Crooked's Comeback

[Crooked]

Hello friends! And also hello everyone else I've never met! Creating a thread to hold myself accountable and get myself back into the challenge. Details to come.

[wildross]

We're waiting!!

[Crooked]

We're waiting!!

Awww thanks Here goes a MEGA post!

[Crooked]

BACKGROUND

I thought it would be helpful to provide some background information so people can get to know me. Regarding my evolution in terms of fitness, after college I discovered Crossfit and did that for about a year and a half. In law school, I’ve been pretty much faffing around with my fitness for more than two years. I’ve been lifting, but inconsistently. I joined a yoga studio for three months and then fell off, even though I loved it. I did a bit of running, a bit of walking, a lot of nothing at all, and I really want this to be the year that I get focused and get it all together.

In terms of my diet, I’ve had issues with body image for years and struggled with disordered eating, mostly when I was younger. In college I was a vegetarian and after college I found paleo at a similar time to starting Crossfit (though one didn’t lead to the other: I got into Crossfit because there was a gym in my town, but my brother began eating paleo in January 2010 and I got on board a year and a half later after dealing with health issues). I’ve been eating paleo for almost four years now (or my version of paleo, which sometimes includes white rice and buckwheat because I’m trying to balance feeling consistently healthy with living a little), but I have some weird food issues that I’m still trying to work through. Specifically, I get weird food aversions where the thought of any food at all or a specific food is completely disgusting to me, so I eat raisins for dinner or something like that. I find I do much, much better when I am diligent with weekly food prep so I have lots of ready-to-go options to play with. It’s often when my fridge only has unprepared ingredients and the most easily accessible foods are sardines that my food aversions are most debilitating, because I have the fewest options.

Finally, miscellaneous life things. I’m in my final year of law school. After law school, I am fortunate enough to be working at a big law firm, which will have extremely busy hours; it’s important to me to get my ducks in a row now so I can hopefully maintain good habits at the firm. I have plantar fasciitis, meaning I have pretty regular foot pain that I’m trying to work on with stretching and strengthening exercises. My boyfriend (called Boyfriend) is currently doing a master’s program long distance from me, so as I write this I am visiting him while on my winter break from school.

Whew. So that was a lot, but I hope it helps you have a sense of who I am and where I’m coming from as I approach this challenge.

GOALS

I’m splitting my challenge into three segments: vacation, pre-semester and semester. I also have some goals that span the entire challenge (just basic life things that I'm already working on). While I’m out of town, my goals are extremely limited. Once I’m back home and prepping for the semester, everything ramps up a bit.

Entire challenge:

• Steps: At least 8000 steps per day
• Suppleness: Ten minutes stretching per day
• Sleep: Eight hours sleep per night

Vacation:

• Strength/stamina: Three metcons while I’m here. I don’t have anything specific in mind; I just want to boost my heartrate a bit before I jump into a big exercise program on my return.
• Sustenance: Take pictures of everything I eat. I don’t have any specific diet goals while I’m on vacation, but I want to test a theory that I will snack less if I have to take a picture every time I want to take a bite.
• Studying: Finish editing the article I’ve been working on with a professor.

Pre-semester:

• Strength: Test my max lifts for beginning Wendler 5/3/1; plan my workouts for the first cycle of Wendler, including writing out all my main lift numbers and deciding on accessory work in advance so I don’t have to choose when I get to the gym.
• Stamina: One long-ish run; one long-ish erg.
• Sustenance: Order all the foods and fats I want to have on hand for reverting to strict paleo; do a big cookup before school starts
• Studying: Buy all my school books; read for the first week of classes
• Social: Send holiday messages and life updates to my mentors; reread Midnight’s Children for book club.

Semester:

This is where it gets a little tough, but I’m hoping a long weekend to prep pre-semester will be helpful. Boyfriend pointed out that I have been at my happiest when I have been working out consistently. As such, I am planning to try to go to the gym six days per week. I’m not worried about over-training but will of course be constantly evaluating my program and my plan.

• Strength: Four days per week Wendler 5/3/1 with accessory lifts based on some advice from KnightWatch (thanks KW!).
• Stamina: Two runs per week; one long erg per week and one erg sprint per week on the days I do upper body for Wendler.
• Sustenance: Strict paleo! I’ve been pretty paleo for a while. I want to take it to the next level and be really serious about what I eat for a while to see if it has an effect on my body composition. This also requires weekly grocery shops and cookups.
• Structure: Stick to the schedule I have created for the semester; work when I say I’m going to work (and break when I say I’m going to break). One of my biggest issues has been ineffectiveness at compartmentalizing: I’m not fully efficient when I’m working, meaning I drag out the time when I’m sitting at my desk half-working, and then when I take time off my brain is partially back with everything I still have to get done. I’m trying to improve on that front by sticking to a stable schedule.

So! Got all that? My basic plan for the semester is to lift four days per week, erg two days per week (on lifting days), run two days per week (on non-lifting days), do one weekly cookup, stick to the study/life schedule I've created, stretch and sleep enough. Everything else is basically working to get me ready for that point. If you have made it this far, you are AWESOME and I thank you for riding out this long and self-indulgent post. I hope to see you around!

