traaki jumps back in

[traaki]

OKAY! 

 

I, uh, completely dropped out last time. Forgive me. 

 

NUTRITION QUEST: Pack your lunch

For a while, I was having a lot of success with packing my breakfast, lunch and snacks for work on Sunday night. I was getting a lot of fruits and veggies, plus my lunch was filling and I didn't compulsively eat those damn 12-flavor gummy bears.  

 

I won't be able to pack all my lunches today, but I do have snacks ready and can pack my breakfasts as I go along--so this week the task is to bring snacks and breakfast to work.  The remainder of the month, I need to bring lunches, breakfast and snacks, prepped on Sunday.

 

NUTRITION QUEST: 

I will be more mindful of my fullness levels when I eat. I have been overeating lately and feeling like crap when I'm done.  

 

EXERCISE QUEST: 

I will go on four walks each week. (This is in addition to my 2x weekly bodyweight exercise--I've missed the walks I used to have built into my schedule with my commute). 

 

EXERCISE QUEST: 

I will check out one of the gyms near my house with a guest pass. There is a location literally two short blocks from me, which is the closest I've ever lived to a gym.  The commute to and from the gym (plus general social anxiety) has always kept me from regular gym attendance, but with my new second-story apartment, it is time to at least investigate other options.  I will also re-read the NF Academy sections on going to the gym. 

MINDSET QUEST: 

I will check in on this thread at least three times per week.  Last challenge I kept putting it off and I lost my focus--this time I want to remain engaged with the challenge. 

 

 

I am not going to do a lifestyle quest--I have a lot of things on my monthly to-do list that I could use, but I'm feeling like a strong focus on my health is worth it to get back into the challenge swing of things. 

 

Alright! That's it for now. I'll be back in a few short days!

[traaki]

Brought a frozen lunch, breakfast, celery/carrots, three clementines....and a few chocolates to work. But still feeling good about the lunch. 

 

I may need a better game plan than "be more mindful of eating"--like, don't eat at my desk. Not quite ready for that to be a rule because it will wreak havoc on my schedule, but still. I can do a little bit better. I've mostly been overeating snacks at work and then generally overeating at home--much easier to monitor that part of it. 

 

Last night I emailed the gym right by my house to find out about pricing, etc.  It's a small boutique gym, but the reviews on Yelp are positive.  It's small, seems like it has something of a community as a result, and the costs people are reporting on Yelp are not exorbitant (though....they're way higher than free, which is what my house costs).  Do people even do bodyweight workouts in a gym? 

[Manarelle]

Welcome back! Looks like you have a good challenge to beat back the munchies. And to answer the bodyweight workout at a gym question... yes, people do that. Sometimes it's just so there's a dedicated space for it, and sometimes so there's a dedicated mental routine so you don't get sidetracked by other things around the house. Plus, there are often equipment and structures at a gym that may motivate you to try new things (check out the mini for ideas, too!). You're definitely off to a good start with the breakfast and lunch goal, would it maybe help to say no snacking at your desk? 

 

Following for the awesomeness, you've got this!

[traaki]

8 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Welcome back! Looks like you have a good challenge to beat back the munchies. And to answer the bodyweight workout at a gym question... yes, people do that. Sometimes it's just so there's a dedicated space for it, and sometimes so there's a dedicated mental routine so you don't get sidetracked by other things around the house. Plus, there are often equipment and structures at a gym that may motivate you to try new things (check out the mini for ideas, too!). You're definitely off to a good start with the breakfast and lunch goal, would it maybe help to say no snacking at your desk? 

 

Following for the awesomeness, you've got this!

 

Thanks for the info on the gym and the reminder about the mini! I will take a look at it. 

 

I think the problem with snacking at my desk has been two things: 

1. Frozen lunches are both small AND unsatisfying, so I've been legitimately hungry and
2. Unfortunately the things I've had in my desk are not healthy. 

So I'm hoping that resuming bringing my own homemade lunches + cut veggies snacks will mean that I'm not snacking as much and not on such high-calorie stuff.  If this doesn't work, then yeah...maybe it's time to say no to snacking. 

 

Found my spirit animal tho: 

[Manarelle]

Love the gif, I'm with you there. And yeah, I hit that point today - I'm truly hungry, but I've eaten all my healthy snacks and don't want junk food, because I know I'll feel awful later. Time to restock the desk!

