Urgan Shows Up, Does the Thing

[Urgan]

...and in a bizarre Monday twist, in a "bug fix and stability update" today MFP has booted everyone on the app and without cached credentials off and there is no way to log into it. I am sitting on a saved credential desktop site through my phone's Chrome browser.

 

File this one under Needless Anxiety.

[Urgan]

November 2018 Goals

This is normal

 

Ah, sweet relief from the summer heat...and now we have darkness on the drive home. Yeeeee buddy DST go home, my energy may not have tanked but I miss my pre-dawn gym drive. Maybe we can make it to the New Year without having to do the Big Spend on replacing the entire climate control system--everything but the thermostat itself. My weight is finally on the slow march south, likely having to do with ditching the super hot weather, but still I'll take it. I have not been minding sodium too closely, just if it gets like 4000+, I make a few substitutions in the hopes of keeping it a more or less constant level. Seems like a reasonable expectation. Overall clothes fit is pretty good, I have for the most part put a stop to the waist issues with my current work pants, but I think I'm still going to not be able to wear my jeans from Old Job--but that's a butt issue more than a waist issue lol. The headache issue reported a couple months ago hasn't repeated itself, due to the fact that I am rolling my upper back after every upper body gym session and many lower body sessions, too. It helps keep the desk headaches down a bit. After a two-week Shark Week hell time, my energy has been really good actually. Just in time, because my husband is having surgery tomorrow and I can't be having with the feeling run down right now. And we're back to a 4 week "month" for goals again.

 

Nutrition 

Last month's efforts of stepping down from 2300 to 2200 calories seem to have paid off. My wallet has been spared another season. I think if I can maintain at 117lbs, that will be optimal. To that end, I'm keeping everything the same since it's working. Might need to carb bomb Thursday night to prep for Friday, since that is the place where I am weakest. Carb bomb = 165 is the baseline to clear, at the expense of fats if need be. Step one: figure out where those carbs gonna come from.....

 

2200 Calories. 0 : 0

110 Protein. 0 : 0

165 Carbs. 0 : 0

20 Fiber. 0 : 0

122 Fats. 0 : 0

<50 Sugar. 0/28

Carb bomb: 0/4

 

Aikido

Jo. This is going to stay here until I get my purple belt and it becomes Jo Kata II, lol.

0/8

Tech Review. So I backslid on this in October, just a hair. New plan. Monday and Tuesday reviews Monday's lesson, Wednesday and Thursday reviews Wednesday's. 4x/week, starting next week because 1 - testing is on Wednesday even if I make it to the dojo, and yesterday was jiu waza, so...just gonna start the clock on next week. 

0/12

 

Adulting

I'm moving measurements to a monthly check-in. I don't expect them to change a lot, but I think I do want to keep in touch with them at some level. Plan is to take them the first Saturday of the month (11/10 in this case). After much prep work, I am ready to begin my winter moisturizing routine (as opposed to the summer moisturizing routine, which consisted of Existing....). My thumbs have already chapped, cracked, and bled, so YAY THAT. Lotion, cream, butter, whatever. Daily. Live it, love it. Oh and get rid of all those clothes sitting on the table in the bedroom--put 'em on, put 'em up, put 'em in the donation bag. Just get them off that table. That seems like a reasonable goal given the way this month is starting.

 

Measurements. 

Moisturize. 0/28

Conquer Mt. Pants.

 

 

Weekly Debriefs:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

[Mistr]

I love Conquer Mt. Pants.  

 

I am in the  midst of the summer/winter clothes swap. I also have dress pants that have been hanging on the closet door knob for months. I might be able to fit into one pair if I lose 10 lbs. Might. I suspect the others are so old that they would look silly even if they fit. Time to put them in the donation bag. And put the donation bag in my car, since the bedroom has to be guest-ready by Thursday.

 

Congratulations on the PRs!

 

I totally agree you did the right thing by staying home over the weekend. Keeping life going while your husband is at a work event is good division of labor.

[Urgan]

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

I love Conquer Mt. Pants.  

