LivingDeadGirl Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Wednesday's Battle Log 2/1/2017 Diet Breakfast: 4 keto sausage balls, 2 cups coffee Lunch: 2 cups tuna salad, 2 cups tea Snacks: 3 tiny oatmeal squares Dinner: bacon and 2 eggs Fitness Exercise: None Life Practiced Spanish for 20 minutes Cosplay Had to rework the ring segments on Codex's staff End Result: Yesterday was my second trip to the chiropractor. I was incredibly nervous considering the pain that resulted from the first visit, but this trip was considerably swifter. I was in and out in about 30 minutes, and only left with maybe a Pain Level 4. The neck cracking tends to leave me with a mix of dizziness/ears ringing, and so rather than risk the gym I went home to work on cosplay and watched a documentary regarding Anastasia Romanov. My back pain is rather persistent this week, but no more than what I am used to. My gym schedule is normally Tues-Thurs, but I intend to make up for the skipped days through the weekend. My silhouette has begun to slim a little bit and I don't want to lose what I've worked so hard for. Not to mention that my "Cosplay Wish List" continues to grow and I'm impatient to get to an ideal weight so that I can feel comfortable in my costuming. 1 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
turboseize Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 Don't get anxious over a few missed workouts. There will be plenty of opportunity in the future. And nutrition is - short term - far more important than exercise. Regarding nutrition; where were your vegetables on wednesday?* * Was the salad an actual salad with lettuce and vegetables and such, or just tuna mixed with something else? Sorry, if this questions seems silly, but I whenever I hear "salad" in context with something else, I get vigilant. I attribute that to my russian in-laws, who basically mix a protein source (eggs, cod, herring, whatever) with sour creme or mayonaise and call that a "salad". Hmm, if I think of it, we germans are the same. Slice a sausage into tiny stripes, mix with mayonaise, and you get "meat salad".) Quote Rowing, rucking, running, lifting heavy stuff. Why not do it all? Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 6 hours ago, turboseize said: Don't get anxious over a few missed workouts. There will be plenty of opportunity in the future. And nutrition is - short term - far more important than exercise. Regarding nutrition; where were your vegetables on wednesday?* * Was the salad an actual salad with lettuce and vegetables and such, or just tuna mixed with something else? Sorry, if this questions seems silly, but I whenever I hear "salad" in context with something else, I get vigilant. I attribute that to my russian in-laws, who basically mix a protein source (eggs, cod, herring, whatever) with sour creme or mayonaise and call that a "salad". Hmm, if I think of it, we germans are the same. Slice a sausage into tiny stripes, mix with mayonaise, and you get "meat salad".) Y'know... I've never really known why it's called a salad because it really is basically just tuna mixed with onions, eggs, and some mayo. Chicken salad and pea salad are basically the same thing and still called a salad. I don't get it. I know that many people will toss in extra ingredients according to their personal tastes (most commonly they toss in relish or pickles of some kind - which I hate. Hate pickles. Ew.) But I keep mine pretty simple. Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thursday's Battle Log 2/2/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1/2 cup coffee, 1 cup chocolate milk, 1/2 cinnamon scone Lunch: beef and green bean stir fry Snacks: Dinner: bacon and 3 eggs Fitness Exercise: 35 minutes elliptical Life Practiced Spanish for 20 minutes Cosplay Mailed back Codex and X-23 wigs (I was sent wigs that were totally not what was pictured and had to send them back to Amazon for a refund. e_e ) End Result: Yesterday at work was incredibly stressful. I had a meeting with the regional first thing in the morning (breakfast was provided, hence the scone) followed by a visit from the corporate office staff. Despite all the chaos, I stuck with my regiment and hit the gym. I was concerned about how it would go, having skipped several days due to the chiropractor, but I was able to run without pause for a good 15 minutes! It felt great to push myself more than what I'm used to, and I went home feeling amazing. The boyfriend mentioned that he could already see a difference since I started visiting the gym a month ago. My weight hasn't dropped, but my shape has - and that's what actually matters to me. 2 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
