  Having a drink in hand didn't entirely stop the peer pressure to get stupid, but I had less of a hassle than at the last gathering.

 

Exercise:  Intervals will have to wait until tomorrow.

 

Coffee:  2 12oz's today.  Going in the right direction.

 

Oh, and by the way.  Last weigh-in: 192.  I changed the batteries in the scale and re-weighed a couple times to make sure.

[Elastigirl]

Cool, I'm  live in burbs of Seattle too, only please don't tell my Seattle friends _{i don't like coffee-shhh, I'm afraid I'll be kicked out of the city}

 

I think sometimes it is easy to go back and think about all you said and over analyze all our conversations, and go over the things that went wrong. Good attitude in calling it a victory, you had some good conversations, good for you for going. The awkward stuff most people won't remember, I'm guessing since I can be awkward in those situations but people still think of me as a friend

[Silverrain]

It's OK, your secret is safe with me.

 

Weekend food:  Not sure if I'm doing my cheat day wrong or very, very right.  Went out on Sunday to run some errands and seek out some good nachos.  On the way, I grabbed a hot dog from a convenience store (why yes, they do still taste awful) and got a hazelnut scone with my coffee (which was much better).  By the time I got to the Mexican restaurant, I was so full that I walked in, thought about it, and turned around and walked out.  Sorry, host guy, it was nothing personal!

 

Later, I got another hot dog and a TINY order of fries at the Five Guys by my storage facility.  I told the cashier that I liked their generosity, but I was on a diet and I really didn't want a giant serving of fries.  He was cool with it, but a few seconds later I heard an incredulous "WHAT?" from the prep area.  Pretty funny, and I thoroughly enjoyed my one. cup. of. fries.

 

I should probably focus more on having a cheat meal and not cheat grazing for half the day.  Overall, though, I'm pretty pleased with the results so far.  *cough* 192 *cough* Looking forward, I've got breakfast and most of my lunches prepped for the week, and I'll finish my cooking if/when it ever stops being 85 degrees in here.

 

Social:  Still recovering from Friday, but there's always time to be nice and chat with service people.

 

Exercise:  Tried squats again the other day, but my back got all pissy about it, so it's back to step-ups.  Today's workout was 3x10 step-ups, with +10lb for the latter two sets; 3x5 negative pull-ups; 3x8 bent-leg raises; 3x8 incline push-ups; and 1x8 full push-ups just because the incline ones felt too easy.  Rawr.  The intervals didn't quite happen this weekend, but I'll see if I can knock it out tomorrow.

 

Coffee:  Don't care, it's the weekend.

[Silverrain]

Food:  Did well.  Maybe a bit over on carbs, because holy [bleep] I needed some alcohol, because...

 

Social:  I finally found and contacted a certain set of relatives regarding Mom's death.  We're practically strangers to each other by now (stupid family feuds), so I don't know how much worse it can get, but I've been dreading (and procrastinating) interacting with that side of the family for quite some time.  So now I'm drinking a bottle of hard cider (just one!) and waiting to see what happens.

 

Exercise:  Did some intervals.  Feels good, man.

 

Coffee:  ...Just don't even.

[vengefulpear]

It sounds like you're doing really well and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone but losing weight like a beast

[Silverrain]

Heh, thanks.  And by the way, 191.2!  (More later.)

 

Later:

 

Social:  Talked to my cousin, caught up with her a bit, didn't have any hostilities, will talk again soon.  My reaction was rather like this!  ...only, y'know, without any romantic implications or evil henchmen.

 

Food:  Food?  Oh.  Yeah.  I should eat.  Pretty sure I'm under my calorie limit because I've been burning adrenaline and/or coffee all day.

 

Exercise:  Rest day.  Might rest tomorrow too.  Depends on whether I can sleep tonight.  (Between emotional stress, working overtime, and last night's 12:47 AM fire drill, I'm pretty wiped.)

 

Coffee:  1.5 x 24oz.  Yeah, this goal isn't going so well.

[Elastigirl]

Heh, thanks.  And by the way, 191.2.  (More later.)

Congrats! 

[Silverrain]

Congrats! 

Thank you!  

[Silverrain]

Blaaah.  Tired and crampy.  Thank gawd it's Friday.  My weight bounced up a few pounds this week, but I'm sure it'll go right back down in 3-5 days.

 

Food:  I forgot to make breakfasts on Sunday, which caught up with me on Thursday/Friday.  Getting sick of Quest bars, but I'm still on track.  I've also run through my entire "buffer" of frozen meals.  I really need to do some shopping and cooking this weekend.

 

Exercise:  Yesterday I did 3x8 pushups, 3x8 hanging leg raises, 3x10 stepups, and 3x5 negative pullups.

 

Social:  Honestly, I've been lazy about it since my little breakthrough earlier this week.  Not much except passing remarks to co-workers.

 

Coffee:  My caffeine consumption spiked, again, with all the stress.  Now I'm trying to taper back down, again.

[Silverrain]

Already halfway through the challenge.  First, I'll get back on a regular posting schedule.  Recap in a bit.

 

Monday.

 

Food:  Doing much better than I did this weekend.  I've tweaked my meals down to 350-400 calories apiece to make it easier to stick to my guidelines (and to make room for extra snackies).  I made 5 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners on Sunday.  I also filled the fridge with meat/cheese slices and berries, i.e. snacks that fit my macros and are easy to calorie-count.

 

Social:  There's that one barista.  He's kinda cute, and he's always nice.  Always takes the time to say hi to me, even if he's busy.  He's probably just very good at his job... but... I would totally consider inviting him for a cup of coffee or something.  If, y'know, he didn't work at a coffee shop.  Hmm...  But anyway.  The only substantial conversations I had at work today were with [name redacted], but she was actually being civil to me for once, so I guess it's progress.

 

Exercise:  Is it weird that I like the feel of sweat rolling down my back?  Feels like accomplishment, even if my workout doesn't impress anybody else.  Today I did 3x5 negative pullups, 3x8 pushups (shaky form, but getting better), 3x8 squats (quitcherbitchin, spinal disc), and 3x8 bent leg raises.  I also added 3x5 tricep dips to help my progress on pullups.  (Or to tear up my rotator cuffs, not sure which.)

 

Caffeine:  I'm questioning whether I should rewrite this goal or just drop it entirely.  As written, it doesn't seem very realistic right now.

 

(Weight:  Between my weekend eating and, er, certain cyclical events, I've really got nothing to brag about right now. )

[Elastigirl]

Sounds like you are getting into the groove with food. Prepping snacks, and figuring out meal size, great preplanning always helps.

[Silverrain]

190.8 lb?  *pats scale*  Good scale!  You're such a good little scale!  Yes you are...  

 

(ahem)

 

Food:  Went over a bit on carbs, again, because I drank more coffee than I budgeted for, again...  Stupid habit.  Still well under calorie budget, though.  Also, fresh blueberries are awesome.

 

Exercise:  I never did take my pull-up bar down yesterday.  Instead, I've been trying to do a pull-up every time I pass under it.  I'm still far from completing the motion, but there's noticeable progress.

 

Social:  I'm seriously contemplating finding another job, mostly because I'm bored, and partly because I'm getting really uncomfortable with one of the supervisors.  (Not in a go-to-HR kind of way, just an I-can't-do-anything-right-in-his-eyes kind of way.)  Meanwhile, I answered some questions from new employees and did the usual chatting and complaining with everyone else.

[Elastigirl]

Just doing a partial pull up and teaching your body the move is a great to progress toward the pull up