Cephalopod_Dreams tries again

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Hi All,

 

This is my second 6 week challenge, and my first here with the Monks, so I'm pretty excited about it.

 

A little background on me: I'm female, 25 years old, 5'2" and 9st 11lbs (that's 157cm and 137lbs). I started attending Karate (Shotokan) 2 years ago in an attempt to get fit, and while it's definitely made a difference I want to step up my game. I ride a 700cc motorcycle so I need to get stronger to handle that, and I want to work on my strength to improve my karate performance. I also want to lose some weight (read: fat) as I have a chronic pain condition and the bigger I am the more it hurts.

 

I didn't manage to achieve everything that I set out to do in my first challenge, possibly because I was too focused on fitness things and didn't make enough room for supporting myself to achieve these goals. Now that I'm level 2 I have a chance to earn up to 15 points per challenge, so let's see how this goes. 

 

First off : I want my next belt. It's been too long since I graded and I want to fix that, so the first goal has to be training.

 

Quest 1: 

Complete 3 workouts a week, every week, for 6 weeks. (This could be 2 karate sessions and 1 strength training or any combination of those)

Goal: A = 3 workouts a week. B = 2 workouts a week. C = 1 workout a week.

Reward: A = +2 Str, +2 Dex, +1 Sta. B = +1 Sta, +1 Dex. C = +1 Dex

 

You cant outrun your fork. I need to keep telling myself this. By far my biggest problem is liquid calories and I need to do something about that or I will never ever lose weight. The easiest place to start - and my biggest weakness - is alcohol. 

 

Quest 2: Have at least 2 alcohol-free nights a week

Goal: A = 3 nights a week free. B = 2 nights a week free. C = 1 night a week free. 

Reward: A = +2 Wis, +3 Con,. B = +1 Wis, + 2 Con.  C = +1 Con.

 

I suffer with depression and chronic pain caused by an autoimmune condition which cant be cured and is resisting treatment. Now that winter is coming and the nights are drawing in I know that my depression will only get worse. I downloaded an app on my phone to help with guided meditation and mindfulness 3 months ago but I've never even used it, so time to correct that. 

 

Quest 3: Spend 10 minutes a day, every day, practicing mindfulness / meditation.

Goal: A = 7 days a week. B = 5 days a week. C = 3 days a week

Reward: A = +3 Wis, + 2 Con. B = +2 Wis, + 1 Con. C = +1 Wis. 

 

BONUS: Life Goal

I am the sort of person who is full of good intentions, who will make loads of plans and not keep them. So here's my first life goal : I will go over my finances, get a solid grasp of my income and outgoings, and make a final decision if I can afford a gym membership on top of my karate fees. If I can, I will join my partner's gym so that I have a gym buddy and can attend additional classes. It's a big expense but I wont get better if I dont commit. 

[SevenofSeven]

Good luck with your Challenge, it's awesome, because now I know a Monk!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Thanks Seven! First challenge is yo travel 20 miles of darkness and fog to get to my karate lesson today. I hate driving in fog on my motorbike, especially in the dark.

[Kishi]

Nice. Even though these are mostly related to diet and fitness, I get the feeling that a lot of this is a life level up for you. By pursuing these things, you're going to make your life better. That is very good.

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Thanks Kishi, that's the plan I'll never be able to get rid of my pain but I refuse to let it stop me from becoming the badass that I want to be. Next grading is in three weeks and I want that belt! 

[JediJem]

Sometimes, for some of us, our brains and bodies just aren't on our side. It's a tough thing having to fight to stay on top of that, but your goals look solid and you can come here for support with follow through. Although not an official goal here I've made a conscious effort to minimize my alcohol intake since I've realised that it makes my depression ten times worse. This may not be the case for you, but it could turn out to be a bonus side effect of cutting down!

You've got this!

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk

[WhiteBeltBrowncoat]

Following. Sounds like you've got this!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

End of week one and things are going pretty well. I made both my karate lessons despite hideous weather - my motorcycle gear left a puddle in the changing room! I've had two days this week with no alcohol and I've halved my alcohol consumption on the rest of the nights, some nights even just one glass. 

 

I also experimented with a new workout yesterday. I was reading the NF blog and found an article on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles workout! Not only does it have a big focus on body weight strength but it's also good practice to work towards doing handstands  

 

I was exhausted after the workout and karate yesterday but this time I already feel stronger and more positive. I've kept up with my mindfullness exercises and I'm sure it's helping me feel more positive and motivated. Let's see if we can keep this up for the rest of the challenge. 

