Life, the Universe and Everything | 2024

Fremen · Aug 16, 2024

neilarey said:
My small DIY project today that was supposed to take half an hour tops took me 4 hours instead and it’s still not finished because the last set of shelves I was putting up is not straight. Because none of the walls here are straight. Because there is a reason people hire professionals for these kinds of jobs. I do know my limitations. I am bad at this. I do pixels, not MDF. Even after years of putting furniture together (or making my own) because I was too broke to hire someone or buy quality stuff, I still struggle to do a good job. Eh, I’ll have to try again tomorrow and see if I can salvage this. Oh, and I am putting together shoe cabinets for the hallway. 2 out 3 are just perfect but the last one is all crooked because I had to shorten it to fit the space.

My partner and I assembled our first Ikea bed at night... either we finished it or we didn't sleep on a bed :LOL:

Don't get down, DIY is the realm of screaming chaos

neilarey · Aug 17, 2024

Today I had lots of errands and house chores: ironing, cleaning, grocery shopping. I also fixed that stupid cabinet that gave me so much trouble yesterday. I eventually hacked it and made it fit. It actually looks good now, I am pleased.

:goof:

In other news, I bought a smart “jump rope” with weights at the ends instead of the actual rope. I didn’t have time to test it yesterday so I tried it this morning. It’s pretty cool! I’ll add it to my workouts from time to time.

Overall, I am taking it easy today because I feel a bit run down. It’s probably the whole week catching up with me. I took a break at 2PM and went to see the rest of the Rebel Moon. Finally! Blood, guts and explosions! My verdict… It was well made. The fight scenes, the cast, the worldbuilding were good. Unfortunately, the story was really boring so I only watched it for the action. Since I was skipping my midday training, I stayed and watched the first episode of the Umbrella Academy (the new season) - now THAT was awesome, as expected.

I am taking the rest of the day off to repair and recharge. I hope you had a wonderful day, take care of yourselves!
Hugs!

:loveu:

Morning workout:
✔ Exercise of the day: 50 side leg swings
✔ 3 minutes of skipping rope (415 skips)
✔ Workout of the Day: Thunderbolt HIIT Workout x 7 sets, on trampoline
✔ Stomach Vacuums Workout
✔ Gratitude Practice
✔ Meditation - 15 minutes

4PM workout:
✘ skipped

Before-Bed Cardio:
✔ 60 minutes walk on the treadmill

Bedtime Audiobook: “He Who Fights With Monsters” Book 11 by Shirtaloon, 3%

Food Log:
Pre-Workout: protein shake
9 AM Breakfast: tempeh & mushrooms over creamy tofu
1 PM Lunch: lentils & hummus over roasted eggplant
2 PM movie snack: popcorn, nuts & beer (N/A)
6 PM Dinner: frozen berry ice-cream with protein powder and chocolate chips

Lallafa · Aug 18, 2024

Whew, that tempeh & mushrooms over tofu looks...

neilarey · Aug 18, 2024

We are creatures of habit. We like combort. Even when it’s exercise we gravitate to things we know - and things we are good at. Yep, we find comfort zones even in fitness. That’s why I do DAREBEE workouts of the day, every day, even if it’s just 1-2 sets. It forces me to step out of my comfort zone. Yeah, I didn’t feel like squat holds and planks today but I feel GREAT because I did them. It was featured, I didn’t question it. I showed up and I checked in (and celebrated, I love that button!). It’s the same feeling every time. I do my own training (and often new workouts’ testing) BUT I also do whatever shows up on the DAREBEE frontpage every morning. Otherwise I would only do pull-ups and bicep curls every day. The variety of moves and different routines make me move in ways my body is not used to (not used to right now) and it pushes me further, makes me stronger and more capable. I love that.