 

I am in the  midst of the summer/winter clothes swap. I also have dress pants that have been hanging on the closet door knob for months. I might be able to fit into one pair if I lose 10 lbs. Might. I suspect the others are so old that they would look silly even if they fit. Time to put them in the donation bag. And put the donation bag in my car, since the bedroom has to be guest-ready by Thursday.

 

This is me, but the misfit is more insidious. Standing up the pants feel fine, but due to gainz prepare for slow death by wedgie. Sometimes? Depends on the brand? WHO KNOWS, NOT I.

 

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

Congratulations on the PRs!

 

Thanks, I feeling pretty pumped that my dietary experimentation has not murdered my progress lol.

 

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

I totally agree you did the right thing by staying home over the weekend. Keeping life going while your husband is at a work event is good division of labor.

 

I could contend I was doing him (and his boss) a favor by not agreeing to be locked inside a rolling can for 8+ hours one way.....just sayin'. 

 

 

I did a lot of work, but I also did a lot of nothing, too, lol. 

[Urgan]

11/5/2018 + 11/6/2018

https://media.giphy.com/media/MuHPdJT9dY5SXF2UZO/200w.gif

What even is happening here?

Nutrition 

2200 Calories. 2252 : 2295, 2208

110 Protein. 113 : 97, 128

165 Carbs. 131 : 137, 125

20 Fiber. 14 : 22, 5

122 Fats. 141 : 150, 132

<50 Sugar. 2/28

Carb bomb: 0/4

 

Aikido

Jo. 0/8

Tech Review. 0/12

 

Adulting

Measurements. 

Moisturize. 2/28

Conquer Mt. Pants.

 

Bench

45         5

60         5

70         3

80         3

90         2x1

102       3x2

 

OHP

45         5

50         3

60         3

70         1

65         6x3

 

We have been gearing up for surgery times. At work I've been trying to get things as buttoned up for my days off as possible. Friday isn't going to be awesome, but can't be helped. The surgery and deployment aren't going to reschedule themselves around one another. Dojo was jiu waza, which means any grasping attack was fair game.

 

Tuesday was more of the same, plus malfunctioning sinuses. I'm going to have a lot to do in a short time on Friday for sure. Ugh.

 

I'm in the waiting room with family. Surgery is over and a 100% success, we're waiting for him to come around and such before heading home. Next 3 days will suck, as anyone would expect, but by Monday he should be considering going back to work. If not exactly full duty, as it involves heavy lifting and awkward posturing. 

[shaar]

Glad for a good surgery report, that's the best one can hope for!  Man, you must have had your fill of hospitals and surgery recovery by now, huh....

[Urgan]

2 hours ago, shaar said:

Glad for a good surgery report, that's the best one can hope for!  Man, you must have had your fill of hospitals and surgery recovery by now, huh....

 

Funny you should say that. Dad needs cataract surgery soon. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAkillmenow

[shaar]

43 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

Funny you should say that. Dad needs cataract surgery soon. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAkillmenow

 

 

 

I hope you have your application for sainthood ready..

[Urgan]

11/7/2018 + 11/8/2018

MINE MINE MINE

Nutrition 

2200 Calories. 2252 : 2097, 2259

110 Protein. 113 : 95, 108

165 Carbs. 131 : 208, 179

20 Fiber. 14 : 14, 27

122 Fats. 141 : 95, 123

<50 Sugar. 2/28

Carb bomb. 1/4

 

Aikido

Jo. 0/8

Tech Review. 0/12

 

Adulting

Measurements. 

Moisturize. 4/28

Conquer Mt. Pants.

 

Squat

45           10

115         5

125         3

145         3

160         1

180         1

185         5x2

 

Deadlifts

135         5

150         3

170         3

190         1

210         5x2

 

