Katydid is back with a vengeance! (Challenge 2.1)

[Katydid]

Hi all!  So I dropped out of the last challenge pretty early after trying to change my entire diet at once and utterly failing like this:

 

 

In the past few weeks I've been focusing on being more in tune with my body and paying attention to what I can improve and how difficult it is.  I'm ready to give it another go!

 

Main quest: Stay healthy and active while learning how to listen to my body and work with it, not against it, to take care of myself.

 

So I really like rock-climbing.  But lately I've developed some tendonitis in my elbows.   So I'm working with my doctor to try to fix that, which sometimes involves taking breaks from climbing/strength training with my arms.  This makes me sad and I haven't been doing anything to replace those workouts.  I want to fix that and find something to cheer myself up while I'm not in top shape.   I also want to renew focus on my diet, while moving slowly enough so that I don't crash and burn like last time.

 

Quest 1: Do something deliberately active at least 3 days a week.  If this is too easy I may increase it to 4 or 5 days.  By "deliberately active" I mean an activity that I do specifically for exercise, as opposed to the walking and biking I do scattered throughout the day just to get around campus.

Grading: 3 active sessions/week = A; 2 sessions = B; 1 or no sessions = C

 

Quest 2: No more than 2 sugary drinks per week.  Last challenge I tried to change too many aspects of my diet at once; I think this particular aspect is a good small place to start.  Permitted alternatives to sugary drinks: water, nonfat milk or unsweetened plant-based milks, tea or coffee (with or without milk, but no sweetener), wine.  The last is allowed as a least-evil alcoholic beverage.  It does have sugar, but it's a lot better than the mixed drinks I make for myself otherwise   I'm also allowing smoothies if they're replacing a snack as a way to add produce.

Grading: 2 or fewer drinks/week = A; 3 or 4 drinks/week = B; 5 or more drinks = C

 

Quest 3: Practice my splits at least 5 days a week.  Achieving front splits was my New Year's Resolution this year.  I've come a long way toward achieving it, but it's fallen off the priority list in the last few weeks, and there are only a couple of months left until the new year!  My ultimate goal is to be able to sit in the splits (at least on my left side) without supporting my weight on my hands.

Grading: Practice 5 or more days/week = A; 3 or 4 days = B; 2 or fewer days = C

 

I'll be posting "before" pictures soon of where I am with the splits.

 

 

Life quest: Christmas gifts!  I am terrible at thinking of good gifts.  It doesn't help that I have a boyfriend, four brothers and one genderfluid sibling - women are so much easier to buy for! >.<  So my life quest this challenge is to decide on and buy or make Christmas gifts for: parents, 5 siblings, boyfriend, best friend, and a host gift for my boyfriend's family since I'm spending Christmas with them this year.  That's ten gifts, so at a rate of two gifts per week I should be good.

Grading: Achieve 9-10 gifts = A; 6-8 gifts = B; 5 or fewer gifts = C

 

Let's go!

 

(Yes this challenge will be full of Fruits Basket gifs...you're welcome)

[SugarRay]

Hey there, fellow rock climber! =D

 

Tendinitis sucks. When I first started out I had to take a lot of time off all my physical activities because my blasted elbows kept complaining. However, tendinitis comes and goes, I hope you'll be up on that wall as soon as possible.

 

I have a work-out routine I carry out whenever I've injured my arms that's based around leg and core strength; as you know, super important parts of any rock-climber's conditioning. Maybe such a workout is what you need for your first quest? It'll definitely help when you return to climbing if you have a rock-solid core and powerful legs.

 

In any case, best of luck with your challenge, especially on those splits! Man, splits are terrifying.

I'll be dropping in every once a while to see how you're doing! =D

[Nymeria]

Hooray for rock climbing, and boo for injuries that prevent you from climbing.  If you ever feel frustrated and want a sympathetic ear, you can always message me.  I had to take a 7 month long break from climbing due to an ACL reconstruction, and I'm still not quite in full form, so I can totally relate to any injury angst.  

