Journey, one day at a time

[DanaeArgos]

I just started throwing pebbles in the ocean of life to see how far the ripples reach. I have an idea of where I'd like to be, but don't really have a clue or care how I get there. I am a blank slate. Deconstructed and abstract.

 

My stats:

5'2"

Female

Medium build

155lbs

No major known detrimental health problems/limitations

No prescriptions

 

Time wasting at work. Summer is so quiet. Quite nice. Let's me think and focus on me. The days are as slow as molasses but I don't care. Let's me practice living in the present and be alone with  my thoughts except for the occasional beggar.

 

DAY ONE of logging my pebble ripple journey thing at least here. I've been doing lots of logging elsewhere, but this will be way more personal. Way more public. Way more uncomfortable.

 

I have been calorie counting for a couple of months now. Only finding it is more difficult and way less healthy and less effective than the low carb way of eating I've experimented with. I am never satiated and always grumpy and obsessing over the scale. I found if I eat more than 900 calories, I gain weight. Definitely going back to low carb ---- meats and veggie---- this coming week. Oooh Assasin's Creed theme music is playing on my Pandora. Will I play the game tonight? Maybe, maybe not. I have too much to do to get sucked into 18th century France again forever eating away at my life and the summer's waning days. Sorry, squirrel moment.

 

Today, I had a sausage biscuit with cheese at McDonald's. Damn little things are too addicting to be real. It may not be my last but will certainly be for the next month at least if not more unless by some magical pill the very thought of them makes me sick.

 

I had half a serving of Noosa mango yogurt for lunch. Yumm

 

Just finished half a serving of Atkins Dark Chocolate Royale Shake.

 

I have not eaten enough today obviously, and yes I'm feeling the effects. Emotionally down and weak and mushy brain.  It is my work out day. I'll eat a nice piece of chicken breast  and drink some hot green jasmine tea after my workout. That will help.

 

My workout will consist of the following:

 

Chuck Norris' Total Gym Machine Thingy        

3 sets 12 repetitions

             seated bicep curls

             seated chest presses

 

Body and Free Weights

 3 sets and 12 repetitions

              squats with two 25lb dumbbells

              good mornings with one 25lb weight

Boxing

4 -45 second rounds punching the punching bag and walk/run on the treadmill to the highest intensity possible

 

Outside

Walk around the neighborhood with the dog (1/2 a mile maybe??? not sure, never measured).

My fiancé and I do this together and alternate our sets in our little makeshift gym at home listening to the loudest angriest music to keep motivated and going strong throughout the entire workout. Definitely going to have to add a little something to the routine next week, as I am no longer sore after the workout. Still feels good though. I'll let my fiancé do the planning. He is the coach after all with the exercise science degree. I don't have a clue what to do next. Suggestions welcome!

 

Well, that be all for now. I'll see to it that I track my day again tomorrow. A practice -  in self-discipline.

 

[Copper Rabbit]

Hooray for loud music! One of the best motivators around I think. Keep it up Danae! (:

[DanaeArgos]

Thank you! You too! 

[DanaeArgos]

Friday night didn't work as planned. Went to see Wonder Woman instead with fiancé on an impromptu date night. No popcorn and I illegally brought a bag of fresh cherries to munch on and ordered a diet dr. pepper. LOVE. WONDER. WOMAN. AWESOME!

 

We worked out instead on Saturday

Chuck Norris' Total Gym Machine Thingy        

3 sets 12 repetitions

   seated bicep curls

             seated chest presses

 

Body and Free Weights

 3 sets and 12 repetitions

              squats with one 25lb dumbbell

              good mornings with hands outstretched

 

Boxing

4 -45 second rounds punching the punching bag and walk/run on the treadmill to the highest intensity possible

 

Later that evening, we went for a walk down our street and I ran a block and sprinted 1/10 of a mile. Oy! I was completely winded! Looking to improve that with time, though not sure how much that can actually improve at 7800' in elevation. We'll see.