Thursday was gym time because Wednesday was just a no-go. We got to the hospital at 6AM, left at 3:30, had to bear witness to some part of The View because the damned waiting room tv was tuned to it thought I was going to throw my lunchbox clear CLEAR through the screen at one point just looking at it (headphones saved lives that day), and multiple trips from home to CVS were required. I was d.e.d. Also I think it's fair to say I hit carbs by way of unwrapped Starburst minis. I can honestly say that after staring at a bag of them for weeks that the effect is not nearly as spectacular as imagined. So I'll finish this bag off and not buy more. Hopefully ever. Honestly Sour Patch watermelons are more Worth It in terms of flavor. It goes without saying that my sugar macro was blown clear off the edge of the Grand Canyon, however I did win in terms of making enough calories in spite of spending 9~ hours in the hospital and 2-3 more traveling. This happened because I Planned and brought my lunchbox full of food. Eating constantly was the only way I skated by with a mild headache toward the end. Also my bland-arse tortilla chips were helpful in being something not-drying for husband to eat after recovering from anesthesia. Saltine crackers were too...saltine. 

 

So here we are two days out of surgery. It's been a trip, let me just say. We went from crying in pain from just existing on Wednesday and standing up risked passing out to Thursday evening hobbling in for the chicken noodle soup of the ages (do not let the title alarm you). It is the actual best chicken noodle soup recipe in existence. Compression garments are handy for times such as these. Now hilariously the next item on the To Do list is a decent BM. The neverending story. Of our lives. 

 

19 hours ago, shaar said:

 

 

 

I hope you have your application for sainthood ready..

 

I have earned something, I'm just not sure what yet. 

[shaar]

Holy cats The View is the worst and needs to be blighted off the face of this planet

 

Maybe only secondary to Dr. Phil..........

[Urgan]

9 minutes ago, shaar said:

Holy cats The View is the worst and needs to be blighted off the face of this planet

 

Maybe only secondary to Dr. Phil..........

 

Sent straight into the Sun. These are the Jerry Springers of our times.

[Kishi]

Yeah, people be like, "You don't watch TV?" and I be like, "Oh, you know, Netflix, Crunchyroll, some series on YouTube," and they be like "... you don't watch TV?" ;;

 

Anyway, glad to hear he made it through his surgery. Herniae suck.

[Urgan]

1 minute ago, Kishi said:

Yeah, people be like, "You don't watch TV?" and I be like, "Oh, you know, Netflix, Crunchyroll, some series on YouTube," and they be like "... you don't watch TV?" ;;

 

If I'm being honest, the noise it makes angers me. Ads + local channel drivel that somehow manages to command attention it doesn't deserve.

 

3 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Anyway, glad to hear he made it through his surgery. Herniae suck.

 

So we are learning. He is recovering pretty well though, since today he is by himself and to hear him tell it, he's eaten so that means he is still ambulatory lol. Yesterday he was making uncertain noises about even wanting to go back to work on Monday (the DOCTOR suggested he might want to go back to work--not normal work, but just showing up) but I think Doc is right, given the trajectory of healing and the stir-crazy that will be setting in, in spite of a planned football game-watching excursion on Saturday. It's going to be a 2:30 game, God be praised, for it shall be an empty gym come 24 hours. EMPTY. Glory hallelujah. 

[Mistr]

Glad to hear that the surgery went well and recovery is underway. I'll bet that by Monday he will want to see a different set of walls. Even if all he can do is get caught up on paperwork in the office.

 

Yay for the empty gym! I've run into that before when I had the good luck to go to the grocery store during a game.  

[Urgan]

On 11/9/2018 at 4:00 PM, Mistr said:

Glad to hear that the surgery went well and recovery is underway. I'll bet that by Monday he will want to see a different set of walls. Even if all he can do is get caught up on paperwork in the office.

 

He is visiting his parents and mine (they live like 5 minutes apart) today, so he is getting a little break. But the stircrazy will happen. It will be funny to hear what he will be up to on Tuesday. He will just miss garbage weather forecasted for Monday. Rain all day with temperatures crashing as the day proceeds. GROSS. Aikido will be Interesting that night. 

 

On 11/9/2018 at 4:00 PM, Mistr said:

Yay for the empty gym! I've run into that before when I had the good luck to go to the grocery store during a game. 

 

It is the best feeling in the whole world this side of shaved legs and fuzzy pjs.

[Urgan]

Praise me, y'all. That bag if Starburst minis I bought on Wednesday? I threw them away before finishing the whole bag. I never throw out edible food and am reluctant to toss stuff that I am allergic/sensitive to. It was kinda difficult. You'd think I had been through the Great Depression....

