AthenaMM Journeys On

[Elleica]

On 5/5/2016 at 9:45 AM, AthenaMM said:

I've decided to up my average steps to 10,500 steps. It's not a big jump but since I shoot for an average I didn't want to do too big of a jump. Instead of trying to average 10,500 steps each week, I want to average 10,500 steps for the month. That will give me a little more leeway during the parents' visit. After this month I'll go back to a weekly average.

Good idea on doing an average! I think I'll try this for next challenge instead of sticking on a daily set goal.

 

On 5/5/2016 at 9:45 AM, AthenaMM said:

I used this scale in my first challenge and that's what I've been using for the past month.

This is great! I've been meaning to want to find out if I am eating enough or not ever since I switched to Paleo. I am not so good with calorie counting -- as some suggested -- but your method seems more plausible to me. 

 

On 5/8/2016 at 9:58 AM, AthenaMM said:

 I haven't thrown out any produce and I finished off the lettuce, bell pepper, spring onions, new potatoes, spinach, green onions and broccoli. I'm down to root vegetables, lemons, limes and some rock hard pears that I need to put on the counter so they can ripen, but grocery day is Monday.

 What do you do with the veggies? I am trying to find means to enjoy them differently than just steamed and raw.

 

 

Great challenges by the way! 

[erosan]

grill them in the oven

this "message" was brought to you through the ether using ero san's arcane magics (and a cellphone)

[peelout]

7 hours ago, AthenaMM said:

Day 4 - Wednesday May 11, 2016

 

Quest 1: I ran 1.5 miles. I decided last week to up the speed instead of the distance this time. I upped it 0.1 mph at first but that still felt slower than I could go so I upped it another 0.1. That turned out to be very difficult about halfway through, but I did finish. At one point I didn't think I would be able to finish, but I got past that point and it was a little easier after that. I'm probably going to stick with this speed and distance next time and see how it goes, before I try to up anything else.

 

How can you tell the difference in 0.1mph while you are running?  Is that just based on running experience or are you using some sort of GPS device that is showing speed on it?

[AthenaMM]

 What do you do with the veggies? I am trying to find means to enjoy them differently than just steamed and raw.

 

 

Great challenges by the way! 

Thanks! Roasting the veggies is always good. If not that I usually sauté them.

grill them in the oven

this "message" was brought to you through the ether using ero san's arcane magics (and a cellphone)

Grilling veggies is also good and you just reminded me that I also like to grill red onions. So the next time the cut onion has been hanging around too long I should toss it in the grill pan!

How can you tell the difference in 0.1mph while you are running?  Is that just based on running experience or are you using some sort of GPS device that is showing speed on it?

I'm running on the treadmill, peelout. I should have mentioned that, but I thought I'd said that somewhere in the thread so I didn't think about it. Yeah I definitely don't have enough running experience to know how fast I'm going if I was outside and my fitbit isn't accurate when I'm running for some reason. I think maybe my running stride is shorter than it expects or I'm too slow. All I know is that the distance is way off on the fitbit after my run.

[Jayniana Jones]

It looks like you are starting out the challenge pretty strong. When I first started avoiding bread it was tough, but after about a year and a half of no bread I've found it tastes funny to me. Hang in there and eventually you won't miss it. It is a bit strange at first eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and brats with no bun.

 

Are your parents coming in the middle of your challenge or towards the end?

[Lightning]

I had a tough time getting my fitbit to match up to my mileage.  I eventually moved it to my right arm but set it up to think it was on my left arm.  That seemed to help.  I also did a stride measurement but that only helped it track my walking better.  I heard of someone strapping the fitbit around their ankle when they ran.  Could work?

[AthenaMM]

4 hours ago, Jayniana Jones said:

It looks like you are starting out the challenge pretty strong. When I first started avoiding bread it was tough, but after about a year and a half of no bread I've found it tastes funny to me. Hang in there and eventually you won't miss it. It is a bit strange at first eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and brats with no bun.

 

Are your parents coming in the middle of your challenge or towards the end?

I had gotten to the point where I rarely ate bread before and you're right, I didn't miss it. Of course, even then I had some occasionally. I hadn't really realized how much I'd let it creep back though until I started trying to avoid it again. The parents will get here right in the middle of the challenge, but since they're staying a week and a half they aren't leaving until close to the end. That's probably the worst possible time as far as my challenge goes, but that's life.