[traaki]

Okay!

 

Today has been rough.  I'm a (queer female) developer in an open-source community that I totally love to pieces that since last night has totally exploded with some really intense revelations and basically spent all day on slack processing it with other people, trying to figure out how I feel about the situation, etc. etc. Couldn't sleep last night thinking I would need to learn a new platform/language, get a new job, other patently absurd things like that. ANYWAY it freaked me out hard last night and now about 24 hours later I'm pretty wiped out. 

But I am here to check in! 

Last night I roasted two eggplants (first time!) and packed myself some lunches. I was totally not going to do that until Sunday so I feel like a superhero for getting it done mid-week. Have also been bringing my healthy snacks and not replenished the gummy bear stash. Went on two walks yesterday. 

 

So, yeah. I think I'm doing pretty okay! All things considered. Time for some dishes and then bed. 

[traaki]

On 3/22/2017 at 1:10 PM, Manarelle said:

Love the gif, I'm with you there. And yeah, I hit that point today - I'm truly hungry, but I've eaten all my healthy snacks and don't want junk food, because I know I'll feel awful later. Time to restock the desk!

What do you keep in your desk, by the way? If you don't mind my asking!

[Manarelle]

12 hours ago, traaki said:

Today has been rough.  I'm a (queer female) developer in an open-source community that I totally love to pieces that since last night has totally exploded with some really intense revelations and basically spent all day on slack processing it with other people, trying to figure out how I feel about the situation, etc. etc. Couldn't sleep last night thinking I would need to learn a new platform/language, get a new job, other patently absurd things like that. ANYWAY it freaked me out hard last night and now about 24 hours later I'm pretty wiped out. 

 

 Sorry to hear that things went haywire. I tend to do the "patently absurd" mental over-reaction, too. Hopefully things aren't that horrible, and are settling down again? /hugs. Weekend's almost here...

 

How was the roasted eggplant? I've heard so many people say you can't tell it's a veggie, blah blah blah, but I'm still very reluctant to try it (although I am growing Meatball Eggplants this year). For snacks, I usually keep variations on granola/protein bars, dark chocolate (kills the sweet tooth but I can only eat so much at once, so no overindulgence), and gum. Wednesday was icky because I stupidly forgot my two hard boiled eggs for a mid-morning snack (hello 17-calorie protein snack?) so I was trying to find substitutes that were pure carb. : P It was not my best macro day. 

[traaki]

On 3/24/2017 at 10:07 AM, Manarelle said:

 

 Sorry to hear that things went haywire. I tend to do the "patently absurd" mental over-reaction, too. Hopefully things aren't that horrible, and are settling down again? /hugs. Weekend's almost here...

 

How was the roasted eggplant? I've heard so many people say you can't tell it's a veggie, blah blah blah, but I'm still very reluctant to try it (although I am growing Meatball Eggplants this year). For snacks, I usually keep variations on granola/protein bars, dark chocolate (kills the sweet tooth but I can only eat so much at once, so no overindulgence), and gum. Wednesday was icky because I stupidly forgot my two hard boiled eggs for a mid-morning snack (hello 17-calorie protein snack?) so I was trying to find substitutes that were pure carb. : P It was not my best macro day. 

Thanks for the sympathy.  Things are calming down, at least in my own mind.  I think the community is still figuring out where it will land but I no longer feel totally freaked out. 

 

I love eggplant so much, so I liked it.  I really like the nuttiness of eggplant and the texture doesn't bother me.  I think it's really good in an Italian food context (like, with tomatoes and cheese) but I have a recipe for one that has miso on it that's supposed to be really good.  You could always dig up a mutabbal (eggplant dip) recipe or try it in moussaka, which is like an eggplant casserole.  

 

Thanks for the tips on snacks, too. I keep gum and dark chocolate for the same reasons. I don't love egg yolks in pretty much any form so have a hard time getting behind the hard-boiled egg thing...but it makes SO MUCH SENSE that I'm often tempted to try to make it work.  

[traaki]

Quick end-of-week check-in: 

 

Packing lunches

I still have some lunches and veggies left from my mid-week prep session, so I'm good to go. Forgot to pack my breakfasts but it really isn't too challenging to put some cottage cheese and berries in a container. I will be okay.

