First challenge...

[LastGirlStanding]

Hey there fellow Rebels! My first challenge, so let me know if I'm doing it wrong. 

 

My introduction thread

 

In brief: horror/zombie fan, goals: lose body fat, improve flexibility, master my own bodyweight!

 

Challenge 1 (fitness): Complete strength training (either bodyweight or weight based) 3 x weekly.

I'm starting from a relatively good position of having done this either 2 or 3 x weekly for the last 3 weeks... but before then... NOTHING for the last 2 years! So I'm hoping to instill some good habits and hopefully progress my workout a little so I can see some measurable improvement either in the number of reps or weights used.

 

Challenge 2 (fitness): Attend Pilates class 1 x weekly.

(Stretch challenge: 2 x weekly)

Ugh, I suck at Pilates. I used to think I was flexible - now I know I'm essentially made of bricks. This needs to change. I'd love to improve my core strength over time, and at the moment I'm not really getting the benefit of my gym's Pilates classes because I have to "sit out" too many of the exercises. If I attend regularly - particularly at the smaller and paid-for classes with more individual instruction - I think I'll improve my technique and be able to participate more.

 

Challenge 3 (diet): Practice Intermittent Fasting on weekdays.

(Stretch challenge: weekends too!)

I used to be really good at the 5:2 diet, and see both a measurable reduction in appetite and the tightness of my jeans, but the long long fasting days were terrible when I started a more office-based role and could no longer rely on distraction to keep hunger at bay. I'd like to return to fasting by omitting breakfast - I'm never very hungry in the mornings, and used to skip it without thinking for 5 or so years. I've completed 1 week so far. 

 

Challenge 4 (diet): hungry? drink water!

(Stretch challenge: 1 litre per day)

I don't drink enough water, so this is self explanatory. It should work in conjunction with the fasting above. 

 

Challenge 5 (lifestyle): 30 min of active work on my novel daily.

(Stretch challenge: 60 min!)

Again, self explanatory. I'm pretty good at doing an 8 hour day at work, and then spending time in the gym, coming home and cooking dinner, and then using the excuse that "I'm too tired" to work on my novel. Nonsense - it's my life goal to become a published novelist, and that takes time, not just 3 hours at my writing group every weekend!

 

I'd love to hear any tips or suggestions re the above. The "stretch goals" are to give myself something to feel super-good about if I manage to achieve it - with a view to these maybe becoming the next challenge's goals, WHEN I succeed in completing these ones (positive thinking). I didn't realise it was the start of the challenge today, but looking back, I've adhered to the goals by accident (phew): morning Pilates class, no food before 1pm, plenty of non-caffeinated beverages, and 2 hours of editing work. 

[Magistra Fay]

Hi, LastGirl! This looks like a great challenge  to me.

I also have trouble making time for my writing. It helps me to schedule it on my calendar. And maybe there are other times of day that could work for 30 minutes.

 

I'm rooting for you.

 

[V for Vetinari]

Hi LGS! Welcome and good luck with your goals. I'm sort of an aspiring writer on hiatus. Had too many projects going at once and went a little crazy, so I backed off. Is your novel zombie-fied?

[ixaera]

Hi!

Loving that writing goal~

Here for this!

 

 

[HappyCat]

Oooh pilates, i started yoga recently and omg i am soooo not flexible anymore. We will get there though eh? 

[fiddle-on]

Nice, especially the writing. That's one thing that I've been putting aside a lot lately, so hearing about other people writing lets me live vicariously.

 

I like that you've kept it simple. It sounds like your most involved challenges are about building consistency more than making drastic changes. I love seeing things like that because so many people fail when they try to change everything but don't take the time to make the new behaviors habit.

[Treva]

Awesome goals!  What kind of novel are you writing, is it taboo of me to ask?

Two thumbs up for the water drinking!  Hydration is great and helps me balance my appetite.

[Wobbegong]

These are great goals! I really like that you're looking back at improvements you've made recently and trying to build on them to develop habits -- that's my approach too! But like you I'm just beginning, so the trick for me will be consistency. I'll be watching and rooting for you!