[WhiteBeltBrowncoat]

Awesome to hear that things are going well. It seems to me that just getting to class in the first is the biggest challenge. The TMNT workout is one of my favorites here, though I'm looking forward to trying out the new Arrow workout. Keep it up!

[Kishi]

Honestly, I think it'd be interesting to cycle through the workouts and see if one could use them to develop strength in the long term. But in the meantime, have fun! I've heard lots of good things from monks who went TMNT.

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Thanks Kishi It's a long workout at the moment but I'm sure it'll get quicker as I learn to remember the movements and don't have to look up what comes next on my phone all the time

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

So week one went great during the working week! Less good on the weekend though: I didn't make it to saturday karate and didnt work out at home either. Also I snacked too much as we had friends over. On the positive side i went out for a friend's birthday on the Saturday and drank considerably less alcohol than I normally would have, and I drank less booze than usual when friends came over on Friday and Sunday.

 

My weekend basically got taken over by the fact that it was mostly spent with a friend making giant curtains for our kitchen/ dining room. They look so lovely now that they're done!

 

And i get life-goal points for sitting down on saturday and going over my budget that I told myself I had to do! Turns out I can afford membership at my partner's gym, Hooray! This means more fun classes and an equipped gym so I get access to an assisted pull up machine. yay! A close friend of mine is  checking to make sure the gym is push-bike distance from her house, and if she's confident with it then she'll be signing up too so I have a backup gym buddy.

 

Feeling pretty pleased about this! 

[WhiteBeltBrowncoat]

In all, it sounds like a productive weekend spent around people you enjoy. Can't find anything wrong with that.

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Another Monday, another TMNT workout followed by an hour of karate. Even found time for mindfulness practice in the changing room. Unfortunately I also managed to pull a muscle in my groin.

Trying to be good with fitness today as I will probably miss karate on Thursday due to an industry even in London that I'm going to. On the plus side that means lots of training and self improvement on my work skills which should be interesting.

Diet has been mostly good today. I did snack a little but I won't beat myself up too much for one healthy fruit and nut bar. I'm usually against snacks at work but I bought a bunch of items for the anti inflammatory diet to make sure I get at least a portion a day.

[SevenofSeven]

Anti inflammatory diet? Sounds interesting, link?

[Kishi]

Eh. The overall pattern is what will make you into a martial artist. A missed day and even a missed weekend aren't necessarily the end of the world. It's just a matter of keeping the process alive, and that's where missed days get complicated.

 

But yeah, it sounds like you're trucking along and making as many good decisions as you can - whether it be to train or to be present with your friends. Keep going!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Anti inflammatory diet? Sounds interesting, link?

There's a few different versions, but the most common one was created by Christopher Cannon, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. There's a good description on the Harvad Health website here. The theory is that certain foods increase chronic inflammation in the body (things like soda, processed meat, fried foods, refined carbohydrates) and other foods have anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce inflammation (olive oil, green leafy vegetables, fatty fish, nuts and certain fruits).

 

I have an auto-immune condition that is resisting treatment, so even though I dont think this diet is going to be some kind of cure I figure that I dont have anything to lose giving it a go. And it fits in well with a general healthy eating plan, it just influences me to pick certain fruit or veg over others. 

[ChrisWithaStick]

End of week one and things are going pretty well. I made both my karate lessons despite hideous weather - my motorcycle gear left a puddle in the changing room! I've had two days this week with no alcohol and I've halved my alcohol consumption on the rest of the nights, some nights even just one glass. 

 

I also experimented with a new workout yesterday. I was reading the NF blog and found an article on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles workout! Not only does it have a big focus on body weight strength but it's also good practice to work towards doing handstands

 

I was exhausted after the workout and karate yesterday but this time I already feel stronger and more positive. I've kept up with my mindfullness exercises and I'm sure it's helping me feel more positive and motivated. Let's see if we can keep this up for the rest of the challenge. 

Great job on drinking less.  I cut back significantly as part of my last challenge, and am so far keeping any imbibing to the weekends.  One big thing I noticed was that my quality of sleep, if not quantity, improved, quite a bit.  I also ended up dropping a small amount of weight, or at least my pants fit better.  My wallet is happier, too.

