Whole Life Challenge Day 33

Wednesday, October 9th

1) What did you consume?

At work I ate a banana and a Larabar, then a crazy awesome dinner at Tango Sur, an Argentinean Streak house. The fiancé and I shared a huge cut of meat and roasted sweet potatoes after eating the prosciutto and melon appetizer.

2) Were you active and what did you do?

Yes! Matt and I had our engagement photos last night and we were running all around Chicago, climbing things, chasing the sunset and moving around get awesome shots. I can't wait to see how they turned out.

3) Did you complete the lifestyle challenge and how does it feel?

Yep. Blogging and reflecting away.

4) Did you cheat/lie?

No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure the prosciutto at Tango Sur was legal. But if it's wrong I don't want to be right.

5) How do you feel?

My crazy work week has not permitted time for feelings. However the engagement shoot was fun and the dinner following was lovely.

Cumulative deductions: 13

Whole Life Challenge Day 32

Tuesday, October 9th

1) What did you consume?

I case you were wondering how many fun sized packages of M&Ms equal 1 Whole Life Challenge Nutrition point, the answer is 4.

Other than stress-eating those at work, I ate a banana, two small apples and a chicken avocado salad with mustard vinaigrette dressing from Pret. (Thanks, Pret, for actually having dressing without sugar). For dinner I had a ladleful of chili on top of a fried egg and some veggie chips and guacamole.

2) Were you active and what did you do?

Yes, went to CrossFit and tweaked my shoulder a little doing jumping muscle ups so I had to do a lot of mobility out of necessity afterwards.

3) Did you complete the lifestyle challenge?

Yes, but we really need to go back to the water thing. I clearly won't keep it up on my own, and now I'm getting dehydration headaches at a much lower threshold because the first lifestyle challenge trained my body to expect all the water that I'm no longer giving it. #WholeLifeFail

4) Did you cheat/lie?

I deducted 1 point for 4 fun sized packages of M&Ms. But let's be honest, everyone knows that those packages are not even close to a fair serving size. I had to get my fair cheat.

5) How do you feel?

Meh. The long runs and long row in tonight's workout felt pretty good. So there's that.

Whole Life Challenge Day 31

Monday, October 7th

1) What did you consume?

A banana, meatloaf, 2.5 Larabars (fail), an apple, a handful of almonds and chili with some avocado.

I made some good free form chili in desperation to make a meal out of what was in my sparce kitchen without having to shop. It goes like this:

Berka's Hobo Chili of Desperation

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package spicy chicken sausage from Trader Joes
• 1 can Cuban style black beans w/ liquid (regular black beans would probably be the same)
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1/2 lb bacon
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 normal sized can tomato sauce
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 3 T chili powder
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 T cumin
• 2-3 cloves crushed garlic 
• 1 t pumpkin pie spice
• 1 T black pepper
• 1 t sea salt

1. Cook ground beef in crushed garlic and separately cook bacon, drain both
2. Chop bacon, slice chicken sausage
3. Combine all meats, diced red pepper and diced yellow onion and cook for about 10 minutes until onions are translucent 
4. Add everything else 
5. Simmer for at least 2 hours over low heat

2) Were you active and what did you do?

It's the start of a crazy work week with a huge amount of deadlines rapidly approaching. As a result, I didn't leave the office until 8PM and over indulged on the aforementioned Larabars. It was the Larabars or my left arm.

I didn't make it to CrossFit, but I walked briskly during my commute (no I didn't) and stood on the train both ways--active rest, people! (that's a lie too).

3) Did you complete the lifestyle challenge?

Yep, this blog is coming out late because I didn't have time to even format and hit the send button at work. But here it is. Mission accomplished.

4) Did you cheat/lie?

Yes, I refuse to dock a workout point, so I'm counting the commute walk.

Also, I had 6 autumn Jelly Bellies. One of each seasonal flavor. Had to. Not negotiable. Did you know you're missing out on pumpkin pie and caramel apple Jellie Bellies? I didn't either. You're welcome. Now aren't you glad I cheated?

5) How do you feel?

