[addertwist] Grunkle Morgue vs The Brown Meat

[addertwist]

Alright, so I'm AdderTwist, known (for now) as Grunkle Morgue. Obviously I like Gravity Falls.

 

 

 

 

My heath isn't so great at the moment, and while I've got some strength to me in an emergency, I'm not doing so great. To give you an idea, here's a candid shot of me:

 

 

I'm severely mentally ill, but also have hyperelasticity, some iron and vitD issues, and am currently sitting at 115 kg (~255 lb) and am only about 160cm (5'2.5"). I'm not that concerned about weight loss, though the ass is fat, but I am concerned about the possibility of developing insulin resistance. It doesn't run in my family, but two of my three daily medications increase the risk of it, and all of them increase weight gain.
I also have a mildly deformed pelvis, poor eyesight, and sideburns. I'm basically an old man even though I'm 23, go figure. (I even like black licorice!)

 

Now, the plan in general is more swimming, more low-impact exercise in general, and cooking my own food, preferably with less processed carbs, as well as more fresh veg.

Rather than bore you all with details...


Summary:

 

Main Quest 1: Water, aka, The Moist Tub

 

Swim twice a week. Aqua aerobics is an option, free-swimming is just as much of an option. This is to improve joint strength.

 

MQ1: [+3 CON]

 

Main Quest 2: Food, aka, It's Apocalycious!

 

Make my own damn food! At least twice a week, cook at least one meal. Multiple portions, to last throughout the week. We're aiming for lower carb intake, but most important is the fact that I'm cooking for myself instead of eating out of cans.

 

MQ2: [+3 CON]

 

 

Main Quest 3: Land, aka, Bodies Change, Honey!

 

It's about time I started moving around more in general. I'll walk at least forty minutes, or walk to the park to climb the weird rope web thingy, or bicycle for forty minutes, at least twice a week. More if I'm feelin' it.

 

MQ3: [+2 STR, +4 STA]

 

 

 

Side Quest: Troothache!

 I don't brush my freaking dentures teeth. This has to stop. I have to brush my teeth. I HAVE to. It's ridiculous. I've had to have two teeth pulled and multiple root canals. I've purchased special flavourless, non-foaming toothpaste, and a really gentle toothbrush, to help myself actually do this task, because I hate the taste and sensation of toothpaste. (It burns, how do you all cope?)

 

 

SQ: [+2 WIS, +1 CHA]

 

 

 

ETA: If, for some reason, one of the main three tasks is not feasible within a week, I will replace it with one other task from the list. This is for weeks where my joints are particularly sore or I am traveling and do not have access to my normal facilities. Thank you to @BitterOyster for reminding me to check in before the challenge started.

 

 

 

 

So, that's basically it! Starting out ...

 

 

Week 1:

• The Moist Tub -  [1/2]

• It's Apocalycious! - [2/2]

• Bodies Change, Honey! -  [1/2]

• Troothache -  [7/7]

 

 

Week 2:

 

• The Moist Tub -  [2/2]

• It's Apocalycious! - [2/2]

• Bodies Change, Honey! -  [2/2]

• Troothache -  [7/7]

 

 

Overall:

 

• The Moist Tub - Swim twice per week, minimum. [3/12]
   
• It's Apocalycious! - Cook twice per week. [4/12]
   
• Bodies Change, Honey! - Walk, work out, or climb, twice a week. [3/12]
   
• Troothache - Brush teeth at least once daily [14/42]

[addertwist]

The Moist Tub:

 

 

 

 

Progress:

 

• Swim one: now my abdominal muscles ache.
• Swim two: skipped
• Swim three: Ocean baths! Blub blub.
• Swim four: Chasing diving sticks and little rockets!

[addertwist]

It's Apocalycious!

 

 

Gotta eat less of this and more actual fresh food! Will keep my summary here.

 

 

Progress:

 

• One cook down: salvaging a three-cheese sauce.
• Two cooks down: sausage and eggs with delicious, delicious salad.
• Three cooks down: chow mein and meiner, heavily modified.
• Four cooks down: some kind of situation involving eggs and oil-poaching?

[addertwist]

Bodies Change, Honey!

