The Scarlet Pimpernel Respawns

[Teancum]

I'm back, and ready to start fresh in a new year!

 

My last (almost) year on Nerd Fitness definitely had some ups and downs, some successes and failures, but the one thing that lasted all year was that I was actually, consciously thinking about my health, even if I wasn't doing much about it. I consider that a success, and something I've never been able to sustain for that long.

 

This year it's time to turn some more of that thought into action. I'm going to restart in the Academy and actually do all of the mindset quests (I skipped a few last time). I am also going to make living by the "never miss 2 in a row" mantra a theme for this year to help prevent me from giving up completely when I inevitably make a poor choice.

 

Now for my goals for this challenge:

 

Move Daily

Ensure that each day I take some devoted time for exercise/movement. Ideally this would include 3 BWW each week, but can include anything from going for a walk or a few sets of push-ups. Right now the focus is on the daily habit. Never miss 2 in a row!!

 

Eat Healthy

For this challenge, I'm going to make it really simple - I know what's healthy and what's not. Rather than trying to avoid specific foods all together, I'm going to use a traffic-light system: Strive for Green foods (ex. vegetables, fruit, lean meat, whole foods), supplement with Yellow foods (ex. grains, dairy, protein bars) if necessary, and avoid Red foods (ex. fast food, processed food, added sugars) as much as possible. For this challenge I won't have specific goals/limits, but will focus on being mindful of what I'm consuming and trying to make better choices in general.

 

Focus on Mindset

Complete at least 1 mindset challenge per week, without moving on to the next until the previous is completed. When going through the Academy the first time I skipped around a bit, and I think this was detrimental to establishing the proper external supports needed to accomplish my goals. Not this time!!

 

I love the support from this group, and I hope I can provide some good support too!! For the rebellion!!!

[Jonesy]

Love the goals!

 

[Teancum]

So far the week has been ok... 

 

Move daily: Both yesterday and today I've been doing surgery, so a lot of time on my feet and a bit hard on my back. That makes it pretty tough to get moving. However, yesterday I did about 5 trips to and from the car with groceries and pieces for an Ikea dresser, so I'm counting it. Tonight I will test some AMRAPs for the mini. 

 

Eat healthy: I've still had a few red foods unfortunately, but I've also deliberately passed up on some of them too, so that's a small win I guess. I think I'll need to get a bit more specific with my food choices eventually, but I'm deliberately taking it slow and easy this time around. 

 

Mindset: I read the overall mindset page again, and plan to take some photos again this week. 

 

Overall could have been better, but could have been worse. I'm still kind of figuring out how best to both take things slow and make meaningful change. What has worked for you guys? 

[Manarelle]

10 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

Overall could have been better, but could have been worse. I'm still kind of figuring out how best to both take things slow and make meaningful change. What has worked for you guys? 

 

Patience. Slow and steady takes a long time, and it doesn't include the "oh wow, that was awesome!" moments. It's harder to see the patient successes because they're not huge, but eventually you'll realize that you've just been quietly doing it without effort. Did you do better than yesterday? Great, recognize that as a win. If not, don't sweat it, you'll get it tomorrow. 

 

It takes a bit of a mindset shift to stick with slow and steady change, but it really does pay off hugely in the end. Might be worth checking out @peelout's challenge here in the assassins - he talks about how one good habit tends to breed other ones without even noticing, so small changes can have big effects. 

[Jonesy]

Like @Manarelle said, Patience! I still struggle with this.  

 

If you are going slow and feeling like you are not making progress it's usually because you can't see the big picture. At least I can't. What has helped me was keeping a habit tracker of some sort. I have a few different methods I use but if I can look back on how I did the previous months and see I was making progress, that helps motivate me to keep doing what I'm doing. 

[Teancum]

9 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Patience. Slow and steady takes a long time, and it doesn't include the "oh wow, that was awesome!" moments. It's harder to see the patient successes because they're not huge, but eventually you'll realize that you've just been quietly doing it without effort.

 

3 hours ago, Jonesy said:

If you are going slow and feeling like you are not making progress it's usually because you can't see the big picture. At least I can't. What has helped me was keeping a habit tracker of some sort. I have a few different methods I use but if I can look back on how I did the previous months and see I was making progress, that helps motivate me to keep doing what I'm doing. 

 

Thanks guys! Patience is hard haha. The tracking idea totally makes sense though Jonesy! What do you use to track? (besides your beautiful bujo of course!)

 

The only thing I've really tracked consistently is my weight, mostly because it's only once a week, and I still consider it my main outcome measure. The problem is it can be fickle sometimes, and while I've learned not to put too much stock in it week by week, it becomes more of a delayed "wow I've made a difference" thing rather than an "up-to-the minute" motivating thing.