Da Troll Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 Well it sounds to me like you're powering through a rough week and when it's over you'll be all the stronger for it. I hope you're ready when that 6-week challenge starts, but don't beat yourself up if you're not! 1 Quote Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 Friday's Battle Log 2/3/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1.5 cups of coffee, 4 keto sausage balls Lunch: beef and green bean stir fry, 1 cup tea Snacks: 1 cup milk Dinner: chicken parmesan, green beans, 2 cups koolaid Fitness Exercise: 20 minutes walking at work, 30 mins on the elliptical Life Nothing to note Cosplay Cosplay research End Result: A crazy busy day at work, yet I still took my lazy ass to the gym. 1 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 Saturday's Battle Log 2/4/2017 Diet Breakfast: 5 small squares of baked oatmeal, 1 cup milk Lunch: hamburger patty with cheese, 2 eggs, 2 cups Koolaid Snacks: Dinner: hamburger patty with cheese, 2 eggs, 2 cups Koolaid Fitness Exercise: None Life Nothing to note Cosplay Worked on Codex's staff with little progress, however the wings were fabricated and are ready to paint! End Result: I hate it when deceptively easy props turn out to be a little more difficult than expected. I intended to spend most of Saturday completing the staff, but the materials I chose to keep things on the cheap side are proving more difficult than expected. It turns out that paperclay doesn't stick to plastics very well and a couple minutes of trying to put the staff together undid three days work of molding clay. FML. Sunday's Battle Log 2/5/2017 Diet Breakfast: McDonald's sausage biscuit with cheese, 1/2 of a medium mocha frappe Lunch: Snacks: 1 bottle of water Dinner: Bowl of meatballs with 1/4 cup of mozzerella cheese, 2 cups KoolAid Fitness Exercise: 2.5 hours / 4 miles of hiking Life None Cosplay Cosplay research End Result: It took some convincing, but I managed to get my boyfriend to join me on a hike. We ventured to a local spot that turned out to be more impressive than I expected. While only 20 mins from my house, there's a great area in Tulsa called Turkey Mountain. We didn't necessarily stick to the trails, and instead chose any path that looked interesting - which ended up in a single scary moment where it was incredibly steep and caused Ben to loose his footing and slide down the mountainside - but it was a helluva workout. I was pretty winded most of the time, but I didn't give up! Not only was it good for my health, but also I think it's great bonding for the boyfriend and I. We're in talks to make it a weekly outing for us. 1 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
turboseize Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 1 hour ago, LivingDeadGirl said: End Result: It took some convincing, but I managed to get my boyfriend to join me on a hike. We ventured to a local spot that turned out to be more impressive than I expected. While only 20 mins from my house, there's a great area in Tulsa called Turkey Mountain. We didn't necessarily stick to the trails, and instead chose any path that looked interesting - which ended up in a single scary moment where it was incredibly steep and caused Ben to loose his footing and slide down the mountainside - but it was a helluva workout. I was pretty winded most of the time, but I didn't give up! Not only was it good for my health, but also I think it's great bonding for the boyfriend and I. We're in talks to make it a weekly outing for us. Hiking is strongly approved. Koolaid and lack of vegetables not so much. 1 Quote Rowing, rucking, running, lifting heavy stuff. Why not do it all? Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2017 Monday's Battle Log 2/5/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1.5 cups of coffee Lunch: Snacks: 3 keto sausage balls, 1 small chocolate chip cookie, 1 handful of BBQ potato chips, 1 cup milk Dinner: Beef/Chicken mix with green beans stir fry Fitness Exercise: None Life Studied 20 minutes Spanish Visited chiropractor for round 3 Cosplay Sanded on Codex's staff wings, paint primer End Result: Yesterday was the first day of what is bound to be a hectic week. I work in property management, which is an easy job albeit quite stressful. The regional manager stepped by yesterday to inform us that the owners will be visiting on Wednesday, and provided us with a BOOK of things to do to prepare for their visit. (Making sure the property is clean, there's no visible damages to the fences, gates, or buildings, and that residents have their areas tidied and Christmas decorations removed - simple stuff, but it's a large property and our residents are not the most cooperative) Besides her visit, I had to process our evictions. There was simply no time in the day to take a lunch, and so I snacked on whatever I could grab. I didn't actually sit down to eat until nearly 7PM. I still stayed within my calorie intake for the day, and I'm happy to look in the mirror and notice a physical difference already. I've always had an hourglass shape, but my curves are slimming down and my figure is becoming more pronounced. It may be a small victory, but since I've started going to the gym... I can hook my bra two sizes smaller. I also think that I've dropped perhaps a pound, and I was able to fit into an old pair of pants when I went hiking this weekend - and that's my true goal. Seeing a quick result, no matter how small, is motivating me to keep up the good work. I'm hoping that come March, I can fit back into my Belle cosplay for the new Beauty and the Beast premiere. 