I slept really well, got up at 6AM and walked the boys. Then I had a whole hour to myself so I did all the things. I felt on top of the world. I had a long breakfast on the rooftop (I live on the top floor with a rooftop access) and enjoyed the view. So my workday started ~ 10AM. I had my second coffee (black, no sugar or milk) and two pieces of dark chocolate (100% black). I love sweet things but I prefer my coffee black and the only chocolate that goes with it is also bitter dark. I break it up into tiiiny pieces and stretch it out. It’s a real treat.

The rest of the day was as per usual: work, food, training, work, food, training, work, food, training. It was an average Sunday! I scheduled the new releases for the week, added two new recipes to DAREBEETS and took some new photographs today to update some of the older ones. Next week, hopefully, I’ll start working on the September programs. Fingers crossed!

I hope you had a wonderful day!
Take care of yourselves!
Hugs!

:loveu:

Morning workout ~ 1 hr:
✔ Exercise of the day: 30 seconds plank hold
✔ Strength Training: Second Spring Workout x 5 sets
✔ Ultimate Morning Stretching Part 1
✔ Ultimate Morning Stretching Part 2
✔ Workout of the Day: Rhapsody Yoga Workout
✔ Stomach Vacuums Workout
✔ Gratitude Practice
✔ Meditation - 15 minutes

2PM workout:
✔ 45 minutes walk on the treadmill

4PM workout:
✔ Dragon Ball Abs Workout x 5 sets

Before-Bed Cardio:
✔ 45 minutes elliptical

Bedtime Audiobook: “He Who Fights With Monsters” Book 11 by Shirtaloon, 4%

Food Log:
7 AM Pre-Workout: matcha tea protein shake with ginseng and amla powder
9 AM Breakfast: tofu scramble with air-fried mushrooms
1 PM Lunch: zucchini & peas with basil cashew sauce + roasted tofu
5 PM Pre-Workout: protein shake with cocoa powder, maca powder and dried mushrooms
6 PM Dinner: blueberry ice-cream with protein powder and chocolate chips

\

Sólveig · Aug 18, 2024

neilarey said:
We are creatures of habit. We like combort. Even when it’s exercise we gravitate to things we know - and things we are good at. Yep, we find comfort zones even in fitness. That’s why I do DAREBEE workouts of the day, every day, even if it’s just 1-2 sets. It forces me to step out of my comfort zone. Yeah, I didn’t feel like squat holds and planks today but I feel GREAT because I did them. It was featured, I didn’t question it. I showed up and I checked in (and celebrated, I love that button!). It’s the same feeling every time. I do my own training (and often new workouts’ testing) BUT I also do whatever shows up on the DAREBEE frontpage every morning. Otherwise I would only do pull-ups and bicep curls every day. The variety of moves and different routines make me move in ways my body is not used to (not used to right now) and it pushes me further, makes me stronger and more capable. I love that.

Neila, I think David Goggins hacked your account :LOL:

neilarey · Aug 19, 2024

I had a full working day today so I took it easy training-wise. Even while cooking my meals today I moved my laptop to the kitchen counter so I could multitask. On the bright side, I got a lot done!

I made roasted tempeh over creamy tofu for breakfast this morning. When I saw how much protein is in that one dish (and that’s not counting the protein powder boost), I added it to my breakfast options. I love tempeh. Most people probably find it disgusting unless it is drowned in some kind of sweet sauce like teriyaki or BBQ but I actually like it plain. I wouldn’t serve it to my friends of course.... heh, but I can eat it all day. I either roast it in the oven or air-fry it with a bit of soy sauce. YUM :grab:

I am in between shows right now. I started watching Love Next Door on Netflix but WHAT THE HELL, they release two episodes a week. Bummer. It’s actually pretty good. I just finished The Double (EPIC!), The Princess Royal (also AWESOME) and Ms. Night & Day (tis was ok) so I am out of shows. I remembered I still haven’t finished watching Black Clover so that was a bit of a treat today. Asta screaming: “I AM NOT DONE! NOT YET” will forever have its place in my heart right there next to “...It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

Alright-y. I am taking the rest of the night off to listen to the audiobook and just chill with the boys. See you tomorrow!

Hugs!

