Deffy and the 30 Days of Stuff (Def #27)

[deftona]

2016 was a raging dumpster fire but who cares?! That shit is over. 2017 is going to be sparkling sunshine and sexy unicorns, you heard it here first! 

 

I actually start 2017 heavier than I started 2016 which sort of sums up the entire year which on a personal level was pretty troubling, and I really suffered from lack of motivation and failure to see things through which really isn't like me. So I decided to start 2017 with 30 days of pure, unbridled excellence to kick start the year and set the scene for the 365 days ahead. I want to get 100% on every single aspect of this challenge. Failure is not an option. 

 

My challenges are running slightly different this year. I have overarching goals that are tended to on my battle log and these have monthly objectives. The challenges don't run in perfect months so I am having different (usually) goals to complete in my 4 week challenges. You can find my plan for January here. My goals for challenge one are below.

 

I want to get my good habits back so for the next 30 days I want to do the following every single day. The 30 days finishes on 31st January but I will set other objectives for the remainder of the challenge. 

 

1. Eat at least 5 portions of freggies every day

Only unique freggies count (per day, obviously) and it has to be at least 80g of one type to count as a serving. I can have a maximum of 2 servings of "mixed veg" but these have to look different to each other. I didn't explain that well. Nevermind, I know what I mean. 

 

2. Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Yep, this is all basic stuff but you know what? I let the basics slide last year and it led to me gaining so I'm not too proud to go back to the baby steps. 

 

3. Track everything I eat in MFP

This is about baseline data and observing my habits. I am not even demanding daily deficits but I really do expect them.

 

4. Prep breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks ahead of time where possible and track food for the following day the night before

Preparation is the key to this. The snack box shows this method works best for me so we're going to run with it again. 

 

5. Do the Daily Dare on Darebee every single day

No ifs, no buts, no coconuts. 

 

6. Complete 30 Days of Change

Do the whole thing with one single bit of leeway - I do not have to do it on days where I am at my work-out-of-the-home job because there is too much travelling and I am already very active at this job anyway so it's not particularly necessary. However, I still need to complete this within the 30 days and I have to complete every single day in that time period. I am achieving this by looking at what is planned for each day, assigning the days that take the least time to complete to days I am working and then attaching this to another day so I do two workouts on one day, twice a week. This is decided at the beginning of the week to form a training schedule and I cannot deviate from this, I have to consider it as set in stone. 

 

7. Read 10 pages of a book per day

I have two books on at the moment and it doesn't matter which one I read, I just need to read 10 pages. I need to get back to the Deftona who used to really put herself out for her goals. The Deftona who realised the Pancakes were 8 hours away from completing a reading challenge in an epic Pancake v Waffle battle so she sat there and read for EIGHT WHOLE HOURS because that's what she did. I don't do that any more. But I will. 

 

8. Observe all relevant rules from the Battle Log

The challenges are intended to compliment the Battle Log so all rules from there are still relevant despite what my individual challenges lay out. For example, I cannot buy anything from new this year unless I have submitted a formal petition for a specific item a calendar month before. One caveat to this is I can earn tokens from 4 week challenges that I can spend on new items without making petitions. I earn a single token by getting 80%+ and I get two credits for earning 90%+. I also have food waste targets, seasonal food eating goals, Gamerpoints targets and savings goals. 

 

9. Thirty Day Song Challenge

This is an interactive part of the challenge because I want everyone to join in! I have a list of a few questions from some different Song Challenges I found online and I have randomised them and given them a number. I will pick one at random each morning and post my song and I want other people to post their songs too. I love finding new (to me) music so this is purely a selfish endeavour but join me, it'll be a riot! 

 

10. Journal Every Day

I have a 5 year Q&A journal that is a lovely way to track my character development over time and also my trusty BuJo which works so much better when it is actually up to date.

 

2017 is the Year of the Rebel, let's do this. 

 

 

 

[deftona]

Index

 

Day One - Projection > Write Up

Day Two - Projection > Write Up

Day Three - Projection > Write Up

Day Four (Guilty Pleasures)  - Projection > Write Up

Day Five (A Hated Song) - Projection > Write Up

Day Six (Ringtone)  - Projection > Write Up

Day Seven (Current Obsession) - Projection > Write Up

Day Eight (Significant Other) - Projection > Write Up

Day Nine (Stripping Song) - Projection > Write Up

Day Ten (Parents)  - Projection > Write Up

Day Eleven (Comedy) - Projection > Write Up

Day Twelve (Love Song) - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirteen (Preteen) - Projection > Write Up

Day Fourteen (First Kiss) - Projection > Write Up

Day Fifteen (Cover) - Projection > Write Up

Day Sixteen (Karaoke)- Projection > Write Up

Day Seventeen (Dance) - Projection > Write Up

Day Eighteen (Live) - Projection > Write Up

Day Nineteen - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty One - Projection > Write Up