2 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 Tuesday's Battle Log 2/7/2017 Diet Breakfast: 2 cups coffee Lunch: bowl of meatballs and mozzerella cheese, 2 cups tea Snacks: 2 cookies, 1 cup milk Dinner: 2 eggs, small portion of grilled chicken meat, 1 cup koolaid Fitness Exercise: None Life Studied 20 minutes Spanish Cosplay None End Result: Day 2 of a horrible week. Horrible, stressful work day. Went home. Went to bed. Stress is definitely the source of unhealthy eating. A crazy morning substituted a proper breakfast for some of the cookies that sit around the office. Blah. Blah day. Blah diet. Blah life. Here's looking to the weekend, because this week sucks. 1 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 Wednesday's Battle Log 2/8/2017 Diet Breakfast: 2 cups coffee, 3 keto sausage balls Lunch: Steak and Shake burger with the bun removed, 1/2 fries, root beer Snacks: 1 cup milk Dinner: Village Inn's omelette with chicken in it, sweet tea Fitness Exercise: None Life Studied 20 minutes Spanish Started Trigger Point Therapy at the chiropractor Cosplay None End Result: My job is trying to ruin my life. Not out of spite, mind you, but simply because it's a stressful environment that I feel will only get worse. A new policy is being put into place that I strongly disagree with on a moral level, but I'm in a tight spot where I simply cannot live without a job that pays me my current wage and my particular position does not come available often. The sheer stress of this workplace leaves me in considerable levels of back pain (tension mixed with sitting at a desk in an incredibly uncomfortable chair) and by the time the day is through, I want to quit at life. One horribly depressing work meeting later, I ate a poor lunch. For dinner, I went out with friends in an attempt to cheer myself up and further indulged. This week sucks. 1 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
bobcat2189 Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 Two of my favorite articles for any time I feel like [it sounds like] you're feeling: "You are Not Trapped Inside Your Life" - http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2009/08/you-are-not-trapped-inside-your-life/ "You Are Flawed. And So Are Your Heroes" - https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/you-are-flawed-and-so-are-your-heroes/ The words "horrible" and "stress" come up a LOT in your posts! It may be helpful to do some goal-planning - identify the roots of your stress, and what makes you feel horrible, then identify the solution/goal, and create sub-goals and mini-sub-goals in order to reach there. If you have an end-point (even if it needs adjusted along the way! even if it's far away!) you have something to look forward to. For instance, if I sit and think about my financial debt, I can feel horrible and stressed (e.g. "it's my fault I got into this debt, it's weighing me down, it's affecting my credit score, it wasn't 'necessary' or 'helpful' debt like college loans, why can't I catch up and pay it off?"). But at the turn of the new year, I sat down, pulled up all my accounts and my budget, and created a payoff plan. It's going to take me two years, sure, but the goal I can keep at the forefront of my mind is that hey, in October 2018, if I keep with it, I'll be debt free! So: it sounds like your job is an obvious and major source of stress. Clearly, quitting immediately doesn't seem like an option. BUT: think about what you'd like to be doing, and where it would make you happy to work. Does that position require additional education, training or skills that you don't currently have? Do you need to start networking with people in those positions to learn more about the positions and figure out when and where there might be openings, and what kind of people they're looking for? Set long-term goals, and then sub goals and mini-sub-goals to reach each step of the way. Think about why people pursue education - it's not because school is fun (although that's often a nice plus!) or easy or pays well (or pays at all, or actually puts you in debt), it's because 4-5 years down the road they want to be doing something different than they're doing now. 4-5 years (or even 1-2 years) to pursue your goals can seem like a long time, but A. it flies by, especially when you create short-term goals and deadlines and you're working towards something, and B. when you think about your life in the long-term, do you really want to be doing what you're doing now forever, with policies that you're morally