:loveu:

Morning workout:
✔ Exercise of the day: 30 seconds single leg hops
✔ Workout of the Day: Overdue Workout x 5 sets
✔ Stomach Vacuums Workout
✔ Gratitude Practice
✔ Meditation - 15 minutes

2 PM workout:
✔ 30 minutes walk on the treadmill while watching Black Clover S3 on Netflix
✔ I Do Not Yield Workout x 2 sets

Before-Bed Cardio:
✘ skipped

Bedtime Audiobook: “He Who Fights With Monsters” Book 11 by Shirtaloon, 4%

Food Log:
7 AM Pre-Workout: matcha tea protein shake with ginseng and amla powder
9 AM Breakfast: tempeh over creamy tofu (didn’t have mushrooms)
1 PM Lunch: broccoli and tempeh with yogurt mustard sauce
4 PM Snack: apple and kiwi fruit salad
6 PM Dinner: strawberry protein ice-cream with hazelnuts (using Ninja Creami)

neilarey · Aug 20, 2024

Today was super busy. I got a lot done - and hey, we finally started working on the 30 Days of Cardio program (September release)! I like its simplicity and the fact that it has three versions: light, regular and hard mode. So, it’s technically 3 programs that can be done one after the other. Neat! :boss:

So that was my morning. I also recorded the how-to video for the workout of the day (I’ll try to do that whenever I can from now on). I was only planning on doing 5 sets and I recorded the final one but I accidentally overwrote the file I was going to use. Then I screwed up the reps on the next one. The Universe wanted me to do 7 sets! :muahaha:

I really felt like tacos today so that’s what I had for lunch. We have a really cool recipe for oil-free tacos on DAREBEETS. OK, they don’t exactly taste like real tacos (no oil, duh) but if you bake them for another 5-7 minutes they will be just as crispy as the real thing. I love this recipe because it uses frozen sweetcorn instead of flour. I always end up with some leftover sweetcorn in the freezer and it's an awesome way to use it up. Deliciousness! :taco:

I am going to go to bed early today because tomorrow is another busy day and I want to be fresh. I hope you had a wonderful day yourself! See you tomorrow!

Hugs!

:loveu:

Morning workout:
✔ Exercise of the day: 30 leg raises
✔ Workout of the Day: Keep Defender x 7 sets
✔ Stomach Vacuums Workout
✔ Gratitude Practice
✔ Meditation - 15 minutes

4PM workout:
✔ Double Trouble Workout x 3 sets
✔ Dragon Ball Abs Workout x 3 sets
✔ 30 minutes walk on the treadmill

Before-Bed Cardio:
✘ skipped, not feeling 100%

Bedtime Audiobook: “He Who Fights With Monsters” Book 11 by Shirtaloon, Cpt 40

Food Log:
7 AM Pre-Workout: matcha tea protein shake with ginseng and amla powder
9 AM Breakfast: tempeh over creamy tofu
1 PM Lunch: oil-free tacos with bean mince and salsa + N/A beer
4 AM Pre-Workout: protein shake with cocoa, maca powder & dried mushrooms
6 PM Dinner: frozen mixed berries ice-cream with protein powder and chopped up cooking chocolate (Ninja Creami)

PetiteSheWolf · Aug 21, 2024

Oooh, tacos that are 100% gluten-free, and in the oven! Maybe a lot of work for a weekday meal, but I will keep it in mind.

neilarey · Aug 21, 2024

@PetiteSheWolf they take ~ 40 minutes to make :LOL:

These tacos were made my @Damer and it did take him roughly 40-45 minutes.
I was so hungry at a time I kept an eye on the clock :amused:

Oh, and I recommend doing a double batch for the taco shells, you end up with extra mince.

neilarey · Aug 25, 2024

So, I got sick. Like, not bad-bad sick but sick. I still did all of my workouts (WOD, EOD, stretching, all the things) and most of my work, obviously, but I just had no energy to update (I kept going to bed at like 8PM). Today is the first day I am feeling 100% and I am soooo behind with EVERYTHING.

:corner: