Food and exercise log - no matter how bad it is

[Scumspawn]

This is my log of what I eat and what exercise I do, I'm starting it from a low point, I haven't slept properly for a couple of weeks and I want all the sugar and carbs.

First step sort out sleep (waiting for hormones to kick in),
second step cut out sugar and wheat


Wednesday 16th March 2016

Very little sleep, hot and cold flushes kept me awake.

Breakfast:
croissant, butter, cream cheese and smoked salmon, cup of tea

Snack
cream coffee choix pasty and latte - oh that sugar is so good, got me home from town

Lunch
leftover aubergine and goats cheese pie
Snack
cornetto

Dinner
kangaroo steak, courgette, mushrooms, sweet potatos
Berries and yoghurt with honey

I'm going to have a rare sleeping pill tonight, today has been really harsh.

[peelout]

Stopped by to be supportive.

[SevenofSeven]

Here to offer encouragement and support.

[Scumspawn]

Stopped by to be supportive.

 

 

Here to offer encouragement and support.

Oh you lovely people, thank you!

[Scumspawn]

17th March 2016

 

Kale, apple, pear, linseed smoothie
Eggs and kale

 

I WENT FOR A RUN! 1,13 miles in 17.27 mins - 15..29 mins a mile

something is better than nothing

snacks - apple and pnut butter, handful of dried fruit and nuts, grapes - triggers feeling cold and shivery

lunch - chicken and spinach
yoghurt, banana, berries and honey - trigger wanting something sweet, feeling sorry for myself, feeling tired

 

dinner - fish risotto

creme brulee

[peelout]

I WENT FOR A RUN! 1,13 miles in 17.27 mins - 15..29 mins a mile

something is better than nothing

 

Something is always better than nothing.

 

Haven't seen enough background to know how often you workout yet, but I read your challenges and chronologically blessed threads.  Heres a thought for making exercise a habit which has worked for me.  The reason I suggest it is because of the sleep issues you are having which affects motivation.  This method has allowed me to make daily exercise a habit that is as automated as brushing my teeth.  

 

Create several different exercise routines, some small, some big.

 

For me, its:

1)   Wt lifting + flexibility

2)  Core + flexibility

3)  Participation in any type of physical activity like climbing or kayaking

4  The placeholder (which I'll describe below)

 

Something for you might be:

1) Run - This would be used on days when high motivation, enough sleep, weather, and low body aches coincide (the stars align).

2) Walk for 15min - For days of lower motivation and/or physical strengh.  Less on the physical fitness, more on the mental fitness side.

3) 5-10 body wt or resistance type exercises - It's raining outside but you still feel reasonably motivated.

4)  The Placeholder - This does nothing for fitness.  It's only purpose is to build the habit.  You do decide what you want the placeholder to be.  It should be something that is easy enough to do that it can be done pretty much no matter how sick you are or how little sleep you got.  For me, its 10 freebody squats.  If I'm tired, a special occasion comes up, not motivated, or I'm sick, I use the placeholder.  I use the placeholder about once every 9 days, but someone else might want to use it much more or much less.

 

Decide that come what may, you'll exercise everyday.  Focus not on how much you do, only that you did it.  The placeholder is very important in creating the habit.  Its a way of programming the mind to accept that daily exercise is a part of your life.  It might not be a lot of exercise some days, but something will be done every day.  The whole point of this is to turn exercise into a habit just like brushing your teeth everymorning.  Make it an automated response to each new day.

 

Just a suggestion that I make to a lot of people.

[Scumspawn]

Something is always better than nothing.

 

Haven't seen enough background to know how often you workout yet, but I read your challenges and chronologically blessed threads.  Heres a thought for making exercise a habit which has worked for me.  The reason I suggest it is because of the sleep issues you are having which affects motivation.  This method has allowed me to make daily exercise a habit that is as automated as brushing my teeth.  

 

Create several different exercise routines, some small, some big.

 

Decide that come what may, you'll exercise everyday.  Focus not on how much you do, only that you did it.  The placeholder is very important in creating the habit.  Its a way of programming the mind to accept that daily exercise is a part of your life.  It might not be a lot of exercise some days, but something will be done every day.  The whole point of this is to turn exercise into a habit just like brushing your teeth everymorning.  Make it an automated response to each new day.

 

Just a suggestion that I make to a lot of people.

I totally love it! totally! I really need to think about it thank you!

I generally squat every day, lift a little to rehab my shoulder and walk most days. But I hadn't thought of the placeholder idea, that is genius!

[peelout]

My battle log talks a lot about habit formation.  I've been using a process by Charles Duhigg since the start of the year.  It's given me the ability to develop habits that take the work out of being consistent.  Link is below if you want to check it out some time.

[Scumspawn]

My battle log talks a lot about habit formation.  I've been using a process by Charles Duhigg since the start of the year.  It's given me the ability to develop habits that take the work out of being consistent.  Link is below if you want to check it out some time.

found this http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/

I'm a bit random with everything, some days I can eat as clean as you like, the next day every biscuit is in danger of their life.....it's such an unordered thing that triggers are hard to work out but I can certainly start writing down what has happened before I eat something not so good, see if there is a pattern - thank you!

[peelout]

Thats the nice thing about how I'm using Duhiggs process.  I ONLY focus on 1 small thing at a time and make it a habit.  How long I focus on that one thing depends on the complexity of what I am trying to achieve.  Once that 1 small thing is a habit, I add another.  It would matter what you do outside of the habits.  Success is only defined by whether you keep the habits.  One of mine was to eat a salad 6 days a week.  I could eat crap all day and still consider my day a success as long as I ate that salad.  Now, I have a salad 6+ days/week, and I never even thing about it.  After that, I added a new habit, the daily protein shake.  Very small steps turned into habits that have now accumulated into major changes in my lifestyle.  And they are so automated, they require no  will power.  Thats the beauty of Duhiggs process.

[Scumspawn]

Friday 18th March, not a great nights sleep, hot and cold flushes

Scrambled eggs and salad
Some chocolate
Leftover risotto

 

Cheese toasted sandwich on huge slabs of sourdough (ate out)

Walked, lifted a little.

 

pasta and veg for dinner

[peelout]

 

Walked, lifted a little.

Exercise?  Check!

[Scumspawn]

Saturday 19th March 2013

vegi sausage, mushrooms, tortilla wrap, cheese and egg
juice
poached egg on smoked haddock on sourdough bread
one pint of beer
baked potato, vegi chicken, leeks and goats cheese

4 biscuits
walked a lot

[peelout]

Definitely walking.  Now you can call your day a success and continue counting the number of days of continuous exercise.  A source of real pride to go along with being able to say you are in control of 1 thing in your life - daily exercise.  Something that only a small percentage of people can say. Keep track of your days of continuous exercise and definitely brag about it.  Then build on it little by little.    

[Scumspawn]

22 minutes ago, peelout said:

Definitely walking.  Now you can call your day a success and continue counting the number of days of continuous exercise.  A source of real pride to go along with being able to say you are in control of 1 thing in your life - daily exercise.  Something that only a small percentage of people can say. Keep track of your days of continuous exercise and definitely brag about it.  Then build on it little by little.    

yep, I've never gone more than 6 days in a row on the misfit with my walking goal - tomorrow will be day 7, and I'm bribing myself with a takeaway curry at the end of the walk :-)

[peelout]

After a while of racking up days, it becomes an obsession.  The best thing about it that even on day your depressed, eat bad, or anything else, if you can come back to this one thing and be in control of it.  That gets me through some days knowing no matter how shitty the day was, I kept my keystone habits and therefore my day was  a success.  

 

Once exercise is in control, add another small change. I'm on #6 now.

[Scumspawn]

Sunday 20th March, first day of spring

Been gardening, had a small bonfire, turned the compost bin and started to sort out the wood pile.

Bought loads of veg and fruit at the market.

 

Boiled eggs and sourdough bread

curry, rice, roti, pakora, samosa - basically a carb fest.

7 days of walking in a row!
I've noticed that Sunday has been a sit in front of Netflix day for a long time now, I just need to get out EVERY day for a walk now.

[SevenofSeven]

Good job on the 7 days in a row for the walking.

Are you tracking the number of steps per day?

[Scumspawn]

29 minutes ago, SevenofSeven said:

Good job on the 7 days in a row for the walking.

Are you tracking the number of steps per day?

sort of, I've got a misfit tracker, you set goals but they are not directly steps - so my goal is 800 points.
It's really hard to work out how they caculate points - yesterday Moderate activity gained me 203 points which it says is 1822 steps but the over all steps counts for 979 points is 9498 steps. I think you get more points for intense activity.

[Scumspawn]

Monday 21st March 2016
kale, carrot apple juice

bacon panini

samosa and pakora

cheese on toast

tofu and rice

home made cake and cream

square of dark choc

walked, but my tracker isn't showing it :-(

[Silverwitch]

Hi there!

Found ya… and I am very happy to see you're still here! 

Since I do not feel ready for another challenge ( I had a very bad February) , I'll hang around if I may, offering my support. :)

 

A battle log seems easier to maintain than challenges, which are bound to sort of get scattered after a while. 

 

[Hyperion]

I don't know why but i've missed your log. Following this from now on!

[Scumspawn]

urgh, didn't track! Deduct from that the fact I haven't been eating very good stuff at all.
but! I'm on day 12 of my walking daily goal! and I have bought the Power of Habit.....

[Scumspawn]

On 21/03/2016 at 7:01 PM, Silverwitch said:

Hi there!

Found ya… and I am very happy to see you're still here! 

Since I do not feel ready for another challenge ( I had a very bad February) , I'll hang around if I may, offering my support.

 

A battle log seems easier to maintain than challenges, which are bound to sort of get scattered after a while. 

 

It's been a weird year - I hope you are ok x

[peelout]

23 minutes ago, Scumspawn said:

urgh, didn't track! Deduct from that the fact I haven't been eating very good stuff at all.
but! I'm on day 12 of my walking daily goal! and I have bought the Power of Habit.....

Hope you like the Power of Habit.  Probably responsible for the single biggest change in my life (outside wife and kids).

Maybe you'll drink the koolaid like I did.

 

Great job on day 12 of walking.  Just keep that your only measure of success for a while.  Then when you feel comfortable, make 1 small dietary change and turn that into a habit.  These small changes eventually add up.