[nightlight]

CROOKED.

 

i love your "take pictures of everything i eat" on vaca.

i might steal that.

[Crooked]

CROOKED.

 

i love your "take pictures of everything i eat" on vaca.

i might steal that.

 

HI HI HI FRIEND!

 

 

Adding to my goals: Work out with nightlight again!

[CourtnieMarie]

welcome back! you always have such a crazy schedule. i worry you're overloading yourself... only because i got overwhlemed just reading your post! lol

 

but as you and Boyfriend said, it sounds like your happiest when you're working out and with your schedule that requires big planning! you got this!

[Crooked]

welcome back! you always have such a crazy schedule. i worry you're overloading yourself... only because i got overwhlemed just reading your post! lol

 

but as you and Boyfriend said, it sounds like your happiest when you're working out and with your schedule that requires big planning! you got this!

Thank you!

 

I am always a little bit overloading myself, but honestly I do think that's how I thrive.

 

The major way I've tried to avoid being overwhelmed is through not setting outcome goals (squat X weight, etc.). You'll notice that I have set goals that involve repeatedly doing things I think are beneficial instead. Consistency is one of the biggest things I need to work on, so I'm trying to drill that without giving myself any expectations about outcomes.

[Crooked]

Yesterday recap:

* Steps: We took over 8000 (but not by much)

* Suppleness: Stretched for fifteen minutes while watching the West Wing

* Sleep: Yesterday I got just over 8 hours

* Sustenance: I took pictures of everything I ate. It was a high carb (in the form of vegetables, squash, rice and fruit) day.

* Studying: I spent 5 hours and 48 minutes working on the article for my professor.

Other thoughts: I got an e-mail from someone I work with/for that was difficult. The tone was extremely harsh and critical, but I agreed with a lot of the substance of the critique. It was really difficult for me to disaggregate my emotional reaction to the tone from my rational reaction to the content. Normally I would also have a lot of self-esteem issues with receiving something that critical, but I knew the critiques were not a reflection on my work but on that of others. Still, it's never fun to hear from someone who obviously thinks you're an idiot.

Overall a low-key day. I was pleased with how much work I got done.

[lwow]

Every time I see your thread:

 

Nice work on the first day, and good job with the work email situation. I've been there, and something that has helped me is that often the person critiquing genuinely wants to help, but doesn't communicate so well. I'm not sure if it is the case here, but it might help to pretend that it is

[Crooked]

Every time I see your thread:

 

Nice work on the first day, and good job with the work email situation. I've been there, and something that has helped me is that often the person critiquing genuinely wants to help, but doesn't communicate so well. I'm not sure if it is the case here, but it might help to pretend that it is

YESSSS I love it!

 

I appreciate the idea! Based on my past interactions with this person I do not think that the tone is simply a failure of communication but rather goes more to what the person's underlying opinion of me is. That said, I am feeling much more zen about this recent e-mail than I have during our prior conversations, which I think is probably a good sign in terms of my own professional and personal development. Something I've never been that good at is dealing with criticism, so being able to receive a really critical e-mail and deal with it without getting too emotional or hurt is a good thing. I'll call it an unplanned mini-challenge

[nightlight]

HI HI HI FRIEND!

 

 

Adding to my goals: Work out with nightlight again!

YES

[Crooked]

DAY TWO RECAP

 

Steps:

I don't think we're going to hit our goal unless we go for a late-night walk. It was raining and we worked from home today so I'm only at about 6000 so far.

 

Suppleness:

Stretched first thing in the morning and it felt great. We might stretch some more before bed.

 

Sleep:

I got more than eight hours but it wasn't the best or least-anxious sleep I've ever had. Lot of weird anxiety dreams.

 

Strength/stamina:

I did a TINY metcon this afternoon in Boyfriend's apartment and it was really tough. My conditioning and overall fitness have kind of tanked. I guess that's what happens when you barely work out or do anything cardiovascularly taxing for a while.

 

8m AMRAP

10 squats

10 push-ups

10 sit-ups

_____

7 rounds (finished my final sit-up as the buzzer had already started but I'll take it)

 

Sustenance:

I didn't take pictures of everything I ate, so I'll list it here for accountability:

breakfast: four eggs scrambled in butter; hot water with lemon

lunch: cod filet; new potatoes; small side salad (carrots, pineapple, tomatoes, sunflower seeds); green apple

snack: banana, two handfuls mixed nuts

dinner: salmon, sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes with fig balsamic vinegar and oven roasted root vegetables and asparagus

[anticipated] dessert: we'll probably have one or two squares of 86% dark chocolate and a plum over the West Wing before bed.

 

Studying: 

Only worked on the article today for about an hour but I have a bit more time left in the day.