 

This weeks goals

 

Wake up at 6:30am to do yoga and actually eat breakfast before I leave for work. Difficulty level: Crushing

Ride bike to work everyday. Difficulty Level: Easy

Drink green tea instead of coffee. Difficulty Level: Hard

 

Monday's progress:

6:30am wake up: failed miserably. my alarm also didn't go off, but I should have gone to bed earlier too.

Ride bike to work everyday: I get a trophy!

Drink green tea instead of coffee: failed miserably

 

Yesterday my response would have been..... meh.... there is always tomorrow. No hurries no worries, blah, blah, blah. It is time for me to get pissed about my progress today and just actually do it tomorrow! No excuses! If I feel that monster of reluctance and give in to my initial '5 more minutes which turns into a half an hour' when my alarm goes off, I will remember how pissed off I was today, yell extremely loudly to myself, "SELF-DISCIPLINE", and get my ass out of bed when my alarm goes off. I used to do that in high school. wonder what happened to that self discipline? hmmm....

[DanaeArgos]

For sustenance I ate the following today:

Breakfast:

Two hardboiled eggs

Coffee with two tablespoons of cocoa and hazelnut creamer

 

Snack

Almonds, cashews and a small spoonful of cream cheese

 

Lunch

Smoked salmon salad. ingredients included: spring mix greens, capers, onions, smoked salmon of course, tomatoes and a smidgen of honey mustard dressing

 

Dinner

Two eggs basted

Three pieces of bacon

 

[DanaeArgos]

Late last night I decided to go for a little bit of sprint run walk around the neighborhood. My focus was breathing. I noticed a week or so ago, I would 'hold my breath' at the start of a sprint or a run. So I breathed. It DID make a difference on how far I was able to sprint.

 

I jogged the first block (block meaning just the length of one side or 1/10 of a mile), Sprinted the next block, walked the next block, jogged the next 1/2 block, walked 1/2 block, sprinted the next block, walked and then one more strong sprint one block and walked home. It felt amazing. The night air was beautiful.

[DanaeArgos]

I've been a lazy tard this past week. Both Keven and I fell out of our workout routine for a few days. Getting back into it this week, for sure! It astounds me how quickly the body, for lack of a better term, deteriorates, when you take a few days off, okay 4 days in this case. I'm anxious to get back into it again this week starting today! At this stage, I'm looking at more how I physically feel, my mental state, and how my clothes fit, vs. my weight reading every morning.  I'm finding that number doesn't reflect the awesome results of feeling good and looking good that I've found from a great consistent workout regime. Onward and upward here I climb!

 

This week's goals:

Roll out of bed at 6:30am instead of the usual 7:10.

10 minute morning yoga workout at least two times this week.

Drink Green Tea instead of coffee - still trying to get this one down

Ride bike to work everyday, this time take the long way around which involves a short steep climb around the school. 1.32 mi vs .69 mi

Get out my Primal Blueprint cookbook and try a new recipe

Finish a 5x7 drawing for a friend

mail out my bridesmaid's invites and presents

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DanaeArgos]

Ummm... blankness ensues.  Off track again this week. My energy and happy mood are low. I'm sure it has something to do with the reasonably low carb diet I've been eating, so I am  probably am suffering from carb flu.

 

Watched American Ninja Warrior last night---- always an added motivation piece to my day. Soooo, I hung by my hands on a beam in the stairwell, I suppose that would be in some way an urban version of "cutting-loose" in climbing jargon, legs swinging and all.  I did about 5 sets of this trying to hang on longer and longer each time. No callouses on my hands makes hanging on longer harder, but I will keep working at it. Hope to help strengthen my grip and eventually, be able to do a pull up, then two, then three and so on and so forth. 

 

What is today? THURSDAY already! Eepers...  My running day. There is a great trail by the University. Going to run that today after work. It isn't too hot today, so shouldn't be an issue for me. No particular goal other than to run until I can't and back again with a few sprints in between, hmmmmm...... a little yoga stretching afterwards, THEN, eat some chicken, drink some water and keep that self discipline thing going.

 

Making it up as I go. Definitely, no consistency yet on my journey of self discovery. 