 

2 hours ago, Lightning said:

I had a tough time getting my fitbit to match up to my mileage.  I eventually moved it to my right arm but set it up to think it was on my left arm.  That seemed to help.  I also did a stride measurement but that only helped it track my walking better.  I heard of someone strapping the fitbit around their ankle when they ran.  Could work?

It matches up really well with my walking because I've used MapMyWalk when I walk the dog and it's within 0.10 of a mile. It only seems to be really off when I run so maybe I'll try strapping it to my ankle when I run. That's how I wear it when I get groceries so that it actually registers the steps while I'm pushing a cart. 

[AthenaMM]

Day 5 - Thursday May 12, 2016

 

I was hungry and tired all day, but I worked really hard at not overeating when I did eat. I'm sure I ate too much food, but at no point was I overfull. I'm not sure if I didn't sleep well or if this is just typical shark week fatigue.

 

Quest 1: 30 minute walk

 

Quest 2: I stayed within my ratings all day today and I didn't eat any bread.

• Breakfast: 2/5
• Lunch: 3/6
• Snack: 3/6
• Dinner: 3/6
• Snack: 3/6

 

Quest 3: I finished the day with 10,843 steps. No extra steps today because I was tired.

 

Life Quest: No tossed produce.

 

 

Day 6 - Friday May 13, 2016

 

I felt better today. I wasn't as tired or hungry, though I still didn't manage to get as much done today as I'd planned.

 

Quest 1: Startbodyweight.com, 3 sets, 1:30 minutes rest between sets

• Bulgarian Split Squats 8,7,7
• Incline Pike Push-ups 5,5,4  I was still able to increase the reps
• Forearm Straight Leg Raises 8,7,7
• Bent Knee Bench Dips 7,7,6   
• Side Planks 26 sec on each side

 

Quest 2: I stayed within my ratings all day today and I didn't eat any bread.

• Breakfast: 2/6
• Lunch: 3/5
• Snack: 3/6
• Dinner: 3/6

 

Quest 3: I have over 11,000 steps right now.

 

Life Quest: No tossed produce and I cooked the swiss chard and almost finished the strawberries.

[Elastigirl]

Great job on avoiding bread and listening to your body on how much to eat.

[Jayniana Jones]

It looks like despite being tired you didn't let it stop you that's a win in itself.

 

I hope you have a great weekend. 

[AthenaMM]

21 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Great job on avoiding bread and listening to your body on how much to eat.

Thanks!

 

6 hours ago, Jayniana Jones said:

It looks like despite being tired you didn't let it stop you that's a win in itself.

 

I hope you have a great weekend. 

That's true and sometimes I have to remind myself that it's still progress. Thanks!

[AthenaMM]

Day 7 - Saturday May 14, 2016

 

Today was better. Not as tired or hungry and I got a lot more done.

 

Quest 1: 30 minute walk

 

Quest 2: I stayed within my ratings all day today, but I had some really delicious sourdough bread for my second variance.

• Breakfast: 2/6
• Lunch: 3/6
• Dinner: 3/5

Quest 3: I have over 11,000 steps right now.

 

Life Quest: Well I was wrong and when I pulled out the red onion to use the last of it on a salad it had started to mold. So I threw away 1/8 of the red onion which puts me at throwing out less than 1% so far.

[AthenaMM]

Week 1 Summary

 

Quest 1: I exercised everyday and have completed 1 of 4 runs and 2 of 8 strength workouts. This is an A for the week.

 

Quest 2: I had 2 variances for bread this week and I stayed within my hunger ratings for all but 2 meals. That means I stayed within my ratings for almost 93% of my meals and I'm within my variances so this is also an A.

 

Quest 3: I'm averaging my steps for the entire 4 week challenge instead of weekly, but my current average is almost 12,000 steps so this is an A so far.

 

Life Quest: I have thrown away less than 1% of my produce so far, so this is also an A.

 

[Teancum]

Great job this week!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Good job on those A's.

