CakeBanisher Carrying On

[CakeBanisher]

I’m back for more!  I’m posting a couple days late, I know…but I have been doing the challenge.  Last challenge was good for me, so I’m excited to be continuing on in this one  

 

Brief background on me: I’m finishing up my undergraduate degrees (violin performance and psychology, minors in human biology and math).  I had a lot of injuries from music in high school, and though college, which had me paranoid about my body.  I got super weak and super overweight (obese, in fact), and I am now trying to get myself back together from that.  I’ve got a lot of chronic pain I’m trying to manage, and getting in better shape and losing weight is probably the most important thing I can do.  Also, I’ll be cosplaying for the first time later this year, and I want to be a bit more comfortable in my body by then  

 

 

Goal 1: 30 Days of Yoga

Grading: finish/very close = A

This is a continuation of last challenge.  I really enjoy yoga, and I think it helps with some of my chronic pain, but I don’t quite have it established as a habit yet.  So, I’m doing another challenge of including yoga    I’m using this playlist, I find it helps me to have some guidance.  I’m allowing the occasional missed day due to unforeseen circumstances, but the idea is I’d like to try and get through the whole playlist without missing a day.  I did day 4 Sunday, and finished day 6 yesterday (doing 7 when I get home tonight)  

 

Goal 2: Calories.

Grading: grade each week, final grade is the average

This isn’t an ideal goal.  But I need to lose weight, and I need to do something to sort of get me into gear.  I had success with tracking calories before, so hopefully this will serve to sort of get me into the right mindset.  I’m setting a loose goal of about 1400 in a day, but if I have the occasional day that’s off from that, I’m okay with it.  I also might alter that number depending on how I feel.  We’ll see.

 

Goal 3: Tracking System

Grading: not sure -  suggestions welcome  

This includes developing and using a tracking system for everything.  This is maybe a slightly convoluted goal, but I need to do it.  I’ve tried various things before, but everything is scattered across multiple notebooks and google docs.  I need to find a way to have everything consolidated, and work out a system of recording stuff.  “Stuff” includes everything I eat, all yoga/physical activity, general notes about things, etc.  This goal isn’t just about developing a system, it’s also about using it SMILEY

 

 

Life goal: Morning and Evening routines

Grading: by week, average at end

Basically, establish and stick to a routine morning and night.  This includes the usual “brush teeth, floss, etc.” as well as weirder things like “brush my hair.”  I may also work some stretching into my routines as things get more established.

 

 

So, those are my goals this challenge!  I’m looking forward to it!

[PollyannaAgain]

Sounds like a good plan to me!

 

For your system, what didn't you like about your previous attempts? Maybe that would give you an idea of things to start looking at. I tried Sparkpeople for a while--they've got food, fitness, and measurement tracking, and you can have your own blog page. I eventually gave up though because I hate recording calories. I tend to obsess over numbers when I do stuff like that. I also did a month of just writing down what I ate in a notebook, and that seemed to help. I have separate notebooks for my workouts and measurements.

 

Good luck with everything!

[Koaladle]

How has it been going? 

[Koaladle]

Hope you're doing well! Check in soon! <3

[CakeBanisher]

Man, I have not been checking in here, have I?  My bad...school has been super busy, leading into the end of the semester, so I've been prioritizing that.  It's now finals, and I'm putting off differential equations by finally doing an update here...  

 

 

 

For your system, what didn't you like about your previous attempts? Maybe that would give you an idea of things to start looking at. I tried Sparkpeople for a while--they've got food, fitness, and measurement tracking, and you can have your own blog page. I eventually gave up though because I hate recording calories. I tend to obsess over numbers when I do stuff like that. I also did a month of just writing down what I ate in a notebook, and that seemed to help. I have separate notebooks for my workouts and measurements.

 

My main issue is all my stuff was scattered across multiple documents and notebooks.  This was especially problematic in summer, because traveling with everything was super confusing and I'd end up just not doing stuff.  I also need at least food to be digital, sine I can't always carry a notebook but do have my phone.  You've got some good ideas, thanks for sharing   I think having the two things may be the way to go.  I only do measurements once a month, so what I'm tending towards right now is that spreadsheet, a document for general notes (food, how I feel, etc.) and one for my workouts (...when I get back into doing that...next month is the plan  ).

 

 

Koaladle, you're so sweet! <3 Thanks for checking in with me!

 

 

Update:

 

So, this challenge has been sort of hit or miss thus far.  Some days are good, some not so great (other than yoga - yoga's always great  )

 

Yoga - I've missed a few days this challenge, just finished day 14 today, but I've mostly been consistent and man, I feel soooooo much better for doing it!  I didn't do it Sunday or Monday (first real "miss streak" this challenge) and boy, I could feel it today...so I did about 45 minutes and now my whole body feels so much better, it's really incredible.  This definitely needs to just be a part of my life forever, it works so well for me and makes me feel good and happy  Yay yoga!

