Nina-Rose: On Maintaining Progress

[Nina-Rose]

After 4 months with NerdFitness, the motivation is failing and I do not want to fall off this wagon. I begin University for a part-time post graduate diploma on Monday, while continuing to work full-time, and managing my own and my husband's mental health. And looking after a house, bills, two rescue kitties with anxiety & whatever life throws at us. 

 

Scaling the challenge right back, because some days waking up feels like too much of a challenge, but I'm also keeping enough goals to give me a sense of achievement in my life.

 

Weeks 14-19:

:: Workout 7x a fortnight

- NFA Modified Level 2 (3 sets): A - 10 Squats, 10 Knee Pushups, 10 Rows (per arm). End Set 2: Add 5x Lunge. Set 4 = Farmers Walk - 3 x 30 seconds

- NFA Modified Level 2 (3 sets): B - 5 Lunges, 5 Inch Worms, 10 Wall Slides.  End Set 2: 12s One Leg Balance. Set 4 = 1x 10s Side Plank

:: Mindful eating via two questions:

 - “is this hunger? / which option is healthiest?

:: Meditate & stretch on rest days

 - Something to 'achieve' on rest days, and a remedy for all this pain from bad posture/not doing my physio exercises. Alongside something helpful from my therapy. 

:: Drink one glass of plain water a day.

:: (Added later) Write fiction.

 

Let's do this.

[Manarelle]

Oof, I can sympathize with the part-time school/ full-time job thing, it's not an easy road. Small challenges are still good though, and good to see you still here. 

 

May I ask what you're studying? 

[Nina-Rose]

15 minutes ago, Manarelle said:

Oof, I can sympathize with the part-time school/ full-time job thing, it's not an easy road. Small challenges are still good though, and good to see you still here. 

 

May I ask what you're studying? 

 

It's a Post Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Studies. In the UK, every county has some form of psychological-therapy-service and I've moved from an admin position in this service to a trainee to offer actual therapy groups/over the phone; mostly based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). It's 1 day a week at uni, 4 days at work.

[Manarelle]

Wow, cool that you get to progress in work! Good luck with the classes!

[Teancum]

You've got similar goals to mine! You can do this!

[Nina-Rose]

Today's check-in:

- No workout required.

- I asked those questions, and then ignored the answers! It's been a tearful day so that's fine. Slow habits etc.

- I did some mindful water-drinking this morning, and took gentle breaths throughout the day. Very happy with this.

- Drank two glasses of water 'mindfully'.

 

Last night, I also decided to add "Write Words" to my goals, to get back into a daily writing routine - either my short story submission or novel work Did that today too.

 

[Nina-Rose]

I walked 4 miles today.
I hate walking. It was raining for the first 2. I came home and cried just because of the sheer mental capacity it took for me to face doing something I don't like, survive my first day back in adult education, and know that I still need to do my workout tonight. 
But I did it. I walked a tiny bit under 4 miles, in an hour. Including hills, waiting at pedestrian crossings, in the rain, while hating it, while my knees hurt. 
I just really needed to say that out loud, because I picked bodyweight to avoid all of that.

And I'm doing it every day this week. *flops into heap* I'm half-scared, half-proud. It sounds pathetic, but this was a big deal.

I've mindfully snacked and drank so far today, Just workout, healthy dinner and writing to go. 

[Manarelle]

Dang, grats on the hella mental willpower, sunshine. Hope your tomorrow goes better. /hugs.

[Nina-Rose]

I did my workout, had a relatively healthy dinner and managing to write very little (better than none!)

 

Today I drove because my shins were so painful, and if it's still this bad tomorrow, I'll drive again. But I'm planning to either walk thursday or friday. Not both, but one or other.
Snacking was less mindful today. I swapped out a protein bar for a banana as I'd run out, and then I got desperate and bought a chocolate bar.  But tonight I've prepped extra fruit salad, added a carb in to my lunch and will take a yoghurt to eat early on (no fridge or microwave at uni).

No workout due today, and I'm about to start on my writing. I'm sipping a plain water as I type  Last thing to remember is to meditate when I get to bed. 
EDIT: I forgot to mention this was my third day of plain porridge: no sugar!

[Nina-Rose]

- Did a light workout today (5x squats instead of 10x per round, the rest the same) as my legs are still in agony from over-doing it Monday. I want to be fitter and can't risk losing motivation in terms of missing a workout.

- Snacking was not exactly mindful, but I made the decisions all last night when packing my lunch, so I didn't NEED to be mindful. 

- I had a mindful morning drink of water with my plain porridge, and now I'm about to start my writing   

[Manarelle]

23 hours ago, Nina-Rose said:

- Snacking was not exactly mindful, but I made the decisions all last night when packing my lunch, so I didn't NEED to be mindful. 

 

This is the only way my work snacking is mindful.  Nice planning ahead!

[Nina-Rose]

:: No workout due today.

:: Not mindful, but healthy choices made

:: Need to meditate & stretch before bed.

:: Drank plain water and wrote a few edits. 