 

I just read this week's "Actions Per Day" article, and I kind of like that idea. I might add that as a parallel system to my defined goals. I think it is important to have actual goals to work on, but I also find I get a bit down if for some reason or another I can't accomplish them. With the actions per day mindset though, it doesn't matter WHAT actions you're doing, as long as it's something for your health. So then even if I can't get my full workout in, I can choose several other actions that over the long term can still add up to some meaningful change.

[Teancum]

Today was a bit better than the last couple days!

 

Eat Healthy: I did't eat perfectly well today, BUT I did have an orange instead of gummies, and I had a salad for dinner.

 

Move Daily: I did the AMRAP tests for the mini for pushes, legs, and core today. I need to finally set up my pull-up bar so I can test the pulls. I'm still not sure the best way to organize the challenge because so far my AMRAPs have all been right on the cusp of mage, but on both sides (8 for legs and 12 for pushes/core)

 

Mindset: Took my "before" photos (again). I called them respawn photos, because they're not technically "before" but I also haven't made much progress for them to be "during".

 

As I mentioned before, I actually really liked the "Actions Per Day" score concept, so I'm going to include that in my challenge. I'll report it on here each day, with a goal of increasing it each day (while of course expecting some off-days). I figure I can reasonably get up into the 20's if I make it a focus.

 

APD: 7

[Norgaard]

This seems like some very good goals!.

 

If you get the hang of these things, the rest will be a breeze!

 

Best of luck!

[Teancum]

22 hours ago, Norgaard said:

This seems like some very good goals!.

 

If you get the hang of these things, the rest will be a breeze!

 

Best of luck!

 

Thanks!! 

 

Week 1 Day 4:

 

Eat healthy : made some good choices today - had a salad for dinner and resisted a few temptations to buy food after my test and when I had to go grab something for my wife. Also chose a healthier snack when I got home. 

 

Move daily : got a pull up bar, tried to set it up, realized it wouldn't work. I did try some negative pull ups from the rafters in the basement. They didn't go great, but it was something! 

 

Mindset : didn't do any specific quests today, but I appreciated hearing that even Steve didn't make much progress for a while! Honestly it helps a bit with being patient knowing that it took others a while to figure things out too. 

 

APD : 9 - going in the right direction! 

[Teancum]

Week 1 day 5:

 

Today was only ok. I had my oral exam, and I think it went well. I made a few good choices (got a salad instead of a doughnut in my combo at lunch, and didn't buy any food while I was out looking for a pull up bar). I also made a few bad choices though (my wife bought gummies- one of my weaknesses). 

 

APD right now is 5, but I'm hoping I can bring it up to 7 before bed (put up the pull up bar and use it) 

[Teancum]

So today wasn't so great for being healthy, but some small wins... 

 

Eat healthy: It was my daughter's birthday party today, so lots of good food at grandma's. She had my favourite candy which I indulged in (way too much). BUT because of that I also chose not to have pop or cake and ice cream. So definitely not the healthiest eating, but it could have been worse. 

 

Move daily: I have a terrible cough today, so this was tough, but I set up my pull up bar and did an AMRAP of jumping pull ups. I really want to get a bit more intense workouts in with this goal, but I'm glad I'm doing at least something every day. 

 

Mindset: Nothing yet today... Might do some measurements tonight still. 

 

APD: 4 (currently... Might be able to get one or 2 more tonight

[Manarelle]

14 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

Eat healthy: It was my daughter's birthday party today, so lots of good food at grandma's. She had my favourite candy which I indulged in (way too much). BUT because of that I also chose not to have pop or cake and ice cream. So definitely not the healthiest eating, but it could have been worse.

 

Nobody's perfect. You still kept yourself from throwing away all your progress, and showed a good amount of self-control (how do you not eat cake and ice cream at a birthday party??? Go you!). Sorry to hear you're not feeling well, hope that clears up and your weekend ends on a high note. 

[Teancum]

I crumbled a bit today... It started this morning when someone brought doughnuts to my 7:30 church meeting. I didn't have time to eat breakfast before going and I succumbed... 

 

Then I pigged out a bit at lunch after church. And some more after getting home from our friends house for dinner.

 

APD for the day is zero

 

But, my theme for this year is never 2 in a row, so tomorrow I will make better choices! My lunch is kind of meh (pasta, because we had leftovers to use), but I will not have any non-fruit sugar tomorrow, and I'll try to make my dinner healthier and get some exercise in. 

 

As for the week, it was ok. Definitely could have been better, but it's my first week back and I'm focusing on going slow. I made some good progress with the mindset things, and I lost a pound, so that's good! 

[Teancum]

Today was much better than the weekend. My meals were only so-so health-wise, but I avoided sugar (mostly - I did have like 3 gummies) including not getting ice cream while I was waiting for tires at Costco. 

 

I'm still a bit congested, so I couldn't do a full workout, but I did a bunch of push up progressions for the mini, so that was good! 