 

Wednesday's food intake: 

(note: carbs are net)

Morning Weigh-In: 154.4 lbs

Breakfast: Kind Bar - Dark Chocolate, Almonds, Sea Salt 13 carbs

Lunch: Jerky, and 3 left over bbq dry rub ribs (no bbq sauce) 6 carbs

Snacks: Handful of pistachios, stevia sweetened blue raspberry koolaid snow cone in a mug that Keven made, yum; 5.2 carbs

Dinner: Small Kale salad consisting of: kale, mushrooms, blueberries, almonds, walnuts, celery and a caesar dressing 25 carbs

TOTAL: 49.2 (phew! just under my goal of 50 or less. yes!)

 

Today (later)

 

 

[DanaeArgos]

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.................

 

TODAY

Again, all carbs are net (total carbs minus fiber)

Morning weigh in: 154.6 lbs

 

FOOD:

Breakfast: Sausage patty w/ cheese without the biscuit 2 carbs

Lunch: Tuna salad (white albacore tuna, mayonnaise, celery, pickles, onions, kale, garlic salt, pepper, curry powder) 4 carbs

Snack: Jerky 6 carbs

Dinner of the not so distant future:  Chicken breast grilled in olive oil 0 carbs

Beverages: Water, iced tea, homemade mocha (1 TBS of hot chocolate mix, 1 TBS hazelnut creamer, 12 oz regular brewed coffee) 19 carbs

TOTAL (when all is said and done): 31 carbs

 

EXERCISE:

Running until I can't

Yoga stretching

Deep breathing

 

right.... shoulder...really...hurts today! grrr!!!

 

 

 

[DanaeArgos]

Success! Ran a mile and pushed myself. Really pushed myself. Felt good. Had a surprise when I came home. Keven made me dinner! 

 

Dinner

Chicken wings

Snow peas

a pickle

two roasted mushrooms

 

[DanaeArgos]

Morning Weigh In: 153.8 (woohoo!)

 

FOOD THUS FAR TODAY!

Breakfast: Sausage patty w/ cheese 2 carbs

Lunch: Roast Beef, green leaf lettuce, tomato slices, cheddar cheese, cucumber and caesar dressing 5 carbs

Snack: Coca Noir Cold Brew Coffee with almond milk, jerky 26 carbs

 

Tonight I'm planning a bike ride down the path near the Gunnison river. It is about a 5k non-stop loop and I am seriously considering biking it twice to meet the "Bike for 10km nonstop" quest. hmmmmm.... get out there and just do it!

 

[DanaeArgos]

My bike ride yesterday evening was a relative success albeit I had to improvise. The portion of the trail by the river was blocked off due to run off season in the Rockies. Somehow it didn't register in my brain that yes, it is that time of year where the river is flooding and that the trail would be blocked off. Anyway, I stopped and considered riding past the barricade to the point where potentially the river was engulfing the trail, but decided against it. I met my 10k goal by winding through the neighborhood on the way back home, however, I did have to stop at four stop signs for traffic to go by. Not sure I can count that as meeting the official quest. Don't think it does, so next time, think I'll head up the highway towards the mountains where I don't have to stop for six miles. Maybe by then I'll have my road bike fixed. 

 

I did not eat after my bike ride yesterday evening. A practice in intermittent fasting.

 

Morning Weigh In: 152.2 (Sweet!) 1.6 lbs down from yesterday for a total 2.2 lb weight loss for the week!  Cardio exercise is amazing

 

FOOD THUS FAR

Breakfast: Oatmeal with blueberries, agave syrup, butter, cream, and walnuts. A little treat for a job well done this week. 

 

FOOD CONTINUED.....

Lunch: Taco Bell, Keven and I set a calorie limit, and I ordered a chalupa and pintos and cheese.

 

Dinner: Nothing

 

No exercise because my neck and shoulder were spasming so bad I could hardly move. Laid in bed, did as little as humanly possibly and let the pain killers do their magic. (ibuprofen)

 

 

 

[DanaeArgos]

Sunday, Sunday.... Sunday........ I felt much much much better, so I did some necessary housework.