 

Pilates is tough! I'm especially impressed that you're making this such a big goal even though you've had to sit out sections of these classes before -- I would probably get discouraged/grumpy in that situation, so it's really inspiring to see you take that as an opportunity to improve. Get it, girl!

 

Your lifestyle challenge is also really great. With creative things, it always seems to me like the more I do it, the more I WANT to do it... and the same in reverse. I might adopt this challenge next cycle -- I can even build a habit on it, since I'm currently enrolled in a July fiction exchange (two and a half weeks in and I'm less than a quarter of the way through... oops). May our challenges kick-start our habits, and our habits kick-start our success! 

[Jessebel]

Great goals!

 

I have found that attacking things that I want to do but tend to avoid early in the day helps me. I still am not 100%, but I am more likely to do it before I am exhausted. Haha. 

 

You can also try swapping "I'm too tired to work on my novel" or "I don't have time to work on my novel" with the suggested "Working on my novel isn't a priority." Changing the phrasing may help you find some more time in your day. 

 

Good luck!

[fleaball]

Hey there, don't forget to come back and let us know how you're doing!

[LastGirlStanding]

Heyyyyyyy I completely forgot about this thread, as I've been posting my daily progress over in my battle blog section! My bad.

 

So: progress.

 

Challenge 1 (fitness): Complete strength training (either bodyweight or weight based) 3 x weekly.

Tick! I went to the gym for weights on Tuesday after work, Thursday lunch time (tough! but I was going out that evening so needed to fit it in) and on Saturday I improvised a work-out in my parents' garden. It was certainly a change to my normal habits to pack gym kit for a weekend away, but I felt very proud of myself for carving out the 45 min it took.

 

Challenge 2 (fitness): Attend Pilates class 1 x weekly.

Tick! I went on Sunday morning and... also on Wednesday evening. I particularly loved the teacher on Wednesday evening, she was hilarious and really helped me achieve good form on the crunches.

 

Challenge 3 (diet): Practice Intermittent Fasting on weekdays.

Tick! Sunday through Sunday, even when (at my parents' house) breakfast was prepared and eaten in front of me.

 

Challenge 4 (diet): hungry? drink water!

Tick! Through the working week I managed at least a litre every morning as I tried to keep up the fast.

 

Challenge 5 (lifestyle): 30 min of active work on my novel daily.

Tick! Wow, this one was the hardest. I'd be all pleased with myself after going to the gym, walking home, cooking dinner, and then... in the remaining 1 hour awake I'd have to sit down in my study and grapple with the novel structure. Still, I forced myself to do it, and think I'm going to nail this edit/rewrite.

[LastGirlStanding]

On ‎17‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 7:48 PM, Magistra Fay said:

Hi, LastGirl! This looks like a great challenge  to me.

I also have trouble making time for my writing. It helps me to schedule it on my calendar. And maybe there are other times of day that could work for 30 minutes.

 

I'm rooting for you.

 

 

On ‎17‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 10:12 PM, V for Vetinari said:

Hi LGS! Welcome and good luck with your goals. I'm sort of an aspiring writer on hiatus. Had too many projects going at once and went a little crazy, so I backed off. Is your novel zombie-fied?

 

On ‎18‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 3:33 AM, ixaera said:

Hi!

Loving that writing goal~

Here for this!

 

 

 

On ‎19‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 1:01 AM, Treva said:

Awesome goals!  What kind of novel are you writing, is it taboo of me to ask?

Two thumbs up for the water drinking!  Hydration is great and helps me balance my appetite.

 

Sooooooo the writing goal! That was actually the hardest thing to keep up this week, as I have to admit that 5 or so days of fitness a week plus 90 minutes walking a day really tires me out. 30 min seems like a short time, but it's only possible to fit in during my lunch break if I'm not already going to the gym, or if I'm at a place in my project where I can do it laptop-free (as "other" laptops are banned from my workplace). What I've found really helps is PLANNING before each day starts when I'm going to get my 30 minutes in, so I know I have the time set aside.

