[ Randa Rooskie ] Committing to Commit to Stuff

[Randa Rooskie]

Randa Rooskie here!  I'm entering the fight a week late, but better late than never!  I love eating, but eating food (even healthy food) has been causing strange pains for the past few months.  Dietary changes don't seem to relieve the pains and I've lost some motivation to try and be healthy.  One day an apple causes sharp pains and the next I can eat fried chicken with no problem.  So now my gut feels bad AND I have guilt from making bad choices.

 

Guilt = bad.

Nerd Fitness = good.

 

************** Ready, set, QUEST! **************

 

Main Quest: To live life abundantly.  

 

What does that mean for me?  Committing to health.  Committing to joy!  Committing to living with purpose.  That means not letting how I feel dictate what I do.

 

Goals:

 

1. Eat for Fuel

 

I had a hard time making sure this goal was SMART. I feel like my diet needs an overhaul, but honestly don't know what foods my body needs (and wont make me hurt). In the end I decided to narrow my goals down and just focus on two things for the next five weeks.

A. Incorporate my sister's fantastic phrase “Trough of Salad†into my life and eat one a day.

B. Do not eat past 8:00 pm. Period. I get super snacky at night and the snacks aren't making me any stronger...

2. 5K Prep

 

Run 3 x week.

 

My two boys and I are doing a 1 mile fun run in two weeks. I'd like to continue training so I can run a 5K at the end of our challenge. Last year I did my first barefoot (thank you, Vibrams!) 5K race, but I haven't been training consistently since then.

 

3. Chin Ups

 

Build up to doing 6 chin ups in a row. I'm at 3 now, so that's doubling my current max. Yeay for being able to lift myself up and stuff! I don't know why I find it so satisfying...

 

 

Life Quest:

 

1. Memorize all the notes are on my guitar's fretboard. Apparently you're supposed to do that when you first get an instrument and not 10 years later... go figure. I found a plan for doing it in 16 days online that actually isn't too daunting. Lets see... 5 weeks left x 7 days a week – 16 days to learn = 19 days to bask in the glory of my new ability to actually find notes on my guitar. (Or, far more likely, 19 chances to catch up for days I don't have time to practice!)

 

Motivation:

 

1 Cor 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

 

I want to set a good example for my children and not be a hypocrite. That doesn't mean perfection, but it does mean making actual commitments and acting on them.  I want to be able to give them good healthy habits so that they wont have the struggles that I've had. And I want them to see me living joyfully for God, not being a grump who doesn't have the energy to play with them.

[Blaidd]

oh that sounds awful.  At the beginning of last year I was having a hard time with stomach problems too.  The only thing that would stay down was MacDonalds fries, literally.  I couldn't stomach anything else. My doctor recommend that I go completely sugar, gluten and dairy free for a while and it seemed to have corrected itself.

 

You might notice that i've added a Rangers' tag to your thread.  This isn't to pigeonhole you into particular guild, but rather to bring one of their ambassadors here to offer you encouragement, support or advice.  Your goals this challenge fit well with the overall spirit of their guild and you are more than welcome to pop into their Tent and introduce yourself to them.  You are also more than welcome to pop me a message anytime. 

 

Good Luck

AB xx

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Welcome, o prospective Ranger!!!  Stop by our tent and get acquainted some time!!!!

 

Are you using any particular plan to prep for the 5K??  

[Randa Rooskie]

A diet of McD's fries sounds awful right now... but my doctor once told me I had to have a milkshake every day.  Best medical advice, EVER.  Of course... I was pregnant and not gaining weight at the time...

 

As for you, Ranger friend, I would use the term "plan" loosely.  I ran cross country for years and have a good idea what I can do to train.  Mix up long distances with shorter sprints, mile repeats, yada yada.  Last year I ran the 5K with my sister (age 11).  It was her first 5K ever and we crossed the line together in about 28 minutes.  My goal this year is to beat that time.  And not become injured.  Or die... 