 

Morning weigh in: 152

 

FOOD

Breakfast: Unintentionally skipped as I was working around the house

Lunch: One roasted chicken breast

Dinner: 1 1/2 cups of homemade Chicken salad -- grapes, celery, snow peas, onions, kale, mixed roasted nuts (brazil, cashews, almonds, filberts, pecans), Parmesan cheese, mayo, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, cloves

 

EXERCISE

Short evening bike ride- less than 5 miles (didn't want to push my neck/shoulder)

Helped Keven haul 16' wire panels as part of our plan to redo the fence

Housework

 

To simplify things and remove stress for now......

I am thinking the no coffee/drink green tea thing is going to be for a later date. For me, coffee really helps curb those awful cravings for fast food and eat like a pig.

 

As far as the roll out of bed at 6:30am, that is also going to wait, probably until I'm 70. I don't care what time I go to bed, it is JUST NOT A THING FOR ME. I will be a night owl and so be it. Are these failures? NO! I'm adjusting my plan based on the premise that to implement them is far too difficult for me right now and I don't need that added stress of worrying about it so much. So I've stopped worrying about making that a thing. I will sleep in another half hour. Crazy how that extra half hour makes such a difference on how I feel! Akin to a 20 minute power nap I suppose.

 

 

 

 

[DanaeArgos]

Onwards to today....

 

Morning weigh in: 152

 

FOOD

Breakfast: Sausage biscuit with cheese 36 carbs

Lunch: Left over chicken salad (see previous post) 15 carbs

Snack: Jerky, Kind bar- dark chocolate almond sea salt 15 carbs

Dinner: handful of nuts, slice of cheese, and glass of iced black tea 5 carbs

TOTAL Carbs: 71

 

EXERCISE

Weight training at a lower intensity level.  I think I can do this now as long as I'm careful

Yoga

 

 

 

[Gemma]

On 6/24/2017 at 0:38 PM, DanaeArgos said:

My bike ride yesterday evening was a relative success albeit I had to improvise. The portion of the trail by the river was blocked off due to run off season in the Rockies. Somehow it didn't register in my brain that yes, it is that time of year where the river is flooding and that the trail would be blocked off. Anyway, I stopped and considered riding past the barricade to the point where potentially the river was engulfing the trail, but decided against it.

 

No exercise because my neck and shoulder were spasming so bad I could hardly move. Laid in bed, did as little as humanly possibly and let the pain killers do their magic. (ibuprofen)

 

Ah, memories - I grew up in Colorado, but I've been gone so long I had forgotten how much spring runoff impacts EVERYTHING!  

Neck spasms - ouch! Sorry to hear that, hope you are feeling better! 
 

2 hours ago, DanaeArgos said:

To simplify things and remove stress for now......

I am thinking the no coffee/drink green tea thing is going to be for a later date. For me, coffee really helps curb those awful cravings for fast food and eat like a pig.

 

As far as the roll out of bed at 6:30am, that is also going to wait, probably until I'm 70. I don't care what time I go to bed, it is JUST NOT A THING FOR ME. I will be a night owl and so be it. Are these failures? NO! I'm adjusting my plan based on the premise that to implement them is far too difficult for me right now and I don't need that added stress of worrying about it so much. So I've stopped worrying about making that a thing. I will sleep in another half hour. Crazy how that extra half hour makes such a difference on how I feel! Akin to a 20 minute power nap I suppose.

Yeah, I've set some goals that I thought were "a good thing" and then realized after that they were totally "a good thing ... for someone else or some other time." Takes some serious self- awareness, good catch. 

[DanaeArgos]

17 hours ago, Gemma Phoenix said:

Ah, memories - I grew up in Colorado, but I've been gone so long I had forgotten how much spring runoff impacts EVERYTHING!  

Neck spasms - ouch! Sorry to hear that, hope you are feeling better! 
 

Yeah, I've set some goals that I thought were "a good thing" and then realized after that they were totally "a good thing ... for someone else or some other time." Takes some serious self- awareness, good catch. 

 

It sure does! Glad I can get back into the swing of things. Always, good to re-evaluate and re-plan if something isn't working.