 

Bring on tomorrow. 

I won't be walking to Uni tomorrow as I don't want to cause further harm to my legs, but will have the option to walk one day a week until December, so plenty of opportunities to slowly build up that fitness.

 

[Nina-Rose]

:: Workout - Tick!

:: Food Questions - Today, I've avoided pudding via those two questions  

:: Meditate & stretch - Meditated today

:: Drink one glass of plain water a day - Yes. Stood in kitchen to drink it after dinner while staving off pudding-desire.

:: Write fiction - I'm saying yes here; purely so I will go write now... 

[Manarelle]

2 hours ago, Nina-Rose said:

:: Write fiction - I'm saying yes here; purely so I will go write now... 

 

Haha, nice! How'd it go?

[Nina-Rose]

Week 15... maybe (I lose count! Started on June 12th... Okay end of week 16):

:: Workout 7x a fortnight

- Completed 3 workouts this week; due 4 next weekend. Made one lighter following damaging my shins (5 squats each set not 10) but showing up is what matters.

:: Mindful eating via two questions:

 - I could have done this more. I've been thinking about setting a good example for my husband more when thinking "should I eat that item?"

:: Meditate & stretch on rest days

 - I haven't been doing this solidly, but I spent more time meditating last week than I had before this challenge, so counting this as a win so far.

:: Drink one glass of plain water a day. 

I did this; mostly mindfully. Making the active choice that Ill pick a drink of water instead of tea, for example.  already drink plenty of water from the machine at work; but I want it to be a mindful decision.

:: (Added later) Write fiction.

I actually wrote something every day. In 2015, I wrote 100,000 words of fiction across the year. I'd aimed for this again for 2016, but I'm at 20,000 now, and it's October. So I'm hoping to just "write daily" without an arbitrary number goal for now. I wrote 242 words this week  The week before I'd written 0!

 

I also did my 4 month measure-in and although I've gained inches around my waist, I've lost 9lbs? Strange, but good to know eating half of 7 cake slices yesterday at Afternoon Tea didn't ruin everything I'm working towards 

[Manarelle]

15 hours ago, Nina-Rose said:

I also did my 4 month measure-in and although I've gained inches around my waist, I've lost 9lbs? Strange, but good to know eating half of 7 cake slices yesterday at Afternoon Tea didn't ruin everything I'm working towards 

 

Bodies are weird sometimes. Grats on the weight loss, though, and goo progress on everything else!

[Nina-Rose]

:: Workout 7x a fortnight

- Worked out yesterday.

:: Mindful eating via two questions

- I had a rough day, and chose 1 small Mr Kipling cake instead of a can or two of cider. I ate a pear instead of cakes in the kitchen at lunchtime. Barely ate otherwise; so not ideal, but better than it could have been. 

:: Meditate & stretch on rest days

- Will stretch/meditate tonight as it's husband's night shift (bed to myself = easier to meditate in peace) 

:: Drink one glass of plain water a day. 

- Drank my water during my first 'real contact' at new job.

:: Write fiction.

- About to begin this; with low expectations as my brain is shot. 

 

Spent a full week doing the 'intensive introduction at University last week, only to find my first 'test' with a real, unsuspecting patient was today.

I only had a few hours notice and it became an incredibly stressful day (I may have cried in the bathroom stall like a teenager) but I made it through, got fairly okay feedback for my first attempt, and I think the patient didn't get a bad experience/notice I was a complete newbie so that's good. And then I've left the 'celebratory cider' in the fridge for another night. Small wins. Medium wins. Hoping to wakeup tomorrow without this killer headache and tearful-for-no-real-reason-now-the-stress-is-over-but-i-still-feel-like-crying feeling. 

[Manarelle]

Wow, busy day! Hope you feel better tomorrow. Just remember that the effects of stress don't vanish completely when the source of stress is gone- your body's still got to clear out all the crap that flooded your system at that time (I'm sure there's better, more scientific words that explain what that crap is, but I can't recall them at the moment). Deep breaths, and feel better. You got this!

[Nina-Rose]

Thanks Yeah, although the cortisol & adrenaline should have run out by 6-7 hours later, but don't seem to with me Thanks for the reminder.

[Nina-Rose]

Last night I completed everything. Today is a "study day" which means we've been given a one-off work-from-home day to complete 9 A4 guides, read the handbooks and begin putting together our portfolio. I also have a dentist appointment and the house is an absolute tip. 

So... DO ALL THE THINGS!

 

I wrote almost 200 words, stretched in the morning, didn't binge between meals, did my workout & drank water.

 

As for today it's 7:30am and I've meditated, drank water & began writing already. Huzzah!

 

10pm update: Wrote words, did 6/9 uni assignment things, only cried a tiny bit at the dentist (who was new and very understanding of anxiety), did a mini-challenge for Assassins, cleaned and meal-prepped lunch for uni tomorrow.

[Manarelle]

Hyperbole and a half is the BEST. Congrats on getting so much done yesterday! You're rocking the challenge!