 

Mindful eating

I've been...okay. Eating more at my desk than I would like, but yesterday I managed not to eat my whole dinner, which was so so delicious but really unnecessary. 

 

Walking

I went on four walks! Success! They were all shorter than I used to do, but I'm proud I managed them--three of them were for errands, and I'm really happy to be using my feet in place of my car.  The length/distance part will come. (Missed a workout, but technically not part of the challenge. Still, it's been two weeks in a row that I missed one of my workouts. Not. Ok.)

 

Gym Investigation

Haven't heard back from the gym I contacted, but I DID discover that the building under construction a few blocks away is going to be a YMCA. Still, it is time to pay a bit more attention to this quest. 

 

Mindset: Check in here

I have succeeded! And I can tell it is really helping.  

 

Okay! Time for sleep!

 

[Manarelle]

On 3/27/2017 at 2:01 AM, traaki said:

Thanks for the tips on snacks, too. I keep gum and dark chocolate for the same reasons. I don't love egg yolks in pretty much any form so have a hard time getting behind the hard-boiled egg thing...but it makes SO MUCH SENSE that I'm often tempted to try to make it work.  

 

Well, fortuitously, there is benefit to eating only one part or the other (chart on what contains what here), so what I do is have whole scrambled eggs for breakfast, then only the boiled egg white for snacks. Part of me feels bad for wasting food, but boiled egg yolks are right up there with boiled broccoli on the list of disgusting foods, imo. And I'll have to try those eggplant ideas when mine are ready this fall. 

 

Grats on a successful week 1! Doesn't have to be perfect, just better than the previous week, and it sounds like you nailed that! Keep up the great work!

[traaki]

I exercised yesterday morning, which made it the first week in a very long time when I exercised as early as Tuesday.  I realized that I have been super overwhelmed but instead of strapping in and getting stuff done, I was MOANING about it and totally buying into the "I don't have time to exercise" mentality. 

 

NONSENSE.

I was worried I wouldn't be able to work out at ALL this week because things are so busy and that's when the alarm bells went off (hooray for alarm bells!)

 

I've been too focused on "all the things I gotta do" and not focused enough on the fundamentals (eat, sleep, exercise).  So I am making a renewed effort to get to bed and to work out in the mornings.  

This weekend is going to be tough as we are going to be camping and I'm not sure I will have time on Sunday for meal prep. Still sorting out how best to handle that (meal prep on Monday? meal prep on Thursday?)  But it'll be so good for walking!  

[traaki]

Just went on a quick walk to the grocery store. While hungry. 

 

I managed to walk out with too many snacks--but they were all relatively healthy! Protein-y! I stayed out of the bakery section!

Makes me realize the next challenge, I might need to up my snack game even further. 

[Manarelle]

15 hours ago, traaki said:

Just went on a quick walk to the grocery store. While hungry. 

 

I managed to walk out with too many snacks--but they were all relatively healthy! Protein-y! I stayed out of the bakery section!

 

That sounds like a level-up in the badassery of food control.  Congrats!

[traaki]

End of week (okay, start of next week...) check-in: 

 

PACKING LUNCHES

I did a great job, though I ran out of lunches/snacks for Friday.  

 

MINDFUL EATING
I went camping this weekend and didn't do a *great* job on mindfulness. 

 

WALKING 4X PER WEEK

I went on three walks last week (I think...my records are a bit spotty at the end of the week due to camping prep/execution).  Two walks on Saturday were longish hikes in the desert; totally worth it.  The other one was during the work day which is when walks help me the most (in terms of mental health).  

 

GYM RESEARCH
I just added this to my paper journal, which helps me get stuff done.  I want to re-read the NF gym section by Wednesday of this week. 

 

POST HERE 3X PER WEEK

I got 2/3.  Wanted to do one yesterday but I was Le Tired from camping.  

[traaki]

And now for the upcoming week....

 

I didn't have time/energy to prep meals yesterday. I had some leftovers in the fridge that I brought for my lunch today, but no snacks.  I'm not sure when I'll be able to get this done--tonight is Tax Night, which I'd LOVE to delay in favor of cooking but I know that's not the right choice either.  