[DanaeArgos]

A little behind in my logs as it as been a bit busy first part of the week!

 

So just to back track to Monday, I ended up fixing salmon for Keven and I instead of just the small fare I planned on AND i didn't work out. I wasn't feeling all that great, but it was still no excuse to not work out! Bad Dobby! 

 

OF A TUESDAY *with heavy British accent

Morning weigh in: 153.2 (amazing how much weight fluctuates, but wonder if it would have been less if I had worked out)

 

FOOD

Breakfast: nothing

Lunch: Three pieces of prosciutto wrapped with mozzarella cheese, 4 flatbread crackers with pine nut hummus, string cheese, iced tea.

Dinner: nothing (unintentional, both Keven and I got busy with wedding plans and before we knew it, it was after 9pm! Our rule is to not eat after 6pm.

 

EXERCISE

Helped a colleague move from one office to the other which meant lifting heavy things. Walked to and from grocery store. It was actually a good workout. I ended up buying more than I should for a walking jaunt, which meant more 'carrying heavy things' back to work. Now I have food for the remainder of the week!

 

Thus far today

Morning weigh in: 150.8 (wow!, how is that even possible? 2.4 lbs in one day just from essentially fasting and lifting heavy things the day before? What was truly lost in that? Was it water, muscle or does the body breakdown whatever glucose may still be left, and then fat and then muscle? How long does that process take? All questions, I will be researching today).

 

I may finally break the 150 lb mark this week! woohoo! Getting me that much closer to looking good in that dress. I can fit in the dress, but it's a not so attractive lumpy-ish in all the wrong places visual! My goal was to lose 10 pounds which was a compromise as I initially wanted to get down to 135, which now would be 15 pounds, but I figured I'd settle for 145 since I missed the goal weight deadlines, plus I'd still look passable at that weight.

 

Here's to the start of a banner day!

[howitzah]

I think I like your bike ride with the stops more. Everytime you stop, you have to get going again, as compared to maybe coasting. I definitely think your ride met the spirit of the quest. Sounds like a nice trip!

[DanaeArgos]

On 7/1/2017 at 3:08 PM, howitzah said:

I think I like your bike ride with the stops more. Everytime you stop, you have to get going again, as compared to maybe coasting. I definitely think your ride met the spirit of the quest. Sounds like a nice trip!

 

That is awesome. Thank you! It was quite a nice bike ride. Now that the river restrictions are lifted, I will bike that trail again, maybe tomorrow for my cardio/interval training day. Today is supposed to be my lifting day.

[DanaeArgos]

I haven't been all that motivated this past week, hence my short absence from tracking my daily foods and exercises. Yes, I had valid excuses, but in retrospect, I could have mustered up enough emotional gusto to be more self disciplined.  I didn't feel all that great due to that loathing female related monster that rears its ugly head irregularly, in my case, and causing an emotional downturn, and low energy. THANKFULLY, it didn't go on for two plus weeks this time around nor was it nearly as a heavy burden. PHEW!

 

Heading back to work today, I found focus again, and three weeks to go to wedding day, I'm REALLY determined to go all out and work harder than ever before and truly push myself to my limit. Every opportunity, I'll find a way to incorporate some form of exercise such as running instead of walking to and from buildings at work, walking or riding my bike the long way around to work and up that hill, yoga and Pilates daily, sticking to my weight lifting and interval training schedule, and minding my food intake.

 

So, on Sunday, I hit a low of 149.2, woohoo! broke 150!! only to have gained it back over the course of the last two days attributing to low exercise, and.... I ate GRAINS and I definitely pounded more food than I usually do coupled with little exercise...no surprise. Yesterday's foods:  Green tea, ( I finally skipped the coffee!), oatmeal with butter, Stevia, agave syrup;  jerky, mixed roasted nuts, half an avocado, one capari tomato; two beef hotdogs with two pieces low carb/calorie bread, pine nut hummus and low carb tortilla. Uhhhhmmmm, feel like there is something else, but don't recall what.

