SkiBlue Returns in Hard-Boiled Style!

[SkiBlue]

 

Hi. I'm back.

 

I haven't really gone anywhere, just took a break. But now I'm having issues remembering and keeping track of the things I want to be changing, so here I am again. 

 

For the time being, my mission is to become a morning person. A good deal of my issues stem from my tendency to stay in bed until the very last minute every morning. Well, no longer! It's time I get hard-boiled about my commitment to myself and my health. This challenge will focus on making the most of my mornings.

 

Goal 1: Get up! Alarm is set to 6AM on weekdays and 7AM on weekends (to try to keep my sleep schedule consistent). I will be using the Distant Alarm tactic to make sure I stay up when the alarm goes off. I'd do a gradual time increase for my alarm, but since the Husband's alarm needs to be set for the same time, I think I can Ranger myself through.

 

Goal 2: Eat breakfast! Breakfast is important; therefore, it is the meal that I will focus on this challenge. Breakfast should be composed of animal protein and starchy carbs (for optimal thyroid function). I will aim for about 40-50g of protein, 35-55g of carbs, and 20-30g of fat. I may end up having a protein shake to help get those numbers up, but the bulk of the meal should be food that requires chewing.

 

These are the key ingredients that I'd like to include in a morning routine. Morning people (mostly) have morning routines. I want one. I'm making it a priority. 

 

Goal 3: Move! My hips are still suffering from lack of mobility and uneven strength. I will be spending time every day doing a PT routine for my hips, legs, and core that involves some resistance training and stretching.

 

Goal 4: Eliminate! I'm going to continue tossing out 1/4 of refined sugar cravings, to rewire the brain. 

 

In the words of the two men that are one detective...

 

[Terra]

Yeah she is back!!!  Wahoo!  I was missing you...  

[Toshimi]

Glad to see you back!

Goal 4: Prepare! Due to my current inability to keep track of all the things going on in my head that I'd like to do but can't seem to keep cataloged, I'd like to spend some time in the morning, even if it's just 5 minutes, preparing for the day. Whether it's journaling, making a checklist, reminding myself what my commitments are, or even just defrosting something for dinner, this should help me stay focused throughout the day.

 

 

 

I've found a lot of success with the Bullet Journal . Check lists, journaling, commitments can all be kept in it.  might be something worth checking out

[SkiBlue]

6 hours ago, Terra said:

Yeah she is back!!!  Wahoo!  I was missing you...  

 

I missed being here! Glad to have you with me. 

 

38 minutes ago, Toshimi said:

Glad to see you back!

 

I've found a lot of success with the Bullet Journal . Check lists, journaling, commitments can all be kept in it.  might be something worth checking out

 

Sounds like a tactic I could definitely utilize. I'm checking it out right now. Thanks for the advice!

[Marauder]

Yay!!!  I was just thinking about you.  

 

I second bullet journal. You make it what you need it to be. (And they don't have to fancy like on google images). 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome back.

[SkiBlue]

On 10/26/2016 at 8:23 PM, Marauder said:

Yay!!!  I was just thinking about you.  

 

I second bullet journal. You make it what you need it to be. (And they don't have to fancy like on google images). 

 

Aww.  

 

I'm sure that's only because it's the Internet, where people tend to only share what looks good.

 

22 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Welcome back.

 

Thanks. It's good to be back.

[tourennatrix]

14 hours ago, SkiBlue said:

 

I'm sure that's only because it's the Internet, where people tend to only share what looks good.

 

I'll try to share my version of the "bujo" this weekend because it's so bare bones

 

I applaud your dedication to this morning thing. It's getting to be that time of year where I just accept that I'm not OK with getting up as early as I am in the sunnier months. Still trying to find the balance between accepting that and making sure I have at least enough time to do the basics in the morning

[SkiBlue]

18 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

I'll try to share my version of the "bujo" this weekend because it's so bare bones

 

I applaud your dedication to this morning thing. It's getting to be that time of year where I just accept that I'm not OK with getting up as early as I am in the sunnier months. Still trying to find the balance between accepting that and making sure I have at least enough time to do the basics in the morning

 

That is the one thing that I am not looking forward to. Getting up before the Sun does has always been a problem for me. Summer is awesome; Sun's up at 5:30, so it's like LET'S GO. Now it's just like ugh, darkness, why??

[SkiBlue]

First morning was a bit difficult. I was up at 6:10am, and I ate as much as I could. Didn't hit macro goals, but at least I ate something. Because I had to spend about twenty minutes getting sweet potatoes out of the crock-pot and a rotisserie chicken cut up, I didn't have time for prep or movement this morning. But it's only the first morning, so there's room for improvement.