[Urgan]

11/9/2018 - 11/11/2018

It's always a calculated act around here

Nutrition 

2200 Calories. 2307 : 2199, 2674, 2419

110 Protein. 115 : 134, 134, 113

165 Carbs. 162 : 145, 214, 124

20 Fiber. 20 : 20, 28, 25

122 Fats. 131 : 121, 138, 159

<50 Sugar. 4/28

Carb bomb. 1/4

 

Aikido

Jo. 1/8

Tech Review. 0/12

 

Adulting

Measurements.

Waist. 24.5 - 24.5 - 0

Navel. 27.1 - 27.0 - -0.1

Hips. 35.0 - 35.0 - 0

Thigh L. 20.5 - 20.0 - -0.5

Thigh R. 20.3 - 20.1 - -0.2

Weight. 117.2 - 117.4 - .2

Moisturize. 7/28

Conquer Mt. Pants.

 

Friday

OHP

45         2x5

50         3

55         3

70         1

75.5      5x2--2RM PR + .5LB!!

 

Bench

45         5

60         5

65         3

75         3

85         1

96         4x3

 

First things first. Recovery is going well. By Friday hubs was able to walk himself around the house and take care of himself in general, which was good because I had to go back to work lol. And the gym. Scored a small but meaningful PR on OHP. Work was busy but not quite as bad as I feared, having taken those two days off. The time off did help make getting to the end of the day less of a drag, but all the same I was glad to be home. 

 

Saturday

Squat

45           5

115         5

125         3

145         3

160         1

185         1

192         3x2

193         2x2

195         2--2RM PR + 4LBS!!

 

Deadlifts

135         5

150         5

170         3

190         1

223         4x2

225         2--2RM PR + 4LBS!!

 

I threw that dang bag of Starbursts away. It was like pulling teeth to drop it in the garbage can, but I shouldn't have really bought them anyway, in hindsight. At least I can say I know what they taste like and it isn't as amazing as remembered.

 

Last week was 117.2lbs. This week was 117.4lbs. Given Shark Week should be upon me soon, this is more than acceptable. My measurements showed me holding steady or dropping fractions of inches. Sweet. Note those calories are NOT on target, they're over by 100. This was mostly due to higher calories on the latter half of the week, but they clearly went to good use because I've PR'd 3 of the big 4 in two days. I've pushed myself pretty hard. Why? To put some space between my 2RM and 3RM. Rather than 2s being a taster for 3s week, 2s is going to be increasing in intensity and doing work of its own to help drive progress by maintaining consistent volume with elevated weight to past cycles. Hence the nutty 4lb jump for lower body lifts. Nice round numbers were a tiny leap of faith away. I'm going to nudge upper body lifts up a bit more, and hold lower body at these weights--that seems like solid progress. I was pretty sore directly after this session, as you might imagine, due in part to the unusual decisions made on loading the bar and partly from choosing to do more laundry duty than is typical of a Saturday...



Sunday

...and that offloaded my Sunday enormously. I spent less time on laundry and food than normal due to having a LOT of food in the fridge (by way of my mother and my husband's boss, not as much my own efforts...) and having essentially halved the laundry effort on Saturday. I did a lot of lying down, despite that not much DOMS to speak of for Sunday. It was really glorious. Husband went for a couple little walks, which was a lot of effort for him, and he did catch some Hell for the football watching he did on Saturday. Not too bad, though. He was able to work down to just Tylenol after one Percocet first thing in the morning (he has a few safety net pills left, actually), per my advice since I suspected he would be most sore then. No work on Mt. Pants because what a week. I also failed to do two jo practice sessions, just the one. Needs improvement.

 

200g carbs is infrequent now. The average carbs over the last 2.5 months is 155g. I'm going to give myself back 50 calories. My suspicion is my weight loss is due to a combination of weather change and reduction of carbs. I see a pattern where last weekend will be the lowest weight week of the month (1 week prior to Shark Week). I want to see what happens if I give myself a little more wiggle room, specifically the post-Aikido food block. That time where I cram in whatever I need to in order to get close-ish to target. The space between dinner and post-Aikido is around 3 hours, the smallest space between meals of the day, and yet I am as hungry as between lunch and dinner (5-6 hours). No shock to a martial artist, I'm sure. I suspect I will not notice these extra 50 calories. Experiment starts now.