against, that physically makes your miserable in so many ways, or do you want to take some time, pursue your goals, and do something you really believe in, that fulfills you? Indeed for you, beyond fulfillment, switching careers will likely optimize your physical, personal, mental and emotional health and wellness. BONUS: One more article on food that I love to read through when I'm struggling with food choices, or coming off a bad week or month of not eating healthy or right for my body: https://sarahfragoso.com/eat-food-that-doesnt-hurt/ - Sarah's blog is awesome, and she has a ton of great posts, plus my all-time favorite, no fail crockpot pulled pork recipe: https://sarahfragoso.com/beyond-easy-pulled-pork/ - this is one of those recipes I can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. FINALLY: mini-sub-goal #1 - get a new work chair. Sitting in that chair is physically hurting you! Request a new chair from administration / save up for a new chair and buy it and bring it into work yourself / get a yoga ball to sit on instead / get adjustments for your current chair like a pad or back support or something. I literally just searched on Amazon for "chair back support" and got over 31,000 results. One or more of these solutions has to be doable. Again, per Bonzai Aphrodite, "you are not trapped inside your life." 1 Quote Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Thursday's Battle Log 2/9/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1.5 cup of coffee Lunch: 4 CK sushi*, 4 kimono sushi*, edamane, 1 strawberry mochi, 1.5 glasses of Pepsi Snacks: 2 cups Koolaid Dinner: 2 eggs, breakfast sausaged sweeted with a tablespoon of maple syrup Fitness Exercise: None Life Studied 20 minutes Spanish Cosplay None End Result: Eh. *CK recipe = spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado, eel sauce Kimono = shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, topped with crab and spicy mayo Friday's Battle Log 2/10/2017 Diet Breakfast: Lunch: 2 Taco Bell double decker tacos, 2 cinnabon delights, 1 mountain dew Snacks: 1 cup milk Dinner: Beef taco salad, 2 slices of Walmart cheesecake, 2 cups Koolaid Fitness Exercise: 2 hour walk Life Took a personal day from work Cosplay None End Result: It's obvious that the stress in my life is what destroys all my hard efforts. One miserable week at work had me backslide into stuffing my face with sugary treats in an attempt to make my day better. Plus it's Valentine's Day and I wanted to share cheesecake with the boyfriend. I immediately felt guilty after eating it, but a long's week of hardship left me feeling apathetic. =T 1 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Saturday's Battle Log 2/11/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1 cup milk Lunch: 4 chicken breast chunks, green beans, 1/2 roll, 1 glass lemonade Snacks: 2 cups Koolaid, 1 cup sweet tea Dinner: grilled porkchops, handfull of potato chips Fitness Exercise: None Life None Cosplay Gave away some unneeded cosplay items (wigs, fabrics, old Renfair garb) Started on Codex's dress End Result: Another hectic day in which I spent it running around and trying to clean out my home (trying to get rid of old costumes/accessories and comics) It was somewhat successful, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. The process took longer than expected and not as much time was devoted to sewing as I had hoped. I'm happy with the dress so far, despite the choice of fabric turning out to be considerably thinner than I expected. It'll be a bit of a challenge to get the volume that I want from the skirt, but it is a lovely fabric. So soft! Sunday's Battle Log 2/12/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1 cup milk Lunch: McDonald's McChiken w/o bread, Filet-O-Fish w/o bread, 1/2 mocha frappe Snacks: None Dinner: Pot Roast with carrots, onions, potatoes Fitness Exercise: 2 hours / 4 miles hiking Life None Cosplay Repleated Codex's skirt End Result: I'm very good at covering up my social anxiety (thanks to several years of theater) but once I'm at a breaking point, I feel completely... devoid of life. Struggles with depression are nothing new, and it's why I try (and multitask) so hard to keep myself distracted and forced to busy myself with the things that do make me happy. I really wasn't feeling like doing anything at all, but this was the start of my 4-Week Challenge. I didn't want to start off on a bad foot, so I trekked my mopey self up to the mountain. It wasn't enjoyable, but the Valentine's Week PokemonGO event was enough to take my mind off of more depressing things. 