Writing in the Margins (Part 2)

~ still John Gorka ~ 

Continuing with yesterday's topic: Blogging. Blogging takes time, commitment, & discipline. I have to keep my ears open for topics, remind myself 3 bites into a meal that I have to take a photo of this, set aside time to look for very humorous pics relating to said topic (face it, we all know you are only here for the pictures) & then put it all together at the end of the day.  

Why do I blog? Simply because I enjoy it - it keeps me on track in my life journey.  It's my time, energy & view on all sorts of different thing, that I put on paper & then offer to the world to read.  It serves as my personal journal & a digital record of my life.  

One of the reasons I started this blog is so that I could go off on random curse-filled rants about things that are only important to me.  But somedays it's difficult - I feel that I should do more than just rant about a mad Christmas shoppers, I'm supposed to say Important Things & talk about Important Issues. But seriously, life isn't all doom & gloom & drama everyday. Somedays are just boring. I wake up, I work, I sleep. Guess what, you're still gonna hear about it.

A weird thing that happens when you blog is that you'll try to live a more intentional life.  Once you start writing about yourself & your journey & thoughts, you start thinking about who you are as a person & whether you like that person. Also, blogging will help you meet new people - whether through comments, Facebook or their own blogs.  So far the blogging community has been friendly, encouraging & genuinely cheering for me to succeed. I honestly love every comment, personal message or "like" that I receive - I find encouragement in that feedback.

And you realize quickly that even if just one person can relate to your journey you have something to offer. I'm in no way suggesting that my writing is exceptionally good to begin with and that it’s worth your time & effort to read, it's just nice to know that I might help someone with a question they've been struggling with or give inspiration where needed.

Tonight it was handstands, tuck-sits & snatches. Although my handstand time didn't increase, I now at least have the courage to kick up into a handstand position without the security of the wall behind my - i.e. I've got comfortable with falling. Tuck-sit I almost doubled (27 secs to 42 secs) and power snatches I increased from 17kg to 28kg. This is one movement with wich I struggle incredibly; a normal back/front squat is no problem, but as soon as you have to lock out that weight above you AND squat it becomes a problem.

Day 2 on the wagon - all is well.

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Go kick today's butt!

State of Confusion

~ The Kinks ~

Apologies for the late post. After spending most of my time yesterday Googling how much protein, carbs & fat certain food items have, in order to add to my food diary (see below), eating for a "active" day that turned into a "rest" day, incorporating carbs and figuring out MyFitnessPal, I had a bit of a meh & crashed at 21:00.

I might have previously mentioned that I'm not a morning person, so I get up at 7am, do the obligatory work thing, go Crossfit or teach PeeWee's, go home, make supper, pack food for the next day, shower, blog, play Battlefield/read, sleep at around 23:00.  That still gives me a good 8 hours sleep. 

Last night I just couldn't be bothered. We attempted gym, and normally I know that exercise will make me feel good - yesterday I just sat on a step bench while BF did squats & then we went home after 20 minutes. I had to force myself to eat & could have quite happily fallen asleep in the shower. And I was thiiiis close to crying....I don't know what caused it: work wasn't more taxing then normal, I can't see the little bit of carbs (rice) making such a big change in my chemical processes & there was no drama otherwise.

Like I said, most of yesterday was used trying to set up MyFitnessPal (a free mobile & desktop app).  It's quite easy to use and it monitors both your diet & exercise habits in one place. You can create a customized profile, and then use the presets (weight loss, weight gain, maintain, etc) that they recommend or, if you have a recommendation from your Nutritionist you can add these in (i.e. % protein, carbs & fat).

What isn't cool is that you only get one preset. That's it. So I had to set my base settings on my "rest" day values & then eat that & the difference on my "work" days.  It took a bit of playing around but I got it in the end.

With over two million food entries in the database it's easy to find food items.  Not necessary the right brand, but it's easy enough to add an item if you have the values. For home-cooked meals there's also an option to create & save a recipe by entering in the individual ingredients. 

I’m still learning how to navigate everything on the app. Since I eat the same thing for lunch or supper several times throughout the week, it's nice that you can just copy your meal from another day. It's a little bit of a pain to look everything up (like when you have a salad with 6 different ingredients), but once you add something to your log you can just click through your list and find it. All of this make it easy to see where you are overdoing it.  You'd be surprised how much of your fats (good ones) come from chicken....

When you come down to it - who here hasn't counted points or blocks. But it's easy to leave off little additions like a sprinkle of cheese or the butter in the pan or the cream in you coffee. The little things make a big difference in your progress & can make or break you.  

The site defaults Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snack categories. Which I used the first time. Then I added a 2nd Snack. Then I added a 3rd Snack. Then I changed the 3rd Snack to PWO. Then I arranged the order.  Yeah...my OCD kicked in a bit there. 

I'm not bothering with entering my fitness event - I know I work hard & I don't want to eat any calories "back".  When you enter in the amount of calories you burned for the day the number of calories you can eat gets bumped up.    

Overall, I find that using the app makes me more aware of my diet & holds me accountable for the goals I've set.  But here's the thing...this, like any other diet or eating plan will only work if you’re honest. So with this app & taking a photo of everything I eat – I am holding myself accountable. 

Food wise I felt it went dismally (everything felt dismal last night), but looking back on it, it wasn't that bad. I might have been slightly over on the carbs & fats (because up to around 17:00 I was eating for an "active" day), but at least it was healthy food.

Now lets go start from scratch again today :)  Have a good one!

You're my best friend

~ Don Williams ~

I'm not a mushy girly girl. I like pink only because it looks awesome on my feet and I've always been the tomboy playing rugby (primary school) and PlayStation (highschool) with the boys. But I must say there is something quite awesome about meeting someone that shares your interests (sport, gaming & food), goals (get ripped) & chocolate cravings (...hmmm, chocolate...). 

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that you need someone in your life in order for you to get anywhere. It's just nice to share the same concerns or issues with like-minded people. That is why online communities such as Sleek Geek, Sleek Girls & Eat Train Evolve are little mecca's.  It's people with the same problems as yourself, and 99% of the time someone has the solution that worked for them that you might be able to adapt. 

Do you have a SO (Significant Other) or Friend/Buddy/Pal who is your alter-you? Or how do you cope if your SO or F/B/P does not share the same goals as you? I was so frustrated in a previous relationship where there was a very one-sided love for health & fitness - there was no "let's go to gym" when I complained about a fat day, or the "how frothy do you want your protein shake" after a workout, or the "come-on, move your ass" while going ("being dragged") for a run.

So Boyfriend, thanks for dragging me on runs for the last 3 years. And the pretty flowers.

Had a nice clean day of eating & practiced handstands again - working my way up to almost 3 seconds unassisted...yah, still a way to go.

Night all! 

PS:  Hope everyone's furbabies are OK with all these idiotic bangs going off?