 

 

Let's see how I go with this! Will keep a summary here, as well as in the start post.

 

So far:

• Saw a personal trainer! A plan of action is being put into place, as well as encouragement to go to various classes, since I have an all-access pass for the gym!
• Skipped an exercise requirement.
• Went to an exercise class and then also did walking and then also did weights! MASCLES
• Walked a bunch, went back up the hill with groceries afterwards.

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

You did almost everything right. You only allocated 13 stat points instead of 15. or I missed something.

Perhaps tasting different tooth pastes helps. Or you could search for one that is for sensitive teeth. They burn less. And the teeth will adjust. I had bad teeth as a kid and I always had a problem with the flesh covering the teeth. I guess that could be the same reason for you why it burns. If you can get rid of the infection it will hopefully get better. Good luck.

I like your goals. They look very manageable. Best wishes for your challenge

[insanity]

For the food aspect, a crockpot would be a godsend. I use one almost every Sunday to cook a big pot of chili that I eat off of for lunches during the week. Just dump ingredients in, come back in a few hours and you have a weeks worth of meals.

 

For the toothpaste one, I got nothing... I've never had an issue with toothpaste burning, mouthwash on the other hand....

[Sythez]

I completely understand about the toothbrushing thing; something that helped me was making a small habit - when I go for my shower, i put my glasses by my toothbrush. when I pick up my glasses, I pick up my toothbrush, and then I have to brush my teeth

 

Love the goals man. Kick ass, and good luck!

[BitterOyster]

LOVE the theme! (It helps that I've watched Gravity Falls enough times to recognise every screenshot).
Your goals look well thought out. Planning out some meals and grocery lists for them would help with the food goal, whether specific meals or just a list of ideas.

I see you've got total scores up there - are you going to be scoring per week or just totals over the whole challenge?

 

Good luck with your challenge - I'LL BE WAAATCHING YOU

[addertwist]

You did almost everything right. You only allocated 13 stat points instead of 15. or I missed something.

 Yeah, I fixed that just now - I think I was aiming for 10 points and got confused? I did read the rules, but I have a lot of brain-fog, and neuro issues. So sometimes things get jumbled a little, partway through execution.

 

 

For the food aspect, a crockpot would be a godsend. I use one almost every Sunday to cook a big pot of chili that I eat off of for lunches during the week. Just dump ingredients in, come back in a few hours and you have a weeks worth of meals.

 

I've considered getting a crockpot, it's just a matter of figuring out bench space. But there's three of us, so it's probably worthwhile, and they're not that expensive...

 

I see you've got total scores up there - are you going to be scoring per week or just totals over the whole challenge?

 

 

Just totals over the whole challenge, I think - but I'll be keeping track of each thing weekly, as well, so they'll be getting ticked off as they happen.

 

I completely understand about the toothbrushing thing; something that helped me was making a small habit - when I go for my shower, i put my glasses by my toothbrush. when I pick up my glasses, I pick up my toothbrush, and then I have to brush my teeth

 

I don't shower daily, as I have trouble sometimes working up the motivation to eat, bathe, and so on. (Mental illness is such an irritating beast...) But I'm going to start brushing my teeth when I go to the bathroom the last time in an evening. The time I go to sleep is pretty flexible, but I always go wash my face and stuff anyway, so I just need to put the tooth-brushing in with that, and it should work!

Thank you for all the encouragement, guys!

 

 

Couldn't do it without your positive attitudes!

 

This is going to be an exciting endeavour!

[Blaidd]

Wow, the fact that you're working through so much and dealing with the mental illness.  You are incredible.  You might enjoy following @jakkals.  He started with us two years ago and he was in a similar situation as you are now.

 

You might notice that someone has added a tag to your post.  This is not to box you into a corner but rather because your goals or lifestyle have links to the guild you've been tagged and we'd like to bring you to the attention of one of their guild ambassadors. These ambassadors will be able to offer you advice, encouragement and support on your goals.  You don't even have to wait around for them to come introduce themselves to you, you are more than welcome to pop into the Adventurers' board and introduce yourself to the guildies there. I am also around to answer any questions that you might have so do not hesitate to PM me.