 

WEEK ONE DAY ONE

 

MAIN QUEST: Live life abundantly.  Here is the scene: Four children under the age of 9 and I are all playing catch outside.  Enter torrential rain from nowhere.  Now four small children and I are running around dancing / sliding / racing through puddles.  My 7 year old climbs a tree and leaps onto the rope swing, throwing himself directly into my 5 year old who decided to run into his path at the very last minute.  5 year old slides face first through huge puddle of mud under rope swing and comes up, unhappy, but unscathed.  Epic.  If that aint living abundantly, I don't know what is!

 

GOALS

1. Trough of salad a day and no food past 8pm.  Trough = consumed.  Late night snack = avoided.

2. 5K Prep - run 3 x week.  Ran sprints today before the rain came.  Then sprinted some more because hey, who doesn't love to run in the rain?

3. Chin ups - get to 6.  Still at three today, but when I couldn't get to four I just hung out up there as high as I could for as long as I could.

 

LIFE QUEST: Memorize notes on guitar.  Day one exercises completed.  Rockin' the E string.

[Randa Rooskie]

MINI QUEST ONE: Smart Goals!

1. Achievable and reasonable – check.

2. Baby steps – check.

3. I could scale back on my first goal and just focus on either (1) Not snacking after 8pm or (2) eating a salad a day – but my diet needs a lot of help and is effecting my daily routines in seriously negative ways. I'm willing to take on those two little things at once to try to kick start me towards healthy habits.

4. Tracking to be done on my challenge thread.

5. Pass / fail – Did I defeat the dragon or didn't I?

6. Injuries? Hm... good point. I could change my Run x 3 / week goal into physical therapy x 3 a week! I guess I'll cross that bridge if I break myself...

7. Nope. Didn't take holidays into consideration. Just checked now and I've got nothing to stop me for the next few weeks.

8. Conflicting goals? Nope.

9. I do have time, however I'd like to wake up earlier to give myself more time. But that, my friends, is a quest for another challenge.

10. Multiple habits. We'll see how that goes.

[Randa Rooskie]

My son's karate instructor is starting a half hour cardio thing right before the kid class.  I'd rather actually be in the martial arts class... but the logistics don't work out.  Maybe I'll give this thing a try.  The first session is next Tuesday.

 

WEEK ONE DAY TWO

 

MAIN QUEST: Live life abundantly.  

 

GOALS

1. Trough of salad a day and no food past 8pm.  Done and done.

2. 5K Prep - run 3 x week.  Today was a rest day, but my little sister asked me to run with her and I couldn't say no.  Sisterly bonding, check.

3. Chin ups - get to 6.  Off day.  Current max = 3. 

 

LIFE QUEST: Memorize notes on guitar.  Day two, enter the A string.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Hey, you're rocking this challenge!!  I hear ya on the the logistics and martial arts classes with kids.  I got into karate because of my daughter, but we did often have to sit through each others' classes.  

[Randa Rooskie]

My oldest is taking the class.  My youngest and I hang out and read books for an hour.  Not a bad deal, but I'd rather be in there with all the kiddos kickin' stuff!

 

WEEK ONE DAY THREE

 

MAIN QUEST: Live life abundantly.  

 

GOALS

1. Trough of salad a day and no food past 8pm.  Ouch on the trough today.  I ate it, but it didn't love me back...  I suspect the new Italian dressing.  Snacks were avoided tonight.

2. 5K Prep - run 3 x week.  Rest day!  Sorta missed the running today... but my body will appreciate it.  Did some serious stretching instead.

3. Chin ups - get to 6.  So I actually looked up some articles on how to achieve this goal today.  Looks like they recommend a lot of rest between serious chin up work outs.  As in four days of rest!?  I did some chin ups this morning and just hung up there as long as I could once I couldn't do any more.  Going to try to incorporate a better plan - fewer reps, more sets.  I might figure this out yet!

