Defying Gravity - One Day at A Time

[elphiegrl]

Hi, my name is elphiegrl (not my real name). 

 

I am 26 year old, from the UK and 2015 has been my year to kick my fitness and health into check and I plan to continue this into 2016 and beyond. 

 

The character Elphaba (from the musical Wicked) has always been an inspiration for me, I admire the way she stands up for what she believes is right and to fight for it - and this has kind of spilled over into this because I spend most of my time trying to defy gravity in one form or another - bodyweight, yoga and pole!

 

I have already lost about 10kg and now it's just keeping my weight down and increasing my overall strength and flexibility, and keeping up my passion for life! I have just started to incorporate more bodyweight into my workout routines - starting with elevated push ups and assisted pull ups, but I want to get to the point where I am doing this unassisted.

 

In terms of diet, I am slowly cutting out processed sugar, although pop has always been a weakness of mine - I am aiming to get my 2 litres of water in.

 

I have many *specific* goals I want to achieve - my first handstand, my first Upward Bow (Urdva Dhanurasana/Bridge) and eventually my first Bridge Kickover. Not to mention the many, many pole moves that evade me.

 

I hope to see you all around the forums, and good luck on your own paths!

[caeliter]

You posted in my intro thread! Thought I'd return the greeting... so... Hi!

 

I get the soda weakness, at my highest weight, I was drinking like 5-6 cans a day. (I didn't realize it at the time until I was asked to track my soda intake, it was all kind of happening subconsciously)

 

I found even after 2 weeks of not drinking soda, when I finally did cave and grab one, that it didn't taste NEARLY as good. I noticed it too on a couple other occasions since. Soda tastes more bland flavor wise, but more sweet at the same time... too sweet now. Like, I might as well just buy a big bag of sugar instead and eat that by the spoonful since it'd probably be cheaper for me >.<

 

I don't eat/drink a lot of other sweets either though, occasional apple juice after work, sometimes a "naked" strawberry banana, and those sometimes taste a little too sweet too. Your experiences might not be the same depending on what sweets you still indulge in and when, either way, at this point I don't really even find myself tempted to drink soda. (occasionally the red-bull zero because I hate coffee, but I am still a bit of a caf-feind)

[elphiegrl]

Oh! I found tracking a great idea too! 5 -6 is what I was usually drink on a bad day, normally I'm drinking 3 -4, but I've switched to the diet stuff after my Dr. said she would rather drink poison than full-sugar pop!

 

But I'll certainly try swapping out the pop for something else; although it's hard to let go as it's my last sweet thing (no chocolate, no sweets, no ice cream - if I crave a sweet food, I'll generally reach for a banana or apple) AND it's my only caffeine source (coffee makes me feel a bit sick)  

[caeliter]

Tea also has a bit of caffeine, how do you feel about tea?

 

I like my caffeine, so this advice is super hypocritical, but there are a lot of advantages to cutting back caffeine use. In particular, it takes about 6 hours for half the caffeine you drink to work out of your system, so if  you drink it too late in the day it can absolutely mess up your sleep cycle, which means you feel more tired, which increases your feeling that you need to rely on it to get through the day, which messes up your sleep cycle more, etc. Setting yourself a caffeine curfew and progressively moving it earlier and earlier might help you kick the stuff, simply by increasing your quality of sleep and reducing the need for it. Maybe not, but it's worth a try.

 

If you made the switch to diet consistently, then you're already way better off than you were. Cutting it all except the occasional indulgence has significantly helped my wallet though >.< so I'm definitely down to brainstorm ideas for how to ween yourself off the diet stuff too if you want.

[elphiegrl]

I love tea! The problem is that if I am going to drink it, I will put about 3 sugars in (far too much!) Cutting it out completely has been a good step.

I think I will just make the transition to diet, it's generally cheaper than regular (from what I've found) - cutting out caffeine is a challenge that I will do...one day...

But thanks, you're right, caffeine curfew will help with sleeping at least!

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[Son of Rylos]

I love tea! The problem is that if I am going to drink it, I will put about 3 sugars in (far too much!) Cutting it out completely has been a good step.

I think I will just make the transition to diet, it's generally cheaper than regular (from what I've found) - cutting out caffeine is a challenge that I will do...one day...

But thanks, you're right, caffeine curfew will help with sleeping at least!

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I have that same issue. Live my tea but sugar wants to play. Now, I have found that I use less sugar on a well flavored tea, like peppermint, than I do with straight black tea. Otherwise I tend to use something unnatural like Splenda or Sweet n Low.

Ohhh caffeine. I still need that in my life. And usual in cold form. I've been going with limiting my soda intake and that helps but I really need to start being diligent with not drinking it at all.

Plus, just have to say, loved Wicked. One of my old bosses was a major theatre nerd and used to play the soundtrack for Wicked at work.

[elphiegrl]

Ooh, I might try that. I have seen a couple of different flavours of tea (lemongrass, rose etc.) that I would like to try. Honestly? I love a cold can of coke far too much to give up yet.

Thank you! I fell in love with the soundtrack before I ever got to see the show and when I did, I cried!

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[Son of Rylos]

Hey Elphie, how's it going? Any success so far with the tea? I need to get some more tea myself to have at work, I have access to a soda machine there that is WAY too tempting all the time. Maybe some Twining's Peppermint is in my future (tried it at a restaurant recently and liked it).

 

I saw a regional performance of Wicked some years back. Nothing huge but it was really good. I can't say I cried but I definitely had lots of feels during it. 

[PoppaScotty]

Be careful with those sweeteners with Aspartame and Glucose (Or whatever it is).  I read an article recently that talked about how Aspartame affects your body's ability to properly process sugar, and ends up being worse for you than just having the sweet drink.  I'd suggest asking the doctor about the affects of artificial sweeteners and see which ones s/he recommends.

 

I have the same problem though, not with soda but with sweet drinks...  Especially caffeinated ones.  I'm a huge fan of Sweet Tea, and had to find alternatives to drink.  Turns out about half my daily calories were coming from my drink choices.  Lately I've been drinking a lot of green tea, as the sugar content is about half of most of the pre-sweetened teas.  I'm also brewing my own so I have more control over how much sugar goes in.  I'm finding the unsweetened "naturally" flavored options work okay as well, like mint.

[projectme]

Hi elephagirl!!!!!! You clearly speak my musical theatre language Welcome to the group!

 

My one recommendation with NERD is baby steps.  I kept over committing and dropping off the internet after feeling frustrated.  This time I'm back with tiny, realistic goals! Took long enough, huh? Hang in there!!

 

Keep dancing through life!