 

In the meantime, leg and core work, as well as yoga/mobility would help with your climbing when you're eventually cleared to come back to it.  Also, I know it sucks and isn't quite the same, but you could possibly climb using an auto belay.  A lot of them give 30-40 lbs of assist, which should alleviate some of the strain on your elbows.  

 

Good luck with your goals, and I'm really sorry about the tendonitis.   

[The.Introverted.Goddess]

Great challenge! Way to reevaluate and see where you needed to take a step back. Can't wait to see your progress!

 

Sub'd

[Trembriele]

I love that you're working on listening, too! I wish I had thought of incorporating Christmas presents into my challenge . . . . Agh! I will be eagerly following to see your progress.

[Ciara]

Hey Katydid! Welcome back~ I'm sorry about your elbows. I crunched my knee and had to take a few weeks off parkour so I feel you on that one Go get those splits! I did splits practice tonight. It's not part of my challenge but maybe it should be in the next one... Subbed!

[Katydid]

Hey there, fellow rock climber! =D

 

Tendinitis sucks. When I first started out I had to take a lot of time off all my physical activities because my blasted elbows kept complaining. However, tendinitis comes and goes, I hope you'll be up on that wall as soon as possible.

 

I have a work-out routine I carry out whenever I've injured my arms that's based around leg and core strength; as you know, super important parts of any rock-climber's conditioning. Maybe such a workout is what you need for your first quest? It'll definitely help when you return to climbing if you have a rock-solid core and powerful legs.

 

In any case, best of luck with your challenge, especially on those splits! Man, splits are terrifying.

I'll be dropping in every once a while to see how you're doing! =D

 

Thanks!  It's not too bad right now and I'm cleared to climb every 4-5 days with rest and ice in between.  Hopefully if I stick to that things won't get worse.  I do need to come up with a leg/core workout to keep me busy on my off days.

 

 

Hooray for rock climbing, and boo for injuries that prevent you from climbing.  If you ever feel frustrated and want a sympathetic ear, you can always message me.  I had to take a 7 month long break from climbing due to an ACL reconstruction, and I'm still not quite in full form, so I can totally relate to any injury angst.  

 

In the meantime, leg and core work, as well as yoga/mobility would help with your climbing when you're eventually cleared to come back to it.  Also, I know it sucks and isn't quite the same, but you could possibly climb using an auto belay.  A lot of them give 30-40 lbs of assist, which should alleviate some of the strain on your elbows.  

 

Good luck with your goals, and I'm really sorry about the tendonitis.  

 

Thanks!  I'm cleared for sparse climbing right now so it's just a matter of keeping busy so I'm not tempted to go more than once or twice a week.  I love yoga and am thinking of adding some of that in.

 

Great challenge! Way to reevaluate and see where you needed to take a step back. Can't wait to see your progress!

 

Sub'd

 

Thanks!

 

I love that you're working on listening, too! I wish I had thought of incorporating Christmas presents into my challenge . . . . Agh! I will be eagerly following to see your progress.

 

Thank you!  Yeah I'm quite proud of that challenge.  I have a tendency to just wander around the mall the week before Christmas and choose things at random, and I'd like to be more thoughtful than that.

 

Hey Katydid! Welcome back~ I'm sorry about your elbows. I crunched my knee and had to take a few weeks off parkour so I feel you on that one Go get those splits! I did splits practice tonight. It's not part of my challenge but maybe it should be in the next one... Subbed!

 

Thanks Ciara!  I'm excited to be back!

[GingaNinja]

Hey Katy awesome looking challenge! Good luck!

[Carly Rae Jepsens Warlock]

This sounds amazeballs! Must. Subscribe. At. Once.

This message was convincingly brought to you by,"my imaginative brain", co-produced by "my nimble but bulbous fingers".

