Spikings Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 My previous challenge went fairly well, but not without its setbacks. I still got to the end though, which I'm more than happy with! Now for the biggest test of all...setting new challenges through the merry perils of Christmas. Fortunately, I have some tricks up my sleeve to word these challenges accordingly. This way I can get the most out of a healthier lifestyle, but without punishing myself through Christmas, or giving up entirely. So, here goes! THE CHALLENGES: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! My alcohol challenge last month was to only consume alcohol on the weekends. While this worked well (mostly), it meant I binged alone on the weekends, earning myself a hangover the next day and no company to drink with in the first place. Drinking with other people stops me from going overboard and since I live alone it stops me from drinking often in the first place. It also means I can enjoy myself during Christmas without breaking this challenge streak! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Sometimes I can put a little more food into the bowl than I really need. My eyes really are bigger than my stomach and I eat fast. When finished, I want more because the fullness doesn't immediately set in, so sometimes I get more from the fridge/cupboards. I'm hoping I can combat this with a bit of 'active/mindful eating' chew the food a lot more, savour/appreciate the taste, eat slower, sense when I'm full or hungry and eat healthier in general. There's a good post on tumblr that I found here about this, if you want to read up on some extra info! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. I know this challenge won't be 100% considering the month ahead, but I hope it will keep the momentum going enough that I'll be ready for 2017 when it comes around. I've already started going to the gym in the mornings during my week zero, so the change in routine won't hit as hard from here onwards. It'll also get me into work earlier which is a habit I need to start getting into also. LEVEL UP MY LIFE: Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) I'm an introvert. At the end of the day my energy comes from my own company, or that of few people in small doses. But because I live alone and in a town where most of my friends don't live, things can get quiet (almost too quiet). I don't always help myself here, as I turn down requests to go out because it's the easy option, I don't have the energy, or I don't want to accept the challenge of socialising. If I can spend a part of my day to just reach out to a friend, or say yes to an invite of any kind, then I might actually benefit from it more than if I just kept myself apart from everyone. Plus, I think a few people in my life might actually appreciate me making the effort for once, rather than them reaching out first. I'll also post a day 1 weight infodump tomorrow then get cracking. Hopefully I'll see a bit more of a positive outcome in this second part of my respawn! I'll also be keeping up my meditation before sleeping for the most part, as I want to continue the good feelings that I got from that! Now to finish off with a quote that reminds me what I really need to get the most out of this. Onwards! 2 Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
fastergrace Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Following along again. Good luck!!!! 1 Quote fastergrace, Level 5 Assasin Current weight: 255.8 lbs | Staring weight: 264 lbs | Goal weight: 145 lbs Current Challenge | Daily Battle Log | MFP Food Diary (Be my friend!) "YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT AREN'T TRUE. HOW ELSE CAN THEY BECOME?" -Death (Terry Prachett - Hogfather) Link to comment
Spikings Posted December 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 So let's get started! Double whammy sumamry today. Day 1: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Went out to lunch with friends and had one drink and then a mocktail afterward, very happy here. It was partly because things were so expensive, but still I passed, woop! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Fail Today was all over the place. No breakfast, a healthy subway brunch, a shared nacho plate then a huge burger later on in the day. I slowed down my eating with the subway which was nice, but I completely forgot with the burger. It's a lot harder to do than it first seems. Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. N/A Sunday was a rest day, despite the fact I was walking around a lot all day will continue with this tomorrow! Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! My lunch with friends was just this - I hadn't seen them in months so while I found some bits hard, it was still good to catch up. I also got invited to go out again with one of them next weekend, so will be taking them up on that offer. Day 2: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! While slightly tempted, no alcohol today! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! My actual meals were fine today. I took time with them, I was full by the end of them and they were decent sizes. I failed on the snacks though - I got hungry a couple of hours later and only had sugary stuff available (mostly). I'm going to try and take in healthier snacks to work tomorrow that I can buy from the corner shop, anything to stop me for going for sugary biscuits and pop tarts again! I need to learn to say no, argh! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Success! Arms today, felt like I did all I could in the half-hour I gave myself. Remains to be seen how sore they'll be tomorrow morning. Really enjoying the challenge though, and that my co-worker is there as well gives me some form of acountability since he's such a gym fanatic. Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Played some board games at lunch with co-workers, was a lot of fun! I've nearly always said no to this whenever asked because I didn't feel like I'd really add anything to the group, or it was easier to say no and retreat into my music, but I was glad I did this today. Will try to do this more often! Gonna get a good sleep tonight, but oh my goodness I'm already hungry again after three hours of being good. Wlll definitely need to do something about this tomorrow! 2 Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
