Back to Square One

SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Hello there!

This is my second-ever check-in thread, but the first was a long time ago and I wasn't super consistent with it even then. But! I have just moved to a new city after a couple of years of a frankly awful living situation, and I'm ready to give this another go. Not to mention that my sister and I casually talked about both doing Darebee programs, and then she only did her first day's practice before I'd even picked my program, eep!

As you can guess from my title, I'm starting with Square One, with a focus on establishing a daily exercise habit.
 

SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
I've decided that, while I'm not going to track exact meals here, I will jot down how well I did vs my meal plan. I'll award :star: for every meal I made according to plan, :x:/:v: if I snacked / didn't, since that's a bad habit I've acquired over time - especially snacking instead of eating planned (and purchased!) meals 🤦‍♀️

So today looks like this:
Food :star::star::star:
No snacks :x:

I need to rejig my meal plan - I've been using the 7-day plant-based plan that came out here in 2020 for, umm, almost two years! I had Reasons, okay? And no, I didn't stick to every single meal, I'd put in, umm, a brand of meals in shake form for just under 1/3 of all meals and used the plan as more of a rough guide anyway. And ignored portions. This was good for a) simplicity, b) speed, c) eating lots of veg, and d) approximate weight maintenance. Now the priorities have changed - something like a) weight loss, b) simplicity, and c) speed. The shakes are still going to feature because they hit those priorities bang on, and with just me to cook for (and a business to resurrect), that is the time I have available. I'm also going to have to reorient to a new (old) country and its available foods - e.g. tinned lentils aren't a thing here?! (except with added veg and salt)
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Yesterday: did nothing, apart from wash my hair (it's very long and thus a hassle, I know my pfp doesn't show that) and game.
I have days like this, fewer than I used to but they're still unwelcome surprises. I think the take-away here is a) to schedule rest a bit better, b) to see if I can catch the mental loop from the start and be intentional with it, and c) see how fast I can bounce back with the help of systems and plans (ironic, since what I think happened is that I exhausted myself with a big quarterly planning push and then just didn't want to adult anymore). But lightly - I tended to add guilt and shame on top of such days before and I think I'm done with that. It's boring and doesn't actually work.

Today:
Day 3, L2, no breaks :v:
Food :star::star::star:
No snacks :v:

Exercised very late today, about to collapse into bed. The exercises would make a nice morning warm-up (stretching and mobilisation) too. I'll give that a go tomorrow.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Thanks @GentleOx!

I fell down the same hole, erk. Figuratively picking myself up and dusting myself down today.
I will have to figure out what to do - I started Square One with enough time to complete by the end of the month and alongside my sister, but have not kept up - so now I need to either catch up or continue where I am.

I will try doubling up today, tomorrow and Monday, then I'll be back on track, and the workouts are easy enough to do that with, I think. But something to watch out for in future.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Friday
No exercise
Food :star::gstar:
No snacks :x:

Today
Day 4, L2, no breaks :v:
Day 5, L2, no breaks :v:
Food :star::star::star:
No snacks :v:

I've decided that after these three days, I won't do catch-ups in future: it's less important to check off the exercises than it is to exercise every day, so the "penalty" for missing a day will be slipping behind plan (which I don't like) with no option to make it up. Like the day, it will be gone.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Today
"Sciatic" stretches
Day 8, L2, (30 sec after set 3) :v:
Day 9, L2, no breaks :v:
Savasana (2 songs)

Food :star::star::star:
No snacks :x:

Walking around the hypermarket took it out of me (physically but also... mentally? It's this one chain I find overwhelming)
Also I think my shoulders have finally woken up to the fact they're being asked to Do Things. The ache is subtle but it's there - as usual, I felt a bit miserable before I figured out why.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Today
Day 10, L2, no breaks :v:

Food :star::star::star:
No snacks :x:

Interesting, today many things feel difficult and annoying and a stretch, but this short workout felt like something that was under my control. Probably helped by the movements being precise, with contained posture.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Today
Day 12, L2, no breaks :v:

Food :star::gstar:
No snacks :v:

Not a great day - I'm tired and grumpy, today was day 4 of all-day drilling and hammering in a neighbouring flat, also my body is a bit sore all over. I had a nice hot shower and am going to curl up with tea and a book or TV or something.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Yeah, it's a team of at least two people (two vans most days), I bet they specced it for a week. If it's the same size and layout as mine, i.e. right above me, which is what it sounds like, they have 3 rooms +K+B+hallway.

I can't hear them when I wear earphones, at least. But it's construction - they start early, 8am or even 7:30. Plus the church bells across the road go off at 7am, noon and 6pm every workday! This Night Owl does not appreciate.

Anyway, that's enough complaining from me. I will enjoy the silence now.
 

SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Today
Day 13, L2, no breaks :v:

Food :star::star::gstar:
No snacks :v:

For anyone waiting for the drilling update: they started again this morning, but I don't think they did a full day. And they won't be working the weekend, so next possible news on Monday.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
erghhh... the wheels came off, didn't they. Stuff and Things, some late nights, some stress, then a rush job that took all my energy on Wed/Thu... here we are, it's Friday, and I'm slowly coming to.

I do need to have a little think about how I want to move forward, in general, but also specifically with this. I'm experiencing a mismatch between where I want to be and some of the good things happening in my life now, and my overall habits and low-energy ways of being. A process of growing into a new self or levelling up, depending on how you think about such things.
 

SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Today
Day 18, L2, no breaks :v:

Food :x::star::star:
No snacks :x:

I think walking more, maybe daily?, would be a good idea for me at this point, but I've no idea where or how to integrate it in my day. Yesterday, I only went because I had a craving for cocoa and no milk. I've never been super keen on walking just for the sake of it (temperamentally, I'm a cyclist) and I don't like leaving the house too much. I thought about going right after breakfast because my brain generally isn't quite online then anyway and it might help me wake up. Maybe I just need to baby-step it? Like, dress, put on shoes, go downstairs, come back; then walk down the road / round the block / further away. I'm irrationally anxious about it though and keep finding reasons not to go.

In other news, I finished a game on my phone and uninstalled it. I suddenly have time and boredom spare, so I'm doing things like cleaning and knitting. Funny how that works.
 

SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Today
Foundation Day 1, L2, no breaks :v:
Square1 Day 24, L2, no breaks :v:

Food :star::star::star:

Workout streak: 3

I didn't complete Square One by the end of October, but I really want that badge, and I decided to go through Foundation in November, so I'm doubling up with two exercise sessions per day. Not a bad thing, IMO.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Today
Square1 Day 25, L2, no breaks :v:
walked to shop & back, ~1h 🚶‍♀️
Foundation Day 2, L1, no breaks :v:

Food :star::star::x:

Workout streak: 4

My knees don't like reverse lunges (but warmed up slightly to them, might just need to work on it) and my shoulders are sore already. So Level 1 at like 1:30am because I collapsed on the sofa earlier.

Some days are like that.
 
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SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
Today
Square1 Day 28, L2, no breaks :v:
walked to Packstation, ~1h 🚶‍♀️
Foundation Day 5, L3, 30 sec :v:

Food :star::star::star:

Workout streak: 3

Well, getting Level 3 on Foundation was a surprise! Especially as I was all stiff from previous days + the walk today. First round, I couldn't even do half-jacks and was wondering if I might complete L1 with step-jacks. But I warmed up! It went okay! I kept going!

That, and I was watching some very inspiring MVs, which helped me forget about the tiredness 🤭😅
 
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