 

I opened a tab to the NFA gym info so that I can read it a bit at a time over the next few days. 

 

I'd like to focus this week on getting the walks in and getting my 2x weekly BWW in.  I have not been doing great with the workouts and want to get that back on track. 

 

[traaki]

As I'm going back through the gym stuff, one thing they recommend is to make a list of what you want from a gym, so here we go: 

 

Must have:

• I want to feel comfortable there. This is a tough one as it's very hard to measure but I don't want to feel conspicuous or out of place. I feel *very* comfortable working out at home. The main reason I'm considering this at all is I don't feel comfortable doing jumps in my workout since I'm now on the second floor.
• Able to do my body weight workouts and maybe start to move into some weighted workouts
• Under $100 per month
• Biking distance from either home or work, preferably both

 

Nice to have:

• Under $50 per month
• Not a long-term contract, can be month-to-month
• Swimming pool (would I ever use it?)
• Hot tub/sauna (because obviously)
• Dance studio I could use for rehearsals (am I just daydreaming here?)
• Classes (maybe? I have a love/hate relationship with classes)
• Shower and locker room, towel service (maybe? depends on when I'm planning to go) 
• Secure bike parking

 

I've only ever been a gym member once. For about a month I belonged to a YWCA that was on my way home.  Things I really liked about it include a wide range of equipment, comfortable shower/locker rooms, on my way home.  I'm sure this list will adjust but for now it's a start. 

[traaki]

Mid-week check-in!

Totally (mostly) killing it this week. 

 

Just got my second workout done, which is the first time in (mumble mumble) that I've gotten two workouts in *during* the work week.  I'm a tiny bit behind on my yearly goal so I think one more this weekend will get me back to even. 

 

I've gone for two walks.  My lunch/breakfast planning has been a bit behind but I'm proud of how I'm making it work. Went to the grocery store by my work for some meat/cheese/carrots so I could have some protein and veggies. 

 

I've been thinking more about the gym and found out how much the nearby gym costs from Yelp (they never replied to my email).  They have *really* good reviews on Yelp; it's like a little boutique-y gym about two blocks away.  I am both nervous about the idea of going and also thinking this is probably like, the best gym situation I'll ever have (if it lives up to the reviews).  A friend of mine was just featured by their gym and talked about how great it was to have a community, so maybe I will go.  I realized yesterday after reading this that I am just really tired of how shitty everyone is to fat people (including me being shitty to myself there) and realizing that a lot of my aversion to working out at a gym is not wanting my workouts to be derailed by all the emotional energy of dealing with stares and shitty comments.  

 

So, that's my week so far. Going to do two more walks and prep some more lunches this weekend. 

[traaki]

End of week: 

 

I didn't do a BWW this weekend, but I *did* do some yoga. My back was killing me--not sure why.  My butt/thighs/all-around lower body were very sore from the Thursday workout and somehow I ended up with low back pain. The yoga video I followed was meant to open up the low back and I am feeling way better than before.  

 

I just finished my fourth walk.  Lunches are about 50% ready; still need to cook some brown rice and veggies to accompany the chicken. Just went to the nearby farmer's market for the first time and am now excited about trying to make a point of going to the farmer's markets for lunch supplies on Sunday mornings. Maybe a subject for another challenge!

 

I'm checking in here for, like, the fourth time this week.  So all is good there. 

 

Not really getting a lot done on the gym.  I think I'm just going to keep on keepin' on at home until the desire to go to a gym strikes again.  

 

As for mindfulness, I'm doing pretty well. I ate too much yesterday when my friend brought over cupcakes, but this morning I turned down a cupcake because I remembered how unhappy it made me feel before. I also resisted snacking on chocolate at work on Friday, even though I was quite hungry.  

[Manarelle]

Sounds like a productive week, and glad to hear the yoga helped out! The boutique/gym does sound nice (and there was a time I would have loved to have a gym that close!). It sounds like you've found a good groove for working out at home, though - is the gym just something you wanted to look into? Thank you for linking that article, it was a very interesting read. I've been one of those horrible people before, both when I was a scrawny teen and at my least fit moments as a way of justifying my own size. Interestingly, I feel you get that less in smaller, more personal fitness spaces - it's easy to be a semi-anonymous jerk at a large facility, but when everyone knows each other by name, it tends to cut down the rudeness. Whatever your decision on the gym, you've got this challenge by the throat; one more week! You've got this!

