Salambander gets Serious

[PettyMort]

Well, that last challenge started off so well but ended up spiraling into a disaster. 

 

Oh well. We re-spawn and life goes on. I think that the pressure of the challenge got too much for me, and it was bad timing with a vacation and moving and so on... Eh. 

 

I've decided to take a more serious approach. I need to work on my habits and build them up over time. I need to work on sustaining things for more than three weeks at a time. And I need to stop bingeing on junk and giving in to my food addiction. 

 

1. Dealing with the food addiction

I'm putting myself into food-rehab. I've gotten hold of anything I could find that lets me do weight watchers for free. I used to use Spark People, which was wonderful, but I like how WW recognizes that nutritional value is more important than calorie counting. So I'm going to try sticking to WW for at least a month, and hopefully longer. Unfortunately I can't get a 'real' (paid) membership because I live outside of any of the countries they operate in. It would be nice if they expanded to an online basis, with google hangouts as meetings, or something... This is the future, after all... But that's why I love Nerd Fitness: I can do their plan but get the amazing support of this community, and even fit the weight watchers plan into the Nerd Fitness structure.  

 

I did a little point allowance calculation online and it spat out this, so I'll try to stick to it as a plan. 

 

 + 35 bonus points to use throughout the week.

 

2. Building better habits

 

- cleaning my house. I'm moving in with the Bearded One in just over two weeks and it would be nice if we can keep our new place looking nice. It's also good for all the entertaining we'll be doing. 

So I'm going to aim to stick to my HabitRPG cleaning to-do lists and get that shit in order.

 

- cooking meals more often than eating out.

I'm surpremely lazy and keep choosing convenience over health. I'm going to delete my food ordering apps, go grocery shopping, and cook some damn meals. It also means I'll have more satisfying meals that are within the Weight Watchers points. 

 

- daily activity

Walking to work or riding my bike aren't enough. It's starting to get warmer, so I need to walk for at least half an hour each day, in the first week. I'll also try to aim for two bodyweight workouts a week (initially) and fit in some yoga along with that. It's a little tough right now because I'm moving, so for now I'll just focus on going for walks and then consider packing to be my bodyweight workout (if I do it at high speed with music blasting). This could be more specific but I feel like if I get more specific then I'll be setting myself up for failure if I miss something.

 

-accountability

I will post to this battle log every day. Or else... To make sure I do this, I'm going to 'anchor' this habit to dinner time. I must post my battle log after dinner each day. If I'm out/busy/away from my computer then I need to at least check in via tapatalk. Weigh-ins at 7am on Monday mornings. 

 

3. Being a better human 

I need to stop being so self-centered, and work on listening to other people more and focusing on them. I will make the effort to talk to my friends and ask them how their lives are going on. It seems like basic social skills, but for some reason it's difficult for me to do that.

 

I also need to accept failure and be more honest with myself and other people. I can't keep shifting the blame away from myself because I don't like being the cause of the failure. Well, here it goes:

 

I failed that last challenge because I was lazy, I let myself get away with too much, and I have a problem with self-control and over-eating. It was no one's fault but my own and I need to accept that, own it, and overcome it. 

[AresPandora]

*stalking* alright! Go! Do these things! Fighting!

[PettyMort]

Hmm, I'm not sure how accurate that points calculation thingy was. 

 

I downloaded two apps to track points. The first one is prettier to use, and simpler, and free. It's called WWPP Calculator PRO. But it doesn't have a food database. 

 

The other one was about $5 and is called Ultimate Food Value Diary. I like it more because you can choose which system you're using (USA, UK or Australian Weight Watchers) and it has a pretty extensive food database. I wish they had more editable portions but I'll figure it out. 

 

Anyway, both those apps told me I get 31 points per day and about 49 bonus points for the week. 

 

I've used calorie trackers before (mostly Spark People) and while it did help, I feel that the Weight Watchers system's attention to nutritional value per calorie is much healthier, so I'm going to do that. I think by following it I'll probably tend towards paleo options anyway simply to get more bang for my buck. 

[PettyMort]

I'm a badass! I spent the whole morning making this weight watchers points list for common Korean foods (in restaurant portions). 

 

BOOYAH. Now I can go have lunch and be relaxed about it. 

 

[PettyMort]

And we're off! 

 

Today is rainy and cold. I had yukgaejang (slow-cooked spicy beef and bean sprout soup) and rice. I tried to control my rice portion to only 2/3 of the bowl (apparently one of these little metal bowls holds up to 200g of rice). $4 and 18 points total. I've got 12 left so I can have kimbap and broth for dinner. I think I'll pick up some snacky veggies on my way home too. I walked very slowly past the candy store that sells stroepwafels but didn't go in, which made me feel proud of myself.