 

LIFE QUEST: Memorize notes on guitar.  Day three - the D.  I'm really enjoying playing more, even if it is just finding notes right now.

[Randa Rooskie]

WEEK ONE DAY FOUR

 

MAIN QUEST: Live life abundantly.  Lots of new prayer requests today from friends.  No matter where you go, there is always suffering.  God shows Himself to be strong when we're at our weakest, and when I just don't know how to pray anymore I thank Him for the suffering He went through for us.  I went for my run early today to clear my head and hit "reset."  

 

GOALS

1. Trough of salad a day and no food past 8pm.  Salad loved me more today.  No oily dressing.  No snacking tonight.

2. 5K Prep - run 3 x week.  2 miles in 18:30 sounds really slow... but I'm really trying to ease back into running right now.  My first run is a 1 mile next weekend (with my 5 year old... not exactly Olympic stuff).  After that I think I'll be kicking up the intensity of my runs.  Right now I'm just happy to be out there running more than once a month!

3. Chin ups - get to 6.  Jumped on the bar whenever I passed near it today and just pumped out 2.  (My current max is 3 in a row.)  Did it 8 times for a grand total of 16 chin ups.

 

LIFE QUEST: Memorize notes on guitar.  Day four - String of G.  I'm seeing patterns, but having trouble retaining everything.  Still having fun, though!

[She-Hulk]

You really do have some wonderful goals and you're kicking butt with them too!

 

Alright, now this might be a bit cumbersome to think about right now, but maybe for the next challenge? Do you track your meals at all? I'm a pretty obsessive tracker  which mostly comes from having such a sensitive system and needing to figure out why. Maybe track for a week and like with the dressing, write down when you didn't feel well after eating and what you think that might have to do with. Do it for that week, stop, and then analyze it a bit. Some things may pop out at you. Maybe your sensitive to tomatoes? Could be the acid. Feeling oddly tired after a meal? Maybe that type of carb is not right for you. I definitely wouldn't suggest something like an elimination diet right now (those are tough and not always necessary). But if you're reacting right away, then it may help guide you in the right direction of what you need to avoid. 

 

A lot of our health comes from the gut flora. The one supplement I always suggest to anyone with tummy issues is acidophilus. Whether you get it from taking a capsule, drinking kombucha, eating lots of yoghurt and fermented foods... whatever. Getting that balance back is important. I hope that helps? If you have any questions about it I'm always around and I love talking nutrition and health through food.

 

Oh, and 3 chin ups (even just one)? Wooooooo, I don't even dare to dream of that yet. You go, girl! I'd gladly give up 20 squats for one chin up. ;P For someone who's username is SheHulk, I'm not quite a hulk yet! 

[Randa Rooskie]

WEEK ONE DAY FIVE

 

MAIN QUEST: Live life abundantly.  New perspective on things today:  Every time I eat something that hurts me I've successfully learned one more thing not to eat!  Kind of like Edison learning one more thing that doesn't work for his light bulb... but not nearly as useful to mankind in general...

 

GOALS

1. Trough of salad a day and no food past 8pm.  Salad came late tonight.  I really wasn't hungry at all, but ate anyway because I know if I don't then I'll be ravenous about 9 or 10 tonight.  Committed to not snacking in the evenings and so far so good!

2. 5K Prep - run 3 x week.  Off day.

3. Chin ups - get to 6.  First attempt at an actual chin-up workout.  

Warm up: 100 jumping jacks followed by stretching

4 Sets: 3, 2, 1 chin ups w/15 sec. rest between each rep - 1 min lunges between sets

2 Sets: 2, 1, 1 chin ups w/15 sec. rest between each rep - 1 min lunges between sets

Cool down stretching.

I'm up for suggestions on the workout... plus I don't know for sure I'm using the right terminology with reps and sets etc.  All in all I did 32 chin ups today and six minutes of lunges.