1 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 On 2/9/2017 at 1:32 PM, bobcat2189 said: Two of my favorite articles for any time I feel like [it sounds like] you're feeling: "You are Not Trapped Inside Your Life" - http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2009/08/you-are-not-trapped-inside-your-life/ "You Are Flawed. And So Are Your Heroes" - https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/you-are-flawed-and-so-are-your-heroes/ The words "horrible" and "stress" come up a LOT in your posts! It may be helpful to do some goal-planning - identify the roots of your stress, and what makes you feel horrible, then identify the solution/goal, and create sub-goals and mini-sub-goals in order to reach there. If you have an end-point (even if it needs adjusted along the way! even if it's far away!) you have something to look forward to. For instance, if I sit and think about my financial debt, I can feel horrible and stressed (e.g. "it's my fault I got into this debt, it's weighing me down, it's affecting my credit score, it wasn't 'necessary' or 'helpful' debt like college loans, why can't I catch up and pay it off?"). But at the turn of the new year, I sat down, pulled up all my accounts and my budget, and created a payoff plan. It's going to take me two years, sure, but the goal I can keep at the forefront of my mind is that hey, in October 2018, if I keep with it, I'll be debt free! I'm definitely going to look into those articles. An old therapist recommended lots of reading for me to better orient my train of thought, and it does work for a while... but my mood is definitely a reflection of how things are going in my life. While I may be a cynic at heart, I really do give it my all and try to be optimistic and find the silver lining in all things. My roots of stress would be my job, my finances, my relationship. Job - I work in real estate and my day can be fantastic or horrific depending on who walks in my office that day. While I do love my work, it is a people-oriented environment and I'm currently working at a lower class property with low income (well near poverty level) families. Previously, I felt as though my company was making great efforts to better their quality of life and offer them good homes and really go the extra mile to help. More recently, new policies are put into place that is raising fees that I personally do not find justified. It's spinning my moral compass between standing up for what's right and leaving my job, or toughing it out because my clientele need people that care about them. To try and fix this, I sent my resume to a couple properties that were hiring. One wrote back the same day to inform me that the position had been filled. I haven't heard from the other, but I am aware that my particular position does not come along often and is high in demand. Finding a better environment will be quite a while in the making. I don't necessarily want to leave my career, but instead find a more professional (better living area and nicer quality) community. Finances - I was robbed 2 years ago. Took out a credit card to make ends meet. Currently have a maxed out credit card on top of all my regular finances. My boyfriend lost his job right before Christmas and now I'm paying for two. While I can baaaaaaaaaaarely make ends meet, it's frustrating to work 40+ hours a week at a decent wage and still have $40 sitting in my bank account after my bills/groceries/gas is paid for. It's miserable right now, but I know this is temporary. Boyfriend already has a job lined up for this week, but his UK citizenship has proved more difficult than ever imagined when it comes to finding work. Even this place that offered him the job says that it depends on them proving that he has college experience in the UK. (Shouldn't be too difficult, but it seems crazy that they must contact his college from 10 years ago for a copy of transcripts that he has in hand.) Once he does work again, that will take quite a burden from my shoulders. Further down the road, approx 3 years from now, my car will be paid off and that will be an extra $300/month in my account to pay off any debts that I have. So again, I know it's temporary, but I feel bitter and resentful that I work as hard as I do to be as broke as I am. (I can't help but wonder if it isn't because I was raised in a country where everyone feels entitled to an easy life?) Relationship - This one is tricky. Relationship with the boyfriend is rocky because of the finances and his being without a job. He's fallen into a pit of depression for being without work, and invests all his time into video games as a distraction. Multiple times I explain that he could put his time to better use, but I can't do anymore to help him than I already am. I suspect that once he gets back to work and becomes self dependent again, his attitude will turn around. If it doesn't, then that tells me he's out of excuses for his poor attitude and we can go our separate ways and I will know that I at least did the right thing and gave it my all. Quote So: it sounds like your job is an obvious and major source of stress. Clearly, quitting immediately doesn't seem like an option. BUT: think about what you'd like to be doing, and where it would make you happy to work. Does that position require additional