AthenaMM Reevaluates

[AthenaMM]

This past month was full of things that would have made it difficult to keep up with a challenge, so I skipped it. Because I wasn't focused on keeping up with my challenge I had time to think about what was and wasn't working and really reevaluating things. The big thing that hasn't been working has been any and all eating restrictions. I had already decided that to some extent, but I was still making eating quests in my challenges. All that is doing is reinforcing the good/bad mentality that makes me act crazy when I decide to be "bad". For the past couple of weeks I've been working on undoing that. I am working on eating mindfully and paying attention to my body, but nothing is off limits, not even overeating. This is definitely not a quick fix kind of thing, but there will not be any quests related to it. At first I tried to come up with some way to measure it and include it in the quests, but that would just turn it back into a good/bad sort of thing. Hopefully eventually my emotions won't control what I eat.

 

I don't think the fitness quests and habit quests have the same effect so I'll be sticking with those. I think the accountability helps with those instead of turning me into a screaming two-year old.
 

 

Quest 1: I want to exercise every day and I can still employ placeholder workouts. I want 1 of the workouts per week to be a run and 2 of the workouts to be strength workouts. I'm still doing the Startbodyweight.com strength workout and I'm going to stick with that.

 

Measurement: A = 26-28 workouts, 8 strength workouts and 4 runs, B = 23-25 workouts, 6-7 strength workouts and 3 runs, C = 20-22 workouts, 4-5 strength workouts and 2 runs, D = 17-19 workouts, 2-3 strength workouts and 1 run 

 

 

Quest 2: I had a daily yoga habit but let it lapse when I started having issues with one knee. I think the yoga was exacerbating it but wasn't the cause of the problem. I've been doing yoga at least once a week for a while now with no knee issues. I want to start the habit back because I liked the increase in flexibility and I think it will help with some of the soreness that the strength workout can cause. Just in case I start having knee issues again I'm going to make it a yoga/stretching/mobility habit. I want to do at least 10 minutes of yoga, stretching or mobility work every day.

 

Measurement: A = 26-28 days, B = 23-25 days, C = 20-22 days, D = 17-19 days

 

 

Quest 3: I've upped my average weekly steps to 11,000 steps, though it's been hit or miss the last few weeks. Now that things are back to normal I should be able to keep it up for the whole month.
 

Measurement: A = Average 11,000 steps all 4 weeks, B = Avg 11,000 for 3 weeks, D = Avg 11,000 for 2 weeks

 

Life Quest: With this past month being so not normal my routines have really been thrown off. I've been trying to get back to my usual morning routine but I haven't been able to so far, at least not reliably. Rather than trying to do my full, usual morning routine (which is what I've been trying to do) I'm going to shoot for a pared down version just to get back into the habit. If that is going really well after the first couple of weeks I might switch to my full routine, but if not I'll work on that in the next challenge.

 

Measurement: A = 24-26 times, F = 23 or less times

 

Even though the produce goal isn't one of my quests this time, I am going to keep up with it here. It won't be graded, but I do want to keep up with it, so I might as well put it here. It does have some bearing on what I eat, but it isn't an eating quest and doesn't trigger the same feelings. I'll continue to measure it the same as before. I'll make a note of each of the different types of fruit and veggies I buy and then decide how much of each type I throw away. For example let's say I bought 10 different types of fruits and veggies. Then I threw away half the broccoli, a quarter of the lettuce and all of the oranges. That would mean I threw out 17.5% of the produce. Freezing stuff (if it's freezable) before it goes bad is allowed. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following, glad to see you back in challenge land. Food is a big issue for me as well.

[Elastigirl]

Yay, Athena is back. Sounds like you made good use of your time off to think out what works for you and what doesn't.

[AthenaMM]

29 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following, glad to see you back in challenge land. Food is a big issue for me as well.

I'm glad to be back! I think food is an issue for almost everyone, but I'm pretty sure I made it worse for myself over the last few years. I'm hoping to fix that.

 

13 minutes ago, Elastigirl said:

Yay, Athena is back. Sounds like you made good use of your time off to think out what works for you and what doesn't.

Thanks! Do you have a new challenge up yet? I looked for you, but couldn't find one.

[Cataleya]

Followed! Glad we're both back!

[Elastigirl]

45 minutes ago, AthenaMM said:

I'm glad to be back! I think food is an issue for almost everyone, but I'm pretty sure I made it worse for myself over the last few years. I'm hoping to fix that.

 

Thanks! Do you have a new challenge up yet? I looked for you, but couldn't find one.

No, tomorrow. Or Saturday. Or maybe Sunday

[AthenaMM]

Followed! Glad we're both back!

Thanks! I found your new thread and followed as well!

No, tomorrow. Or Saturday. Or maybe Sunday[emoji4]

Looking forward to it!

[Lightning]

So GLAD you are back and ready to follow!  Eating is definitely the hardest issue with challenges.  I am trying not to use the word 'bad' or scold myself but, it's tough.  I decided to drop the stat points and make my grading of challenges more organic.  No more 'failure' talk.  