[Mistr]

Congrats on the PRs!

 

Good to hear that your husband is recovering well.

 

I think your plan sounds reasonable, but I have no expertise at all in weight training. On Friday I worked out in the building that has the squat rack. I thought of you. I tried doing the shoulder stretches on the bar and was pleased to see that I can almost get into proper low bar position. That gives me hope that I can put weight training back in my plan once I finish this round of Elements + yoga.

[Urgan]

7 minutes ago, Mistr said:

Congrats on the PRs!

 

Good to hear that your husband is recovering well.

 

Thanks, we just be trucking along. He's driving today for the first time since Tuesday, God knows why it is the worst weather ever today with the high in the upper 40s and raining...all day...yuck.

 

10 minutes ago, Mistr said:

I think your plan sounds reasonable, but I have no expertise at all in weight training.

 

It's all just a matter of establishing something that doesn't suck and making little tweaks toward your #1 priority without overturning all the other apple carts lol.

 

11 minutes ago, Mistr said:

On Friday I worked out in the building that has the squat rack. I thought of you. I tried doing the shoulder stretches on the bar and was pleased to see that I can almost get into proper low bar position. That gives me hope that I can put weight training back in my plan once I finish this round of Elements + yoga.

 

I know if you keep asking your shoulders to be a little more mobile, you will eventually get there. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, though, I hope you are getting under the bar even if you're actually doing something more like high bar. Eventually the weight will act as a passive stretch on its own and you'll only be adding a bit at a time so it will not hurt you.

[Mistr]

3 hours ago, Urgan said:

I know if you keep asking your shoulders to be a little more mobile, you will eventually get there. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, though, I hope you are getting under the bar even if you're actually doing something more like high bar. Eventually the weight will act as a passive stretch on its own and you'll only be adding a bit at a time so it will not hurt you.

 

For this and the next challenge or two I am working through Elements again. It combines bodyweight exercises, mobility and has more cardio than I remembered. I really need all of those. The last time I tried it my mobility was so limiting that I never even got close to a cardio workout. This time it is better. I think doing this will give me a good base for adding strength training next. Two of the three movement exercises are done from low squat position (frog hops and monkey movement). Bear walks also have an upper body strength component, as well as a mobility component for the hamstrings.

 

The other enemy of my getting under the bar is that I have to drive to get there. That stops being a valid excuse once the weather gets bad. I can walk across the street to work out in nice weather. Once it gets nasty I take the car to save 5 minutes and stay dry. I could just as easily drive three minutes more and get to the weight room.

[Urgan]

1 minute ago, Mistr said:

The other enemy of my getting under the bar is that I have to drive to get there. That stops being a valid excuse once the weather gets bad. I can walk across the street to work out in nice weather. Once it gets nasty I take the car to save 5 minutes and stay dry. I could just as easily drive three minutes more and get to the weight room.

 

So in the summer you have small cardio and strength training and in winter it's just strength training lol.

[Urgan]

11/12/2018

Wish I was here

Nutrition 

2200 Calories. 2303 : 2303

110 Protein. 129 : 129

165 Carbs. 185 : 185

20 Fiber. 47 : 47

122 Fats. 116 : 116

<50 Sugar. 5/28

Carb bomb. 1/4

 

Aikido

Jo. 1/8

Tech Review. 0/12

 

Adulting

Measurements.

Moisturize. 8/28

Conquer Mt. Pants.

Bench

45         5

60         5

70         3

80         3

90         2x1

102.5   3x2--2RM PR + .5LB!!

 

OHP

45         2x5

50         3

65         3

70         1

65         5x3

 

Hello winter. If I can get up and go to the gym when it's raining and <50 degrees, the rest of the season is going to be a piece of cake. 102.5lbs, as it turns out, is very, very difficult to do a week after 102. 3 was all I could do more because of the weight than the time, but time was pretty short, too. 