- Day Twenty One Mark 2 (I have no idea...) Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty Two(Grandparents) - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty Three (Summer) - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty Four (TV Theme Tune) - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty Five - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty Six - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty Seven - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty Eight - Projection > Write Up

Day Twenty Nine - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty One - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty Two - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty Three - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty Four - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty Five - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty Six - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty Seven - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty Eight - Projection > Write Up

Day Thirty Nine - Projection > Write Up

Day Forty - Projection > Write Up

Day Forty One - Projection > Write Up

Day Forty Two - Projection > Write Up

Day Forty Three - Projection > Write Up

Day Forty Four - Projection > Write Up

Day Forty Five - Projection > Write Up

[deftona]

Lessons Learned

 

1. Fasting works

2. You can do this. Just keep up doing the good stuff and the results will follow. Or they won't. But keep going. 

3. Tank really loves Zeppelin.

4. You're fitter than you think.

5. Five a Day is totally doable, especially if you remember to go grocery shopping. 

6. Tanks really really loves Zeppelin. 

7. I am starting to get pretty awesome shoulders

8. If you're having a bad day, just do the things anyway. Your day is going to suck anyway, you might as well succeed. 

9. You have the upper body strength of a sick old man. Maybe work on that, k?

10. You can do this. And you can enjoy it. The process is really fun if you stop seeing it as punishment and instead see it as an opportunity to become better. You know how much you love that shit. 

[deftona]

Progress Reports

 

Week One

 

Spoiler

I had a great start to the year. I ate at least 5 a day every day (100%), did the daily Daily Dare (100%) drank plenty of water (100%), journalled every night (100%) all scheduled workouts for the week, even if I did end up shifting them around a little (100%) read at least 10 pages every day (100%) tracked everything I ate in MFP to the best of my ability and ate to a deficit every day but one (this wasn't even a goal).

 

I stuck to all my battle log goals, even not buying a new phone when the one I bought before the new year turned out to be faulty. Normally I would have just blindly bought a new one but when I was shopping for the one I bought last year, nothing inspired me. I just can't get excited about phones and I hate shopping for them. There is nothing really wrong with my current one, it just doesn't have good app compatibility any more and it doesn't fully sync with my new fitbit but this I can live with if it means I pass 2017. I might use a credit for one in the future, but that remains to be seen. 

 

I lost 1.2 lbs last week. Looking at my calories in v calories out data I should have lost 1.9 lbs and actually it should really be more than that since the weigh in at the beginning of the year was probably inflated but really, I have been eating far too much. This month is about getting baseline data so I can workout the error margin on the calorie burn from the Fitbit (which seems to be quite large, as I suspected) and without looking at the Fitbit calories burned data I would never expect to lose any weight eating at this range. I need to cut my food intake next week.

 

I 100%ed last week because that's just what 2017 Def does. 

 

Week Two 

 

Spoiler

Another really successful week! All Darebee Days were completed along with all Daily Dares. 100% for freggies, water, journalling, reading and calorie tracking and everything else was on point too. According to my sums, I should have lost 3.69 lbs but I lost 4.8 lbs (overall for the month, this is) which is actually surprising as I feel like I have been eating too much. Maybe my Fitbit is more correct that I think it is although I do still have my doubts. I think I need more data before I start making attempts to work out the error margin, if there is one - and a week containing a shark week is probably not the best sample since I swell up like a balloon and look like I have been battered about the face with ugly stick at this time. 

 

My other goals for the year are ok but I am falling a little behind with my film watching. I need to make sure I don't get too behind on this since it will be harder to make up the further into the year we go. My gamerpoints are growing nicely (but I did set a lofty goal here) and I still haven't bought anything. I did make a petition yesterday for a bookcase or something to put in my cupboard since it's becoming a dumping ground for stuff we have no home for and I'd like to nip that in the bud. We do have vouchers for IKEA and we might end up using those instead and since it's vouchers therefore free money it doesn't count as part of the "don't buy anything" thing. If I decide to use money instead of vouchers I can purchase this on or after the 15th February.

 

I passed the second week of "3 x 30 mins of exercise per week", my calendar is all green so far. I also think my booty is coming along but that might just be that I am wearing more lycra than a) I usually do and b ) anyone reasonably should. I have also found that stretching really improves my knee pain. Nothing added to savings this month because January is such a long month since we both got paid so early. February and March should be better for this. I am also tentatively planning to do my masters next September so I am researching where and what to study for that. I have a number of ideas but they all involve moving quite far away. EXCITING TIMES!

