Britt's First 6 Week Challenge

[BLSutherland]

Introduction:

Hi, I’m Britt and this is my first challenge. I decided back in May that it was time to really get dedicated about losing weight and getting healthy, and spent the summer in a place where it was easy to start new routines (a Biological field station), and worked on eating better and hiking a lot, and have gone from a high water mark of 242 to 212. I joined the Rebellion and the Academy two weeks ago, because I felt like I was healthy enough to up my exercise game, and to try to stay focused now that I’m back in my usual, much more potentially sedentary, routine.

 

Main Quest:

Break 200 pounds by Thanksgiving. The day before Thanksgiving I will turn 32 years old. I’d like to start the new birth year at a weight I haven’t seen since high school!

 

Quest 1:

Prepare 18 of 21 meals each week. I already do breakfast and dinner every day. The stumbling block is forgetting to bring lunch from home, so I eat junky take-out.

Measurement: A = 108/126 meals; B = 96/126 meals; C = 84/126 meals

 

Quest 2:

Drink no soda (regular or diet, or as I call them, leaded or unleaded). I never drink regular soda, but I can put away Diet Mt. Dew like it’s my job. Time to cut the cord. I will swap out tea (keeping the caffeine fix for now).

Measurement: A = 0 ounces soda; B = 120 ounces soda; C = 240 ounces soda

 

Quest 3:

Go to the gym three times per week.

Measurement: A = 18 trips; B = 15 trips; C = 12 trips

 

Life Quest:

I have a terrible time keeping dishes clean. I cook healthy but dish-intensive things, pile them up in the sink, and wait for some nebulous "later" to clean them. And then it's a barrier to continued healthy cooking because I can't find a clean pan! To help Quest 1 become a thing, my goal is to end the day with all dishes clean at least five nights of every week.

Measurement: A = 12 or fewer nights with rollover dishes; B = 18 or fewer nights; C = 24 or fewer nights

 

I'm not totally sure I follow the points breakdown for the RLRP aspect, so I took off rewards I had listed. When I get to the three week mark and get those sweet, sweet points, then I'll post a reward breakdown.

[RES]

Welcome to the rebellion  

Following along for awesomeness and encouragement

[BLSutherland]

Thankees. I'm excited to get started!

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

I'm not totally sure I follow the points breakdown for the RLRP aspect, so I took off rewards I had listed. When I get to the three week mark and get those sweet, sweet points, then I'll post a reward breakdown.

You allocate 15 points for this 6 week challenge. You can write in brakets how many points you get for each after three weeks. Because you will level up to level one after three weeks and gain 10 stat points. After six weeks you earn the remaining five points and every point you earned in mini challenges. But I also like to allocate points later, because than I can better decide what I get for which goal.

I love your sidequest. It will indeed help you with your first quest. I brought lunchboxes for one challenge and loved it. It's much better for your weight and for your purse. You'll lose weight, because take outs usually are junk, and your purse will gain a little, because you'll save money. Win win.

[sandraregina]

I too have difficulties with dishes. I'll be good for a few days, and then get busy and things pile up again.

If I clean them after every meal, I'm good. Miss one, and the next one is easier to miss, and so on until I've not done them in over a week and I have nothing clean.

 

Good luck with that!! 

[Kilyra]

I'm a first timer too! Your goals look great

 

I am noticing the same issues with dishes actually since I started cooking more than just TV dinners. I've started rinsing them as I'm cooking and then they aren't as big of a deal when it comes to washing. Makes for a bit more of dancing around in the kitchen, but it's routine now and helped quite a bit.

 

Good luck!

[BLSutherland]

Woohoo, newbie high five!

 

I think I'm going to try that approach on Sunday. I've been doing pretty well doing week-long cooking on Sunday afternoons, but I seem to drag out every pot, pan, measuring cup, and utensil I own. If I keep some hot soapy water in the sink and just swipe things out as I go, it might not be such a depressing mountain by the time I'm done!

[trawlerman]

It's good to get the dishes demon under control because it NEVER GOES AWAY. It's one of those things that you have to deal with the rest of your life (or until you're wealthy enough to hire a servant, I guess!) I think we all sympathize with this challenge!

[Ember91]

Best of luck, fellow rookie! Here's to reaching Thanksgiving goals

[BLSutherland]

Best of luck, fellow rookie! Here's to reaching Thanksgiving goals

 

Huzzah! We got this.

[BLSutherland]

The sink is empty. I repeat. THE SINK. IS EMPTY.

 

Gym date tomorrow.

 

There is no Diet Mt. Dew in the house.

 

Lunch and Dinner Pre-cooked for the week.

 

LET'S DO THIS!

[RES]

You got this!

Sent from the handheld device that holds all of my friends

[ellis_e]

Good job on the dishes! For my next six week challenge, I'm adding "win the lottery and hire dish washer".