 

Work went by fairly quickly, which was a standout given how the first few days of this week in the dev cycle tend to be dead for QA. You have to have something to test in order to...well, you know...test. 

 

Dojo time was not really a technique kind of night, it was Deal with the Knife kind of night. Yokomenuchi and munetsuki standard responses (shihonage and kotegaeshi), variants, and then just kind of going crazy rolling around trying to see what nage will do. I sort of forgot to review this in the evening, because that's apparently a thing.

[Urgan]

11/13/2018

Tuesday Productivity Like

Nutrition 

2200 Calories. 2217 : 2131

110 Protein. 136 : 143

165 Carbs. 171 : 156

20 Fiber. 43 : 38

122 Fats. 110 : 104

<50 Sugar. 6/28

Carb bomb. 1/4

 

Aikido

Jo. 1/8

Tech Review. 1/12

 

Adulting

Measurements.

Moisturize. 9/28

Conquer Mt. Pants.

In a fit of serendipity, I remembered to do my technique review at like, the most last minute possible--in bed with the lights off, just before turning off the laptop. The Deal with the Knife stuff is only really useful to review in that we're going to build on it Wednesday. Or so it was foretold. I have noticed something. Tuesdays and Thursdays I am prone to exhibiting cold-like sinus symptoms even though the rest of me is decidedly not cold, other days I am perfectly fine. The common denominator is Tuesdays and Thursdays are rest days, so I lack the extra caffeine and physical stimulation that warms me up before I hit the office. I was able to demonstrate to myself that avoiding a cold drink in the cold meeting room + hot food halted the "cold." Hmm. 

 

Otherwise this day was cold and boring and I just wanted it to end.

 

 

I find it interesting that my weight has essentially held steady over the last three weigh-ins (as of Wednesday morning), 119.2 and 119.4. My body is repeating the pre-Shark Week week thing, which pisses me off, but at least the number on the scale is Doing Something I Want, which could not be said of last month. Haven't seen 120 in what feels like a hot minute--last sighting was Halloween, actually. I'm still holding out hope that things could turn out normal later on, but hope is fading fast.

[Mistr]

2 hours ago, Urgan said:

I have noticed something. Tuesdays and Thursdays I am prone to exhibiting cold-like sinus symptoms even though the rest of me is decidedly not cold, other days I am perfectly fine. The common denominator is Tuesdays and Thursdays are rest days, so I lack the extra caffeine and physical stimulation that warms me up before I hit the office. I was able to demonstrate to myself that avoiding a cold drink in the cold meeting room + hot food halted the "cold." Hmm. 

 

Excellent observation! Now on to testing variations on the theme to find a good way to deal.

 

2 hours ago, Urgan said:

I find it interesting that my weight has essentially held steady over the last three weigh-ins (as of Wednesday morning), 119.2 and 119.4. My body is repeating the pre-Shark Week week thing, which pisses me off, but at least the number on the scale is Doing Something I Want, which could not be said of last month. Haven't seen 120 in what feels like a hot minute--last sighting was Halloween, actually. I'm still holding out hope that things could turn out normal later on, but hope is fading fast.

 

A couple weeks of progress is a positive trend. Hopefully it will continue through Shark Week.

[Urgan]

4 minutes ago, Mistr said:

Excellent observation! Now on to testing variations on the theme to find a good way to deal.

 

This would be so much easier if I hadn't gotten hooked on kombucha....but a non-medical lifestyle fix beats a lifetime of maintenance medication any day. Overall, my engine is running hotter than it was a year ago, hotter than several of the men in my immediate vicinity, which amuses me greatly. So it's kind of bizarre, these "cold sinus" days. I like being able to take a hoodie sweatshirt out another 10 degrees cooler before having to upgrade the hoodie to an actual coat. (A year ago, I had to use a thicker jacket/coat at <70 degrees and now I can take it down closer to 60). I can only attribute this to the combination of diet changes, because that's what's changed lately. This would also explain why the hot weather might have affected me a bit in the water retention department?

 

14 minutes ago, Mistr said:

A couple weeks of progress is a positive trend. Hopefully it will continue through Shark Week.

 

We shall see....