 

LIFE QUEST: Memorize notes on guitar.  Day five - B string.  I get excited every time I play a note on one string and can jump to that note on two or three more.  It is a lot to remember... but I'm still having a lot of fun! 

[Randa Rooskie]

I can sum up my day in two words: "Muffuletta quesadilla."  I don't know what was in it, except for maybe everything that is good and right in the world...

 

WEEK ONE DAY SIX

 

MAIN QUEST: Live life abundantly.  I was low on abundance most of today.  My son's karate test went 4 hours this morning because there were so many people testing.  Most of that time was just watching other people go through their forms and all.  Interesting!  But not four hours worth of interesting... stick a fork in me, I was done.  Immediately following the test I received a message from my sister that I should go downtown to eat something called a muffuletta quesadilla.  Who can argue with that?  Except that there was some sort of festival going on... meaning PEOPLE were there... and large crowds of aimlessly wandering people drain me.  Get a bunch of people together to accomplish something and I'm stoked!  Put me in a mindless crowd and I need a hole to crawl into...  Add to that a trip to Walmart and I was completely worthless by the time I got home.

 

The good news?  Instead of crawling into bed I went out for a run, ate a trough of salad, and played around on the guitar.  Booyah goals!  Abundance!

 

GOALS

1. Trough of salad a day and no food past 8pm.  Another late salad that I forced down to avoid hunger later this evening and to get in my trough a day.  Hunger placated with water after 8pm.

2. 5K Prep - run 3 x week.  Yet another 2 miles in 18:30.  At least I'm consistent?  Ha. Started seriously slow today because I felt awful.  4 min easy, 1 min sprint for two miles. 

3. Chin ups - get to 6.  Rest - yesterday was intense on the chin ups so I'm taking a break.

 

LIFE QUEST: Memorize notes on guitar.  Day six - E string... again!  Yeay for having two strings that match!  So I've gone over each of the six strings on my guitar and I can find every note on every string.  It just takes a while... haha.  Still have plenty of exercises left to do in this challenge that should help me see the patterns faster.

[Randa Rooskie]

You really do have some wonderful goals and you're kicking butt with them too!

 

Alright, now this might be a bit cumbersome to think about right now, but maybe for the next challenge? Do you track your meals at all? I'm a pretty obsessive tracker  which mostly comes from having such a sensitive system and needing to figure out why. Maybe track for a week and like with the dressing, write down when you didn't feel well after eating and what you think that might have to do with. Do it for that week, stop, and then analyze it a bit. Some things may pop out at you. Maybe your sensitive to tomatoes? Could be the acid. Feeling oddly tired after a meal? Maybe that type of carb is not right for you. I definitely wouldn't suggest something like an elimination diet right now (those are tough and not always necessary). But if you're reacting right away, then it may help guide you in the right direction of what you need to avoid. 

 

A lot of our health comes from the gut flora. The one supplement I always suggest to anyone with tummy issues is acidophilus. Whether you get it from taking a capsule, drinking kombucha, eating lots of yoghurt and fermented foods... whatever. Getting that balance back is important. I hope that helps? If you have any questions about it I'm always around and I love talking nutrition and health through food.

 

Oh, and 3 chin ups (even just one)? Wooooooo, I don't even dare to dream of that yet. You go, girl! I'd gladly give up 20 squats for one chin up. ;P For someone who's username is SheHulk, I'm not quite a hulk yet! 

 

I've tried tracking my meals before.  The problem is, I'll eat dairy one day and feel terrible, but the next day when I try it just to be sure I feel amazing.  I can't seem to find good patterns... I might be onto something with this oil reaction though.  I have gall bladder issues and I think maybe the high-fat oils going directly in (like oil and vinegar on my sandwich and oily salad dressings) causes at least some of my problems.  I tried an elimination sort of diet where you cut out the 7 most notorious reaction-causing foods.  I didn't feel better after two weeks... and I missed all my favorite foods!  Keeping a record of what I eat is useful though and I should get back into it.  Thanks!