Still emotionally borderline, despite feeling a bit better lately. The drain on time and energy really takes a perpetual toll.

Cumulative Deductions: 13

Whole Life Challenge Days 28-29-30

To Hell, Now Back – Half Way Done

Mmmm. Paloma.

1) What did you consume?

A variety of things you don't care about. And a double tequila drink to celebrate the half way mark (Everybody cares about tequila).

2) Were you active and what did you do?

Yes, we walked a LOT on Friday, which was a CrossFit off day. Sunday, I went to olympic lifting class. 

Saturday, one of my favorite workout-partners-in-crime and I attacked a deceptively awful, but awesome partner WOD. It left all of us panting on the ground. During the workout, as we were huffing and puffing, we happened to notice that a small group of people had gathered who were waiting for the 11:30 intro class. The greenest of the green to CrossFit, they were looking on with horrified gazes wondering what they were about to get themselves into. 

I don't know about the other dozen people at the 10:30AM workout who also ended up in fetal position on the floor, but I know that my partner and I couldn't resist dramatizing our pain. We collapsed into our last step of the final prowler pushes into agony and languish on the floor. The agony and languish was real, but positioning our collapse at the feet of the intro class was for our own gratification. It was very effective. Welcome to Edgewater CrossFit.

3) Did you complete the lifestyle challenge and how did it feel?

The new lifestyle challenge is practicing 10 minutes of "mindfulness" or journaling everyday. I have this blog. #NailedIt.

4) Did you cheat/lie

I had a drink to celebrate the half way point of the WLC. Minus one, hard-earned point. Worth it. I also almost caved and had pizza, so thanks to the honest waitress at Improv Olympics who told me that their ripped off frozen pizza sucks and saved me a cheat.

5) How do you feel?

The last week has been good. I don't know if it represents the overcoming of a plateau or a high in this bi-polar roller coaster, but I need to acknowledge it because of how terrible the lows have felt.

Cumulative Deductions: 13

Whole Life Challenge Day 27

Thursday, October 3rd

1) What did you consume?

For breakfast I had a veggie and bacon omelet. Lunch was a banana and a handful of almonds followed by an afternoon Larabar snack. I made a really baller meatloaf for dinner. I followed this recipe with the following modifications:

• Sub chicken broth for olive oil & vinegar salad dressing
• Sub Worcestershire sauce for Franks hot sauce
• Sub 1 of the onions for 2 diced green peppers
• Baked in a mini loaf pan for easier portioning and faster cooking time (35 min)

It was absolutely delicious and yielded a lot of food for the time to prepare and cook. We'll definitely be eating this again.

2) Were you active and what did you do?

Yes, I went to CrossFit where we got to back squat. I love back squats. They're my favorite. What I love significantly less is overhead squats, which were programmed in the workout. Despite the expletives muttered during the workout (you'd been forewarned, people), I actually felt good about tackling a metcon that forced me to work on my weaknesses.

I did some mobility as part of the warmup for the workout, but I probably should have done more. It's an easy thing to brush off and rationalize.

3) Did you complete the lifestyle challenge?

Yes.

4) Did you cheat/lie?

The bacon in the omelet was probably not legal, since most bacon is cured in sugar or other illegal substances. Frankly, however, I don't give a damn. I eat it so infrequently and in such small quantities that I'm letting it fly without deducting a point. It adds so much flavor to my veggie omelets that I can otherwise get pretty bored with. Before you tell me that there are so many other WLC approved things I can do to add flavor to my omelet, know that I get the thing made from the cafeteria in my building and am beholden to those available ingredients. So, I'm doing my best to work with it.

5) How to you feel?

Another good day, thank god. Although I was exhausted taking the time to prepare the meatloaf after a 12+ hour day and we had to eat late (like 10:00 PM or so), it was totally worth it. This time, anyway.

Cumulative Deductions: Still -12

Whole Life Challenge Day 26

Wednesday, October 2nd

1) What did you consume?

Let's see–Had an apple, a handful of almonds and coffee for breakfast; chicken salad from Chipotle for lunch; an afternoon Larabar and, for dinner, rotisserie chicken, 1/2 a sweet potato and some salad. A banner day after about 4 straight days of docking points.