LydiaJaybird Posted December 6, 2016 Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 Seeing lots of green! Yay! Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Quote Level 1 Half-elf Assassin STR 2 | DEX 3 | STA 1 | CON 1 | WIS 2 | CHA 1 'From flabby geek to Sheik and Mystique' Instagram: LJaybirdfly Current Challenge: Link to comment
Jormungand Posted December 7, 2016 Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 I really like your goals for this challenge, especially the drinking with friends portion. I can definitely relate to the getting the work in early, as one of my goals is to get a run in before work during the week. I'm looking forward to seeing how things go for you this challenge. You're off to a really solid start. Quote Level 13 Human Assassin Introduction Battle Log Current Challenge Previous Challenges: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI "Scars are not injuries...A scar is a healing. After injury, a scar is what makes you whole." China Miéville, The Scar Link to comment
Spikings Posted December 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2016 Thanks guys! I left it a little late to update here, so I'll try to remember the last three days as best I can. For the most part, it's been good! Day 3: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Filled with water and nice tea! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! Very well done today, I'm starting to get back into using the app 'My Fitness Pal' which is a boon for these kind of challenges. My micros were decent enough and I had 400 calories spare by the end of the day. My active eating was a challenge, but I managed it through most of my meals. Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Success! Easy! Well, not easy when I got there, but easy enough to make the effort. Also all of my body hurts right now, but in different stages according to which part I'm targeting each day. It's an....interesting experience. Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Fail Nothing too out of the blue today, I didn't start/engage conversation that others didn't start themselves. Day 4: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Still clean. Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! The active eating wasn't really successful, but the portions and healthy eating was, despite baking cookies in the evening (that turned out like little mini cakes but that's not the point) which I didn't eat, except one for testing. So woop, another day down! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Success! More work at the gym, all my muscles hurt. Even though I'm giving them time to heal, my body as a whole is starting to tire, hngh. Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Skyped my best friend tonight, was really nice. Usually I'm the first one to break off convo but they did instead, so that was cool. I know it sounds like a tiny thing, but all these lil' things add up! Day 5: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Fail ...oops. There's an xmas work-do tomorrow which I excused myself from - now knowing my stupidity, I'm drinking now instead of tomorrow with people. I'm not in work tomorrow though, so that's something. Also I'm drinking slowly so I don't get hammered. I have things to do this evening after all! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Fail It's weird, this happened because I was out of milk for breakfast this morning, so my alternative was instant noodles for brekkie. My lunch was decent and I barely snacked - my dinner was beans on toast, so while I've done the best I can with my brekkie mistakes, it doesn't feel like a healthy day, especially with the above challenge failed. Also my active eating was at an all-time low today as I was strapped for time a lot. It just wasn't my day today for this, but I'm not beating myself up about it. Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Fail I know I know! It's a bad day! xD My body was just sore waking up this morning and I didn't feel like I had enough sleep. I'm going to the gym early tomorrow (on an off-work day no less!) to rectify this. No point in dwelling in my mistakes this early on, just gotta get up tomorrow and get back on it. Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Played some more board games this lunchtime with co-workers and it was fun as heck! Mostly because I was winning by a mile and I was as surprised as everyone else! xD Was a lot of fun and kept the day light and fun for me....this kind of stuff makes a difference when I get to the end of the day and have to write up my failures. Suddenly I don't feel so down-trodden about them, I can get back up and just keep going, unlike in my last challenge. The coming days I won't be at work for five days, so socialising, as well as food portions are going to be a challenge, but I'll do what I can! 3 Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
Spikings Posted December 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2016 Day 6: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Fail Failed again, and got annoyed at myself for it. I promptly poured the rest of the alcohol down the drain, don't need any more of that temptation in my flat. Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! Nicely done, until the very end of the day but I'll count it as a success anyways. I don't want to be too harsh on myself here ;P no snacking throughout the day, good healthy food and some active eating going on too. Woot! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Success! SO much success! I went on my day-off to the gym and because I didn't have to rush to work after, I completed the entire leg day then walk/jogged a 2k run after! My body was done but I was feeling on top of the world! I don't want to jinx it, but I think I'm really starting to enjoy the gym now... Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Fail Mostly a day to myself, which was needed. Socialising will begin anew on Day 7! Day 7: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Had two drinks today with friends over the course of a day, *this* is how I should be doing it, not like last night's mess! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! ....by all intents and purposes, I've portioned well enough today, but most of it was naughty treats. I was at the Christmas market, I couldn't help myself!! But I didn't overeat, which is something! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. N/A A saturday, so giving my body a rest! Although my muscles are starting to adjust to the current workout and I'm also tentatively moving my weights up in some areas. Very exciting! Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Went out in the afternoon to meet up with my friend and her friends, who quickly also became my friends! Most I hadn't seen in a few years but it was a good afternoon out in the markets, eating nice food, drinking mulled wine and having a laugh over random crap. Really enjoyed! Usually it would be the type of thing I'd duck out of due to nervousness, but I'm glad I didn't. 3 Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
LydiaJaybird Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 Sounds like you're doing great!! ... what's mulled wine? Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Quote Level 1 Half-elf Assassin STR 2 | DEX 3 | STA 1 | CON 1 | WIS 2 | CHA 1 'From flabby geek to Sheik and Mystique' Instagram: LJaybirdfly Current Challenge: Link to comment
Jormungand Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 Well done. Glad to see that you are adjusting to the gym while still factoring in rest days. Keep up the awesome work. Quote Level 13 Human Assassin Introduction Battle Log Current Challenge Previous Challenges: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI "Scars are not injuries...A scar is a healing. After injury, a scar is what makes you whole." China Miéville, The Scar Link to comment
Spikings Posted December 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Thanks guys! I keep forgetting to update here but I'm doing my best to keep up with this challenge in the wake of a lot of xmas treats being thrown my way. @LydiaJaybird, mullerd wine is basically spiced wine, it has nutmeg, cinnamon and all sorts of other nice bits in it, makes it a lot sweeter and drank hot! My favourite festive drink, I'm guilty of raiding the shops in January for more... >.> Quickfire round since I've been quiet the last four days, notes at the end! Day 8: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Fail Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. N/A Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Fail Day 9: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Success! Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Fail Day 10: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Fail Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Fail Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Fail Day 11: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Fail Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Success! Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! So as far as alcohol went, it's been mostly fine! The day when I failed was only a couple of small drinks anyway, nowhere near enough to get drunk. Meals have been fairly decent for the most part but oh my god yesterday....I failed so bad. I think I just went on a rampage and just...ate. I must have racked up 3000 calories for the most part. Also today wasn't much better...basically, I'm never buying bombay mix for myself again. >___> The gym's been great though! I had to skip yesterday's session as the Monday's gym sesh was great, but after 2-3 hours left me fatigued. And I mean fatigued. I couldn't think straight, so I ended up napping for a few hours, and only felt better the day after. All the same, I feel like this is the most solid part of my routine right now! I'm going to miss it when I go home for Christmas - I'll try and get some jogging sesh's in though round the countryside. Being social....nah. I had a few days off of work using up the last of my leave, and just spending time on my own. Which fely fine, I wasn't in any rush to socialise with anyone. I used my free time to charge up, so now that I'm back at work I can get chatting again! Which is exactly what I did for the first half hour when getting to work today, so woo! ....omg I can't wait for gym tomorrow morning. I mean, I still want to sleep in, but I also want to go to the gym equally as much. The only downside to the gym is after I'm done, my hair get all frizzy so I go into work with non-straight hair. I need some handheld straighteners methinks. 1 Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
Spikings Posted December 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 Another quickfire round - I'm not as active on here as I was on my last challenge, but I'm still keeping up with it. I'm around on so many other bits of social media I find it hard to keep up with everything at the same time, so please forgive me. Day 12: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Fail Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Success! Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Day 13: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Fail Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. N/A Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Day 14: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. N/A Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Day 15: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Fail Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Success! Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Fail A pretty good past four days - I had alcohol on the Saturday with my bf, and not enough to get drunk (another small win!) and I had a cider this evening as the last few hours for me have been rather crappy. Other than that, keeping on top of it. Meals have mostly been good except for the odd over-indulgence out here and there, and I've been keeping my gym/exercise routine pretty solid too! I'll be sad to see this die down over Christmas, but that's only one week's worth - I'll still be taking my workout gear back home and wil try to get some runs in during the morning. Socialising has mostly been down to playing lunchtime board games which have been fun as heck - I had to miss out on the one today though for some business stuff, but hopefully we'll have another sesh before Christmas. Otherwise I'm counting the weekend with my boyfriend as some good socialising xD he seriously brings me out of my shell, gives me confidence and destresses me so much, he's an amazing man. <3 I'll try to keep this updated over xmas, but I'm sure we'll all be struggling to do that a little bit. Either way, Merry Christmas to everyone on here, enjoy the holidays and don't worry too much about going off-beat with the challenges, just embrace it this time round! 2 Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
Spikings Posted December 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2016 Quick check-in between xmas shenanigans! Day 16: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Fail Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Day 17: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! Success! Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. Success! Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. Fail Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) Success! Nothing of real note here, except I'm now back with the fam for the holidays! I didn't get any running in because 1) I needed time in the morning to pack my suitcase, and time at lunch to do last minute shopping and 2) today at home it was icy out in the countryside, and I wear some old converse for running in (not great, I know), so I don't wanna slip and break something. I have done some fair walking both days though, so I've not been completely stationary. I'll see if I can get a run in tomorrow, fingers crossed! 1 Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
Spikings Posted December 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 Keeping this one short and sweet, as my energy for this challenge has diminished somewhat, but I'm still keen to make some sort of effort nonetheless Day 18-24: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! 6/7 Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. 2/7 Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. 0/7 Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) 7/7 Such is the way of Christmas - but come New Year I'm ready to get back on track and really tackle my eating habits. I need to look into the best ways to do that, but I have a few ideas already. Hope everyone had a good xmas/holiday! 1 Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
Spikings Posted January 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 Ok, last post again, going to keep it short so I can get this challenge done and dusted and look forward to the next one! Day 25-28-: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! 4/4 Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. 2/4 Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. 1/4 Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) 4/4 Following on from the same pattern as before in where I'm excelling and where I'm....not as much. But I've now finished up this challenge and it's done either way so woo! Today was my first day back into my normal routine where I'm on my own in the flat and also getting back to the gym regularly, so that's nice that I've kept that enthusiasm for the workout! Also while my eating habits over xmas/new year weren't perfect, I did cut down my alcohol intake and food intake in a way where I ate until I was full and drank maybe one drink a night, two maximum. Considering this was the 'overindulging' time of the year, I'd say that's pretty good. I only got drunk once, and overate maybe 2-3 times. I'm coming into the New Year not with a clean slate, but a more solid ground to walk on. Summary: Consume alcohol only with friends and family around. No drinking alone! 23/28 = 82% (draw even from previous challenge) Portion meals correctly, and try 'active eating'. 15/28 = 53% (4% backtracking on previous challenge) Go to the gym every morning before work. Go for a run on off-work weekdays. 9/16 = 56% (12% backtracking from previous challenge!) Find a way to be actively social every day (playing games, catching up on facebook, sending gifs, etc) 23/28 = 82% (25% improvement on previous challenge!) Ugh...well the numbers don't look as great as I feel. So I'll take how I feel on board anyway! Despite the that Christmas well and truly got in the way, I feel like my habits of drinking too much on a weekday/weekend are starting to improve. The amount I drink per session is a lot less than it used to be. My meal portions need some work, so I'll see how I can change up that challenge next time. The gym was my highlight this month! Despite the backtracking of numbers thanks to xmas, I feel like I've really got a routine going where I can slowly improve my weights and do some great things there. Hopefully on my next challenge the numbers and success will reflect the outcome. And as for socialising - it's been hard, but as soon as I got home to my family and my boyfriend, it was clearly a walk in the park. Despite my social skills being absolute ass in most situations, I have a great family and partner who I can always be myself around, and I count myself lucky for it. So, on to the next challenge! I'll post up a link here once the thread's been made, if anyone's interested. I know less people have seen this challenge than the last one, but I don't mind - at the end of the day just typing out my results helps give me some sort of accountability all the same! Even a like on a post means that I know someone has read my challenge and expects me to complete it or do my best, so that's what I'll try to do! Good luck in everyone in the next challenge, go kick ass! Quote NF Challenges! 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | 4 | 5 | 2017 | 6 | 7 | tumblr art | deviantart | twitter Link to comment
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