 

[PettyMort]

Argh. The late night fried chicken craving has struck and the only thing keeping it at bay is that my phone's battery is dead so I can't order it.

 

This is hard.

 

Better put myself to bed. 

[PettyMort]

Day 1 tally:

 

Monday morning weigh in: 86. I dropped a bit so I adjusted my points to 30 per day, 45 bonus, using the app to calculate it because I am lazy. 

Breakfast: I didn't have breakfast. My sister has convinced me to start eating breakfast so I'll take some fruit in to work tomorrow. I drank some tea. No cooking breakfast because I've packed up my kitchen for the move. Even the spoons. 

Lunch: yukgaejang and rice, 18 points. 

Dinner: kimbap and broth, 11 points. 

Snacks: pineapple, an apple

 

Notes: I eat dinner too early and get hungry again by 7pm. I'm going to try to eat dinner later, which means making the effort to go out again once I've gotten home from work. 

 

Total: 29 points. Feeling pretty good but craving chicken. I didn't drink any water today so I'm going to buy a 2L bottle of it tomorrow on my way to work that I can refill and try to finish before going home each day. 

 

[alienjenn]

[alienjenn]

I won't mention how long I just looked at "hey girl" results on google.... 

 

 

 

ummm... just won't

[PettyMort]

 

Thanks, alienjenn! 

 

I made a terrible, terrible mistake today. I thought I was being clever, planning my meals and going to have ddeokkbokki for lunch (14pp ish) so I could have something filling for dinner in anticipation of staying up late to catch the ski bus. Last time I went to this place, I had the regular ddeokkbokki (and the owner gave me a free coke) (this was before getting back on this) (don't judge me):

That's rice cakes, seaweed wrapped around stuff and deep fried, a boiled egg and fish cakes. Pretty low points in weight watchers considering the 'junk food' satisfaction you get from eating it. I thought that ordering the blood sausage one would be the same thing, plus blood sausage, which is good protein and animal fat and iron and stuff. I thought I was making a good choice. 

 

Boy was I wrong. This is what I got: 

So, it's the same rice cakes and sauce, but this one came with the blood sausage (an acquired taste but yummy if you think of it as meat jelly), bean sprouts, cabbage, and glass noodles. And it came with a side of deep fried dumpling wrappers. I turned to the waitress and went "What? This is one portion?" because last time it was so much small. She said "Yep!" but offered to pack it up for me to eat later...meh. I looked over and saw other tables splitting it between three people (plus cutlet and udon). 

*sigh*

I'm counting it as two portions of ddeokkbokki and including the blood sausage seperately. Which puts it at 19 points and leaves me having kimbap for dinner AGAIN. 

Grargle snargle fnargle. 

[alienjenn]

It's not a mistake dear let alone a terrible one

It's a lesson. .. a terrific one

[PettyMort]

It was a very tasty lesson. But all that cabbage made me glad that most of my coworkers are on vacation... I definitely brought the horn section to the office today.

 

Had my kimbap. It was... the same as it is every single day. Can't wait to move and cook and have a bit of variety...

 

My dad sent me his famous Cock in Cider recipe:

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Chicken Thighs - Any other bits of chicken

Lardons (smoked or not) - Bacon works too.

Flour - Or chicken soup powder if you want to boost the thickness and flavour.

Veg oil

Cider plus Red Wine (both work well together)

Shrooms

Onions chopped

Garlic crushed and chopped.

 

Method:

Remove skin from thighs, it may hurt.

Roll thighs in flour

Fry thighs in saucepan with oil until golden, remove from pot and set aside.

add a bit more oil, and caramelise onions and garlic.

Add lardons halfway through the onion step.

Put a sploosh of wine in the pot and scrape to get the solids off the base. They add flavour.

Add the chicken back to the pot.

Remove stalks from mushrooms, crush these surplus bits into crumbles and throw in the pot.

Reserve the nice mushroom heads, cut in quarters or halves if too big.

Add the cider until your stuff is covered.

Boil rapidly. Chicken does not care about speed but avoid burning the bottom.

Taste before you add salt. Smoked lardons or bacon or soup powder all have salt in them.

Add some red wine to improve the colour, and top up as needed. Drink the rest as you cook.

Add the mushroom heads about ten minutes before the end. You want them to have a bit of substance. It makes the texture more interesting.

 

It's delicious and I can't wait to make it again. 

 

Tomorrow I'm going skiing at the crack of dawn because we've got the rest of the week off for Lunar New Year. The resort doesn't really have any healthy food options (my choices are McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts), but I've been saving up my bonus points. 

 

This is my plan:

Wednesday:

Breakfast - orange and apple (0)

Lunch - McNuggets (6 pieces) and small fries (7+6 = 13)

Dinner - Pizza (3 slices using 28 bonus points + 17 dailies)

Total: 30 + 28

 

Thursday

Breakfast - orange (0)

Lunch - Yukgaejang (Korean spicy beef and vegetable stew, 6 points)

Dinner - whatever I can find that's open despite the holiday, with lots of points to spare it should be ok. 

