FitBit 30 -- Day 3

It'd be so easy to lie about this challenge.  To simply not document tastes or snacks or to lie about portion sizes.

That makes this 30 day challenge as good an exercise in self-honesty as in self-discipline.

Here are today's results, after a day of work, errands, chores, and making cookies and puppy chow:

Calories out: 2647 

Calories in: 1508

Surplus/Deficit: -1139

In regards to what I talked about yesterday, adding 2 healthy behaviors a day:  success!  I meditated twice today, which I can't recommend highly enough.  I use an app called Calm, or its corresponding website, calm.com.  They have both free and pay services, as well as both independent and guided meditations.  I also invested some good time in prayer and Bible study, which was a wonderful bit of my evening.

Isn't it nice how positive behaviors result in positive feedback loops?

FitBit 30 -- Day 1

Obviously today is day 2, but hey, I can't post about a day's caloric expenditures until after midnight, so . . .

For the first day of 2017, I . . .

• slept in.
• missed church.
• made the hubby breakfast in bed.
• lazed about.
• went on a long walk in a really cool park.
• bought groceries.
• made dinner.
• lost 2 games of Rummikube and a Nerf gun war.
• went to bed super early because I had to be at work by 6am.

Calories out:  2414

Calories in: 1254

Deficit/surplus:  -1160

So I ended up under my calorie goal, but not by much!

I also managed to hit my steps and water goals.  w00t.

Part of me feels like these more passive challenges are a cop-out, like I should be kneeling at the altar of health by adding new habits and sacrificing time and blood and money.  But realistically, doesn't it make more sense to just make sure the things I have to do anyhow (like eat, sleep, breathe) aren't working against me in the long run?

So the park I found was a fluke that showed up on my Google Maps during a run on a different trail.  It took me a few times of trial and error to find it, but a few months ago, I did!  It's this crazy wooded area, absolutely chock full of fallen trees.  The weird thing is, it's one of the most grown-over areas I've ever hiked, but it's also developed in some spots, like trees being shaped or grinded down for mountain biking (?) and the such.

Paul on a downed tree that's been turned into a ramp!

And just when the place couldn't seem more grown-over, you get to a beautiful dammed up stream that creates a lovely waterfall, with a building from a local university in the background.

Not a bad way to start the new year.

The FitBit 30 -- Day 0, and What does being healthy look like to me?

So, I've been off the radar . . . residency interviews and applications, travel for the holidays, you name it.

I was having a conversation with my husband a few weeks ago and mentioned that it was funny that I *felt* fat that day, since I'd been about the same weight since I'd met him 17 months prior to that.

Then it hit me.

Despite a year of actively trying to lose weight, I've pretty much been +/- five pounds of the same point since we met.  Now, maybe my muscle mass has fluctuated, etc., but it's ridiculous that I claim to have been actively working on something for 17 months and have nothing to show in terms of change.

Which means, either:
A) I was doing everything right and my body is beyond broken.
or
B) I wasn't working as hard or consistently as I thought I was.

While there's a smidgen of A that is probably true, let's go with B, shall we?

Well, consistency is the key to success.  You don't have to be perfect every day, but you have to be good more often than not.

Anyhow, I'd like to be more intentional about a lot of my day-to-day life, and one of those things is working on being healthier.  I'm 33, y'all, and am about to dive head first into residency (which will likely be hell) and haven't even added kids to the equation yet.

What does being healthy look like to me?