 

Good Luck with your challenge

AB xx

[insanity]

I can't believe I forgot about this, but instead of toothpaste, perhaps baking soda and peroxide would be an option, I did that for a while and it seemed to work really well, the taste isn't that great, but it's not horrible either.

 

And yes, a crockpot is WELL worth the money, if I had space I've have a few of them. You can also look up freezer crockpot meals, you basically bag everything up and toss it in the freezer, then the night before set it out to thaw, the next morning stick it in the crock pot, and when you get home... food.

[Meushell]

Have you tried children's toothpaste? You can pick out a flavor you want. You need to see if it has enough fluoride though.

[addertwist]

Wow, the fact that you're working through so much and dealing with the mental illness.  You are incredible.  You might enjoy following @jakkals.  He started with us two years ago and he was in a similar situation as you are now.

 

I found @Jakkals on your recommendation and wow! A real inspiration - reading up on his struggles has been really confidence-boosting!

 

I can't believe I forgot about this, but instead of toothpaste, perhaps baking soda and peroxide would be an option, I did that for a while and it seemed to work really well, the taste isn't that great, but it's not horrible either.

 

And yes, a crockpot is WELL worth the money, if I had space I've have a few of them. You can also look up freezer crockpot meals, you basically bag everything up and toss it in the freezer, then the night before set it out to thaw, the next morning stick it in the crock pot, and when you get home... food.

 

Homemade toothpaste seems like a really good idea - my only worry is how to store it. Though... also something about fluoride? I'm gonna keep using my special toothpaste until I run out of it, then I'll probably make the switch and see how I go.

And that sounds like a great idea! I know I can't live exclusively off one-pot meals without getting sick of them eventually (at least that's the theory) but I can always just intersperse with the occasional set-and-forget roast. I'm partial to pork, though the crackling goes soggy if you make it in multi-meal batches.

 

Have you tried children's toothpaste? You can pick out a flavor you want. You need to see if it has enough fluoride though.

 

I actually haven't found any non-mint children's toothpaste locally either! The closest I found was 'mildmint', also known as bubblemint. Still burned, but a little less. 

 

 

In other news, I went to the pool to do an aqua-based total body workout class! It... it didn't go so well.

 

 

So I got out after about a third of the class, and got directed to sit down quietly by the bin. They gave me a... uh, icy-pop? I don't know what the common phrase is, here they're Zooper Doopers, they're like a popsicle but in a plastic tube - and I sat and sipped water and nibbled that til I stopped being faint. Still! I survived like 20+ minutes of really intensive work, so that's better than it might have been!

 

Day 0 still and already forging ahead with renewed vigor! Thank you everyone for the support!

[insanity]

 

 

 

Homemade toothpaste seems like a really good idea - my only worry is how to store it. Though... also something about fluoride? I'm gonna keep using my special toothpaste until I run out of it, then I'll probably make the switch and see how I go.

 

As for fluoride, that's a decision you'd have to make, I use toothpaste without it and have had 0 issues, get enough it water I think. Storing it is easy, get a bottle of peroxide, and a box of baking soda, they come in their own storage containers. Just squirt a bit of peroxide on your toothbrush, then dip it in the baking soda....

 

 

And that sounds like a great idea! I know I can't live exclusively off one-pot meals without getting sick of them eventually (at least that's the theory) but I can always just intersperse with the occasional set-and-forget roast. I'm partial to pork, though the crackling goes soggy if you make it in multi-meal batches.

 

I do pretty good going from week to week. I'll make my lunches for a week, then the next week I'll make something different. Works really well for me.

[BitterOyster]

The challenge starts tomorrow! All ready to go? Any adjustments to make based on how this week went?

[addertwist]

Alright! Halloween is past us now, or, as it actually ends up being in Australia, Summerween.

 

Shockingly, I didn't end up eating a huge amount of sweet things - but I did have a few too many drinks, leaving me groggy today and slow to reply. But! Finally I'm up to this on my list of internet things that need doing!

 

So:

 

@Insanity: I'll have to try that when my toothpaste runs out - for now I have one which works well for me, called OraNurse Unflavoured (the adult formula). The only issue with it is that I have to buy it from the UK, and shipping it to Australia is not a cheap endeavour.