 

[Snarkyfishguts]

following!! It's nice to have you back :-D

[Myrik]

Following for the food challange, this is one of my biggest sticking points as well.  For me its being stuck iat a desk for 12 hours, and never sure how hungry ill feel durning the day which leads to vending machine raids.

[AthenaMM]

So GLAD you are back and ready to follow!  Eating is definitely the hardest issue with challenges.  I am trying not to use the word 'bad' or scold myself but, it's tough.  I decided to drop the stat points and make my grading of challenges more organic.  No more 'failure' talk.  

 

It is ridiculously hard not to think good or bad when it comes to food and eating. Even paying attention to how I feel after eating certain things takes me back to that. Right now I'm working on treating food like fuel. Some of it will help me reach my goals faster than others, but my goals also include happiness and fun so ice cream on a hot day or margaritas with hubby on date night are just as important as plenty of protein and veggies. It's been kind of a rocky start, but I do feel like I'm making progress. I bought really good ice cream 4 days ago with the plan to eat it every day if I wanted to and to definitely buy more when it's gone. I've had ice cream once since then. Knowing that it will be there whenever I want it has removed the obsession to eat it all just because it's there.

following!! It's nice to have you back :-D

Thanks!

Following for the food challange, this is one of my biggest sticking points as well.  For me its being stuck iat a desk for 12 hours, and never sure how hungry ill feel durning the day which leads to vending machine raids.

That would definitely suck. Maybe you could come up with some non-perishable things you could leave there for when you underestimate.

[Myrik]

6 minutes ago, AthenaMM said:

That would definitely suck. Maybe you could come up with some non-perishable things you could leave there for when you underestimate.

Yeah I have been looking into that, but most non-perishables are full of sodium, and tuna fish is a great option but then all the people i work with are stuck smelling it.

[Lightning]

17 hours ago, AthenaMM said:

It is ridiculously hard not to think good or bad when it comes to food and eating. Even paying attention to how I feel after eating certain things takes me back to that. Right now I'm working on treating food like fuel. Some of it will help me reach my goals faster than others, but my goals also include happiness and fun so ice cream on a hot day or margaritas with hubby on date night are just as important as plenty of protein and veggies. It's been kind of a rocky start, but I do feel like I'm making progress. I bought really good ice cream 4 days ago with the plan to eat it every day if I wanted to and to definitely buy more when it's gone. I've had ice cream once since then. Knowing that it will be there whenever I want it has removed the obsession to eat it all just because it's there.

 

 

Thats great self control.  I found that I can't have treats around because they haunt me. BUT, If I want something badly enough to go out and get it than I definitely will.  Funny though, I can buy treats for family members and it doesn't bother me.  Knowing I have cookies around for my husband doesn't bother me.  The moment I tell myself that those cookies are for me, I go crazy.

 

17 hours ago, Myrik said:

Yeah I have been looking into that, but most non-perishables are full of sodium, and tuna fish is a great option but then all the people i work with are stuck smelling it.

 

My my husband has this problem too so we got him a shaker bottle and really tasty protein powder.  I make him a mix of nuts with a tiny bit of dried fruit to keep around also.  We are thinking of getting a small desktop fridge. Just enough to hold a couple of containers of yogurt and cheese sticks.

[Myrik]

9 minutes ago, Lightning said:

My my husband has this problem too so we got him a shaker bottle and really tasty protein powder.  I make him a mix of nuts with a tiny bit of dried fruit to keep around also.  We are thinking of getting a small desktop fridge. Just enough to hold a couple of containers of yogurt and cheese sticks.

We have a full size fridge in the command center, but I cant keep a lot of food in it, because it is shared by about 30 people.  I bring food with me, but never know if its enough. 

[V for Vetinari]

Hi AthenaMM! Good luck with your goals, and your food non-goal. I have similar, and apparently common, food issues. Sounds like you're makIng good progress there.

 

1 hour ago, Lightning said:

 

Thats great self control.  I found that I can't have treats around because they haunt me. 

Yes. Ditto. Except the cookies for my BF would also haunt me. Unless they're coconut.

[Cataleya]

1 hour ago, Lightning said:

Thats great self control.  I found that I can't have treats around because they haunt me. BUT, If I want something badly enough to go out and get it than I definitely will.  Funny though, I can buy treats for family members and it doesn't bother me.  Knowing I have cookies around for my husband doesn't bother me.  The moment I tell myself that those cookies are for me, I go crazy.

I've never thought about it before but I'm the same way! If I make cookies for myself, I eat way too much. But if I make them for my boyfriend, I either don't eat any or I only eat one or two out of the whole batch. If he buys snacks for himself (popcorn, Oreos, whatever), I don't really want them. When I buy them for myself, I struggle not to eat the whole container.

[Teancum]

I'm so with you on the food thing. I've been trying to keep it in my challenges to improve, but it really hasn't been working well. Let us know how this knew approach goes!

[Jonesy]

Glad I found your thread.

 

Fooooooooood! Ugh I can't stop eating like crap most of the time, some challenges help and some don't. 