Emotionally/Spiritually

• Daily time spent in
• Prayer
• Bible Study
• Meditation (seriously guys, this can lower your blood pressure by a lot)
• Journaling/reflection
• Frequent quality time with my husband
• Date nights
• Weekly budget/to-do check-ins

Physically

• High aerobic capacity
• Better core strength -- I'd like to make it through the year without an L5 exacerbation, but hey, we might have to get rid of our futon for that to happen.
• Increased flexibility
• Eating more whole foods
• Decreasing intake of refined sugar
• Not reliant on caffeine
• Ability to listen to my body's cues on food, not cravings

Career

• Staying up to date on advances
• Reading at least one peer-reviewed article a week
• Listening/viewing at least one FOAM resource a week
• Networking
• Going to conferences whenever possible
• Reviewing
• Picking at least one concept/disease to review per week
• Find a mentor to help guide me through the craziness of residency

So for January, 2017:

I'm going to be working on a lot of these things on the side.  I can't totally change my life all at once, and some of them I've been doing in fits and starts.  But I'm going to write out what "healthy" looks like for me, and keep it visible on my bullet journal, so I can keep it in mind.

But for January, let's build some new habits:  hence, the FitBit 30.

I like the FitBit.  It calculates my daily energy expenditure (DEE) and can prorate the calories I have left for the day based on that.  I'm going to attempt to maintain a daily 1000 calorie deficit (according the the FitBit) for the 30 days, which should result in an 8ish pound weight loss compared to tomorrow.  It'll also build good habits.

Rules:  

I can not go OVER the calories prescribed by the FitBit -- must be "in the zone."  If I go over, I'll have to "earn" those calories back.

Can I go under?  Yes, but here's why:  sometimes, I go to bed still in the target zone, but earn enough calories while sleeping to push me under it.  So I can't be too strict about that.

Bonus wins:  Meeting the FitBit goals for water, sleep, activity, and steps.  But hey, let's keep it simple and focus on the calories for now.

Consistency is the name of the game.

Happy 2017 everyone!

5k a Day -- Day 15, Day 16

Note:  this is a "catch up" post, as I was without internet service from Saturday till last night.

Day 15

We got to the campsite after dark, set up camp, and walked around to check out the camp site.  We did the 5k just by walking around.  The site was in a hilly part of the norther Lower Penninsula, in the middle of nowhere.  Unfortunately, the site straddled a major country road with frequent speeding traffic, and was generally unsuitable for hikes/walks.  We made large loops around the camp, trying to avoid interloping on others' campsites.

There was no way I was going to be able to jog at this campground, so walk it I did.

Also, without cell service, I had to rely on my trusty steps via my Fitbit to track my distance, so I do have proof I did it.

Also, we made tacos over the campfire.  Don't tell me that's not impressive.

The Pot is the only real convenience we take for food prep.  Paul cut the beans open with a pocket knife.

I mean, delicious.

The 5k:

Yeah, I don't have any times, etc.  It was a 5k, plus a little.  But at least I did it.

And 6.something miles total for the day

The Workout:

68 squats

95 seconds plank

24 modified push ups

I did these on the tarp outside the tent, and I'll say working my abs to keep from sliding down the tarp added a lot to the workout.

Day 16:

I walked around the camp again to get the 5k, but my fitbit was almost dead at this point, and we had no electricity on site, so I have no proof of such a thing.  I did, in fact do it.  

The 5k: 

We headed over to a nearby village to try to find walking paths.  Maybe even running paths!  But we were thwarted.  They had about a quarter mile of good paths, but these were interrupted by a classic car show going on.  We explored the tiny riverwalk, walked through another campground, and wandered the city, trying to find an ATM and hit our 3.1 miles.  We eventually did, but it was a mess, y'all.

What a mess this was.  Lots of dead-ends, as you can tell from the map.

This isn't even worth tracking the times.

We did find ice cream though:

Mine was blue moon and watermelon sorbet.  Seriously, great combination.

The Workout:

Failure.

Guys, I didn't get the workout done.  After the 5k, we headed back to camp and sat down to make dinner at the campfire while we still had a few minutes of light, but those minutes and that light were quickly gone.  A massive rainstorm came through -- basically a deluge of Biblical proportions.  We quickly stuffed two hotdogs in the fire, and retreated (soaked) to the protection of our tent.  