As for meals - it's mostly feeding myself dinners that's an issue. I often skip lunch altogether, which I know isn't terribly healthy, but it's a habit I got into when I was quite poor.
 

 

The challenge starts tomorrow! All ready to go? Any adjustments to make based on how this week went?

 

Your reminder actually prompted me to make a modification, thank you - a stipulation that I can substitute things on a week-to-week basis, for example, replace a swimming class with more other exercise or vice versa, or do an extra exercise day rather than cook one day, to make traveling feasible. I'll be visiting some friends during this challenge so it was important to make this tweak! I might be biting off a lot with this challenge but I'm hopeful that I'll maintain motivation this way.

 

 

Alright! As soon as I wake up my challenge week starts!

Let's knock this out of the park!

[addertwist]

Alright! A few days have passed, and while I have been lazy, I haven't been entirely idle.

 

So tonight was meant to be my cooking night, but last night ended up requiring me to do some hasty reimagining, to rescue my meal from the mouth of horror:

 

 

This stuff is salty. SO salty. As in it could kill sealife. 

 

So I spent like 20 minutes, adding milk and cream, fresh mushrooms, tinned corn, herbs - all in an attempt to salvage it. Eventual success happened, but it took a lot of finagling with not a lot of ingredients available, so as lazy as it might seem, I'm counting this as one of my cooks this week.

 

Secondly, I just want to say - my carer has a sense of humour.

 

So... yeah. Progress isn't happening quickly, but it is happening.

 

(Also, my favourite line from my carer: "If you want to help, you can take out the broken chairs. I mean it's raining, so we can count it as your shower!" )

[insanity]

Alright! A few days have passed, and while I have been lazy, I haven't been entirely idle.

 

So tonight was meant to be my cooking night, but last night ended up requiring me to do some hasty reimagining, to rescue my meal from the mouth of horror:

 

 

This stuff is salty. SO salty. As in it could kill sealife. 

 

So I spent like 20 minutes, adding milk and cream, fresh mushrooms, tinned corn, herbs - all in an attempt to salvage it. Eventual success happened, but it took a lot of finagling with not a lot of ingredients available, so as lazy as it might seem, I'm counting this as one of my cooks this week.

 

Secondly, I just want to say - my carer has a sense of humour.

 

So... yeah. Progress isn't happening quickly, but it is happening.

 

(Also, my favourite line from my carer: "If you want to help, you can take out the broken chairs. I mean it's raining, so we can count it as your shower!" )

Tis a start, first step taken, now to keep that little bit of momentum going.

 

 

I love that the jar has "Energy" printed on it, I'm not sure many people would even know what to do with that number, but it sounds fancy.

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

I like that you count your progress with stickers.

[addertwist]

Alright! So - I'm running a little behind, so Sunday's gonna be a busy day, but I cooked again on Thursday night -
This time, with feeling.

 

So that's chicken and sultana sausages, two scrambled eggs, half a capsicum, half a cucumber, and some shredded lettuce.
It was pretty dang good!

Even if since then I've... mostly subsisted on yoghurt, cheese, and salami sticks. Cough.

 

 

Other than that, swam today, swimming tomorrow, doing one set of land exercise tomorrow too.

Keeping up with the brushing, and...

 

 

I went and saw a goddamn personal trainer.

Very exciting times for Morgue! He's going to help me come up with the list of reps I should do, and guide me through other stuff, over the next few weeks! It's gon b good!

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

That looks good.

Sounds like you make some good habits already. Good job.

[BitterOyster]

Hey, you made it through the first week! How are you feeling?

[addertwist]

Alright, weekly update!

 

So far:

Kinda screwed up on my first week by leaving everything too late. Food and teeth both went well, got full marks there, but I only did one set each of exercise types. Mental health issues left me doing approximately dick-all til Thursday, and my Sunday kind of got crashed by being too tired from social things to walk to the gym and swim.

 

That said, this week is off to a great start!