 

The current novel is... not zombie-themed. I DO actually have a zombie-themed novel in my bottom drawer (zombie apocalypse at an all-girls boarding school!), but it needs so much editing that it's been shelved for a couple of years. The current one is, however, horror-themed: it's about a doomed inter-War Antarctic expedition (think HP Lovecraft's At The Mountains of Madness meets Shackleton's South). The first draft is done - it was my Nanowrimo project last November - and it needs a healthy amount of editing and tuning-up to make it something I'd be happy to present the world. However, I'm terrible at getting the impetus to edit, rather than start something new, so I need tons of encouragement and strategising to get me to do it!

[LastGirlStanding]

On ‎18‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 7:59 PM, fiddle-on said:

Nice, especially the writing. That's one thing that I've been putting aside a lot lately, so hearing about other people writing lets me live vicariously.

 

I like that you've kept it simple. It sounds like your most involved challenges are about building consistency more than making drastic changes. I love seeing things like that because so many people fail when they try to change everything but don't take the time to make the new behaviors habit.

 

On ‎19‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 1:11 AM, tyrannosaurus rose said:

These are great goals! I really like that you're looking back at improvements you've made recently and trying to build on them to develop habits -- that's my approach too! But like you I'm just beginning, so the trick for me will be consistency. I'll be watching and rooting for you!

 

Pilates is tough! I'm especially impressed that you're making this such a big goal even though you've had to sit out sections of these classes before -- I would probably get discouraged/grumpy in that situation, so it's really inspiring to see you take that as an opportunity to improve. Get it, girl!

 

Your lifestyle challenge is also really great. With creative things, it always seems to me like the more I do it, the more I WANT to do it... and the same in reverse. I might adopt this challenge next cycle -- I can even build a habit on it, since I'm currently enrolled in a July fiction exchange (two and a half weeks in and I'm less than a quarter of the way through... oops). May our challenges kick-start our habits, and our habits kick-start our success! 

 

CONSISTENCY. HABIT. So important. This is really where I usually fall down. See, I normally have a very very unpredictable working day. I'm a barrister, and so I could be doing a trial and in court 9am - 5pm then straight off to prepare for the next day, or I could be doing one small hearing and finishing at 1pm... or working on papers from home all day. This means I have to make it SUPER EASY for me to work out - if I have to travel to get to the gym, it isn't going to happen. If I have to think about it, it isn't going to happen.

 

But at the moment, most days I'm at an office-based role with a gym next door. So - I'm trying to build up a habit of working out, so that when I go back to my crazy life at the independent Bar, it'll be more automatic to think "awesome, home early, so I can go to the gym!" or "hmmm, this trial will be killing me Monday through Thursday, so I'd better sign myself up for a class late on Tuesday night or I won't get anything done". Building long-term habits is tough, but I have at least 2 more months to lock it down...

 

As always, if you're doing something and seeing results and being enthused about it (whether it's fitness, or writing, or cooking more)... you'll want to do it, and you'll make time. It just takes a bit of time for my brain to catch up and realise it's enjoying the new normal!

[TriTerrorTops]

You seem to be doing excellently LGS!

*fistbumps* to you [emoji4]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Wobbegong]

10 hours ago, LastGirlStanding said:

As always, if you're doing something and seeing results and being enthused about it (whether it's fitness, or writing, or cooking more)... you'll want to do it, and you'll make time. It just takes a bit of time for my brain to catch up and realise it's enjoying the new normal!

 

Soooo true. And on top of not realizing it's enjoyable, there's also overcoming those moments when you realize you want to do something good (last evening I was crazy energetic and suddenly it hit me that I hadn't exercised all weekend... but my body wanted to), but then your mind overrides it (I went to bed instead). Next time I feel that way, I'll go for a jog! 

 

Stick with it and let us know how it goes! Consistent habits take time to develop, but the good ones are worth it!

[Treva]

*grabby hands* I WANT TO READ YOUR NOVEL NAAAOOOWW

That is all.  Have a nice day.

[LastGirlStanding]

On ‎26‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 1:45 AM, Treva said:

*grabby hands* I WANT TO READ YOUR NOVEL NAAAOOOWW

That is all.  Have a nice day.