 

Oh yeah, and I am on a heavy-duty probiotic.   Bifidophilus something or another.

 

Maybe if we combined your insane leg strength and my less-insane 3 chin ups we'd make a whole hulk!

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

I hope you find the right balance of foods.  Fat and gall bladder problems don't mix well for sure.  But figuring out what else is a problem is hard.  Hang in there!!

[Randa Rooskie]

WEEK ONE DAY SEVEN

 

MAIN QUEST: Live life abundantly.  I have a terrible feeling of being overwhelmed tonight and really wanted nothing more than to go and eat.. and eat... and eat!  Knowing that I would have to face up to it on this thread helped prevent me from going nuts by self-soothing with food.  

 

GOALS

1. Trough of salad a day and no food past 8pm.  Salad - check.  No snacking tonight either (thanks to feeling accountable to people on the forum!) though I did have some junk tonight I know I shouldn't have eaten.  Junk food is like a gateway drug for me leading to all kinds of bad things - depressing thoughts, other bad habits, laziness...

2. 5K Prep - run 3 x week.  Rest day.  Less than a week to my one mile fun run with the boys!

3. Chin ups - get to 6.  Still resting from Friday.  I'd rather take it easy than hurt myself.

 

LIFE QUEST: Memorize notes on guitar.  Learning how to find octaves jumping from one string to another.  I'm going to need more than one day for this one...

[Randa Rooskie]

I hope you find the right balance of foods.  Fat and gall bladder problems don't mix well for sure.  But figuring out what else is a problem is hard.  Hang in there!!

 

Thanks, Chris-Tien!  Your encouragement is coming at just the right time tonight.  Here's how I feel:

 

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

I'm glad the accountability short-circuited the eating cycle!!  What else can help you de-stress when you're overwhelmed?

[Randa Rooskie]

A Time to Talk - Robert Frost

 

When a friend calls to me from the road

And slows his horse to a meaning walk,

I don't stand still and look around

On all the hills I haven't hoed,

And shout from where I am, "What is it?"

No, not as there is a time to talk.

I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,

Blade-end up and five feet tall,

And plod: I go up to the stone wall 

For a friendly visit.

 

Yesterday was a strange day for my exercise goals.  I kicked a minute off my run thanks to running into a neighbor.  I'd gone one mile already when I spotted him standing by the road waiting to be picked up.  I was tempted to wave and keep on running, but I remembered this Robert Frost poem, "A Time to Talk," and I decided to stop my watch and visit for a minute.  It really was only a minute or two before his ride showed up and I was so glad to have stopped.  God put me here for relationships, not for awesome run times.  Well... maybe both... eventually... I hope!  Anyway, I had a break between miles so I finished my run in about 17:30.  Yikes!  I know people who run THREE miles in that time!  Baby steps, right?

 

Also, yesterday I tried to max out on chin ups and I did six!  Which means I finished my side quest?!  I'm not giving myself points for that!  I guess I just wasn't pushing myself before or something.  I'm still thinking about how to fix this.  Maybe I'll add doing 6 pull ups to the quest since pull ups are much harder for me and I still have a few weeks left?  Or maybe getting to where I can do 6 chin ups with no problem.  Dunno yet.

 

I'm ready to start experimenting with my salads a little more, but have had no problem getting a big one in every day.  Also, still avoiding the snacks past 8pm.

[Randa Rooskie]

I'm glad the accountability short-circuited the eating cycle!!  What else can help you de-stress when you're overwhelmed?

 

Lately I've been running to de-stress... which has been great for my questing goals!  I'll also go find a quiet spot in the house to practice my guitar when I feel like I need a few minutes of time to myself.