education, training or skills that you don't currently have? Do you need to start networking with people in those positions to learn more about the positions and figure out when and where there might be openings, and what kind of people they're looking for? Set long-term goals, and then sub goals and mini-sub-goals to reach each step of the way. Think about why people pursue education - it's not because school is fun (although that's often a nice plus!) or easy or pays well (or pays at all, or actually puts you in debt), it's because 4-5 years down the road they want to be doing something different than they're doing now. 4-5 years (or even 1-2 years) to pursue your goals can seem like a long time, but A. it flies by, especially when you create short-term goals and deadlines and you're working towards something, and B. when you think about your life in the long-term, do you really want to be doing what you're doing now forever, with policies that you're morally against, that physically makes your miserable in so many ways, or do you want to take some time, pursue your goals, and do something you really believe in, that fulfills you? Indeed for you, beyond fulfillment, switching careers will likely optimize your physical, personal, mental and emotional health and wellness. I kinda explained this above, but I do have a college education. I went for visual media (a mix of photography, video, advertising, business, etc) and while my current career is not exactly what I intended... I find that it suits me quite well. The business is versatile and allows me to make use of all my talents, while also providing a set schedule and paycheck. ( When working in art, no work means no money and that's a risk I can't take.) My current career is enjoyable (when a better environment) and makes plenty of time for my true passion: cosplay/photography, charity. I feel that as long as I can do a job that keeps me happy and paid, then I'm okay because it can provide for what I truly want to do in life. While it's too soon to say that I want to do this line of work forever, I can definitely see myself following the many doors that it does open up (whether it be selling houses or moving over to advertising versus management.) Alternatively, I have thought about looking into interior design as a career... but it might be more of a side project before it could be large scale enough to bring in the money. Perhaps once my car is paid off, I may take some classes on that? Quote BONUS: One more article on food that I love to read through when I'm struggling with food choices, or coming off a bad week or month of not eating healthy or right for my body: https://sarahfragoso.com/eat-food-that-doesnt-hurt/ - Sarah's blog is awesome, and she has a ton of great posts, plus my all-time favorite, no fail crockpot pulled pork recipe: https://sarahfragoso.com/beyond-easy-pulled-pork/ - this is one of those recipes I can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. FINALLY: mini-sub-goal #1 - get a new work chair. Sitting in that chair is physically hurting you! Request a new chair from administration / save up for a new chair and buy it and bring it into work yourself / get a yoga ball to sit on instead / get adjustments for your current chair like a pad or back support or something. I literally just searched on Amazon for "chair back support" and got over 31,000 results. One or more of these solutions has to be doable. Again, per Bonzai Aphrodite, "you are not trapped inside your life." Thank you so much for these articles. I definitely intend to read them and see how I can apply them to my game plan. That last goal, oh yeah. I've already been complaining to work about the pain that it puts me in and will see what it may take to get a better option. I'm unsure that they will accommodate me, but at least I can make my voice heard. 2 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
turboseize Posted February 14, 2017 Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 Next week is going to be better. If you cannot do anything else, please ditch the soda/kool-aid/lemonade... 1 Quote Rowing, rucking, running, lifting heavy stuff. Why not do it all? Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 Monday's Battle Log 2/13/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1 cup coffee Lunch: 5 keto sausage balls Snacks: small handful of jerkey Dinner: beef taco salad, cup of water! Fitness Exercise: 15 minutes walking property & stairs Life Visited Chiropractor Cosplay None End Result: Getting back on board with good eating decisions. I visited the chiropractor and explained how my pain was increasing since visiting his office. I completely understand that there is a process to healing and that he has to work out the tension in my back and muscles, but doing so leaves me feeling near incapacitated for the next day - doing so is keeping me from my gym workout. Hitting the gym doesn't stress my pain levels like his visits do, and so I want to reduce my visits. We agreed to once a week, although my boyfriend is begging for me to not return since even the lightest of touches on my back would leave me doubled over in pain. He said that it's not normal for me to hurt so badly. Can anyone else tell me if this sounds right or not? Also want to point out that I drank a cup of water yesterday. I hate water. Loathe the taste of it. But I suffered through it as part of my 4-Week Challenge. 