[nooblysauce]

This challenge looks SO similar to my last one! I had meal prep and gym three times a week, and I ended up going off soda. Best of luck to you!

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[BLSutherland]

Good job on the dishes! For my next six week challenge, I'm adding "win the lottery and hire dish washer".

That's going to have to wait until I'm not a poor grad student. At this point, I'm more likely to BE the hired dish washer!

 

This challenge looks SO similar to my last one! I had meal prep and gym three times a week, and I ended up going off soda. Best of luck to you!

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Thanks! Hopefully mine goes well. 7 hours down...*does math* 1001 to go! 

[BLSutherland]

Good things today:

Dishes done at the time of dirtying. Huzzah!

Resisted the siren song of carbonated beverage.

 

Meh things today:

No Gym (subbed in bodyweight level 1)

Bought dinner (ugh)

 

So I didn't do a great job of scheduling, or at least remembering what I scheduled. I finally got the chance today to do an analysis that I kept trying to do last week but couldn't due to university bureacracy (changing to a new scheduling system that's an utter nightmare). The procedure is a full-day thing, taking from 9 am to 6 pm with juuuust enough time to squeeze in lunch (which I brought from home! Yay me!).

 

The problem was I also forgot tonight was the first meeting of a D&D game I got talked into joining. I left the flow cytometry center (where the analyzing was happening), chose to walk the mile home instead of catch the bus, so yay! But I got home at 6:30, and had to be at friend's house at 7:00, so I had enough time to feed the cat and grab grocery store sushi. Ugh.

 

So anyway, today was a mixed bag. Some good decisions, some poor ones. Steps for tomorrow and beyond:

 

Problem: Today's schedule caught me off-guard.

Solution: Add D&D night to actual calendar so I don't forget, and try to schedule flow runs at least 48 hours in advance (and add to calendar!)

 

Problem: Nothing I had in the house was easily and quickly edible.

Solution: Pre-make a couple of meals that are "grab and go" or at least keep healthy and mobile snacks in the house.

 

Today was really an anomaly with two unusual things wrecking my schedule. I've got lunch and snacks packed and ready for tomorrow, and tomorrow evening is unscheduled. I plan to visit the gym tomorrow after 7 (when the traffic dies down somewhat) for cardio and to complement the BW workout.

 

So anyway. Yeah. Onward, ho!

[BLSutherland]

Day Two: MUCH better. It's amazing what having a normal schedule can do!

 

Cook and eat all three meals: CHECK.

Wash all dishes: CHECK.

Refrain from drinking soda: CHECK.

Go to the gym: that's a big ole CHECK!

 

Odd moment at the gym: Grabbed a mat to stretch and warm-up on prior to moving around heavy things, and inadvertently put mine in front of the place where you grab the mats (yay, situational awareness!). Guy comes in, realizes I'm in the way, I realize I'm in the way, I shift over and smile, he smiles, we go back to our respective warmups in that "friendly acknowledgement of existence" kind of way. He finishes before me, puts his stuff up, and then very brightly and encouragingly says, "Good luck!" Err...thanks! I think? Anyway, I'll take all the well wishes I can get, but it seemed a bit odd. Oh well. 

 

Anyhow, to quote Mr. Cube: Today was a good day.

[BLSutherland]

Day Three, still on track.

 

Wednesdays are my planned non-cooking night of the week, due to knitting (my friends and I have a stitch and bitch a divey pub once a week. Had dinner there, but didn't go crazy. One slice of pizza, salad, one cider.) One more non-homemade meal this week, gotta be smart.

 

Dishes were easy, since no dinner!

 

There continues to be no fluorescent green fizzy drink in my home or lab.

 

Went to the gym tonight. Two days in a row! Huzzah!

 

I hope everyone else's challenges are progressing nicely!

[BLSutherland]

Weekly digest!

 

     I haven't given up, lovely folks, I just decided to not update daily. Here's how the rest of the week went down:

 

Thursday was fantabulous. Three for three on cooked meals, gym, no soda, clean sink.

 

Friday was...the beginning of a challenging weekend. I helped host a visiting speaker for my department, which meant lunch out, but dinner in. I got home super late, though, so some dishes stayed in the sink. Blergh.

 

Saturday was Pride in our town. I spent all late morning through early morning (Sunday) having a splendid time being all rainbow-ey. Soda still stayed gone, but only two real meals for the day, one of them festival food. -.-

 

Sunday has been the yearly departmental retreat for our department. I was a captive audience during the main part of the day and had catered lunch.

 

Anyway, the tl;dr version:

 

Quest 1: Cooked 15/21 meals for the week, so I met my "B" goal on that one. I'm starting to think this was unrealistic goal. Maybe a better one would've been to limit fast food, or some variety of that, because only two of my non-cooked meals this week have been junky. The rest were courtesy of my job, and were quite healthy.

 

Quest 2: I have not consumed any sodas this week of any variety, and I've drunk a lot more water. Huzzah!!