[traaki]

17 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Sounds like a productive week, and glad to hear the yoga helped out! The boutique/gym does sound nice (and there was a time I would have loved to have a gym that close!). It sounds like you've found a good groove for working out at home, though - is the gym just something you wanted to look into? Thank you for linking that article, it was a very interesting read. I've been one of those horrible people before, both when I was a scrawny teen and at my least fit moments as a way of justifying my own size. Interestingly, I feel you get that less in smaller, more personal fitness spaces - it's easy to be a semi-anonymous jerk at a large facility, but when everyone knows each other by name, it tends to cut down the rudeness. Whatever your decision on the gym, you've got this challenge by the throat; one more week! You've got this!

Thanks, Manarelle! The gym research was mostly spurred by the fact that we moved into a 2nd floor apartment and I feel nervous about jumping around and making noises at early-ish hours of the day.  And since there is this tiny gym right there, it seemed worth at least investigating.  

 

Thanks also for the insight into the dynamics of a smaller gym--I've really never been to a small one and find them intimidating, but it makes sense that of course people would be held to a slightly higher standard of behavior since everybody knows everybody else.  I'm not decided either direction on the gym questions, but if I do try one, the boutique gym is where I'm gonna start. 

[Manarelle]

On 4/10/2017 at 2:58 PM, traaki said:

Thanks, Manarelle! The gym research was mostly spurred by the fact that we moved into a 2nd floor apartment and I feel nervous about jumping around and making noises at early-ish hours of the day.  And since there is this tiny gym right there, it seemed worth at least investigating.

 

Ah, yeah, I totally get this. I lived on a top apartment when I was doing irish dance and I hated the idea of practicing at home, because I know I wouldn't appreciate upstairs neighbors doing that. Maybe ask the downstairs neighbors what their schedules are? They might leave early enough that it wouldn't be a problem. Tough conversation to bring up though. Good luck either way you decide to go!

[traaki]

11 hours ago, Manarelle said:

 

Ah, yeah, I totally get this. I lived on a top apartment when I was doing irish dance and I hated the idea of practicing at home, because I know I wouldn't appreciate upstairs neighbors doing that. Maybe ask the downstairs neighbors what their schedules are? They might leave early enough that it wouldn't be a problem. Tough conversation to bring up though. Good luck either way you decide to go!

Yeah, I keep hoping I'll casually bump into them but maybe I need to just make a point of it. 

[traaki]

I did my first workout of the week today and it was the NFA BWW3A.  A few months ago I was just *so bored* with the Academy workouts but couldn't get past the boss (too much work with bar hangs/chin ups for me).  Switched to 8 fit and finally felt like I could go back to the NFA workout....and it was SO EASY.  So that felt great. Didn't rest between sets at all, and when it came time for side planks, I was like, "Well, haven't done these in two months...maybe I can get 20 seconds."  And made it to the assigned 40 seconds no problem. 

 

FELT GREAT. 

 

Re: both packing lunches AND mindful eating, I have been getting hungry again in the afternoon, so obviously packing my lunch and snacks is not the ONLY thing that wasn't going well.  I'm going to take a page from Manarelle's book and try some hard boiled eggs (maybe mashed up with some mustard and pickles? Like, light egg salad?) in the late afternoon.  I've also started a daily allocation of dark chocolate (move the allowed pieces from bottom drawer to the usual drawer) and that has really helped me cut down on consumption and made me more aware of what I'm eating. 

 

I realized that I won't take a walk during the work day if I feel like I've slacked off in the day....which I often feel. So, it's time to be a little more focused at work in favor of getting those walks in. 

[Manarelle]

17 hours ago, traaki said:

 

I did my first workout of the week today and it was the NFA BWW3A.  A few months ago I was just *so bored* with the Academy workouts but couldn't get past the boss (too much work with bar hangs/chin ups for me).  Switched to 8 fit and finally felt like I could go back to the NFA workout....and it was SO EASY.  So that felt great. Didn't rest between sets at all, and when it came time for side planks, I was like, "Well, haven't done these in two months...maybe I can get 20 seconds."  And made it to the assigned 40 seconds no problem. 

 

FELT GREAT.