[Lilith]

Oooh rock climber! Your injury sucks! Can I ask in hindsight why you think you got it? I have never gotten a climbing injury, and I would REALLY like to keep it that way... 

 

I'll be following you the coming challenge! 

[SugarRay]

I was thinking about your tendinitis yesterday and realized that I forgot to suggest a few techniques that seemed to help me a lot.

 

http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/therapy-can

 

My pain only really stopped after I started doing the method above more regularly, especially the trigger point therapy part. The guy who recommended this to me said that if he'd known about it earlier he could have saved himself years of pain.

 

You might actually be doing the methods there already! This is just in case you hadn't heard of them. Again, best of luck with your recovery, hope to see you better soon.

[NicTheRugger]

Hey there! Long time no see! Glad to see you back on the forum I hope your tendonitis goes away soon! It sounds dreadful  

 

Sub'd and will be following! 

 

Also, I love the Fruits Basket theme. I hadn't even thought of the series in years, but now that I saw the gifs, I was instantly reminded of how much I loved it, once upon a time! 

[Katydid]

Hey Katy awesome looking challenge! Good luck!

Thanks KL!

 

This sounds amazeballs! Must. Subscribe. At. Once.

This message was convincingly brought to you by,"my imaginative brain", co-produced by "my nimble but bulbous fingers".

 

Yay, good to see you!

 

Oooh rock climber! Your injury sucks! Can I ask in hindsight why you think you got it? I have never gotten a climbing injury, and I would REALLY like to keep it that way... 

 

I'll be following you the coming challenge! 

 

I think it was just I got too excited and was climbing more often than I should have been.  My arms are my weakest part and my technique wasn't developed enough to know how to not strain them.

 

I was thinking about your tendinitis yesterday and realized that I forgot to suggest a few techniques that seemed to help me a lot.

 

http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/therapy-can

 

My pain only really stopped after I started doing the method above more regularly, especially the trigger point therapy part. The guy who recommended this to me said that if he'd known about it earlier he could have saved himself years of pain.

 

You might actually be doing the methods there already! This is just in case you hadn't heard of them. Again, best of luck with your recovery, hope to see you better soon.

 

I'll have to look into those, thanks!  I love massages but haven't learned how to self-massage, this looks useful.

 

Hey there! Long time no see! Glad to see you back on the forum I hope your tendonitis goes away soon! It sounds dreadful

 

Sub'd and will be following! 

 

Also, I love the Fruits Basket theme. I hadn't even thought of the series in years, but now that I saw the gifs, I was instantly reminded of how much I loved it, once upon a time! 

 

I was a big fan in junior high.  Thought it was about time to bring it back

[Katydid]

Day 1

 

Today was a bit of an up-and-down day for me mood-wise.  I was glad for friends (including Ciara) who were able to help me through some things.

 

Quest 1: I thought about running this morning but realized I really didn't want to, so I went and did the stairclimber at the gym instead.  I was able to prop my book on the machine which made the 20 mins of stairs fly by!  I think I can even turn up the intensity next time; "moderate" was too easy.  1/3 complete this week.

 

Quest 2: No sugary drinks today!  I'm teaching myself to drink unsweetened tea.  I had earl grey hot with a bit of milk in the afternoon, and then in my a cappella rehearsal my director was really nice and bought us all teas, and I chose an unsweetened black ice tea.  I was really proud of that.  We almost got boba later too but luckily for me the place was closed so I didn't have to exert willpower to get an unsweet one.  0/2 max this week.

 

Quest 3: I practiced splits after I got back from the gym.  I also got my friend to take awkward "before" photos of me, as promised.  1/5 complete this week.

 

Left side:

 

 

 

Right side:

 

 

With a pillow because I have bruised knees.  Also bonus awkward "I'm having my photo taken" Kate faces.

 

Life quest:  Did not think about this today.  Hopefully will get to it tomorrow.

 

Ok now I really need to sleep.

[Lilith]

Oooh nice you are really flexible!