Monday, I went for a swim with my housemate, down at the local ocean baths.
Candid shot of her:
 

 

 

Then I came home and cooked too - chow mein! Admittedly I was working from a squishy sauce mix, which means it didn't taste... quite as I was imagining it (I won't be buying the MasterFoods chow mein sauce base thing again) - but with a little tamari and some extra green beans it was pretty nice anyway.
(No photos because it wasn't exactly a photogenic meal. Assorted shades of floppy brown stuff!)

Basically, scrambled meat.

 

'

 

For the record - this picture is pretty accurate for a number of reasons.

 

Going into it now, I'm taking today as a rest day because I can't focus today, then Wednesday I'll be trying to get down to the park again. Thursday I hopefully have another PT session, and possibly swimming again, or, if not, just... more gym workouts, then I'll get another swim in on Saturday.

At some point I'm gonna take all the sad-looking veggies in our fridge and make a cream-of-mostly-pumpkin soup.

 

So that's about it from me!

Thanks for all the encouragement, folks! I can't express how much I appreciate it.

[BitterOyster]

Off to a good start! Congrats on the full scores on tooth brushing and food! Sure, you missed some of the exercise, but that's way more than 0, and you used it to think about what you can do differently. I hate to break it to you, we don't actually get to cash in the points we earn here for magic items (despite what you may have been told) - but learning, adapting and becoming more awesome is something we do get to keep.

[addertwist]

Alright! Last day of the week here!

 

So - on Thursday I went to a really intense exercise class - Body Balance. It doesn't sound that intense, and objectively, it probably wasn't that bad, but part of it had us lying on our backs doing a bunch of core stuff, and I hurt my hip pretty badly, since it's not exactly a top-notch pelvis anyway.
Left the class maybe 20 minutes early, out of  a 55 minute class? 

That said, I rallied! Arms shaking a little from holding my fat body up for a bunch of complex exercises, I met up with the PT again, and we did a couple of walking laps around the oval, just to free up my hip. Once that was over, we went to the gym proper.
 

Now, I have no weights training, no experience except for the previous PT session (all the lightest settings on the machines and a tiny bit of dumbells) and lugging around heavy shopping occasionally, plus a tiny bit of weights done ~10 years ago that I could only do once a month and gave up on 2 sessions in...

So! He was guiding me, but he guided me up on what I think was a Butterfly machine (?), from 12kg/~26.5lb (10 reps) to 14.5kg/~32lb (10 reps) to a whopping 19kg/~42lb (11 reps because I accidentally did one extra).

Then we got the barbell, and I did 10 barbell curls at 10kg/~22lb,10 at 12.5kg/~27.5lb, then another 10 back at 10kg/~22lb. 
The PT was pretty impressed!

 

I felt pretty goddamn tank!

 

Now it's Sunday and my arms still hurt, but I'm pretty cheerful about it! DOMS. Actually pretty satisfying!

I've come to a sort of revelation in my relationship with my body. I'm still badly depressed, and badly dysphoric, and being fat and chronically ill and mentally ill is a bad combo, but... for the first time in a very long time, I'm able to enjoy my body without hangups. I mean. When I'm there, at the gym, and even afterwards, I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have before in my life. 
I feel... I went to the gym in lycra 3/4 pants! And I didn't hate myself!



Swimming was on Saturday, and it wasn't a swim class because I was at my housemate's birthday for most of the day. We had a little thunderstorm picnic inside, with delicious curried eggs, roast beef slices, wraps, salad, boston bun the size of a cake, cheesecake, fresh bread, dips, and probably more things I'm forgetting.

But! After sleeping off the food, I went swimming, not in a class but just diving in the pool at the gym, in the afternoon.
Diving!

Basically, my housemate and I took turns throwing dive-sticks into the water. I'm terrible at diving, as in, I'm still learning how to do it. I only just figured out that you're meant to kick your legs up above you and use your arms to scoop downwards.

But I learned a tiny bit, in the shallow end! Because I love chasing sticks! I'm basically a dog. 
Picture related:






Anyway, for food, I ended up just frying a bunch of eggs in marinating-oil from a tub of Mediterranean bocconcini. I'd... eaten all the bocconcini, because I love cheese. Anyway, we had so many leftovers that all I needed to do was make the eggs for breakfast. Pretty good actually!

So!

 

 

Full completion this week!

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for your continuing support!