 

Thoughts:

It was a good day! I'm pleased I forced myself to work out, and I'm happy with the food choices I made. In particular I was proud of the dinner I cooked; it was really delicious and filling. A little annoyed about the step count because it means I just didn't do much moving today (6000 steps is a bit under 3 miles of walking) and the amount of work I did on the article, but on the whole it was a nice slow day. This challenge isn't starting off with a bang—a new workout program or a Whole 30 or anything—but maybe that will make it more sustainable.

[CourtnieMarie]

That dinner sounds AMAZING! And cardio, man. I think it took me a good 6 months to work up to being able to jog a whole mile without stopping to walk in between... but i DID get there!!

[Crooked]

That dinner sounds AMAZING! And cardio, man. I think it took me a good 6 months to work up to being able to jog a whole mile without stopping to walk in between... but i DID get there!!

 

It was extremely delicious. 

 

Ordered some new running shoes. Hoping to go for one of those jog (yog?) things if they come today. Well, "hoping" is a strong word. "Considering" might be closer.

[Balthazar]

I think sometimes the best challenges don't start with a bang, those challenges - for me at least - tend to be the one's where it becomes hard to not fall off the wagon

 

Best challenges, I reckon, are the ones that start slow but keep on rolling and building and gaining momentum throughout the challenge so that you finish strong

[Crooked]

I think sometimes the best challenges don't start with a bang, those challenges - for me at least - tend to be the one's where it becomes hard to not fall off the wagon

Best challenges, I reckon, are the ones that start slow but keep on rolling and building and gaining momentum throughout the challenge so that you finish strong

I'm inclined to agree. I also have a tendency to disappear mid-challenge so hopefully the slower pace of this one will keep me consistent!

[CourtnieMarie]

do you have a recipe for the fig balsamic vinegar and oven roasted veggies? I'm always looking to improve my veggie roasting technique (why can't it ALWAYS come out completely cooked through with just a bit of char??!)

[Crooked]

do you have a recipe for the fig balsamic vinegar and oven roasted veggies? I'm always looking to improve my veggie roasting technique (why can't it ALWAYS come out completely cooked through with just a bit of char??!)

The fig balsamic vinegar came in a bottle

 

Honestly I don't. I threw all the vegetables on a pan with a lot of butter and put them in the oven at an unknown temperature for an unknown amount of time. When they looked yummy and the potatoes were cooked through I took them out. I'm really terrible at being super precise about my cooking, but I agree that the variability can be frustrating! 

[Balthazar]

For some reason I just got a mental picture of you family ign your cooking. Rolling dice to see how many minutes you would leave it in for and more dice to select a temperature

[Crooked]

For some reason I just got a mental picture of you family ign your cooking. Rolling dice to see how many minutes you would leave it in for and more dice to select a temperature

That's not so far off! It's worked pretty well thus far

[Crooked]

DAY THREE RECAP

Steps:

Over 11,000 steps! Woo!

Suppleness:

Stretched a bit before bed but not enough.

Sleep:

I was in bed for well over eight hours but my jawbone says I got less than eight hours of sleep. I've been having a LOT of difficulty falling asleep and I'm not sure why.

Strength/stamina:

None. SUPER sore from the mini metcon yesterday in my abs and chest.

Sustenance:

I didn't take pictures of everything I ate, so I'll list it here for accountability:

breakfast: four eggs scrambled in butter; half a sweet potato

lunch: sea bass; new potatoes; carrots; curried parsnip soup; green apple

snack: blueberries, dark chocolate

dinner: Turkish food! Imam bayildi (eggplant and tomato), two stuffed grape leaves, cabbage, kebab mix (chicken and lamb), a bit of rice—SO good

dessert: more dark chocolate

Studying:

Did just over four hours of work on the article and am now more than 75% done with my first round of edits!

Thoughts:

Another good, low-key day.

[Crooked]

Things I left at home this morning: (1) my coffee; (2) my wallet. Time to test my theory that my caffeine addiction has decreased in the past three weeks.

I also woke up with a sore throat even though I've been taking it easy and getting decent amounts of sleep. Maybe it's sympathy-sickness given how just about everyone here seems to be fighting something?

[Crooked]

Today I learned: The town where Boyfriend goes to school has a baked potato cart. Om nom nom nom. So good, so worth it, and I'm not even feeling sick from the beans in the chili I had as a topper. What a world we live in.

[Crooked]

DAY FOUR RECAP

Steps:

Just over 9,000

Suppleness:

Got it done while watching tv before bed.

Sleep:

Once again I was in bed for well over eight hours but I got less than eight hours of sleep. Tonight I meditate for ten minutes. Hope that will help.

Strength/stamina:

None. Still sore from the mini metcon.

Sustenance:

breakfast: four eggs scrambled in butter; half a sweet potato

lunch: baked potato with ratatouille, sweet corn and chili con carne

dinner: salmon, sautéed mushrooms, roasted asparagus, salad with spinach, tomato, red pepper and carrot

dessert: three pieces of Toblerone

My stomach is feeling funny. Probably spoke too soon regarding the beans in the chili.

Studying:

Did six hours of work and finished my first pass through of editing.