[SkiBlue]

This week has turned out to be pretty soft-boiled. I've revised my strategy for getting up, and I also believe that I'm aiming for a bit too much to be done in the mornings itself. So going forward, I'm going to focus just getting out of bed at the allotted time and getting in a good breakfast. I'm also going to be reducing my intake of refined sugar by a quarter; for every serving of anything with refined sugar, I will toss 1/4 of it before consuming. It worked wonders with the candy before, and it's time to bring it back. I'm also going to make stretching a priority. Not just for my hips, but in general.

 

However, this bullet journaling and mindset work will continue, it's just easier for me to fall into doing that without the pressure of it being a challenge goal.  

 

Time for the glorious weekend. Hoping to lift some weight.

[SkiBlue]

While I've been a bit slack the past two days on the getting up front, the breakfast front is definitely going well. I've been getting over 600 calories in before lunch. Could use more protein and less carbs, but I'm trying to get my stomach used to the idea. It's been kinda sensitive lately. Elimination is on schedule and is becoming much easier. 

 

After attempting to squat over the weekend and discovering that I can't back squat at all, but I can front/goblet/bodyweight squat fine (it makes no sense, yet the evidence is pretty obvious if you watch my form), my stretching for hips is upgrading to straight up daily hip/leg/core PT. I'm going to re-evaluate the PT routine I had going last year (have already done the research and found other things I want to incorporate) and get that down so I can start doing it today after work. 

[tourennatrix]

Evaluate and adapt: you're doing it right!

[SkiBlue]

On 11/8/2016 at 11:10 AM, tourennatrix said:

Evaluate and adapt: you're doing it right!

 

SI! I'm looking into these tricky alarm apps where you have to solve puzzles to shut them up. Taking one for a test spin in the morning. Should be entertaining...

[Terra]

4 minutes ago, SkiBlue said:

 

SI! I'm looking into these tricky alarm apps where you have to solve puzzles to shut them up. Taking one for a test spin in the morning. Should be entertaining...

They have apps that do this?!?!?  I can't wait to hear about it because i might need one too.  

[Sloth the Enduring]

That sounds horrible. My wife would kill me.

[tourennatrix]

*poke*

[SkiBlue]

On 11/9/2016 at 5:10 PM, Terra said:

They have apps that do this?!?!?  I can't wait to hear about it because i might need one too.  

 

Haha, yes! I heard about them a long time ago but never gave it a try. Didn't need one until now.

 

On 11/9/2016 at 5:58 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

That sounds horrible. My wife would kill me.

 

I'm surprised the Husband hasn't killed me yet. I've heard several groans, but no out-right complaining.

 

12 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

*poke*

 

HI!!! 

 

I've been super busy most of last week, so I haven't had the chance to really update. The new alarm trick is working to wake my butt up, but it's still too close to the bed. I'll be finding a new place. Elimination was a bit overwhelming, trying to do ALL the refined sugar at once, so for now, I'm on desserts and sweetened beverages. It's going well; my brain seems to love progressive elimination. I've honestly completely forgotten about the stretching and such, so I'm going to go home and do that before lunch, because I'm out of work to do...

[tourennatrix]

The sleep app I just picked up (which is a sleep tracker but also can just be used as a smart alarm to wake you up in the "right sleep zone" has alarm CAPTCHA options. Some of which can be done in bed (simple math, dream journal) but there's one where you can print out a QR code and put it somewhere away from your bed (at your dresser, bathroom, car...) And the alarm won't stop until you scan it. Haven't tried yet but I might need to do that going into hibernation season...

[SkiBlue]

On 11/22/2016 at 10:54 AM, tourennatrix said:

The sleep app I just picked up (which is a sleep tracker but also can just be used as a smart alarm to wake you up in the "right sleep zone" has alarm CAPTCHA options. Some of which can be done in bed (simple math, dream journal) but there's one where you can print out a QR code and put it somewhere away from your bed (at your dresser, bathroom, car...) And the alarm won't stop until you scan it. Haven't tried yet but I might need to do that going into hibernation season...

 

Which one is that? I have one that wakes you up gently based on your sleep cycle, but it doesn't have the puzzle wake up option. 

 

The math problems help me wake up, but I still crawl back into bed, no matter WHERE I put my phone. I'm upgrading to bar-code scanning... THAT should work and get me in the kitchen first thing in the morning. 

 

With my tendency to try to stay away from being online so much, I keep forgetting to update challenges. -.- I will admit that this kinda fizzled out near the end, especially after taking a break for the holidays (for doing just about everything). But this plan of attack works well for me, so see you around for the next challenge.

[tourennatrix]

I've been using Sleep as Android. Next step for me is to actually use the get-out-of-bed feature