[Elleica]

Glad to see you back!

[AthenaMM]

On July 17, 2016 at 6:11 AM, Lightning said:

 

Thats great self control.  I found that I can't have treats around because they haunt me. BUT, If I want something badly enough to go out and get it than I definitely will.  Funny though, I can buy treats for family members and it doesn't bother me.  Knowing I have cookies around for my husband doesn't bother me.  The moment I tell myself that those cookies are for me, I go crazy.

The weird thing is that it isn't taking any self control. Knowing that it's there and I'm not limiting how much or how often I can have it has taken the stress out of it being there. I've always had the same problem you (and others) mentioned, where if it was in the house I had to eat it until it was gone. Not all of the mindset changes are working as well as this one, but it gives me hope. 

 

On July 17, 2016 at 7:33 AM, M_J said:

Hi AthenaMM! Good luck with your goals, and your food non-goal. I have similar, and apparently common, food issues. Sounds like you're makIng good progress there.

 

Yes. Ditto. Except the cookies for my BF would also haunt me. Unless they're coconut.

Thanks! There is some candy and chips that I keep in the house for hubby. They aren't my favorite, but I have eaten them. But it's been the exact same kind for years now and no longer have any desire to eat them. I have to be in the throes of really hideous PMS with no other chocolate in the house to even consider them. 

 

16 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

I'm so with you on the food thing. I've been trying to keep it in my challenges to improve, but it really hasn't been working well. Let us know how this knew approach goes!

I actually think the challenges have made it worse, for me at least. It's actually pretty scary to not try to control/track my food, but I don't want to spend my life on an endless cycle of "being good" and then giving up and "being bad" and then starting all over again. 

 

15 hours ago, Jonesy said:

Glad I found your thread.

 

Fooooooooood! Ugh I can't stop eating like crap most of the time, some challenges help and some don't. 

Glad to have you! Food is definitely the biggest issue. I think I have the exercise and moving around more parts figured out, but not the food. 

 

12 hours ago, Elleica said:

Glad to see you back!

Thanks!

[Snarkyfishguts]

I really like this mindset you have with food. It's freeing to stop giving it emotional power  high fives!!

[Schaengel]

[AthenaMM]

6 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I really like this mindset you have with food. It's freeing to stop giving it emotional power  high fives!!

I think it will be really great once I get all the way there. Right now there's progress and regress . But the progress feels really good.

 

6 hours ago, Schaengel said:

Thanks!!

[AthenaMM]

Day 1, Monday July 18, 2016

 

Today is the first day of my challenge because I don't like starting it on Sunday. It throws off the way I like to do my step average so I'm starting mine on Mondays from now on. Today was a big grocery trip day so my morning schedule was thrown off. I still did all of my morning routine, just not at the right time and some of it was out of order. Not the best way to get my routine back to being a routine, but this is the way it is on every big grocery day (which is every two weeks). I didn't eat stuff that would make me feel my best today, but I did really well at listening to when I was hungry and full. My workout was also not at the usual time and I was tired and considered not doing it, but I knew if I got started I would snap out of it. I was also not in the best mood and figured the workout would help. It did help and following it up with yoga and relaxing in the pool helped even more.

 

Quest 1: Startbodyweight.com workout, 3 sets, 1:30 minutes rest between sets. I did the usual warm-up but skipped the cool-down and did yoga instead

• Beginner Shrimp Squats 4,4,4;  I've been doing these a couple of weeks, but today was the first time I felt that my form was good enough to progress.
• Low Incline Pike Push-ups 4,4,4;  I tried to progress from the incline diamond pike pushups to regular pike pushups in the last workout, but it didn't go well. I couldn't maintain my form and I was pretty sure I was going to drop myself on my head. So I decided to go back to incline pike pushups but with a lower incline. Previously I was doing them on a weight bench and now I'm doing them on our hearth which is about a foot high. These were still tough, but I had control and my form was good.
• Forearm Straight Leg Raises 8,8,8;   I haven't progressed to the next exercise here because I would need to hang from a pullup bar to do them and I'm still not sure my elbow is up for that. I am doing them very slowly and trying to hold it at the top for a second.
• Straight Leg Bench Dips 5,4,4; 
• Vertical Pulls 5,5,4;   I added these a couple of workouts ago as a test for my elbow. There hasn't been any pain in a while, even with every day stuff that made it hurt before. These are pulling exercises but are very easy to adjust the intensity. There has been a little soreness and stiffness in the elbow after the workouts, but it seems less every time. I'm going to keep doing them and see how it goes.
• Side Planks 32 seconds

Quest 2: 15 minute Twist & Align yoga routine. This is one of my favorites and is great for stretching out the back which was sore after being on my feet most of the day.

 

Quest 3: Big grocery trip equals LOTS of steps. I have just over 15,000 at the moment.  (15,487)

 

Life Quest: Morning routine done.

 

Produce Goal: The fresh stuff I bought today added to what was already here has me at 17 different types right now. This is my starting point for the challenge.

[Elastigirl]

Great consistency on your BW program.It is really fun to see how much you are progressing.