2 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 Tuesday's Battle Log 2/14/2017 Diet Breakfast: cheese danish, 1/2 venti chocolate frappe Lunch: tuna salad Snacks: none Dinner: baked chicken parm with side salad, 1/4 portion of mac and cheese Fitness Exercise: none Life 40 minutes of Spanish Cosplay None End Result: Valentine's Day! I was suckered into my one true weakness (cappuccinos!) but ultimately felt guilty about drinking the calories so I threw half of it away. I went out to dinner with the boyfriend to celebrate, and had my favorite meal there. I tried to squeeze in some extra Spanish to make up for having missed the last couple of days. The good: I realize that drinking the super sugary drink leaves me feeling so much hungrier and desperate to snack than a proper breakfast. It deters me from wanting to do so again, so that's personal (mental) progress. The better: After feeling guilty for the few snacks that I've indulged in, I stepped on the scale to see how far I backslid... to find that somewhere in all this progress I went from 232lbs to 218! HOW? SERIOUSLY HOW? Admittedly I haven't weighed in every day or even every week basis... but since I started this journey, I went from 230 to 232 (thus my reason for ignoring the scale) and now I'm at 218. I'm over the moon with progress. So ready to hit the gym tonight! 1 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Wednesday's Battle Log 2/15/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1 cup coffee, 4 squares of baked oatmeal Lunch: tuna salad, 2 cups tea Snacks: 1.5 cups milk, 1 bottle water Dinner: 2 eggs, bacon Fitness Exercise: 35 minutes elliptical Life 20 minutes of Spanish Cosplay Donated supplies to a local costuming workshop End Result: After three weeks of the chiropractor and only feeling worse, I brought my concerns to my manager. (I had previously spoken with a regional manager who seemed disinterested and more or less shut out my concerns.) However, my immediate manager was more considerate to my increasing pain levels and the fact that I've had to leave work early to make my chiropractor appointments... and allowed my request to order a new office chair. I found one on sale, received it the next day, and already I notice a difference in my lower back pain. The chair has padding in it for lumbar support, which has made a drastic difference in comfort. The chair it high back, so it also helps for my upper back... though I still am dealing with some pain in my upper vertebrae. I hope that things continue to improve between a better chair and repeated trips to the gym. 2 Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 Thursday's Battle Log 2/16/2017 Diet Breakfast: 1 cup coffee, 1 cinnamon roll Lunch: chicken and green bean stir fry Snacks: 1 cup milk, 1 bottle water, handful of potato chips, 3 cups lemonade Dinner: 1 cup milk, 1 slice pizza Fitness Exercise: 35 minutes elliptical Life None Cosplay None End Result: Despite my unhealthy choices, I did stay within my calorie intake for the day. This was just a horrible day from start to finish. From night terrors to bad hair day, followed by one of my residents found dead in their home to spending hours on the phone with police, EMSA, funeral homes, and fighting with my workplace for difference of opinions (more like morals) and then to find out my boyfriend didn't get the job that we thought was a sure thing, and finally my credit card debt has been sent off to collections since I've been unable to keep up with the payments. (Mind you, the card was only taken out after I had been robbed and needed a quick resolution to keep my bills paid.) Fuck this day. Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
Candicat Posted February 21, 2017 Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 I really hope your situations lighten up soon Hang in there, you're doing so well! 1 Quote Intro | Current Challenge | Epic Quests Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 Friday's Battle Log 2/17/2017 Diet Breakfast: Venti cinnamon dolce frappe from Starbuck's, sausage and cheese sandwhich w/o bread Lunch: beef and green bean stir fry, 1 cup lemonade Snacks: 1 small chocolate bar (120 calories), 1 cup sweet tea Dinner: 2 slices of pepperoni pizza, 2 cups lemonade Fitness Exercise: 40 mins elliptical Life None Cosplay None End Result: Free pizza. Can't turn down free food when you're broke. Saturday's Battle Log 2/18/2017 Diet Breakfast: none Lunch: 4 small pieces of baked