 

Thank you very much! It's encouraging to hear. It's all written, it just needs editing, and then hopefully next year it'll be ready to make its way into the wider world.

[LastGirlStanding]

So I've completed the second week: checking in with progress.

 

Challenge 1 (fitness): Complete strength training (either bodyweight or weight based) 3 x weekly.

Tick! Kettlebells class on Monday, weight training on Wednesday and Friday. The Friday workout wasn't great, as I was in a hurry and a lot of the machines/equipment were in use, but I've decided it still counts.

 

Challenge 2 (fitness): Attend Pilates class 1 x weekly.

Tick! I went on Sunday morning. It was a very gentle class. Truthfully, I'm starting to think level 1 Pilates is too gentle for me to see improvements and progress, but I'm going to stick at it for a while and consider buying a mat so I can do slightly more advanced routines at home.

 

Challenge 3 (diet): Practice Intermittent Fasting on weekdays.

Tick! Once again, today (Monday) I "cheated" with a home-made protein ball at about 10am, as I'd attended a 6:45-7:30am class and needed something to keep me going until lunch. But given that it's after a very intense class, I think this is acceptable. Plus, I've kept up IF at the weekends - even fasting completely until 5pm on Sunday because I'd had a big meal the night before.

 

Challenge 4 (diet): hungry? drink water!

Tick! Through the working week I managed at least a litre every morning as I tried to keep up the fast.

 

Challenge 5 (lifestyle): 30 min of active work on my novel daily.

Tick! Save for one day (Monday) when I'd planned to write at 8pm and... sat down at my laptop and found I'd been served 800+ pages of evidence for a hearing the next day. Curses. Still, as I did 3 hours each on Saturday and Sunday, this isn't such a big blip. I'd rate myself A- on this challenge so far, which is better than I'd expected!

 

I'm already thinking of what I'd like to do next challenge. Basically my core SUCKS (I can't even do a single sit-up... yes, I know) so I'd like to work on my core strength through planks and leg raises and work my way up to a proper sit-up.

[Myrdinn]

Hi there, greetings from a fellow London NFer.

 

Novel sounds great and sounds like you're doing really well with your challenge. Just a thought, but would dialling up the intensity of those Pilates workouts help a little with your core strength? Otherwise plank and plank variations (there's a good list of those here) are a great option.

[Hpav]

Hey! I am also a newbie!

your challenges sound awesome and I wish you the best of luck! What genre is your novel?

[LastGirlStanding]

On ‎02‎/‎08‎/‎2016 at 6:13 PM, Hpav said:

Hey! I am also a newbie!

your challenges sound awesome and I wish you the best of luck! What genre is your novel?

 

Hi Hpav! Thanks for your good wishes! The novel is historical supernatural/horror, if that makes sense...

[LastGirlStanding]

On ‎01‎/‎08‎/‎2016 at 2:51 PM, Myrdinn said:

Hi there, greetings from a fellow London NFer.

 

Novel sounds great and sounds like you're doing really well with your challenge. Just a thought, but would dialling up the intensity of those Pilates workouts help a little with your core strength? Otherwise plank and plank variations (there's a good list of those here) are a great option.

 

Hi there! Good to see someone else from the same city. Yup, core strength was one of my intentions with Pilates, but I'm in a weird gap between level 1 classes (I attend a private studio) which are "easy" but focus on form, and mixed-level classes (in my gym) where I have to sit out quite a few of the exercises... but I can feel the benefits the next day! That's a very useful list of plank exercises, thank you

[LastGirlStanding]

After week 3:

 

Challenge 1 (fitness): Complete strength training (either bodyweight or weight based) 3 x weekly.

Tick! Kettlebells class on Monday, weight training on Wednesday and the Hotel Room Workout on Saturday while I was in Avignon. I completed 5 circuits and was very very warm (well... it was 33 degrees out and I hate air con!).

 

Challenge 2 (fitness): Attend Pilates class 1 x weekly.

Tick! I went on Monday evening. Still having reservations about level 1 Pilates.

 

Challenge 3 (diet): Practice Intermittent Fasting on weekdays.