 

Week Three

 

Spoiler

All Daily Dares were done, I am up to date with 30 Days of Change, I tracked everything I ate, drank enough fluids, ate at least 5 portions of freggies every day and I read at least 10 pages. I haven't bought anything that flouts the rules of my shopping restrictions and I have got a lot of wins this week. I am completely and utterly 100%-ing 2017. 

 

I have lost a total of 7.2 lbs so far this challenge which is more than the 5.7 I should have lost according to my calculations but I think the initial weigh in included some extra bloat and also a late shark week so I am probably running around right for my calculations. TH has lost a lot more than that simply by eating the healthy food I am preparing and just existing - he doesn't work out or anything. I am trying not to see this as a competition (mostly because he is winning) so I am happy for him because he is getting even sexier than he already was and I salute that. 

 

More of the same for week four. 

 

 

[deftona]

Day One Projection

 

I planned my meals last night and sorted out something TH can cook for dinner since I am back late tonight. I go back to work after 2 1/2 weeks off for Christmas but I am actually looking forward to it. I am still a bit sick from the flu I came down with on Christmas Eve and this is triggering my asthma. I can't quite believe how long I have been down with this, but hopefully it is on it's way out. I am starting my new workout plan tomorrow so I hope my breathing is easier by then since I plan to do it regardless. 

 

30 Day Song Challenge Day One: A Song that Sums up Your Hopes for the Coming Year:

 

 

What is everyone else's 2017 battle song? I am looking forward to hearing your answers! 

[Terah]

Following off course

 

My battle song

Spoiler

 

"Stand my ground, I won't give in
no more denying, I got to face it
won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside"

 

No more giving in to brain weasels this year! (I don't think that's what they had in mind when they made the song, but it works for me   )

 

[Yasha92]

Following for all the butt-kickery. My battle/theme song this challenge is 'a thousand years'.

"I will be brave

I will not let anything take away

What's standing in front of me

Every breath

Every hour has come to this

One step closer".

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ensi]

Following!! I know you are still the hard-working def you've always been. 2016 was rough, but now's 2017 and you can tell yourself that you deserve to kick ass  Hmm, I'd say my inspiration song is this (at least, this is what I'm listening while writing my job application letter):

 

 

 

[skinNbones]

Hey Def, I'll probably sit this challenge out too, but I'll try and follow a few of you guys anyway

Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and receipts for all major purchases

[DarK_RaideR]

2 hours ago, deftona said:

30 Day Song Challenge Day One: A Song that Sums up Your Hopes for the Coming Year:

Had enough of 2016's shit

[Muir]

These are some great back to basics goals, Def. I'm doing something similar for my challenge as well (will post it later today, keep an eye on my signature for the link).

 

Love your 2017 theme song as well. Mine I think would have to be Sia's "The Greatest" . The song just really resonates with me.

[Cataleya]

Hmmm... A song that sums up my hopes for this year.

 

 

I think that sums up how I feel about this year given how shitty last year was. Still, Sia = amazing.

 

Following!

[MichiruSedai]

Dude, the basics are called basics for a reason. I do not believe that reason is because they are easy. I believe it is because they are so important.

 

My battle song to start 2017 is Rise by Katy Perry.  I'm not entirely sure how to embed a video so let's try, lol!

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

A song for my hopes for the year. Given what's happening for me in July:

 

[DrFeelgood]

 

[Sylvaa]

Song challenges are my jam! Without the whole breakup theme of this song (so pretty much the chorus):

 

[Shello]

7 hours ago, deftona said:

This is decided at the beginning of the week to form a training schedule and I cannot deviate from this, I have to consider it as set in stone. 

 

7. Read 10 pages of a book per day

I have two books on at the moment and it doesn't matter which one I read, I just need to read 10 pages. I need to get back to the Deftona who used to really put herself out for her goals. The Deftona who realised the Pancakes were 8 hours away from completing a reading challenge in an epic Pancake v Waffle battle so she sat there and read for EIGHT WHOLE HOURS because that's what she did. I don't do that any more. But I will. 

You got this!  2017 is going down

 

 

[Lara]

Following!

I don't have a catchy song for 2017, but I hope you will let me stay anyway  

[deftona]

23 hours ago, Terah said:

Following off course

 

Lovely to have you again Terah

 

23 hours ago, Yasha92 said:

Following for all the butt-kickery. 

 

Welcome! And this time I guarantee butt kicker!

 

22 hours ago, Ensi said:

Following!! I know you are still the hard-working def you've always been. 2016 was rough, but now's 2017 and you can tell yourself that you deserve to kick ass 

 

Thanks. that is sort of true. I feel like I took two steps backwards for every step forwards last year and that's totally my fault but you're right, I definitely deserve to kick ass.

 

21 hours ago, skinNbones said:

Hey Def, I'll probably sit this challenge out too, but I'll try and follow a few of you guys anyway

 

It's a shame you're sitting one out but it's lovely to have you along for support again

 

21 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Had enough of 2016's shit

 

WORD.