 

APD: 8

[Manarelle]

Nice job getting back on track! Hope the congestion buggers off so you can return to being amazing. I'm a big fan of slow and steady; as long as you're making progress, you'll get there. 

[Teancum]

Hey everyone!

 

The last couple days have been alright again. Could be better, could be worse. My eating has been very much in the yellow zone - not the worst, but not the best. I've been avoiding some sugary foods/fast food pretty well, but have been having pasta/bread/potatoes a few times. I know I need to do better on my diet to lose the weight I want to, and part of me is tempted to do something drastic, but I'm really really trying to go slow this time and build up small changes. It's hard, but I think it's important in developing the mindset that small choices add up to big changes.

 

So every Wednesday now there is free pizza at lunch. I feel like I'm not in a place to give up free food right now. However I said I would limit myself to two pieces, and I stuck with that, so that's good.

 

Yesterday I did some more push ups for the mini and went for a walk during the day. Today I was able to play out in the snow with my daughter, and made a snowman! (Haven't done that in a while, I forgot how much work pushing a big snowball around is!)

 

APD for yesterday: 7

APD for today: 5/ EDIT: 7 got in some last minute push ups for the mini, and some stretching (owww my pecs!!) 

[Manarelle]

It is hard to justify passing up free food. Limiting is a good option, though, +5 to willpower!

[Jonesy]

14 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said:

So every Wednesday now there is free pizza at lunch. I feel like I'm not in a place to give up free food right now. However I said I would limit myself to two pieces, and I stuck with that, so that's good.

 

I feel you on the free food front. I'm impressed you stuck with your limit. Great job!

[Teancum]

Week 2 day 5

 

Is it really the weekend already? This week seems to have gone by quite fast. Maybe it's because I'm on call this weekend so it still feels like the middle of the week... 

 

Today was bit better again! I ate mostly healthy: salad for lunch, and I got Opa at the mall rather than my usual Chinese. I did have some ice cream, but chose not to get a doughnut, so that's something. 

 

I did a couple sets of beginner shrimp squats for the mini. I'm not positive I'm doing them right (maybe a bit too much help from the back foot), but I think they're very helpful still, as usually I need to push off my knee with my hands when I get down or up from kneeling. 

 

I haven't done a mindset quest this week yet... It's going by too fast! Got to take my measurements (which I skipped last time) 

 

APD: 9 (and I got my calendar to record it! I wanted something motivating, but the best they had was Civil War (marvel) so I guess that'll work) 

[Teancum]

Ugh I've been on call both yesterday and today from 9 to 11 last night, and looking like the same today. Busy busy!! Sometimes there's slow periods, so I was hoping to exercise a bit, but it's been pretty much straight through. 

 

However, I haven't bought any food!!! Which is usually a weakness when on call. I brought frozen dinners, so not the best, but cheaper and still better than a burger and fries or something. Also oranges and grape tomatoes for snack. 

 

I lost 2lbs when I measured this morning. Hooray! I'll take my measurements tomorrow so I can finish that mindset quest. 

[otterbyte]

Looks like your efforts are paying off. Keep filling that progress bar!

[Teancum]

Didn't eat so well today, but not completely awful. And I was able to walk for an hour and chose to climb four floors of stairs instead of taking the elevator. It's a little embarrassing how quickly I get out of breath on stairs, but I'm happy I did it! 

 

APD so far is 5, hopefully will get one or two more tonight. 

 

Also I'm sad I missed the pulls for the mini!! You guys are too fast! That's something I need to work on so I was excited, but I guess nothing is stopping me from doing them anyway haha. 

[Teancum]

So, the last few days I haven't been eating great. I've had a severe case of the munchies, especially in the evening. And there's ice cream in the house, so bad combo. I have made a few good choices though. Slow and steady I guess. 

 

On the bright side, I discovered I really like jumping pull ups! I can't do regular pull ups, so they allow me to build up that strength, and it's a half decent full-body / cardio workout too!! 

 

Today was good for APD though, 9!

 

And I finally did those measurements for the mindset module!

[Teancum]

Food has been ok over the weekend, not great, but not terrible. Activity has also been so-so. Today I've been working on my big why... More to come on that. 

[Teancum]

The last few days I've been eating like a tool. I'm not exactly sure why. Well, that's not true, it started when my mother in law brought by a cake and a big box of cookies. It's frustrating that I find it so hard to ignore things like that. 

 

On the bright side I did a pretty good workout for the mini yesterday, and I've continued making some healthy choices like taking the stairs, so my APD has been ok. My average APD for January was 5.66, so my goal for February is to get at least 6 every day. 

 

I really need to figure out my diet next challenge. I'm debating between trying once again to track calories, and doing something more drastic like saying no added sugar at all for a month. The tracking is probably better for long term, but I almost want to do something drastic just to prove to myself that I actually can... Any thoughts?