fish, water Snacks: 1 cup milk Dinner: whopper burger and fries from Burger King, 1 sweet tea Fitness Exercise: light walking Life Participated in a murder mystery Cosplay Adjusted sewing form, minimal progress on Codex dress End Result: Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 Sunday's Battle Log 2/19/2017 Diet Breakfast: Lunch: Sausage McGriddle, 1/2 frappe Snacks: 1 cup milk, 2 small pieces of fish Dinner: taco salad, 2 cups lemonade Fitness Exercise: 1.5 hour hike Life None Cosplay None End Result: Went hiking per usual, although we had a late start due to technical hours. By the time we got there, a light rain had already passed leaving everything over heated and humid, so it wasn't enjoyable. The boyfriend and I also invited some friends to join us, so the usual workout turned more into a scenic hike... not as effective. Better luck next time. Monday's Battle Log 2/20/2017 Diet Breakfast: Lunch: 2 eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, 2 breakfast sausage pattys, 1 cup lemonade Snacks: 1 cup orange Koolaid, mostly water Dinner: chicken parmesan, water Fitness Exercise: Life None Cosplay Small tweaking to Codex. Will have to wait until I have more money to redo the back of the dress. End Result: Cosplay progress hasn't been as productive as I would hope. The pattern I used wasn't long enough for my torso, and so I've tried to piece together seams to make it fit... which in turn makes it look terrible in quality. I finally decided that I wasn't satisfied with frankensteining pieces, and will have to wait for my paycheck to buy an extra yard of fabric to fix the back half of the dress. Because of that, I can't really move forward with the embellishments and trim. In other news, I have a new app on my phone that reminds me to drink water. It's super cute, called Plant Nanny. Every time I drink some water, the plant gets some water. If I don't drink, it'll die I guess? Not sure. Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 Tuesday's Battle Log 2/21/2017 Diet Breakfast: cinnamon roll, bottle of milk Lunch: whopper, strawberry frappe Snacks: lots of water Dinner: 2 eggs, chicken Fitness Exercise: 25 minutes elliptical Life Studied Spanish - up to Level 7 on Duolingo! Cosplay None End Result: Spent some extra time on Duolingo to make up for missing on Monday. Went to the gym with the boyfriend, but he accidentally broke my headphones. I didn't realize how necessary headphones are to really get the ideal workout. All I could hear was these obnoxious tweens making a racket behind me. Isn't there supposed to be an age limit at the gym??? Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
LivingDeadGirl Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Wednesday's Battle Log 2/22/2017 Diet Breakfast: 3 peanut butter oatmeal bites, 1 cup coffee Lunch: Snacks: 1 cup Koolaid, vanilla wafers Dinner: chicken and green beans stir fry Fitness Exercise: Major lifting. Life Did some major cleaning to our maintenance tool shop and pulled a muscle in my back. D: Cosplay NoneThursday's Battle Log 2/23/2017 Diet Breakfast: 3 peanut butter oatmeal bites, 1 cup coffee Lunch: 1 cup lemonade, beef and green bean stir fry Snacks: Dinner: baked salmon, 1 cup lemonade, water Fitness Exercise: Life Cosplay None Friday's Battle Log 2/24/2017 Diet Breakfast: Lunch: 3.5 slices of pizza Snacks: 4 slices of cookie, 5 cups milk Dinner: Fitness Exercise: Life Cosplay None End Result: So yeah... I fell off the band wagon. There's a lot of commotion going on at work, and so I stepped outside of the office to "help" clean up our maintenance team's supply shop. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The whole place was an absolute disaster and required EIGHT HOURS of hard core cleaning and trash out. EIGHT HOURS and I still wasn't finished. I did everything but move the appliances, which I was unable to do myself and had no help. But my efforts did make a huge difference and now it's a functioning space for the guys. Because I worked the entire time, I skipped lunch. My back was killing me by the time it was all done, and everything hurt so bad that I didn't realized I had pulled a muscle until the next day. Whoops. I went into work Thursday morning with all intentions of taking it easy through the day and hitting up the gym afterwards, but muscle pain paired up with menstrual pain really did kick my ass. I went home sick and spent most of the weekend with a heat pad on my aching muscles. I typically have hormone meds to keep me from having shark week, but I have an outstanding bill with them and cannot afford it. Yay Murica. So yeah. Lots of pain. Lots of hormones. Lots of chocolate and pizza. ahahahafailure. Quote Stats: 26 Yr. | 218 lbs. | Sz. 18 Class: Rebel | Level: 3 Intro | Daily Battle Log | 4-Week Challenge | Leveling Up "It's so much easier to measure life in experience points." - Codex (The Guild) Link to comment
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