[deftona]

20 hours ago, Muir said:

These are some great back to basics goals, Def. I'm doing something similar for my challenge as well (will post it later today, keep an eye on my signature for the link).

 

I look forward your back to basics challenge too - sometimes there's no shame in a reset. I don't think your sig has changed yet though so I will keep an eye on it.

 

18 hours ago, Cataleya said:

I think that sums up how I feel about this year given how shitty last year was. Still, Sia = amazing.

 

Following!

 

Welcome! And it's weird how the entire world seemed to have an awful 2016 isn't it?!

 

18 hours ago, MichiruSedai said:

Dude, the basics are called basics for a reason. I do not believe that reason is because they are easy. I believe it is because they are so important.

 

That's very very true. I think I fall into the trap sometimes of overcomplicating things for no reason at all and then it all falls away because the basics go. 

 

18 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

A song for my hopes for the year. Given what's happening for me in July:

 

CHOON! 

[deftona]

17 hours ago, DrFeelgood said:

 

 

Yesterday is totally all of those things! 

 

17 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

Song challenges are my jam! Without the whole breakup theme of this song (so pretty much the chorus):

 

Hey, you can totally break up with 2016! 

 

16 hours ago, LadyShello said:

You got this!  2017 is going down

 

Yes! If only it knew how hard! 

 

35 minutes ago, zenLara said:

Following!

I don't have a catchy song for 2017, but I hope you will let me stay anyway  

 

GET OUT. 

 

Just kidding, of course you can stay! You're awesome! Welcome, it's lovely to have you again  

[deftona]

Day One Write Up

 

Yesterday started in a freezing cold panic. I checked the bus timetables to see if they were running on Sunday service and it said NO! OF COURSE NOT! COME AND GET ON OUR BUSES! But it lied. I stood in the freezing cold waiting for a bus for half an hour, wearing just tights on my legs and with no gloves. Then I missed my connecting bus meaning when I finally got on it, I had to throw my lunch into my face on the bus instead of in the lovely warm staff room at work because my bus was due to get in 7 minutes before I started work and it's a 5 minute walk from the bus stop. I made it on time but gah, at what cost. 

 

Work was ridiculously busy and I wore my new Fitbit Blaze for the first time. It seems to vastly overestimate calories burnt. Or my other one very much underestimated it but I am tempted to side with the former. Anyway, this is one of the reasons I am not too worried about deficit this month, I just want data. If I have all my calories in data then I can compare this to actual weight loss and work out the error margin on the Fitbit. 

 

Food was good - avocado toast and an apple for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch and cajun turkey, a jacket potato and a sauerkraut and pickle side salad for dinner. 6 portions of freggies and 10 glasses of approved fluid. No formal workout since I was at work where I am rushed off my feet all day there anyway. All food was tracked and I did the Daily Dare which was a 2 minute squat hold. I did this while staring menacingly at TH while he was brushing his teeth. I read 10 pages of Antifragile on the bus on the way home and I didn't buy a thing except for my bus ticket. I filled in my BuJo and 5 Year Q&A diary and I am currently working my way down the list and listening to all the songs you posted for the song challenge. I promise I will listen to every single song posted, and I have already added some of them to relevant playlists so thank you! 

 

I kicked yesterday squarely in the face and I will do the same to today. 

 

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[deftona]

Day Two Projection

 

I have a lot of stuff I should get done today but I also sort of want to play Assassin's Creed all day so I think I am going to go right down the middle and spend half the day doing hard work, and the other half overthrowing the Ottoman Empire. Then, if there is time I will play Assassin's Creed *slaps thigh, I am so funny* 

 

One thing I do need to do today is to do a workout schedule for the next two weeks and also put up my workout tracker which I have made for the full year. I need to do at least 3 x 30 min workouts every single week this year and when I do I get to colour that block in green with Sharpies. I am looking forward to making all of 2017 green because failure IS NOT AN OPTION. 

 

Song Challenge Day Two: One of Your All Time Favourite Most Bangingest Workout Choons. 

 

There are so many I could choose from but we'll go with this one: 

 

 

 

 

 

[Muir]

27 minutes ago, deftona said:

I look forward your back to basics challenge too - sometimes there's no shame in a reset. I don't think your sig has changed yet though so I will keep an eye on it.

 

https://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/93545-muirs-new-year-challenge/

 

37 minutes ago, deftona said:

Song Challenge Day Two: One of Your All Time Favourite Most Bangingest Workout Choons

 

I'll see your Marmalade and raise you a B.Y.O.B. Nice driving song which is perfect to get your blood pumping

 

[Lara]

1 hour ago, deftona said:

I am looking forward to making all of 2017 green because failure IS NOT AN OPTION. 

That's the spirit!