[Nina-Rose]

End of Week 17 Summary:

:: Workout 7x a fortnight

- Completed 4 workouts this week. Had to go light due to being ill for a portion but my main focus is on showing up, and not breaking my 'chain'. I've done a workout every other day since June 11th. That's all that I care about at this point. 

:: Mindful eating via two questions:

 - I kind of forgot to do this, but equally was more mindful when making 'bad' decisions. "Never two in a row" is probably just as useful for me.

:: Meditate & stretch on rest days

 - Again, not a great deal of progress but I have been stretching and more mindful than a month ago. Hoping to increase this a little.

:: Drink one glass of plain water a day. 

This has been a good 'mindful' activity to fit in. Just 10 seconds to stop and be in the moment as I sip some water.

:: (Added later) Write fiction.

I wrote something every day again. Last week I wrote 242 words. This week I wrote 1,289. Sometimes not having a "this many words a day" can free up the pressure. I wrote 12 words one day, and 808 another. 

I also participated in one level of the Assassin's challenge, which I completely forgot to work on last week after doing the very first bit

[Nina-Rose]

End of Week 18:

:: Workout 7x a fortnight

- Completed 3 workouts this week. Starting to lose interest in them; so thinking about switching up some of the exercises. 

:: Mindful eating via two questions:

 - I totally forgot about this, but I've become conscious of my choices to have unhealthy food. I've taken a massive step back in my snacking. I don't know what made the change but chocolate has been an unlimited snack once again.

:: Meditate & stretch on rest days

 - I had some conversations with colleagues about relaxation and getting back to reiki, but haven't actually done anything yet. Still, keeping the goal in mind is half the battle.

:: Drink one glass of plain water a day. 

-This has become less mindful, but I'm happy with my intake.

:: (Added later) Write fiction.

I wrote something every day again. I'm preparing for National Novel Writing Month, so next month this will be the key goal.

There's something about balancing all the things I want to do. It feels like I don't have enough energy to cook healthy & exercise & meditate & spend time with my husband & talk with colleagues & write novels & look after cats & clean the house.
 

How do people do this every day/week/month? Mentally as well as the physical energy required. I've cut back from previous challenges to this one, only to find this is too much too? Mneh.

[Manarelle]

5 hours ago, Nina-Rose said:

There's something about balancing all the things I want to do. It feels like I don't have enough energy to cook healthy & exercise & meditate & spend time with my husband & talk with colleagues & write novels & look after cats & clean the house.
 

How do people do this every day/week/month? Mentally as well as the physical energy required. I've cut back from previous challenges to this one, only to find this is too much too? Mneh.

 

This is something I've struggled with a lot, especially when coupled with perfectionist tendencies. I finally had a long talk with myself this week and decided I would only pursue four hobbies, and that there is nothing wrong with letting one or the other slide for a bit while I immerse myself in the others. Without the guilt, I do eventually get back to the hobby, because I truly do enjoy it. (That said, two of the hobbies are built into my schedule - it takes more work to find excuses to not do them than just to do them and move on). While there are things that I *want* to do - such as really fancy cosplay - I kept making excuses instead of doing it, so it's clear it's not really that important to me and I dropped it as an expectation. 

 

TL;DR - If it's something you really want, you'll get to it, eventually. Routines help. Don't guilt yourself for putting something on temporary hiatus, you'll get back to it. 

 

Sorry if this seems disjointed, it's the result of a lot of years of self-reflection, and didn't type out as well as I expected it to. As far as your weekly check-in, it never hurts to switch up exercises, and I've found that dark chocolate tends to curb the craving faster than milk (and it's healthier!). Are you snacking more from stress? Sounds like you're pretty busy and feeling under pressure?

[Nina-Rose]

34 minutes ago, Manarelle said:

 

This is something I've struggled with a lot, especially when coupled with perfectionist tendencies. I finally had a long talk with myself this week and decided I would only pursue four hobbies, and that there is nothing wrong with letting one or the other slide for a bit while I immerse myself in the others. Without the guilt, I do eventually get back to the hobby, because I truly do enjoy it. (That said, two of the hobbies are built into my schedule - it takes more work to find excuses to not do them than just to do them and move on). While there are things that I *want* to do - such as really fancy cosplay - I kept making excuses instead of doing it, so it's clear it's not really that important to me and I dropped it as an expectation. 

 

TL;DR - If it's something you really want, you'll get to it, eventually. Routines help. Don't guilt yourself for putting something on temporary hiatus, you'll get back to it. 

 

Sorry if this seems disjointed, it's the result of a lot of years of self-reflection, and didn't type out as well as I expected it to. As far as your weekly check-in, it never hurts to switch up exercises, and I've found that dark chocolate tends to curb the craving faster than milk (and it's healthier!). Are you snacking more from stress? Sounds like you're pretty busy and feeling under pressure?

I have 4 flavours of dark chocolate in the fridge.. they do not taste even vaguely sweet to me and are, I've discovered, useless a filling the chocolate crave for me personally