 

My morning weight in: 152.2

 

FOOD THUS FAR:

Breakfast: Sausage patty with cheese and iced tea... coffee a little later this morning

 

Lunch: 8 olive oil/salt flatbread crackers, pine nut hummus, string cheese and a kind bar, dark chocolate, almond, sea salt.

 

EXERCISE

Jogged to library and back (3 minutes round trip if that)

 

There is a yoga studio on the first floor of the building I work in. During my lunch, I thought I'd head down there for a little Nerd Fitness beginner workout.

20 body weight squats

10 push ups

20 walking lunges

10 improvised dumbbell rows on ropes attached to the wall using my body weight  (didn't have much else heavy I could lift in there)

15 second plank (holy hell this was hard!)

30 jumping jacks

 

I'll try to hop back on later this evening to enter my foods and other exercises for the day.

 

Till then! Happy Wednesday!

 

 

[DanaeArgos]

FOOD CONTINUED FOR TODAY.....

 

Dinner: Salmon

Dessert: Half a cup Greek yogurt (traditional plain with all the fat), raspberries, agave syrup, roasted almonds, pecans (my ice cream substitute when I'm craving sweet stuff)

Snack: 5 cherries

 

EXERCISE

Total gym knock off machine

2 sets of 12 seated rows on

2 sets of 12 chest presses

2 sets of 12 squats

2 sets of 12 good mornings

 

2 sets of 20 left/right jabs on the punching bag

2 sets of 5 push-ups

2 sets of 5 burpees

 

30 minutes of Pilates as an easy stretch

 

Tomorrow is running/biking day. Looking forward to that one! 

 

[DanaeArgos]

Despite not feeling well most of the last couple of weeks, I'm still sputtering along forward and onward.

 

All my efforts are in the spirit of the July 9th challenge.

 

TODAY'S PROGRESS AND PLAN

 

Morning weigh-in: 150.2

 

Breakfast: two hardboiled eggs, half an avocado, pine nut hummus, 8 flatbread olive oil crackers - 16 net carbs

 

Lunch: Half a ham and cheese sandwich from school cafeteria, Oregon trail beef snack stick, less than 1/8 cup roasted almonds. 17 net carbs

 

17 carbs left to go for the day. Doubtful, I will make it to 50 today, which is a good thing!

 

EXERCISE:

Rode bike to work and then to and from grocery store. Up hill, down hill, and up hill again.
 

For this evening, all I know is I'm going to ride my bike. Where??? Deciding if I want to bike the steep single track trails up Tenderfoot mountain through sage brush and cottonwoods, or the flatter double track trail at the base of Tenderfoot mountain that follows an irrigation ditch and through the pastures and near the highway. I'll let you know tonight or tomorrow what ended up really happening.

 

 

 

 

[DanaeArgos]

Here I go again. Back to tracking my progress. While I have been eating healthier the last three months resulting in 21 pound weight lost thus far, I haven't been exercising nor tracking  it. I've since plateaued so time to start incorporating more exercising. So I am back again for some motivation, support, and guidance. I have 17 more pounds to lose and I'd like to lose 10 of that in March bringing me down to 142. 

 

Tonight

 

2 body weight sets

20 body weight squats

10 push ups

20 walking lunges

10 dumbbell rows

15 second plank

30 jumping jacks

 

Food

Chicken

Broccoli

Cheese

2 Hamburger patties

Almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds

Peanut butter

tea

coffee

 

 

[DanaeArgos]

It was a traveling weekend for hubby and I so as is the usual, keeping up with my plan didn't happen. Starting tonight I'll be able to get back to what I want to do. 

 

Thus far today

 

Breakfast

Ham, bacon and cheese 

water

coffee

 

Lunch

Salad with minimal baby greens

broccoli

cheese

eggs

sunflower seeds

mushrooms

cherry tomatoes

pinch of shredded carrot

green peppers

honey mustard dressing

olive oil

salt and pepper

 

Exercise

chasing after volleyballs 

tossing volleyballs

hitting volleyballs

 

3 sets body weights

20 body weight squats

10 push ups

20 walking lunges

10 dumbbell rows

15 second plank

30 jumping jacks