It continued to pour until around 4 or 5am, and when I say pour, I mean pour.  And I simply wasn't up to getting on my hands and knees in the mud and rain to do the workout.  (There was no room in the tent.)  Not when we had no power, limited dry clothes, etc.  But, at least I got the 5k done.

5k a day -- Day 4

Last night's blissful and much needed sleep was broken by quite the storm.  Freakout out my cat, woke me up for an hour, and wreaked (wrought?) havoc on trees and power lines in the area.

Paul told me to skip my run this morning and he'd walk with me tonight, and after the crazy night, I was happy to agree.  Too bad one of his machines at work decided to malfunction and he (as of 9:30pm) was still at work.  So I took a walk this evening, alone.

I was the only one who wasn't walking their:
a)  freaking adorable baby
b)  freaking adorable dog
c)  newly acquired Pokémon via Pokémon go
d)  a combination of the above

In between bouts of cursing him in my head (I mean, come on, my uterus is pinging here watching all this and he left me to do it alone when I could have had a nice cool run in the dark this morning?!?) I was dodging cables, branches, twigs, and half-trees that were on the ground.

Okay, so maybe it's a good thing I didn't try to run in the wee hours and end up tripping over electrical obstacles.  As it was, I enjoyed the stroll and spent time alternating avoiding and inspecting the damage, and had a nice, relaxing walk.

Except for some family down the street that decided their pitbull doesn't need to be on a leash.

( . . . )

Anyhow.

The Walk:

5k in 1:06:56

21:33 min/mile average pace

Splits:  21:45/21:55/20:50/22:33 

And the Workout:

46 squats

40 seconds plank

13 modified push ups

Today also gave me a chance to compare the distance calculated by my fitbit to my GPS.  When my GPS hit 3.1, my fitbit was at 2.9something.  I guess I'll have to calibrate stride length.

5k a day -- Day 2

I won't lie -- it's hard to get out of bed on a Saturday morning.  But the gray, cool weather was perfect for a run, so get up I did.

In an effort to improve my speed, I decided today's 5k would involve HIIT-type running.  I'd run at a faster pace for 3 minutes, then walk for a minute, then repeat.  Yesterday's average was over 12:00/mile, so I was amazing for 11:00/mile during that 3 minute period.  To be honest, MapMyRun wasn't really accurate enough to keep track of pace (it kept bouncing all over the place) so I just aimed for a higher level of exertion:  somewhere in the "this is hard" range.

I made it 2 miles using the 3:1 HIIT plan, although I did add an extra walk minute in between interval sets 5 and 6.  After that, I walked an 1/8 of a mile, jogged for 5 minutes, and alternated walk/jog for the rest of the distance

And guys, it was hard.  I was pushing myself during those 3 minute periods.  I'm hoping to add another interval every time I do that.

Bonus:  saw about 7 rabbits during my run.

So here are the numbers for today:

5k in 40:38

 13:05 min/mi average pace

Splits: 12:53/12:35/14:04/10:23

And the workout:

42 squats

30 seconds plank

11 modified push ups

A little about my post-Whole30 diet:

You can follow me on MyFitnessPal at DocWhitney and see what I've been eating.  The day after my Whole30 ended, my fiancé and I went to one of our favorite restaurants and pigged out a bit.  But I didn't actually crave that junk food.  I thought I did, but my body really wanted clean protein and fruits and veggies.

Today I'm studying for boards at Panera, and one of my favorite things used to be to keep a Diet Caffeine Free Coke from their fountain around to sip from while I studied.  Today, I threw it out -- it tasted way too much like chemicals for me!  I'm gonna stick with my caffeine free life for now, and I've got a water with lemon in front of me and a decaf earl grey tea (yes, with cream and sweetener) instead.   Edit:  the earl grey tea didn't sit well with me.  Maybe the cream?  Ugh, I hope I don't have a milk allergy or lactose intolerance.

I'm thrilled with how my brain might still crave comfort food/junk (tells me how much was psychological) but my body wants healthier food.