[jaex]

Glad to see you back for another challenge!  Definitely subbed.

 

Nice flexibilty!

[Katydid]

Oooh nice you are really flexible!

 

Thanks!  It helps that I've been working on it for 8 months lol.  I am proud and hope to make even more progress during this challenge!

 

Glad to see you back for another challenge!  Definitely subbed.

 

Nice flexibilty!

 

Good to see you, jaex!  I legit have memories of doing gymnastics as like an 8-year-old child and being jealous of another little girl who could do splits...I'm definitely closer now than I've ever been in my life, which is exciting

[Katydid]

Day 2

 

I'm proud of myself today because some unexpected free cookies crossed my path during an event for a class, and I successfully resisted them!  They were calling me but I refused, just like Yuki refusing female affection.

 

 

Anyway, now that I've worked in a random FB gif, on to the quest updates!

 

Quest 1: I went climbing today with my friend Nick.  It was a tough day for both of us for some reason, but I finished my first 5.9 route!  Still on V0s for bouldering, though...hopefully I'll work on that again later this week. 2/3 complete.

 

Quest 2: One sugary drink is in my future still today; my BF went out to dinner without me so to compensate he brought me home a boba.  It's earl grey with half sugar which is better than the full sugar teas I usually get, but I'm still counting it. 1/2 max.

 

Quest 3: Practiced splits again today after climbing!  It's so relaxing.  So painful, but so relaxing.  2/5 complete.

 

Life quest: I figured out what I want to get my 12-year-old bro.  He's into board games so I'm thinking of getting him Munchkin - any other Munchkin fans out there?  Still need to buy it though so no counting it yet.  0/2 complete this week.

 

Assassin mini-quest 1: Did 200 high-knees!  Embarrassed myself while taking a study break at a table outside a cafe, but it was worth it.

[Trembriele]

It looks like you're rocking this challenge (bad pun intended). I'm so excited to see your split progress and may be inspired to work them into a future challenge for myself. I have fond memories of myself as a child practicing my splits in front of the TV.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nymeria]

Congrats on the 5.9!  It looks like you're really close to getting those splits, too.  

[jaex]

Day 2

 

I'm proud of myself today because some unexpected free cookies crossed my path during an event for a class, and I successfully resisted them!  They were calling me but I refused, just like Yuki refusing female affection.

 

Your continuing willpower against free treats is awe-inspiring.  It seemed last challenge that you were having to turn down food left and right and did so successfuly.  

[Katydid]

It looks like you're rocking this challenge (bad pun intended). I'm so excited to see your split progress and may be inspired to work them into a future challenge for myself. I have fond memories of myself as a child practicing my splits in front of the TV.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks!  I like to put on NPR while I'm practicing.  It's about the only way I get the news anymore xD

 

Congrats on the 5.9!  It looks like you're really close to getting those splits, too.  

 

Thanks!  The 5.9 was super intense; I was really exhausted by the top and my arms almost gave out when I just had one hold left but I just basically refused to quit and beasted it...I'm glad my elbows don't hurt today, I was worried I pushed too hard but I think I've gotten stronger

 

Your continuing willpower against free treats is awe-inspiring.  It seemed last challenge that you were having to turn down food left and right and did so successfuly.  

 

Well I'm going to my BF's parents' house for Christmas right before the end of the challenge so we'll see how it goes then...BF's mom is the source of all free food.

[NicTheRugger]

Great job, so far! You are so flexible, I'm actually rather jealous. Also, 5.9= Super Impressive! 

 

Well I'm going to my BF's parents' house for Christmas right before the end of the challenge so we'll see how it goes then...BF's mom is the source of all free food.

Free food = life (read: only way I can sustain myself when I don't have money to buy food)

[Lilith]

Very brave doing the high knees randomly like that! I like doing mini exercises too, it makes me more motivated and active throughout the day, and I'd like to think that every squat/burpee/highknee counts! 

[Ciara]

Munchkin!!!!!