2)  Were you active and what did you do?

Yes, I went to a great 7:30PM CrossFit class with many of my favorite WOD buddies. We did heavy power cleans on the minute for 10 minutes followed by Elizabeth (21-15-9 power cleans and ring dips).

3) Did you complete the lifestyle challenge and how do you feel?

Yes, but my work schedule this week is making me extra tired, and I require more coffee in the morning.

4) Did you cheat/lie?

Okay, so, the salad dressing that I found at Jewel after reading approximately 3,761 labels was the only one without sugar. All of the ingredients were fine, but the label said "canola oil or soybean oil," whatever-the-hell that means. Do they switch it up at the factory so that people don't get  bored? They like to spice things up on Fridays and go a little crazy with the soybean oil instead? Anyway, I put my bet on the canola oil and ate it without regret.

5) How do you feel?

I'm in a little upswing, thankfully. I've felt pretty good the last few days, minus being exhausted all the time. My fitness is continually improving, which is nice, and I felt really strong on all of the cleans yesterday.

In reflecting on this challenge, I've determined that an issue I am encountering has to do with the psychology of its structuring. I'm not a psychologist, but I moonlighted in more than a handful of classes in college and consulted with one of my best friends who's completing her PhD in psychology, so I'm basically an expert.

The issue for me is that it is mostly based on a conditioning model of punishment (mess up, lose a point) versus positive reinforcement (do well, earn points–the Weight Watchers model). There are instances of positive reinforcement, as in the bonus points for journaling, but not in the nutrition component, which is my arch nemesis. And those bonus points are positioned to correct screw-ups and reverse punishment. So, before you get to use bonus points earned out of positive reinforcement, you first have to get punished. Operant conditioning research consistently shows that positive reinforcement is more effective at shaping behaviors than negative reinforcement or punishment. Here's some more info on that.

Now, some of you may be thinking that I'm missing the point of the Whole Life Challenge. That it's about finding a balance and developing sustainable behaviors. But I'm following the rules, and the rules do not reflect that goal. If they did, bonus points wouldn't exist to fix screw-ups. The WLC would instead build in 1 cheat meal a week, and 1 totally missed day of working out with no punishment–Variables to achieve a goal of balance and sustainability. There are probably some small changes the WLC can make to reframe their conditioning model in a more positive way and I hope they consider it in the future.


Cumulative Deductions: Still -12

Whole Life Challenge Days 24 & 25

September 30th and October 1st

1) What did you consume?

I somehow managed to only get 1 point off for each remaining day for the work conference that I attended–Quite a feat considering the schedule of events. Each were on stupid appetizers, but I was starving. The first of the two days I could have opted for raw veggies instead of the hot appetizers that we're floating around. But eff that.

2) Were you active and what did you do?

It can generally be very challenging during conferences to be active because your schedule is booked solid for 12 exhausting hours. Fortunately, since this one was in my hometown of Chicago, I was able to do some goat training (8 push-ups every minute for 20 minutes) in my living room on Monday and made it to CrossFit last night.

3) Did you compete the lifestyle challenge and how did it feel?

Yes, but I think I should have jut been pretending that the water challenge was in effect the whole time, because my hydration has totally fallen off and the sleep is not a change in behavior.

4) Did you cheat/lie?

I'm deducting two total points for the appetizers I ate, estimating that each offense equated to a serving.

5) How do you feel?

I felt better yesterday and we're approaching the halfway point on this thing. To help understand the effect of this Whole Life Challenge on me and to appropriately set expectations with coworkers, I made the graph below to display outside my cube.

As you can see, I've discovered that my level of profanity is almost directly proportionate to the duration of the Whole Life Challenge. This makes sense due to the research out of Harvard and a host of other academic institutions, which demonstrated that swearing clinically reduces pain. You can't fault me for science, people. Just keep me off client calls for a while.

My original graph would have what those in the math field call a "best-fit" equation that is linear. But my coworkers correctly adapted my original graph to reflect the relief I will feel from the epic cheat day that is my friends' wedding.

Cumulative deductions: 12