[peelout]

10 hours ago, AthenaMM said:

Week 1 Summary

 

Quest 1: I exercised everyday and have completed 1 of 4 runs and 2 of 8 strength workouts. This is an A for the week.

 

Quest 2: I had 2 variances for bread this week and I stayed within my hunger ratings for all but 2 meals. That means I stayed within my ratings for almost 93% of my meals and I'm within my variances so this is also an A.

 

Quest 3: I'm averaging my steps for the entire 4 week challenge instead of weekly, but my current average is almost 12,000 steps so this is an A so far.

 

Life Quest: I have thrown away less than 1% of my produce so far, so this is also an A.

 

You are killing it.  What kinds of things have you done to increase your steps..Last challenge you were going for 10000. 

[Schaengel]

Great week one keep that going

[Jayniana Jones]

Great week! I hope this next one goes just as well too.

[AthenaMM]

22 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

Great job this week!

Thanks!

 

21 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Good job on those A's.

Thank you!

 

12 hours ago, peelout said:

You are killing it.  What kinds of things have you done to increase your steps..Last challenge you were going for 10000. 

Thanks! The big reason my average was so high this week is because I got over 10,000 steps last Sunday instead of my usual 3,000-4,000. Nothing like a fitbit challenge to kick your butt into gear!

 

8 hours ago, Schaengel said:

Great week one keep that going

Thanks!

 

25 minutes ago, Jayniana Jones said:

Great week! I hope this next one goes just as well too.

Thank you!

[AthenaMM]

Day 8 - Sunday May 15, 2016

 

I was very happy to have a nice lazy day today. My legs are tired and sore so I think it was necessary. I did a less intense yoga session that was all about stretching and did some foam rolling. Hopefully the legs will feel better tomorrow. They mostly just feel tired but one of my hamstrings and one ankle is sore.

 

Quest 1: 15 minute yoga routine

 

Quest 2: I stayed within my ratings all day today, and no bread.

• Breakfast: 2/5
• Lunch: 3/6
• Dinner: 3/6

Quest 3: I have over 3,000 steps now and I'll have over 3,500 by the time I go to bed.

 

Life Quest: No tossed produce today and I cooked the new potatoes and broccoli. There's a good bit of leftover (cooked) veggies in the fridge right now though and I really need to eat them.

[Jonesy]

You get in so many steps, which is awesome!  

 

Congrats on the awesome week and great start to week 2. 

[AthenaMM]

7 hours ago, Jonesy said:

You get in so many steps, which is awesome!  

 

Congrats on the awesome week and great start to week 2. 

Thanks! Of course, I realized this evening that I'd put that I had over 13,000 yesterday when I meant 3,000. Oops.

[AthenaMM]

Day 9 - Monday May 16, 2016

 

I was very busy all day and actually forgot to eat lunch until late. I got a lot done though. My legs were better and I was glad because I wanted to do the strength training today.

 

Quest 1: Startbodyweight.com, 3 sets, 1:30 minutes rest between sets

• Bulgarian Split Squats 8,8,7
• Incline Pike Push-ups 5,5,5  
• Forearm Straight Leg Raises 8,8,7
• 3/4 Push-ups with 5sec eccentric push-ups 6,6,5  I couldn't increase this one this week.   
• Side Planks 26 sec on each side

Quest 2: I stayed within my ratings all day today and I didn't eat any bread.

• Breakfast: 3/5
• Lunch: 2/6
• Dinner: 3/6

Quest 3: I have over 12,500 steps right now.

 

Life Quest: No tossed produce and I used up most of the cooked, leftover veggies. Yay for frittatas!

[Elleica]

On 5/14/2016 at 10:45 AM, AthenaMM said:

Startbodyweight.com

Thanks for mentioning this. I am stil on the lookout for the best exercise for me that will suit best with my schedule and my needs and since I saw this in your challenges, I looked it up. Turns out it has pretty good routines! I am excited to try them (but realistically, that will be for next week - for this week I am down to 7-minute workout app because of my hectic schedule). 

 

Good work on your challenges btw! I am inspired to keep aiming high for my steps goals because of you!

[Jonesy]

I really love your life goal. As a single person living alone, I find I waste more food than I should. I either buy too much to realistically eat before it goes bad or I totally forget about yummy veggies and end up having to throw them away.