Tick! One smoothie/juice on Thursday morning after getting up at 4:30am to catch the Eurostar to the South of France, as I didn't have faith I could deal with 7.5 hours of fasting while awake. It wasn't a huge calorie hit and meant I didn't get hangry and tear into our train picnic at 10am. (Plus, is anyone else amazed at the smoothie nutritional values Steve gives on NF for these huge smoothies with 500, 600 and 700 calories? I mean, come on - a Meaner Green from Pret is 120 calories for more juice than I can drink in one sitting!)

 

Challenge 4 (diet): hungry? drink water!

Tick! Through the working week I managed at least a litre every morning as I tried to keep up the fast. I may have been a little bit less assiduous while on holiday as I was walking around a lot and not wild about constantly having to pay 4 Euros to use a cafe toilet...

 

Challenge 5 (lifestyle): 30 min of active work on my novel daily.

A qualified tick - I bailed on Wednesday, as I used up my lunchbreak in the gym and then needed to see a friend who was ill and vulnerable after work, so I got home at 9pm then needed to pack. Would I say my novel wasn't a priority that day? Yes, probably. But I kept up a good level of engagement with it throughout the holiday and got some meaningful progress. An A minus grade on this part of the challenge.

 

[LastGirlStanding]

And at the end of the challenge:

 

Challenge 1 (fitness): Complete strength training (either bodyweight or weight based) 3 x weekly.

Tick! Tuesday and Thursday at the gym, Saturday at the hotel gym while I was at Nineworlds con. I can't believe I got up early at a con and used the gym. I don't even know myself any more.

 

Will I take it forward? Yes! I've noticed such a real difference in the way I look, and yesterday I increased my weights without much pain and suffering. I've never been able to do push-ups, so going from that even to be able to confidently do knee push-ups is a real game-changer.

 

Challenge 2 (fitness): Attend Pilates class 1 x weekly.

Tick! I went on Wednesday.

 

Will I take it forward? Well... I think the complete beginner level classes (which I paid for) were interesting, but I don't really feel like I'm accomplishing much there. I'd like to keep up my Thursday classes at the gym, and try to progress to more demanding work-outs through mat practice at home. I've just bought a mat.

 

Challenge 3 (diet): Practice Intermittent Fasting on weekdays.

Tick!

 

Will I take it forward? I'm so sticking with this one - what a simple and effective way to deliver a 2000 calorie deficit over the course of a week. It was so much easier than I expected - providing I ate dinner at around 8pm (and not after 9pm as I sometimes end up doing). The one exception is really, well, in the days leading up to my period, when I'm STARVING all the time. I've read some research that suggests women need about 100 extra calories a day during that time, which would definitely fit in with my sudden and intense feelings of hunger. I suppose the point is to listen to my own body and learn to distinguish normal fasting hunger from sudden, I'm-going-to-pass-out hunger.

 

Challenge 4 (diet): hungry? drink water!

Tick!

 

Will I take it forward? Yes! It's really useful in conjunction with the fasting, to help me get through the mornings. I drink about 1 litre of water between 8.30am - 12.30pm before going to the gym. Where I fall down is in drinking later in the day, because I hate getting up in the night to go to the bathroom (which is on a different floor from my bedroom). Not really sure how to fix that!

 

Challenge 5 (lifestyle): 30 min of active work on my novel daily.

Tick! Mostly. Giving myself an A minus, because sometimes life happens. I think I'm doing pretty well with fitting it into my day, considering:

7am wake up.

7:45am leave the house and walk to work.

8:30 arrive at work.

8:30 - 5:30 work.

5:30 - 7:00 gym.

7:00 - 7:45 walk home.

7:45 - 8:30 cook and eat dinner.

8:30 - 9:00 (say) chores.

9:00 - 10:30: 1 hr 30 minutes of precious free time. So, you can see that fitting 30 mins writing into that is pretty good going.  

 

Will I take it forward? Yes! Hopefully! I've been slack the last few days, due to an unexpected and awful "completely exhausted" scenario in which I just. Want. Rest. Fundamentally having no "me time" at the weekends is just kicking me in the face! But this is such a positive goal to have that I'll be building it into my next challenge too.

 

Onwards and upwards!