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

There's a few different versions, but the most common one was created by Christopher Cannon, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. There's a good description on the Harvad Health website here. The theory is that certain foods increase chronic inflammation in the body (things like soda, processed meat, fried foods, refined carbohydrates) and other foods have anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce inflammation (olive oil, green leafy vegetables, fatty fish, nuts and certain fruits).

 

I have an auto-immune condition that is resisting treatment, so even though I dont think this diet is going to be some kind of cure I figure that I dont have anything to lose giving it a go. And it fits in well with a general healthy eating plan, it just influences me to pick certain fruit or veg over others. 

What do they mean by processed meat? I think I never grasped the meaning of this word fully. Do they mean fried meat?

 

And you are right. It seems worth trying. Especially when it's compatible with your usual diet. I hope you have a great second week =)

[SevenofSeven]

What do they mean by processed meat? I think I never grasped the meaning of this word fully. Do they mean fried meat?

 

And you are right. It seems worth trying. Especially when it's compatible with your usual diet. I hope you have a great second week =)

Processed meat, sausages, brawn ( Braun ), ham, bacon, polony ( balony), anything that may have been meat once but is now modified to a meat like substance, or processes have been used to enhance the meat, bacon, ham etc, using chemicals, heat and preservatives to change meat.

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Thanks for that Seven! 

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

I missed karate on Thursday as I was in London for work and by the time I got back I was exhausted. Full disclosure I got home in time to go but I was full of excuses so I stayed in.

However making up for that this weekend. I went with my partner to his gym yesterday. After being a grown up and sitting down going over my budget I have decided that I can afford to join. So I went along to try it out and the facilities are great.

So I signed up!

My workout was a little erratic as I haven't got used to the place yet but I managed the following:

Warm up

Circuit 1:

5 sets

10 x prisoner squats

10 x knee push ups

:15 plank

:30 stretching

Assisted pull up:

40kg assist x 10

35kg assist x 10

30kg assist x 5

Assisted chin up:

40kg assist x 10

35kg assist x 10

30kg assist x 5

Assisted dips:

40kg assist x 10

35kg assist x 10

30kg assist x 5

I'm going back today for an induction and health assessment. Actually going to find out what my body fat percentage is! Eeek!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

I had my induction at the gym yesterday.

 

My body fat was measured at 31.5%, which is the high end of normal so I need to reduce that a bit. On the plus side visceral fat was all the way down at 3% so yay! Blood pressure is the low end of normal (114/70) and heart rate is the high end of normal (86bpm) but apparently that evens out so is OK. 

 

The frustrating thing is that 18 months ago my body fat was down and i'd have probably done much better, but I stupidly listened to the friends who, meaning well, said I looked too skinny so I put weight back on. 

 

Damn I wish I could go back to my past self and encourage myself to do what made me happy.

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

This is proving to be a difficult week. The kids have been awful, causing stress between me and my SO; work has been manic; my new tattoo has resulted in an enormous bruise the size of my thigh as stress makes my autoimmune condition worse; and I had a disappointing appointment with my consultant about the autoimmune / chronic pain yesterday and basically they're out of ideas.

 

So I'm feeling a bit stressed and depressed. I made it to both karate lessons this week and got permission to grade on Monday (grading Monday 23rd Nov) so I should be really excited about that but I'm just not. Instead I feel stressed and guilty that my diet has been not so great. I feel fat and awful - I'm losing weight soooooo slooooowly and my big thighs are causing me a lot of pain at the moment.

 

I'm just not seeing a lot of change at the moment and I feel like I've stalled already. 

[ixaera]

So sorry to hear you are hurting! Things will look up

 

As for slow weight loss, the best kind is slow anyway. The truth is after losing 30ish pounds, I've spent the last seven months or so with a bipolar mirror. Some days I look in that thing and I still see an overweight chick with enormous, ugly thighs. (For reference, my BMI is 20 now, so there's 0 chance that my thighs are as enormous as I think they are.) So don't rely on the weight loss for self-esteem, because it doesn't help What is always great, though, is how really healthy, whole foods makes you feel! So even if it is going slow, aim at fueling your stress fighting ability with good foods and give yourself the fuel you need to beat this little speedbump. Every successful life changing plan is actually full of little setbacks. No one rolls out of bed with a great plan and TKOs it in one go

 

I hope you feel better soon!