Orcwarrior respawning and make small changes .... again

[orcwarrior]

Hello - right now this is a placeholder, trying to get myself moving again for a respawn.  Had some very good success with habit changes when I first came on board two years ago, then hit a number of life challenges and regressed significantly.  Looking to respawn - will return and expand this into a challenge start.

 

Currently 5'11" and 306 pounds.  Joined NF originally in April 2013 at 308 lbs, did really well in changing behaviors, started working out, made small changes in behavior and diet and escalated these well over time into significant improvements.  From mid-April to Sept I lost over 65 lbs and made huge fitness increases - actually ran a Warrior Dash in August of that year.  Then my mother died suddenly, and almost simultaneously I hit a career setback which came out of something I thought I was doing that was good, which amplified the emotional hit.  I became very depressed, regressed in my behavior and eating habits, and gradually gained back all the weight I had lost.  Very discouraging.

 

So now I'm respawning.  Several differences from before.  First, I proved to myself and those around me that I CAN make changes and be healthy.  Second, I have a lot more knowledge about how to be healthy that I acquired in my first NF experience.  So I'm better prepared than I was two years ago, and I succeeded then.  So if I did it then, I can do it again.

 

Current challenge goals:

 

Keep a food-eaten and calorie log - I've found just writing down what I eat makes me more conscious and deliberate about what I eat. +2 Wis +2 Con  A=daily, B=6/7 days/wk, C=5/7 days/wk, D=4 days/wk, F=3 or less

 

Workout out 3x a week, either strength training using Starting Strength basic workout or cardio with intervals on my elliptical.  Just work to re-build the habit.   +2 Str  +3 Sta  A=100% BBW 3x/wk by end, B=90% BBW 3x/wk by end, C=80% 3x/wk by end, etc.

 

No late-night binges - emotional eating when down has always been my kryptonite. +3 Con  A= 6.5 days/wk, B= 6 days/wk, C= 5.5 days/wk, D=5 days/wk, F is less than that.

 

Life goal:  Stay caught up at work so I don't feel bogged down so much.   +3 Wis  A=6/6 wks, B=5/6 wks, C=4/6 wks, D=3/6 wks

 

I am deliberately not setting a weight-loss goal, as if I do the above I'll make progress on that.  My goals above are about changing habits and behavior, and if I make lasting changes in those my weight should naturally come down.  After all, it's POOR habits and behavior have naturally led to my current inspiring shape.  :-)

[Einar]

Like you said, you know what you need to do, now you just have to do it.  I know it's frustrating starting over but at least you'll have the benefit of previos lessons learned to help you avoid any pitfalls you had last time. Barring the catastrophic ones that derailed you of course, but at least those should be a thing of the past.

[CourtnieMarie]

hey, orc! glad to see you back

 

do you have a contingency plan for when you want those late-night snacks? maybe allowing yourself some veggies or fruit if you really feel hungry?

[wildross]

Welcome back!

[orcwarrior]

Holy welcomes, Batman!  Super gratified to check in and see your friendly messages!  Was out of town for four days and out of touch, so hadn't checked in.  Awesome to see you're still here, CM!  Last time I had checked in with you was about 18 months ago when you were working hard on balancing macros - I remember reading and being impressed by your dedication.  Thanks for the welcome, Wildross - I know you've been around for a long time and I remember seeing your posts way back when.  And thanks for the greeting, Doc - I'm looking forward to checking in on your thread and connecting.

 

Great question about the plan, CM.  Avoiding the emotional eating is hugely key for me, and was a big part of my previous progress.  Things that helped in the past were avoiding high-risk times - almost always at night - which I managed in part by the highly sophisticated strategy of going to be early when I was tired.  Tracking was also very helpful, as it engaged my competitive drive to stay within my weekly calorie goals and not binge.  Substituting healthy foods never helped much, as I could wolf down a mass of vegetables and still feel ready to tackle a large pizza.  For me emotional eating is not so much about the satiation, but about the medication of taste.  So another thing that helped a lot was keeping a lot of those 10-cal Crystal Light packets on hand, and slowly sipping several of those before going to bed.  Occasionally I would manage the urge to oversnack with SLOWLY consuming a measured amount of air-popped popcorn (4 Tbsp popcorn, 2 Tbsp butter, 375 cal).  All of these at various times worked fairly well, and I had largely eliminated my food self-medication for much of those six months until I hit several large setbacks and relapsed as described earlier.

 

So that's part of the plan - having those techniques I practiced with success before, and feeling fairly confident I can return to them as I pick the NF accountability back up.  So here we go!

[brutalbears]

I am glad to see that you have re-spawned. I am knew to the warriors, so I am trying to get to know people in the guild. I will checking in on you to see how you're doing. You kick ass!

[Einar]

orcwarrior, how's your food log and strength training going?  Don't worry if you've fallen off the wagon again just dust yourself off and get back to it.

[Br0din]

orcwarrior, how's your food log and strength training going?  Don't worry if you've fallen off the wagon again just dust yourself off and get back to it.

 

This, but tell us about the struggle.  

[orcwarrior]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys, greatly appreciate it.  Did briefly fall off the wagon, but go back on and riding.  Mostly have been absent b/c too crazy busy.  Work, kids, activities, etc.  But overall making it through OK.

 

Week one report:  

 

Goal 1 - Food log daily:  Logged 7/7 days re food log, although some days had partial estimates.  I've gone from using a small notebook I'd tuck in my pocket to using MyFitnessPal app, but find if I force myself to log every food precisely I bog down and start avoiding doing it.  So I log all my regular food and some of the now-and-then foods I eat, but often make-calorie-estimate new or unusual foods if I'm in a hurry.  Works the best. 

Goal 2:  3 workouts/week.  Did all three last week on Tue/Thur/Sat, used Starting Strength and am gradually increasing weight on the basic exercises.  Feels good to be lifting regularly again.  

Goal 3:  No binges - did pretty well on this until the weekend, then did some fairly heavy emotional eating Sat eve and Sunday.  Got back on healthy wagon on Monday and doing well this week.

Goal 4:  Stay caught up at work so I don't get bogged down.  Doing well at this - would give myself a B+ or better.

 

Leaving on a weekend trip from OH to NC tomorrow - taking my daughter to New Balance Nationals Outdoor track meet.  Should be a good time, lots of awesome competition to watch.  But will probably be out of touch again for a few days.  

Thanks for touching base with me when I was out of the loop.  Thanks!

[Einar]

Have fun at the meet, if we don't hear from you by this time next week I'll be along to kick you and see if you're around

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[joedog]

Good to see you back with us! 

[CourtnieMarie]

hope things are going well orc