 

Tracking is going okay, although I wouldn't say great.  Probably B range, if we're looking at grades.  I've got occasional blank stretches in my records, but I'm getting better and sorting out what works and what doesn't.  Also, the routine was going really well the first week and a half, then I sort of just...stopped doing it for no good reason.  Whoops.  Time to get back on the bandwagon  

 

Calories aren't going great.  Some days I'm well under 1400, some well over - there's no consistency, and I tend to fall into either the "I've already blown it, may as well go crazy" or "I don't know exactly how many calories are in this, better massively overestimate everything for a few days and then feel exhausted" traps.  Part of it might be I don't like the goal, because I know counting calories isn't really a healthy, sustainable way to lose weight, and I'm rebelling?  I dunno.  I have this goal because I need to lose a lot of weight, and counting calories was how I lost about 30 pounds a few years ago.  More on that below.  Basically, I think I'm going to keep this goal, but with the mindset that it's a way of figuring out more about what works and what doesn't, if that makes sense.  It'll serve as research for new, improved goals next challenge  

 

I wonder if my problem is that I fall back on counting calories to lose weight because "I know it works for me," but I'm a different person now than I was in high school when I lost weight before?  Maybe the issue is that even though it hasn't worked for a couple years, I keep doing it because it worked before, and I'm stubbornly sticking with that instead of re-evaluating what will work for who I am now?  I might have just had a slight epiphany writing this, lol.  Because really, I'm not the same person I was in high school (which I'm good with), but I haven't adapted for who I am now and there's a disconnect.  The way I self-motivate is vastly different now (and much healthier, I think).  So, maybe I need to take a step back and sort out what will work for me now  

 

 

[PollyannaAgain]

 

I wonder if my problem is that I fall back on counting calories to lose weight because "I know it works for me," but I'm a different person now than I was in high school when I lost weight before?  Maybe the issue is that even though it hasn't worked for a couple years, I keep doing it because it worked before, and I'm stubbornly sticking with that instead of re-evaluating what will work for who I am now?  I might have just had a slight epiphany writing this, lol.  Because really, I'm not the same person I was in high school (which I'm good with), but I haven't adapted for who I am now and there's a disconnect.  The way I self-motivate is vastly different now (and much healthier, I think).  So, maybe I need to take a step back and sort out what will work for me now  

 

 

I love having epiphanies! I think using this month's challenge as research on your calorie counting is a good idea. Maybe take a note of how you feel about the counting when you really, really don't want to do it. It might confirm your hypothesis. And it may take a while to figure out what works. High school bodies are definitely different from college and post-college bodies, so you might have to just experiment for a while. Maybe try tracking without counting if you think mindfulness when eating is an issue. Or, since you feel your motivation is healthier, perhaps something a little more broad nutrition-wise like making sure you get enough fruits, veggies, protein, etc. would be helpful. Just keep trying stuff until you find what works for you. Yay for no right or wrong answers!

 

As a side note, since you mentioned the "Blew It" effect up there, and then the overestimating, it might be helpful to learn easy ways to estimate portion sizes or to even start measuring your portions, if you don't already. You don't have to do either permanently--just long enough to teach yourself to recognize the amounts. I've found that keeps me on track, especially since I aim for the 80/20 thing with food--I can look at something and figure out what amount will keep me in the 20% range for "other food" and eat that, making my brain happy, while still maintaining my goals.

 

Nice job on the yoga! Keep up the good work!

[CakeBanisher]

PollyannaAgain, I've been trying to measure portions when I can to get an idea of portion sizes and whatnot.  For some things, I can be pretty accurate, but for things that are harder for me to measure I'm still figuring out how to have better estimates.  Thanks for the tip!  I might try the 80/20 thing at some point - that's neat that you can estimate by sight what you need to keep within it!

 

So, final update: This challenge has been sort of hit or miss...but still highly educational, which I count as at least a partial win  

 

Yoga went fantastically!  I only missed a few days, and I'm loving it!  And I can definitely notice I'm stronger and have a better range of motion, even with just a month of it.  Calories...had good days and bad days.  I think next challenge will have less of a calorie focus, that will likely work out better for me.  For tracking, I've sort of got everything except workouts (which I haven't been doing) consolidated into a single google doc, which seems to be working.  I'm still not using it quite as consistently as I'd like, but I'm getting better and have it much better organized.  My routine goal isn't sticking - I did really well with it part of the challenge, and was less consistent at other times.

 

So yeah - happy I did this challenge, even though my goals didn't all work out as I'd have liked.  Hopefully, I can learn from this and better set myself up for success next time around