 

Quest 3: Been to the gym three times this week, and have a date for tomorrow afternoon. Another win!

 

Life quest: Cleared up the weekend accumulation of dishes this evening, to I had two days with holdovers. But that still fits in my goal, so still a win!

 

Overall, things are progressing pretty well.

[BLSutherland]

Here are my answers for mini-quest one. They've been color coded for easier skimming: Green answers are Yesses, Yellow answers are Qualified Yesses or Maybes, Red answers are Nopes. 

1) Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable?

Yes, my overall quest is to break 200 pounds by Thanksgiving. That's about ten weeks away and I'm 12 pounds away, so 1.2 pounds a week is completely doable.

 

2) Do your 3 quests all build towards your main quest in little ways, or are you taking on too much? Do your quests have sub-quests or is it just one thing to focus on?

I'm giving this a Mostly. The no soda and gym thrice weekly goals obviously help, and the 18 home-cooked meals was intended to get me in the habit of eating more healthfully (and the dish-washing goal was to reinforce that). That said, keeping my sink uncluttered doesn't necessarily help me lose 12 pounds.

 

3) Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them?

Three of the four are, I think the 18 out of 21 meals one should be tweaked. I'm a graduate student, and there are a number of functions, especially lately, at which I'm expected to be and which are catered. The first week of the challenge, I had six non-home meals, only two of which were unhealthy. The two goals of the cooking at home were to eat better and save money. If the meals provided are healthy and free, I'm an idiot to skip them over something from home in the name of checking off another meal. Maybe a better revision would be no more than 3 fast food or take away meals per week? What say you, assembled nerdery? Is it better to tweak this or am I just making excuses for being a grazing grad student?

 

4) Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them?

Yup! Easily tracked. I keep a workout journal and have been adding the other information alongside. Easy peasy.

 

5) How are you grading your goals? Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)? Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€?

My goals are being graded on an ABC scale. I get a partial reward for effort (so missing the full mark still gets me a "B" and a reduced number of points at the end).

 

6) What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured?

Three of the four are pretty easy to continue unaltered in the face of illness or injury, barring something catastrophic (*knocks wood*). The gym thrice weekly one can be modified to being "Work out thrice weekly" which gives me a little more flexibility should the gym become harder to do.

 

7) Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Labour Day, Independence Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge? What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those?

NERP. Hence why the eating out one might need tweaking. I also forgot that my local gym closes for home football games (the gym is right next to the stadium, so it's kind of a madhouse). I think changing the eating goal to focus more on healthy vs unhealthy is a good amendment.

 

8) Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another?

No, they all seem to play nicely with each other.

 

9) Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set? If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them?

Yup! I've cut back my computer vegging time (which was already insane...maybe that can be next challenge's main quest...), so there's plenty of time in my schedule for my goals.

 

10) Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest?

Ehhh, the dishes thing isn't strictly related, but I think is still a good supplemental habit to trying to cook and eat healthier.

[ellis_e]

Quest 1: Cooked 15/21 meals for the week, so I met my "B" goal on that one. I'm starting to think this was unrealistic goal. Maybe a better one would've been to limit fast food, or some variety of that, because only two of my non-cooked meals this week have been junky. The rest were courtesy of my job, and were quite healthy.

 

Quest 2: I have not consumed any sodas this week of any variety, and I've drunk a lot more water. Huzzah!!

 

Quest 3: Been to the gym three times this week, and have a date for tomorrow afternoon. Another win!

 

Life quest: Cleared up the weekend accumulation of dishes this evening, to I had two days with holdovers. But that still fits in my goal, so still a win!

 

Overall, things are progressing pretty well.

 

Sounds you're doing really well (and, incidentally, like you had a fun week. I feel a strong desire to set up a stitch & bitch @ local dive-meeting, myself. And I can't even knit) and are adjusting the stuff that needs to be adjusted. Bring on week two! I shall be interested to see what other fun activities you get up to.

[BLSutherland]

Thanks! And this was a fun, if kind of anomalous, week: Knitting is a weekly thing, but the departmental retreat is only yearly, and for some reason Virginia has all of its pride celebrations in September, so that was ALSO this weekend. I think I'm partied out for a little while, y'all.

 

My knitting group is a ton of fun, and I encourage anyone to start one up, or something like it. That kind of weekly social outlet is a huge stress-reliever. Also, so is knitting, so maybe give it a try!

 

I went to my very first Dungeons and Dragons game tonight. It was ridiculous and a blast. Me and my half-elf cleric are gonna have a good time.

[RES]

for some reason Virginia has all of its pride celebrations in September

They don't have to worry about much competition with it being in September...

[BLSutherland]

They don't have to worry about much competition with it being in September...

This is very true! Sometimes June gets a little too busy, and the weather on Saturday was gorgeous.

[RES]

This is very true! Sometimes June gets a little too busy, and the weather on Saturday was gorgeous.

More are having them in October to coincide with national coming out day too

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