[Minna]

Just catching up on your thread. Sorry to hear you have gallbladder issues! That can make eating a pain, literally. I had mine out in April after an excruciating attack out of nowhere, after a lifetime of no problems whatsoever. Gallbladders are weird. 

[Randa Rooskie]

I wish I could click "like" on that post multiple times, Minna!  Haha.  I agree, gallbladders ARE weird.  

 

My run today?  Jog about half a mile, 4 x 100 meter (ish - no track) sprints with a short break between each, and jog another 1/2 mile.  Best part of my run?  My 5 year old running behind me on the sprints going, "I'll meet you at the fence, Mamma!!" and being super excited even though he never won.  One of these days I'll be chasing after him!  I also did a few sets of chin ups today and made sure I didn't do any fewer than four each time.  

 

Oh, and I tried a salad recipe from the forum today and loved it!  Massage some avocado into kale and spinach and top it all with bacon, hard boiled egg, and some rotisserie chicken I had in the fridge.  Yum!

[Randa Rooskie]

No running today, but I got in some stretching, push ups, kicks, chin ups and such.  I went hard on the chin ups and didn't give myself enough recovery time at first.  Once I chilled out a bit I was able to do much better.

 

I redid the kale/avocado/bacon-y goodness of a salad I had yesterday and loved it all over again.  I also made chicken noodle soup because I've felt terrible the past few days.  I actually lost my voice this morning and had to whisper to my children, which made them whisper back, which made me giggle!  My one mile fun run is coming up on Saturday.  I'm excited to see how my kiddos enjoy it.

[She-Hulk]

I'm currently in a ball of blankets and pillows on my bed trying to keep my eyes open...

But I wanted to stop in and remind you of your brilliant fortitude! Also, if you can find it... elderflower tea is the absolute best for kicking a bug (or elderberry syrup). ...and a steam with water and fennel or rosemary. Hot water in a bowl, put the floaty bits in... throw a towel over your head and breathe. (insert thumbs up here) 

 

I have some salad recipes for you too but i'll post the links to them tomorrow. Is a Pinterest board of them okay? I keep a collection.

[Randa Rooskie]

Still getting in my salads.  Today was more like a pile of greens topped with a fruit salad... grapes, banana, kiwi... but it counts!  Also, kickin' the guitar challenge.  I would have skipped playing on more than one occasion this week, what with feeling so sick and all, but I like having this challenge going to motivate me.  It also helps that I feel like I'm learning a lot!

 

 

I'm currently in a ball of blankets and pillows on my bed trying to keep my eyes open...

But I wanted to stop in and remind you of your brilliant fortitude! Also, if you can find it... elderflower tea is the absolute best for kicking a bug (or elderberry syrup). ...and a steam with water and fennel or rosemary. Hot water in a bowl, put the floaty bits in... throw a towel over your head and breathe. (insert thumbs up here) 

 

I have some salad recipes for you too but i'll post the links to them tomorrow. Is a Pinterest board of them okay? I keep a collection.

 

Pintrest is definitely okay, SheHulk.  I have tried several flavors of tea and haven't yet found one that I enjoy.  That being said, I'd take it like medicine if it would remove this feeling of having something's talons simultaneously gripping my throat and burning it!  Blarg!  

 

Seriously unmotivated today to exercise since I'm sick - taking it as a rest day before my 'big' one mile run of fun tomorrow morning.  I'm taking a 5, 7, 9, and 11 year old with me on this one.  It's like having my own little possy!  Only... they really are "little."  There will be much fun and food awaiting us at the end of this race.  I just hope I'm feeling well enough to enjoy it!

[She-Hulk]

SALADDD!

 

Ah, yeah, not everyone's a fan of the teas. Definitely take some vitamin C at least. Sometimes I'll just squeeze the juice of half an orange into some hot water and add a bit of honey. It definitely takes the edge off. =]

Good luck on the run! Maybe you and your posse can get matching running jackets! That'd be so fun. :3