 

I know the skiing will give me more points to spend, so I could have a soda with lunch on Wednesday, but I'd rather have more of a deficit than waste the effort. I might even spend them (or the left over bonus points for the week) on a well earned end-of-trip beer. 

 

Anyway, that's the plan. I feel like I'm obsessing about points a bit at the moment, but I'm really just learning the system and figuring out what a day's worth of points feels like, and using them to make better choices. As I walked past the fried chicken place on the way home, the door opened and I got a whiff of it and it's a struggle not to order it now...

 

[PettyMort]

My wonderful boyfriend's band released an album. You should listen to it and buy it now. 

 

Here it is. 

[karinajean]

It was a very tasty lesson. But all that cabbage made me glad that most of my coworkers are on vacation... I definitely brought the horn section to the office today.

 

.....

 

Anyway, that's the plan. I feel like I'm obsessing about points a bit at the moment, but I'm really just learning the system and figuring out what a day's worth of points feels like, and using them to make better choices. As I walked past the fried chicken place on the way home, the door opened and I got a whiff of it and it's a struggle not to order it now...

 

HORN SECTION! this is immediately entering my daily use dictionary.

 

It's totally normal to dig deep into a new system, don't worry!

can you make your walk home a little longer and go around the block to avoid the fried chicken place?

[AresPandora]

How I imagine you figuring out weight watchers.

 

Sounds like you're doing really well so far! Keep it up!

[PettyMort]

Unfortunately the chicken place is practically next door to my building so there's no avoiding it. It's probably best to just turn my phone off once I'm home, until I no longer crave it.

I've hurt my hip skiing. Not sure if I'll be able to ski tomorrow but I'll try it, maybe. It depends on how much mobility I have in the morning. I think it's just a hip pointer, so I've taken some anti inflammatory meds and I'm taking it easy now.

[alienjenn]

[PettyMort]

Yesterday was bad. I was doing well with the system but had McDonald's while I waited for the ski bus. Then kfc for lunch. And second lunch as a pity party after a big fall. Then more junk and less skiing after another fall. I told myself it was okay to have one bad day and it doesn't negate the hard work I put in during the week.

And you know what? When I added in the points for skiing, and the bonus points I'd saved through the week, it turns out I'm still within my limits as long as I go for a walk or something before Sunday.

So that's good.

Today I kept my ill friend company and rested my sore hip in the motel while the bearded one skied. Spent most of the day sleeping but not eating anything bad so there's that.

The bearded one is getting on board with this stuff so he wants us to have healthy dinner together tonight if I can make it to his city in time (we're traveling seperately from the ski resort and I need to pick up some stuff from my apartment).

[AresPandora]

I'm glad the Bearded one is getting on board with all of it. It's helpful to have your partner helping out!

 

I hope your hip gets to feeling better!

[AresPandora]

OMG! Double post! Have a puppy....

 

[AresPandora]

Triple post?! WTF?

 

[AresPandora]

Woah! Quadruple post! My internet is fucked! haha

 

I'm lost....

[PettyMort]

All the cute and fluffies make up for it! Hooray!

[PettyMort]

Faced with the choice of string cheese, salami, cheetos... I chose this!

Om nom.

I'm awarding myself 50xp for making healthy choices. I think I should make an xp rated rewards chart... Hmmmm...

1000xp = bubble bath.

Current xp = 50.

[PettyMort]

Bearded one and I rode on his scooter into town to get some lunch. On every corner it went cruuuuuunch so we think we might need to be a bit lighter before we double up again. I need to walk off 19 ww points to make up for the ski KFC bingefest but I got 13 of 'em by walking home from lunch along the river. I took some cool photos too...

Batdog watching over my neighborhood,with his sidekick, Dogbin.

I figure it takes about half an hour to walk to the fun university area from our place along the river bike paths with only one road to cross. This is good for drinking nights and also good for our diet because those are the nearest good restaurants and bars.

We found a place that was recommended online and planned to order pasta for me and a montecristo sandwich for him. The waitress told us the food was all double portions, meant to be shared, so we went with just the chicken and asparagus pasta between the two of us. It came to about 22 points each at a total of $18 and was delicious. I wish it had more asparagus though.

I told him I can't wait until we get to the point where our home cooked meals are so much better than restaurants that we would rather eat in.

I'm really happy with how he's gotten on board with me doing this. It's so much easier and more fun when we're doing it together. But I don't want to push him too hard. I'm just quietly appreciating what he does.

He got some gopro footage of the aftermath of my big ski fall so anticipate that once our apartment's Internet is fixed.